Pomona Afton Can Totally Catch a Killer by Bellamy Rose

 

Pomono Afton Can Totally Catch a Killer is such a fun cozy mystery to read.  Pomono comes from a very wealthy family - they own hotels, airplanes and more.  She's been a party girl for far too long and it's time for her to show that she's an adult now and she's changed her ways.  So she plans a gala for all her rich friends to raise money for charity.  This will show them she's new Pom.

Unfortunately, a murder happens at the Gala.  Fortunately no one liked him anyway.  But he was helping Pomona by donating a building to her new charity.  So with everything up in the air she can't work on the charity so she may as well solve this murder.  She's solved a murder case before so this shouldn't be too hard.  Plus she's got her boyfriend Gabe to help her.

Here begins the cozy mystery.  Just my kind of murder mystery.  I was not able to solve the murder by the ending so that also makes for a great book when it's not too predictable.  This is the second book in a series.  I own the first book but couldn't read it in time in order to get this review out the week it's published.  I don't think it will be giving too much away to read book two first but obviously if you have the option and time I'd recommend reading in the proper order.

Stranger Things Have Happened by Kasie West

 

Sutton is back in her hometown for a few months so she can help her mom recover from an accident.  She hasn't spent this much time back in her hometown in ages.  One evening, Sutton finds herself all dressed up and nowhere to go she heads to the pub where she is totally overdressed.  She wasn't expecting to run into her high school best friend, Tara and her fiance and his brother debating the benefits of therapy.  Sutton is a believer in therapy although she's never tried it herself.  Tara is trying to convince her future husband to join her in some couples therapy before the wedding just to give them a good healthy start at marriage.

Suddenly, Sutton finds herself involved in a bet that she's got no interest in.  She's got enough on her plate with taking care of her mom and trying to run a restaurant from afar.  The bet - couples therapy with a complete stranger.  She thinks the therapist will obviously be able to tell right away that the two have never met.  He thinks they'll make it through four sessions without figuring it out.  She needs to win this bet for Tara.  She owes her.

I absolutely loved reading Stranger Things Have Happened.  It was such a fun read and I was completely hooked all the way through.  The story has a little bit of spice but it has such a great story around the spicy scenes.  I really loved enjoyed the characters.  If you enjoyed Emily Henry novels, you will enjoy this story.

The Paris Match by Kate Clayborn

 

I assumed a lot by the cover of The Paris Match.  I was correct that it is a love story but it was so much more than that.  The story was full of mystery and secrets.  

Layla is back in Paris to see her ex-sister in law, Emily, get married.  Her first time seeing all the MacKenzie's since the divorce.  The amicable divorce.  But also Paris where she spent so much time with her ex-husband.  Every street filled with memories.  But she'll do it for Emily because she promised her they would always be sisters.

But after the first night in Paris the bride and groom are at risk of not going through with the wedding and it's all falling on Layla and the best man, Griffin, to make sure they make it to the alter.  Layla accidently met Griffin on the plane there and he made quite the first impression.

But there is so much more than just the wedding to this book and I really did love it all.  At times in the middle I found The Paris Match a little bit too long but I loved the ending with all it's twists and unravelling.  The story has a lot of walking around Paris and I loved reading about the city. 

The Time of My Life by Samantha Tonge

 

Carrie has struggled since the lost of her mom earlier this year.  She has no family left in the whole world.  Her best friends do their best to include her but it's still lonely knowing she has no relatives.  Her friends have been supportive but they don't really get what she's been through.

Seeking change in her life, Carrie lists her life for sale.  A shot at her jobs, her apartment, her clothes, cat and even an opportunity to meet her friends.  With the money from the sale Carrie is finally going to do something exciting with her life and do some travelling.  She just needs to decide where in the world to go.

What Carrie doesn't plan for is making new friends, finding romance,  and old passions that excite her.  Sounds like a great story about finding yourself after grief and it is but there's a big plot twist that I didn't see coming.  It was a fun read and I loved reading about being in Greece and all the delicious food.  

Once and Again by Rebecca Serle

 

Imagine you had a silver ticket that allowed you to take back one thing in your life.  Maybe a mistake?  Or the death of a loved one?  A chance to change the future.  But you can only use it once.  What if something more worthy of a take back happens after you've used your silver ticket.  But also what would you be giving up.  Would it change the way you live?  It's a blessing and a curse.

That's the case with Lauren.  She's known since a young age that she has a silver ticket - all the women in her family do.  Hers is locked in a safe at her parents place.  Lauren spends her days working as an accountant and going for treatments to help her have a baby with her husband Leo - something a silver ticket can't solve.  They don't have a lot of money because every penny goes towards treatments.  These treatments are beginning to weigh on her marriage.

It's tough to say more without giving the store away.  I really don't like when a story has aspects of magic or fantasy.  At first when I read about the silver ticket I didn't think this book was for me.  But I gave this story five stars.  I don't often give books five stars.  Even four stars are pretty reserved.  But this book really got me thinking.  I even discussed it with my husband last night over dinner.  Was there anything we would take back in our life?  Fortunately, the answer was no.  But it was an interesting conversation.  

I highly recommend Once and Again.  I think it would be a great pick for a book club as there is lots to discuss and debate about this book.  The only thing I found odd that wasn't really explained is that she calls her father "Dad" and her mother "Marcella".  It seemed odd.  But it really is such a minor thing and definitely didn't take away from the story.  It's just something that puzzled me about why the author chose that.

The Bookstore Diaries by Susan Mallery

 

The Bookstore Diaries is the story of the relationships of two sisters, Jax and Ryleigh.  Jax has been divorced for over a year now from Harris.  The relationship just wasn't meant to be but at least they have two beautiful children from the marriage.  Her and Harris work very hard at continuing to show up as a family and be good parents.  Jax has her work - she owns a bookstore, her kids, her sister and a pet Parrot named Ramon.  Life is good and she is definitely not looking for love.

Ryleigh, on the other hand, is very much looking for love.  Her clock is ticking and she wants a family.  After a recent breakup she's thinking maybe she needs to move cities.  There's very limited single guys in this town.  She hangs out with one single guy, Alex.  But his wife just passed away a year ago.  Ryleigh is just helping out.  Moving cities means not being near her sister, her niece and nephew,  and also Alex and his son Noah.  But she needs kids of her own and maybe she needs to sacrifice all her current relations to get it.

I really enjoyed The Bookstore Diaries.  I always love Susan Mallery books.  I did find this one a little bit too long and a little bit like they were going over the same thing over and over again.  But don't let that discourage you from reading it because it is a great story.  I really loved Ramon the parrot.  He quotes a lot of books and seems like a very cool bird.  I enjoyed reading about him.

I'm Not the Only Murderer in my Retirement Home by Fergus Craig

 

Carol is excited for a new beginning.  She's spent decades in prison for murder.  Seven times she murdered people - maybe more.  They all deserved it.  But now she's ready for a new life at a fancy new retirement home.  She's off to a good start - joining clubs and making friends.

But it doesn't take long before people figure out who Carol is and when a murder happens it's easy to figure out it must be her.  Except it isn't her and she's going to need the help of some friends to prove it wasn't her.  

This was a fun reader.  I don't typically read murder stories unless it's a cozy mystery (no blood and guts).  Something about a bunch of 75 year olds killing each other in a retirement home that didn't feel too gruesome.  I enjoyed reading I'm Not the Only Murderer in my Retirement Home.   I could definitely picture a sequel that I think I would enjoy too.  I also didn't figure out who did it until the end.  It really was a good mystery.