Review: Lola

Lola by Melissa Scrivner Love
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

While this wasn’t the type of book I would normally read, I appreciated the fierce and powerful main character who has to fight for every crumb of respect and deserves all of it. The book is gritty and has a lot of unsavory details that bring to life what it’s like to live among drugs and gangs. Lola has a strong moral compass, though its skewed by how she grew up, and a willingness to do whatever it takes to care for the ones she loves.
The story follows her while she fights to stay alive after making enemies of the leaders of rival drug cartels. While I enjoyed the majority of the book the plot felt a little scattered to me and I wished that the book could have been a little more focused. The story jumped around a bit too much, from crooked cops, to addicts in recovery, to dealing with other cartel leaders. Hopefully if Lola’s story continues in future books the story will be a bit more focused. The other thing that dropped my rating was that there were several parts of the story that were completely unbelievable. Details should be researched a little more carefully in future books.
Thank you Blogging for Books for providing me with a copy for review.


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Review: Watching the Detectives

Watching the Detectives by Julie Mulhern
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Watching the Detectives by Julie Mulhern is the 5th book in the Country Club Murders and it is a wonderful addition to the series. The story takes place in the 1970’s and follows Ellison Russell as she tries to figure out who killed her interior decorator in her study.

This cozy mystery is both funny and a wonderful read. It takes into account social issues of the time and weaves them seamlessly into the narrative while also providing an entertaining read. Ellison is a windowed artist caring for her teenage daughter and dealing with an overbearing mother. The mystery is full of enough twists and turns and quirky characters to keep you reading late into the night. Overall I would highly recommend this book to any fans of cozy mysteries.

I received this book from NetGalley and Henery Press in exchange for an honest review.

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Review: Magick & Mayhem

Magick & Mayhem by Sharon Pape
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Magick and Mayhem was the fantastic first book in a new paranormal cozy mystery. It features Kailyn Wilde as a witch in a small town who is running her family’s magic shop, Abracadabra, after the sudden deaths of her mother and grandmother. When she and her psychic aunt Tilly head over to the local lawyers office to finalize some papers they are surprised to find he’d been murdered and from there the plot unfolds.
Kailyn takes on the task of hunting down the real killer when her friend Elise becomes the main suspect. Between juggling the demands of a magic shop, taking care of a gaggle of cats, finding some unexpected romance and hunting down a killer Kailyn has her hands, and head, full.
The story was a great read for me. It was entertaining, humorous, and overall very enjoyable. I loved all the hijinks of the supporting characters and the mystery was well done. The book was well paced and well plotted. I really liked all of the characters and I am already looking forward to book two!
I give the book 4/5 stars
I received this book from Netgalley and Kensington Books in exchange for an honest review.


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Review: Alice and the Assassin

Alice and the Assassin by R.J. Koreto
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Alice and the Assassin follows spirited Alice Roosevelt, daughter of President Theodore Roosevelt, while she and her Secret Service body guard, Joseph St. Clair, attempt to solve a mystery connected to the assassination of President McKinley.

While the story was well written and Alice was a very intriguing character the book dragged its way through the plot and I often fell asleep after only a few pages. There was great dialogue and the banter between Alice and her body guard was interesting. The book is told from the body guards perspective and it would have been refreshing to see what Alice’s point of view was.

In addition there was a little too much going on. There were big name companies, political intrigue, a murderer on the loose and a lot of little loose ends. The ending was well done and tied everything up nicely but I had figured out what was going on before we got there.

Overall I give the book 3/5 stars. I would give the next book in the series a chance.

I received this book from Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books in exchange for an honest review.

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Review: Alice and the Assassin

Alice and the Assassin by R.J. Koreto
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Alice and the Assassin follows spirited Alice Roosevelt, daughter of President Theodore Roosevelt, while she and her Secret Service body guard, Joseph St. Clair, attempt to solve a mystery connected to the assassination of President McKinley.

While the story was well written and Alice was a very intriguing character the book dragged its way through the plot and I often fell asleep after only a few pages. There was great dialogue and the banter between Alice and her body guard was interesting. The book is told from the body guards perspective and it would have been refreshing to see what Alice’s point of view was.

In addition there was a little too much going on. There were big name companies, political intrigue, a murderer on the loose and a lot of little loose ends. The ending was well done and tied everything up nicely but I had figured out what was going on before we got there.

Overall I give the book 3/5 stars. I would give the next book in the series a chance.

I received this book from Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books in exchange for an honest review.

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Review: The Breakdown

The Breakdown by B.A. Paris
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Breakdown is a twisting psychological thriller that will keep you on your toes and guessing until the very last page. Even the tagline “If you can’t trust yourself, who can you trust?” draws you in straight away. The story follows Cass as she attempts to deal with the death of a woman she feels she may have been able to help. Driving home in a storm from a party late one night she passes a car on the side of the road and sees the shape of a woman inside the car. She stops, but doesn’t try to help and decides to go home. When she discovers that the woman was killed that night she is consumed with guilt and fear that she may be losing her mind as she begins to forget every little thing.

I couldn’t put this book down and read it all in one night of frantic page turning. I HAD to know what was going on and you will too if you pick up this book. The author does a wonderful job with dramatic scenes and with the pacing of the novel. I normally don’t like an unreliable narrator but in this case it really works for the story. Overall I really enjoyed this read and can’t wait to read more from B. A. Paris!

I give the book 4.5/5 stars

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the copy to read and review.


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Review: Kale to the Queen

Kale to the Queen by Nell Hampton
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Kale to the Queen is the debut to a new cozy mystery series that follows Chef Carrie Ann Cole along as she begins her new job as a chef as Kensington Palace. She starts off at the job well and has just begun to settle into her rather grueling new position when she stumbles across a dead body. The rest of the book is he attempting to clear the name of a coworker and stay clear of another chef who has quite the attitude.
Overall I enjoyed the read. It was light and fun and I liked the main and supporting characters and thought they were well done. Though the main character is a chef, so ample food descriptions are to be expected, there might have been just a few too many. The story had great pacing and the mystery was well done. I enjoyed that the book was set in London. Hopefully that is explored more in future books.

I give the book 3/5 stars and look forward to reading more books in the series.

Thank you to Net Galley and Crooked Lane Books for providing me a copy of this book to read and review.


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