The Cracked Spine by Paige Shelton

 

The Cracked Spine - Paige Shelton - 4 to 4.5 Stars - A new favorite cozy mystery series! (Book 1 in The Scottish Bookshop Mystery Series)

I really enjoyed this Scottish Cozy Mystery! 4 to 4.5 stars. A new favorite series to dive into! Full of scottish dialect, cozy family and bookish vibes and great characters - this was an AMANDA book! We see the descriptions of Scotland so beautiful painted, it makes me really want to be there. One thing I liked about this, while the beginning is a slow start, Paige Shelton really introduces us to the characters and setting in such a unique way. I felt like we really get to know them. Loved seeing a little romance too included, that's always a must have for me in Cozy Mysteries and loved that.

This story is all about American Delaney Nichols. She answers an ad to work at The Cracked Spine Bookstore in Edinburgh, Scotland. She packs up and leaves Kansas so fast - and it's quite the journey. The bookstore is one I would LOVE to visit in real life from everything I read. The owner, Edwin MacAlister, hires her to be apart of the bookstore team with young Hamlet, Rosie and their little dog. From the moment Delaney meets her cab driver, Elisas, just the hospitality from him alone, I knew I was going to love these sweet characters who feel like home. Delaney sparks up a small romance with Tom, a handsome scotsman who works across the street from the bookstore as a bartender. The mystery kicks off when Edwin's sister Jenny is murdered and a "First Folio of Shakespeare's Plays" disappears.... His sister has a history of drugs, so they're not sure if it's a drug deal gone bad or if someone knew about the folio and killed her after stealing it.... Delaney feels instantly connected to this family, friends and city and starts to help them track down the clues to the killer.

This was such a great start to this series. Super excited to read the next one!

Goodreads Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5423946392
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3DekwGe
YouTube Review Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CNQJYuJxRg

Hatchet by Gary Paulsen

 

Hatchet - Gary Paulsen - 5 Stars - A page turning survival story! (Book 1 in the Brian's Saga Series)

This was a favorite book of mine as a young kid and I remember why!! Such a page turning survival story! 13 year old, Brian Robeson, is flying in a small plane to meet his father, when all of a sudden his pilot has a heart attack and dies mid flight. Brian is scared to death and doesn't know what to do....he manages to get the plane down but he's alone in the Canadian wilderness and no one knows where he is....we see his journey of survival with nothing but a hatchet and his windbreaker take place. It's emotional and fast paced from the very beginning. I have to give this 5 stars just because of the level of engagement I had from the moment I picked this book up. He's also keeping a secret about his mother after his parent's divorce and he continues to relive some of that trauma.

I realize now that I LOVE survival stories!

Goodreads Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5346131202
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3NRH0lp
YouTube Review Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CNQJYuJxRg

Autumn by the Sea by Melissa Tagg

 

Autumn by the Sea - Melissa Tagg - 4 to 4.5 Stars - So much more then your typical christian contemporary romance!

Ya'll, I really enjoyed this book! The first 50% took me a bit to get through, but that last 50% was fast paced with so many twists and turns!! This is between a 4 and 4.5 star for me. Can't wait for the second one!

This is a Christian Contemporary Romance that is so much more than just your typical romance. We have a true found family in this story that I LOVE and it really shows a beautiful process of the Lord leading our main character's Sydney and Neil to one another, and Sydney to this beautiful family, when they least expected it. (Plus, Neil is Scottish soooo SAY LESS YA'LL. I was here for it!)

We are following Maggie Muir as she is trying to find her lost granddaughter, after an accident with her daughter many years ago left her granddaughter unable to be found. The search leads her to Sydney Rose. No one knows if Sydney is who she is looking for but so many clues point to her being who Maggie is looking for.... Sydney comes to Muir Blueberry Farm (WHICH I LOVED) and meets Maggie's adoptive children/family. Neil is the only one who wasn't technically adopted, but he has been part of their family since he was a teenager. Maggie and her family have been through several different people and attempts to find her granddaughter, but something feels different this time with Sydney....

Sydney has always wondered about her family and their past. She has never truly belonged. She's excited and a bit nervous to embark on this journey. Her and Neil develop a relationship that was beautiful to see and she grows on this beautiful family in the 2 weeks she is there.

Maggie is such a strong willed woman - she has been through so much loss in her life and is just looking for answers. I loved the letters she writes to Robert, my heart....

The romance between Neil and Sydney was so precious, I really enjoyed it. They didn't start off on the right foot but they started getting to know each other very well over the 2 weeks she is there. Sydney truly finds herself belonging to the Muir Farm and Family....

The faith content was also really nice. I highlighted many passages. The only reason I didn't give this 5 stars was because the first 50% took me a bit to get into, but STILL LOVED this story and this family.

They entire family continues to search for answers and the ending was somewhat of a cliffhanger! I can't wait to dive into book 2! SO much I need to know about this family!

Goodreads Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5005322056
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3XT2MtF
YouTube Review Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CNQJYuJxRg

Deserts, Driving & Derlicts - Tonya Kappes

 

Deserts, Driving and Derelicts - Tonya Kappes - 3.5 to 4 Stars - Always a fun time in Normal, Kentucky! (Book 2 in the Camper and Criminals Series)

Enjoyed being back in Normal, Kentucky with Mae West! 3.5-4 stars rounding up on goodreads. Always a fun and interesting time with these characters. I’m gonna continue on with the series for sure.

In this book, we are seeing Mae getting settled into her RV lifestyle as the owner of the local campground, Happy Trails. They are bringing in tourists and seeing everything come to life in the once run down campground. We love to see it! Mae agrees to help her good friend, Betts Hager, with her cleaning service by agreeing to help clean up Tammy Jo Bentley's mansion, later helping take care of Tammy Jo's prized poodle, Fifi. Things go south when they find Fifi's nanny killed in Tammy Jo's house. Suspects add up...who did it? Mae is determined to find out!

The characters in this story really make the books so much fun. I also love the southern vibes. We have a bit of a love triangle trying to come in for Mae too, but not much development there yet. Interested to see how that plays out. Mae is just trying to make Happy Trails the best campground but crazy stuff always seems to be happening. Check these out if you like fun cozy mysteries!

Goodreads Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5421177313
Amazon: https://amzn.to/44GawkL
YouTube Review Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghDr4wiLXDY

Murder in the Mystery Suite by Ellery Adams

 

Murder in the Mystery Suite - Ellery Adams - 4 Stars - Great bookish cozy mystery with some fun characters! (Book 1 in the Book Retreat Mysteries Series)

Great cozy mystery with some fun characters! Lots of bookish references! In this story, we follow Jane Steward, who is hosting a fun Murder and Mayhem week at Storyton Hall in Virginia (which I would LOVE to be a real place!!). I loved reading about all of the fun costumes everyone dresses up in for the event. People really get into it and that's awesome! But in cozy mystery fashion, we have some drama surrounding the prized book award, one of the guests who ended up mysteriously dead in one of the rooms and some other random murders. Really enjoyed the setting, book vibes, mystery aspect and the characters. I'll be continuing on with this one!

Goodreads Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5058022809
Amazon: https://amzn.to/44s0O5Y
YouTube Review Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghDr4wiLXDY

The Body Under the Piano - Aggie Morton Mysery Queen, Book 1 by Marthe Jocelyn

 

The Body Under the Piano - Marthe Jocelyn - 4 Stars - If you love Agatha Christie, you will love this! (Book 1 in The Aggie Morton, Mystery Queen Series)

This was SO fun!! If you love Agatha Christie, you will LOVE this! Such a great middle grade spin off! Aggie Morton lives in a small town in England during the early 1900s when she meets 12 year old Belgian immigrant Hector Perot and they discover a dead body on the floor of the Mermaid Dance Room under the piano! SOO many suspects pile up and they work to figure this mystery out!

I had a lot of fun with this and the audiobook is wonderful. Only hard thing for me is so many characters, which is the same as in Agatha Christie's mystery stories for me, but I still really enjoyed this!

Goodreads Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5127620311
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3pVuE3v
YouTube Review Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghDr4wiLXDY&t=1s

Buried in a Good Book by Tamara Berry

 

Buried in a Good Book - Tamara Berry - 3 Stars - A cozy mystery series I didn't fully connect with. (Book 1 in the By the Book Mysteries Series)

I enjoyed this in general, but also didn't fully connect to the characters and felt some of the details surrounding the murders were a bit more gruesome for my taste for a cozy - which this may not really be a cozy mystery - but that's what I went in thinking it was. Still a good ending - didn't expect the killer at ALLLLLL! I liked all the bookish references since the main character is an author. 3 stars

This is all about best selling author, Tess Harrow. She has intertied her grandfather's cabin in the woods in Washington. She takes her 14 year old daughter Gertrude to spend the summer there at the cabin. As soon as they get there though, an explosion happens and they find fish parts and a human arm nearby.....the mystery begins....she meets a local Sherriff, Victor Bond and they work together to figure this out.

Goodreads Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5399866645
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3rrIU4v
YouTube Review Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghDr4wiLXDY