contemporary

Interview with Valerie Burns (Murder Is a Piece of Cake)

Article and Interview by Elise Cooper Murder Is a Piece of Cake by Valerie Burns is the second book in the Baker Street Cozy Mystery series. As with all her books, dogs play an important role and the characters are very well developed. The first book in the series, Two Parts Sugar, One Part Murder, has Maddy Montgomery inheriting from her great Aunt Octavia the Baby Cakes Bakery and a 250-pound English Mastiff named Baby. The will stipulates Maddy must …

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Interview with Cari Lynn Webb (Three Springs, Texas series)

Article and Interview by Elise Cooper The first four books in the Three Springs, Texas series by Cari Lynn Webb will draw on reader’s emotions. They will smile, cry, and take a journey with the characters. The Texas SEAL’s Surprise has Abby James coming to visit her cousin, Tess, in the small town of Three Springs Texas. She is a single pregnant woman whose fiancé cheated on her. She initially meets Wes, the hero, after her car has a flat …

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Magdalena by Candi Sary

Title: Magdalena Author: Candi Sary Series: n/a Not my cuppa Thank you to Candi Sary and Regal House Publishing for allowing me to read a free copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review. Thanks also to Laura Marie of Laura Marie Public Relations for inviting me on the blog tour. So . . . I read this novel because the description leaned hard into the paranormal aspect, and I love a good ghost story. It sounded a …

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Interview with Linda Castillo (An Evil Heart)

Article and Interview by Elise Cooper An Evil Heart by Linda Castillo is once again another home run. She blends an intense crime mystery with some light-hearted scenes and detailed insight about the Amish community. The story opens with twenty-year-old Aden Karn being violently killed with a crossbow. He was well-liked, kind, funny, hardworking, and engaged to be married. Now Kate Burkholder, Painters Mills police chief, must find his killer. But as she delves into Karn’s past, Kate begins to …

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Dead of Winter by Darcy Coates

Title: Dead of Winter Author: Darcy Coates Series: n/a unsympathetic lead Thanks to Darcy Coates, Poisoned Pen Press, and NetGalley for allowing me to read a free ARC in exchange for an honest review. This was an okay thriller, though the premise has been done. My chief complaints are the abrupt beginning and ending as well as the length/lack of energy, all of which relates to the main problem, a lack of sympathy for the lead character. So we start …

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Interview with Suzanne Woods Fisher (The Secret to Happiness)

Article and Interview by Elise Cooper The Secret to Happiness by Suzanne Woods Fisher delves into how someone can find their way again when life’s issues seem to be overwhelming. There are issues of forgiveness, redemption, family, love, and hope for the future as family and friends try to bring someone out of their despair. The plot has Callie Dixon fired from her job as an executive chef when she makes a huge error in the kitchen. Now unemployed she …

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Interview with Catherine Bybee (Beginning of Forever)

Article and Interview by Elise Cooper Beginning of Forever by Catherine Bybee is a story of passion and following one’s dreams. There are deep and meaningful family and friend relationships. The heroine Emma must contend with a misogynist father who refuses to allow her to be a part of the family wine business. To make matters worse, he has put her ex-husband in charge. Intent to run the family wine business one day, she finds that the men in her …

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Interview with Eliza Jane Brazier (Girls and Their Horses)

Article and Interview by Elise Cooper Girls and Their Horses by Eliza Jane Brazier is more than just a book about horses. Readers should think about sports travel teams and stage mothers. Those parents who try to put their own dreams on their children and push them to succeed, even when the dream does not seem realistic. The book explores the world of competitive horse jumping, with overbearing mothers who push their children to compete, toxic coaches, and mean girls. …

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Interview with Amanda Flower (Blueberry Blunder)

Article and Interview by Elise Cooper Blueberry Blunder by Amanda Flower is the eighth book in the Candy Shop Amish series. This series along with the spinoff Amish Matchmaker Series are great cozies. Readers are treated to a unique mystery, brilliant characters, and some funny animals. The plot has the main character, Bailey King, building her dream candy factory in Harvest, Ohio. After the construction work stalls, she fires the contractor. Unfortunately, that same night someone kills him. With a …

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Interview with Maisey Yates (Cowboy Wild and One Little Spark)

Article and Interview by Elise Cooper Cowboy Wild and One Little Spark are recently published books by Maisey Yates. Because One Little Spark is domestic suspense, she has written the book under the pseudonym Ellie Banks. Two books, each a different genre. Besides writing her wonderful cowboy romance stories she has also ventured into writing stories that have women relationships, almost a “sisterly bond.” One Little Spark has a fire destroying a small town, throwing the lives of three women …

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