Beach Reads and Deadly Deads by Allison Brennan

I recently learned the term cozy mysteries and I think it might be my new favourite genre for the next little bit.  Beach Reads and Deadly Deads certainly fits into that cozy mystery.  I'm not sure the true definition but for me it means murder and mystery without the blood and guts and maybe a love story on the side.

Beach Deads and Deadly Deads follows the story of Mia.  She's just arrived on the island of St Clair for a much needed vacation - mandated by her boss.  Just shy of her 30th birthday and she doesn't remember the last time she took time off.  She's also about to commit to becoming an owner of the accounting firm she works for and once she does that there will be no vacations ever.  So with a promise to relax and enjoy she steps on to the island of St Clair with the news a previous resort guest has gone missing.

Mia has read enough mystery novels that she figures herself part sleuth.  Also, it's hard to relax until she knows what happened to the woman who went missing - maybe she was murdered.  Intent to solve the mystery and also have a one night stand, Mia engages in conversation with everyone she crosses and there sure are a lot of mysterious people staying at the resort.

I really enjoyed this novel.  My first read by Allison Brennan even though she already has many titles.  I gave it 4 stars but I think I could move that to 4.5 if Goodreads would only allow half stars.  I would recommend this to anyone who thinks they only like romance novels and are ready for a change.  I will also note that I saw someone's comment on Goodreads that they didn't finish the book because of profanity and I would say that I barely noticed any profanity.  

What Kind of Paradise by Janelle Brown

 

WOW!!  Where to start with this book.  I gave it 4 stars but I'm rethinking that maybe it should be 5 stars.  What Kind of Paradise is truly a great novel.  At the beginning it felt predictable and familiar - like the Great Alone by Kristin Hannah (which I also love), but then the twists started coming and really it's not comparable.

Jane has lived in remote Montana as long as she can remember.  Her mom passed away when she was four and since then it's just been her and her dad.  Jane is home schooled.  Her dad went to Harvard - he can teach her everything she needs to know.  Her father also teaches how to survive the wilderness and most importantly keep your eye out for the FBI.  Jane's only connection to the outside world is an occasional trip into town to a book store.

As Jane gets older she starts to question some of her dad's ideas and ways of living.  It's the mid 1990's and one day dad brings home a computer.  He wants Jane to learn to program so he can share his message with the world.  He needs them to know the dangers of these new computers.  He's been telling anyone who will listen for ages and the people who need to hear this are online already.

This book goes from a quiet slow life in rural Montana to full speed in a moment.  This book is action packed.  I was on edge and flipping pages as fast as I could to see the ending.  What Kind of Paradise is unlike anything I've read in a while.  I recommend this book to everyone but especially those that worked in tech in the mid 90's.  It's an excellent book that I'm sure we will see on top 10 lists very soon.  I think it would make an excellent book club choice as well as there is a ton to discuss here.

Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid

I almost didn't read Atmosphere because I'm not interested in space but I love other Taylor Jenkins Reid books so I gave it a shot.  I'm glad I did.  This is going to be a very loved book by many.  Strong female characters based in the 80's.  I was surprised when I found myself crying at the end.  It's a fantastic book.  The characters are that good.

Joan has just been accepted by NASA.  It's 1980 and this is the first round of women to be accepted into NASA's programs.  Joan has been preparing for this moment her whole life.  She's been studying the stars and dreaming of this day.  Joan's been so focused on her career she's left little room for much else.  Her niece Frannie is the exception - Joan adores her niece Frannie.

As Joan, meets her fellow crew and gets entrenched in training she finds herself hanging out with the crew on evenings and weekends.  For the first time since college she's hanging out with people and forming bonds - even enjoying a beer or two here and there.

In the first chapter of the novel we learn that one of the missions isn't going as planned.  Joan's story is  being unravelled before the tragedy and after the tragedy.  Atmosphere is more than just a space story.  It's romance, women's rights, friendship and more.  If you love Taylor Jenkins Reid - like so many of us do - don't miss this one.  It's a great read.

Just Beachy by Wendy Wax

 

Just Beachy by Wendy Wax takes place in Treasure Island Florida - a place I have vacationed many times over the last 25 years.  It was very fun to read a story set in an area that I know so well.  I also learned about a restaurant that I've never been to but definitely will the next time I'm there.

Sydney has just been cancelled from the TV show she's been on for over 10 years.  She's played tough cop Cassie for so long that people that see her immediately recognize her but many don't realize it's just a role she plays.  She's hoping to lay low with her grandmother for a bit until she figures out her next move.

But laying low is pretty difficult when there's action all around.  She's not in town for 5 minutes when she stops a robbery at a bar.  Now her Grand's place has been broken into more than once.  Sydney quickly learns that the skills she learned pretending to be a cop are helping her in real life.

She's also reunited with an old crush Luke who is now a real life cop and still dreamy.  Grand also has a new love interest.  Life in Treasure Island is good.  If only she could figure out her next career move.

I really enjoyed Just Beachy especially the setting.  It's got action and romance (spicy!), mystery too.  I will say that I felt some parts of the story were confusing.  I even looked into seeing if this was a second book in a series to see if that's what I was missing.  Don't get hung up on who's who as some characters don't really seem crucial to the story line.  Definitely a book that will be great to read this summer no matter what beach you are on.

The Martha's Vineyard Beach and Book Club by Martha Hall Kelly

 

Cadence and Briar have been living with their Gran since their Mom passed away years ago.  Their brother Tom has gone to fight in the war and they are all missing him so much including his girlfriend, Bess who also lives with the girls. Briar is obsessed with the war and loves learning about it - she even thinks she's spotted some u-boats in the water near the farm.  Cadence just wants to read and get access to more books for herself and the troops.  She'd love to one day move to New York and be a fancy editor.

In other chapters we learn about Mari in 2016.  She's just come to Martha's Vineyard because she found a note in her deceased mom's things.  She doesn't know who Ms. Deveraux is but she might be able to tell her about her mom or at least give her a painting lesson.  Scrapping the last money she has she books a return ticket to Martha's Vineyard where she listens to a long drawn out story and tries to figure out how this story is important to her.

The Martha's Vineyard Beach and Book Club has many other twists and turns to this story but I don't want to spoil it.  If you love historical fiction this one is for you.  I really enjoyed the story.  At one point I thought it was over as all ends were nearly wrapped up when another twist begins.  I will say there were a few parts that dragged for me when they were a bit more detailed about the war than I was interested in but that's just me.  With the setting being Martha's Vineyard I feel it was quite a bit different than some of the other historical fiction books I had previously read.  There's also a touch of romance as with most historical fiction. 

The Busybody Book Club by Freya Sampson

Nova works at the local community center.  She just started this job and it's very important to her as she loves what she does and believes it's very important for the community.  One of the many activities she leads at the center is a book club with a mixed group of people and she's not certain it's going to take off as she hoped.

There's Phyllis that only wants to read mysteries.  Arthur only wants to read romance novels so he can share them with his sick wife at home.  Ash is a quiet teen and Michael who no one has a clue why he's even there.  

During a meeting discussing Where the Crawdad's Sing, Michael gets a phone call and races out of the building.  The next day there is money missing intended for a new roof for the center.  All fingers are pointing at Nova.  Shortly after more mysterious things are occurring and unless the book club members can figure out who is behind it all Nova is going to lose her job and possibly face charges.  These mysteries all occur while Nova is trying to prepare for her wedding to Craig.  It's hard to focus on the wedding when Nova's so worried about everything else.  Craig just wants her to stop getting so involved in the mysteries and focus on the wedding.

I really loved this book.  It was full of great mystery that kept me guessing right up until the end.  I definitely didn't suspect how this would end at all.  I really loved all the characters.  I could actually imagine a second or third book with these characters.  I recently read The Maid by Nita Prose and I would suggest The Busybody Book Club to anyone that enjoyed that series.

June 3 - The Love Haters by Katherine Center

 

Katie's job is on the line and she may just be saved by bailing out her coworker Cole and producing a video of this guy Hutch, a Coast Guard hero that lives in Florida that once saved Jennifer Anniston's dog.  Doesn't sound like a hard gig.  Cole doesn't want the job because he's Hutch's brother and it's hard being the other brother to a handsome hero.

Once Katie arrives in Florida she meets the boys Aunt Rue and she's got answers for all of Katie's problems.  Soon Katie is ditching her standard black clothes for rainbow outfits provided by Aunt Rue and Rue's found a possible solution for her biggest problem - Katie can't swim.  It's hard to record a day in the life of a Coast Guard if you can't swim.

The Love Haters is a great story that I would highly recommend to fans of Emily Henry's novels.  It's funny, has romance and even adventure.  Once you've finished this one I suggest you read all of Katherine Center's books as they are all great reads.

One Golden Summer by Carley Fortune

 

I was very excited to receive an advanced reader copy of Carley Fortune's newest novel.  I've loved all of her books and I've seen a lot of reviews saying how amazing One Golden Summer is and I wasn't disappointed.  Carley Fortune is definitely on my must pre-order list without even reading a description.  Bonus points that she is Canadian and all her novels so far are based in Canada.

If you haven't read any of Carley's books you may want to start with Every Summer After although it's totally not necessary.  But you really should read it first and don't forget Meet Me at the Lake.  Every Summer After is slated to be an Amazon series - no word yet on release date.

In One Golden Summer, Alice's grandmother - Nan has just broken her hip.  Alice is still nursing a broken heart.  Seems like the perfect time for both of them to head to Barry's Bay for the summer to relax and reset.  An old family friend agrees they can stay at their cottage.  Charlie Florek is in the cottage next door if they need anything.

Charlie is just what Nan and Alice needed to help them smile again.  He's handsome, helpful and most importantly so good to Nan.  Alice creates a checklist to help her have the summer she wished for  when she was 17 and Charlie is very willing to help her complete it.

By the time you have this finished you'll be searching for cottages in Northern Ontario.  This book would be perfect to read there if you already have one booked this summer.  Don't forget the kleenex!

My Friends - Fredrik Bachman

 

I've enjoyed many Fredrik Backman books over the years.  He's a wonderful story teller.  My Friends is another example of his wonderful storytelling abilities.

Louisa has grown up in foster homes.  She's bounced from home to home - some okay, some awful.   One thing she's always brought with her is a postcard she found at one of the earlier homes.  To most this postcard is just a picture of the sea but she's special.  She sees more than the rich fancy art buyers that are just looking for prestige pieces of art.  She sees the friends sitting on the pier.

The story begins with Louisa in a museum hoping to see the painting in real life just once.  She never intends to steal it or destroy it.  Luckily she bumps into just the right person while trying to escape the security guards.  He knows instantly she's one of them and needs to be protected.

The story flips between the story of the kids on the pier and Louisa who suddenly finds herself the owner of a priceless piece of art.  Making her way with the artists.

I found the middle of the story a little slow and I really had to push myself to keep going through this book.  But I knew like other Fredrik Backman books the ending would be worth it and I wasn't disappointed.  This is a beautiful book of art and friendship.  I loved the ending.

I would recommend My Friends to anyone who can appreciate a good story being told and can be patient for a great ending.

The Maid's Secret by Nita Prose

 

I recently received an advanced reader copy of The Maid's Secret by Nita Prose.  I had the first two books on my to be read pile for a while now and had never gotten around to starting them.  I'm really happy getting this copy got me to prioritize reading the first two novels because this is an excellent series.

Molly the Maid (she's heard the jokes before) loves working as a maid at the Regency Grand Hotel.  She takes her role as Head Maid very seriously.  Molly takes great pride in doing the job well.  Her grandmother has taught her well.  Although these past years she's been distracted from her job by mysteries that have occurred at the Regency Grand.

In the first two novels, The Maid and The Mystery Guest, Molly finds herself in the middle of crimes and The Maid's Secret is no different.  When the Hidden Treasures reality TV show comes to the Regency Grand Molly brings a few of her treasures to be assessed not expecting one of her items to be the highest valued item the show has ever seen.  Molly has long treasured a jewelled egg she received as a child.  When the TV hosts tell her it's a real Faberge Egg worth millions Molly faints right there on the stage.

The Maid's Secret is told in alternating chapters - telling the story of her grandmother, Flora Gray, who raised her and the mystery of the Faberge Egg.  I don't want to say too much about this particular book as it may spoil parts of the first two novels.  

I really enjoyed all three of these novels.  I loved all the characters - especially Molly.  I loved that the novels had mystery - including murder - but handled them in a not so serious manner.  I highly recommend these novels to anyone looking for a lighthearted mystery series.  

As for the Faberge Egg - a few years ago while I was on vacation I passed a jewellery store on a cruise ship that had the most beautiful bejewelled egg.  After admiring the egg for a few days I finally stopped into the store to hear more about this egg.  The particular egg I saw was made by the grandson of the original Faberge eggs.  This egg was far less expensive and prized than the original Faberge Eggs but no less beautiful.  I came to find this egg that had caught my attention was over $20,000 so sadly it didn't come home with me.  But I was so excited to read more about the Faberge in all three of these novels.  Take a moment to read more about these eggs and if you ever get to see one and their intricate details you will be amazed.

The Page Turner by Viola Shipman

 

Viola Shipman is a new author read for me although she has many books published.  The Page Turner was a fun lighthearted read with some twists and turns.  You may even learn a few things you don't know about publishing a book and become inspired to write a novel yourself.

Emma Page has recently graduated college.  She still doesn't know what she wants to do with her life but she knows it involves books.  She's got her first manuscript finished but is it good enough to submit to a publisher?  And which publisher would she submit it to her?   Certainly not The Mighty Pages, they would never publish the fluff she likes to write.  Also, The Mighty Pages is owned by her parents and she definitely isn't ready for them to read it.

Everything would be better if her grandmother Gigi was still around.  They have always shared a love of books.  At least she grabbed a few of Gigi's old romance books to read before her parents tossed them.  But it's time to stop day dreaming and reading all day and commit to a career and stop wasting her degree.  But is there a future for Emma at The Mighty Pages?  She wants to be excited about books and she's not excited about the books her parents publish.

Milestones

 I started this blog in 2014.  Back then I was going to school to become a library technician - I graduated and worked as a library technician at one of the local schools for a few years.   I also had a goal to start reviewing books for my local newspaper - I sent them my very first blog post and they published it shortly after.  Since then I've worked for my local public library and Indigo (Canadian Bookstore). 

Recently I've hit a milestone of over 50,000 readers - I'm actually almost at 60,000 readers today.  Each month I get almost 2,000 hits on my blog and that's without even posting anything new.  

I've written over 200 book reviews.  My most read book reviews are:

Girl Wash Your Face  by Rachel Hollis

Sleeper by Eric Walters

Kay's Lucky Coin Variety by Ann Y K Choi

And Then it Happened by M & L Wade

Bookish People by Susan Coll

I'm pretty proud of my little blog.  It's been a great hobby and I enjoy writing my blog posts.  One time I got an email from the Huffington Post.  An editor there read my blog and asked if I would write an article on Bill Cosby.

So if you've been here reading my blog posts since 2014 - thank you.  I hope you've found something you've been inspired to read.

To Sicily with Love by Jennifer Probst

 

To Sicily with Love is the fourth book in the Meet me in Italy series.  Unfortunately, I didn't realize it was a series until after I finished book three, A Wedding in Lake Como.  But I promise you are fine to read them out of order.  If you love dreaming of vacations in Italy and reading about beautiful landscapes and delicious food you are going to want to read them all.

Aurora has a very structured life and everything is perfectly in order.  She's got a business working as a life coach and she's at the top of her game.  Her weight is perfect after a few years of struggling with it and her boyfriend owns a couple gyms which perfectly compliments her life.  They also swap clients back and forth which is very convenient.

Aurora's mom doesn't think her boyfriend is right for her.  She's not happy that Aurora won't eat the nice meals her mom makes.  Unfortunately, her mom suddenly passes away and their last conversation is a fight.  Now Aurora is struggling because both her parents are gone and was her mom right about things?  If only she could talk to her one more time.

A surprising twist has Aurora flying to Sicily to meet long lost relatives that she didn't know existed.  She didn't even know her mom was from Italy!  Now she's gone from no family left in the world to a large family of cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents.  

To Sicily With Love is a wonderfully written novel and I intend to go back and read book one and two in the series and looking for other books by Jennifer Probst.  Also, I googled it so you don't have to - the author is no relation to Jeff Probst the Survivor host.

Beach Vibes by Susan Mallery

 

Susan Mallery is a great author with lots of light reading books.  Beach Vibes is her latest novel and I really enjoyed it.  Lots of twists and turns and definitely not predictable.

Beth has recently gone through a divorce.  She's not sad the relationship is over but she lost some friends in the divorce and she needs to find new ways to keep herself busy.  She needs to find some ways to make new friends and maybe find love again.  At least Beth is happy with her career.  She's been the owner of Surf Sandwiches since her Aunt and Uncle wanted to retire.  She bought them out and they agreed to help her brother through college to become a doctor.  He's always been the ones with the brains and she's not college material - at least that's what her brother always said.  

While volunteering at the food bank Beth meets Jana.  She's a single mom trying to work part time at the medical centre, go to school and take care of her daughter.  It's a lot of work but she lives with her single dad brother and his best friend helps out a lot too.  Beth and Jana bond over their food bank shifts and start having quick dinner together after volunteering.

Unbeknownst to the other Jana works at the same office as Beth's brother and he's been asking her out for a while now.  When Beth meets Jana's brother it feels like love at first sight.  But can Jana and Beth's friendship withstand them dating each other's brothers.  Both girls fiercely love their brothers and this could go great or very bad.

This whole love square (???) takes place in a beach town with many scenes at the beach watching the surfers.  Beth's sandwiches sound amazing and might inspire some new ideas for dinner.