Sequins & Snowflakes by Jane Linfoot (Book Beginnings & Friday 56)

Friday 56 (share from the 56th page or 56% mark) is hosted at Freda's Voice (today page 56 of the epub) 
& Book Beginnings (share the first few sentences) is at Rose City Reader

Amazon Description

‘Just like the perfect wedding cake…beautifully crafted and wrapped in romance’ Heidi Swain, bestselling author of The Cherry Tree Café

The snow is falling around Brides by the Sea, Cornwall’s cutest little wedding shop, and wedding dress designer Seraphina East is in her cosy studio designing exquisite dresses to make even the most demanding bride’s dreams come true.

Unless the bride is her big sister Alice of course. Saying that the two sisters don’t always see eye to eye is an understatement. Alice hasn’t even asked Sera to design her wedding dress. But when an absent groom and ill-fitting dress threaten to ruin Alice’s happiness let alone her big day, Sera’s determined to give her sister the winter wedding of her dreams – even if that means keeping not one but two irresistibly gorgeous best men under control…

Is Sera going to end up being the maid of dishonour…Or will repairing her frozen relationship with Alice be the icing on the wedding cake?

There’s sequins, snowflakes, and plenty of romance in this gorgeous love story. The perfect romance to curl up by the fire with this Christmas! Perfect for fans of Carole Matthews and Milly Johnson.

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RAMBLE BELOW

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STOP NOW IF YOU'RE ONLY 

HERE FOR THE TEASING

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I absolutely adored the first Jane Linfoot book set at Brides by the Sea, Cupcakes & Confetti. In fact, I adored it so much so that I teased and rambled about it twice (here and here)! I had even pre-ordered the sequel, Sequins & Snowflakes, but I'm quite lucky and incredibly spoiled in that Jane sent me an advanced read so I wouldn't have to wait as long. 

I really wasn't expecting to love it as much as I did Cupcakes & Confetti but, as it turns out, I may even have loved it a wee bit more!

This time the main focus is on Sera -- the shop's gown designer. She appeared a little bit in passing in the first story so I was already aware of her scattered beach bumness. She's in a bit of a design funk, but has other things to occupy her mind during the holidays. Her sister, Alice, is pretty much the exact opposite in finesse and demeanor and is planning a huge complicated wedding nearby. When Alice gets delayed with work for a few days, she puts Sera in charge of a great deal of the preparations -- with help from her ginormous book of plans and two best men.

Of course, things never work out exactly as planned in spite of big binders of plans. We're left wondering quite a lot of things for a bit:

* Will Sera get her creative groove back?

I'm a beachy girl, and that's where I do my best work. The designs flow much more easily when I'm flat out on the sand. Add in the crippling worry that I'm never going to be good enough again after designing for a celebrity, and I haven't been able to draw a thing. (4%) 

* Will Alice drive Sera and everyone else completely crazy with her demands and moods before the wedding? 

Seriously. The girl is a bit hard to stomach at times:

She sticks out her chin and glares at me. 'If you're going to turn up looking like a beach bunny who lost the wave, I'm going to have to uninvite you.'

'For  fuck's sake, Alice.' What's the obsession with beach bunnies? (36%)

(And that's one of her milder moments!)

*Will there even be a wedding?

'Some days I feel like the wedding is bigger than the relationship. As the wedding grew, it strangled the love. Like I'm marrying a stranger.' (50%)

Then, of course, is probably my favorite wonder of them all:

* Would either best man be the best man for determined-to-stay-single Sera? 

  Best Man 1?

As I close my eyes and lean into his body, suddenly in my head we're running along the shoreline, hand in hand. Jeez. I can't quite believe I'm thinking this. But the more I try to blank it, the worse it gets. We're muffled against the cold, in matching scarfs, dodging frothing breakers as they roll up the beach. Really? (39%) 

Or Best Man 2?

One second we'll be chatting about something completely innocuous, the next it's toxic. Sentences begin by being cosy and safe and then move somewhere excrutiatingly uncomfortable. And all without warning. (45%)

I know ... it seems like it's definitely Best Man 1, right? Well ... Best Man 2 and our dear Sera have a long history and there are times when rekindling what once was doesn't seem like the worst idea ever had ... but I'll let you fill all of that in for yourself when you read the book. I've given myself a five quote pre-50% limit (not counting the meme, of course). Anything beyond that is up to you!

It's not necessary to have read Cupcakes & Confetti before reading Sequins & Snowflakes, but I highly suggest that you do. Not only will you get an introduction to Sera, but little bits and various characters will make so much more sense if you do -- like the history behind Daisy Hill Farms, Poppy and Rafe, Immie and Chas, Jess and Henrietta. It's nice having all of them involved again and seeing how things have changed for various ones between the two books. I'm already going a bit crazy wondering who we'll see the most of in the third book and I'm definitely going a bit crazy knowing that Goodreads says it's not due out until July!

The Ill-Kept Oath by CC Aune (Tuesday Intros & Teaser Tuesday)

"First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros" is the first paragraph (or two) of a book being read now or in the future and is hosted by Bibliophile by the Sea. "Teaser Tuesday" from Books and a Beat asks for a random line or two from anywhere in the book currently being read.

Amazon Description

Two cousins. A dark family secret. A looming rebellion. 
In Regency England, a mysterious inheritance draws Prudence Fairfeather and Lady Josephine Weston out of candlelit ballrooms and into the shadows of insurrection.A newcomer to London society, Prudence longs for the enchantment of love and instead finds real magic in her late mother's ring. But power brings peril, and strange mishaps culminate in an assassin's bullet. Ensnared by the web of a malevolent socialite, Prudence forsakes romance to fight for her freedom.
Josephine fears an eternity of confined country life until rampaging trolls, a gang of drunken vigilantes, and a flirtatious officer bring her all the adventure she craves. Compelled by birthright to take up arms, she embraces her newfound, unladylike abilities to shield her loved ones from harm.
As danger drives a wedge through their friendship, Josephine and Prudence must face their magical legacy and the enemy who will kill to control them.

To say that I loved this book would likely be one of the greatest understatements that I have ever made. I've tried and tried to figure out how to best describe this vibrantly told tale. A Supernatural Bodice-Ripper comes close, although the bodices are ripped mostly in acts of adventure rather than passion. It's like if the Winchester boys met Jane Austen's heroines ... though I have yet to decide if Josephine and Prudence are more Bennet girls or Catherine and Isabella from Northanger Abbey. The Bennet's certainly have the swordplay down (at least as far as Pride & Prejudice vs Zombies would go) but the personalities feel more like my favorite Northanger girls to me so we'll stick with that. I keep picturing Josephine (by far my favorite character -- and also a fan of Northanger Abbey) to be the spitting image of Carey Mulligan (by far one of my favorite actresses ... who, actually, has played a Bennet sister AND Isabella ... hrmph.)

I ramble. I know. It's just so ... ERGH.

But not "ergh" in a dreadful way. It's "ergh" in that there's so much going on in my mind over The Ill-Kept Oath that I feel like I could burst ... and yet I don't seem to be able to put two coherent sentences together because it's all spilling together with one bit toppling over the next.

I could go on and on about how seamlessly the story is put together. Even though the two are separated for the vast majority of the book you never once doubt the bond between Prudence and Josephine thanks to their frequent correspondence. They share everything with each other, including the secret Inheritance passed down from their departed mothers. It's a magical connection -- figuratively and literally. Unfortunately, the literal magic is seldom touched upon until the last quarter or so of the book and I hope beyond hope that this will be rectified in future books. Of course, had this been mostly about the magic with little development of our girls and their potential suitors (it is the Season, after all), I would have been dismayed and hoped for rectification of that.

I'm so difficult sometimes.

What wasn't difficult, however, was losing myself in the pages of the England that CC Aune created and I can't wait until I can do it again!

[Huge thanks to Wise Ink Creative Publishing for making this available through NetGalley!]

Death By Pumpkin Spice by Alex Erickson (Book Beginnings & Friday 56)

Friday 56 (share from the 56th page or 56% mark) is hosted at Freda's Voice (today 56%) 
& Book Beginnings (share the first few sentences) is at Rose City Reader

Amazon Description Bookstore café owner Krissy Hancock would rather spend Halloween serving pumpkin goodies than wearing costumes with Pine Hills’ wealthiest at Yarborough mansion, especially when the soiree shapes up to be more trick than treat . . .
 
As if a run-in with an old flame and a failed marriage proposal weren’t enough to horrify Krissy for one night, a woman is found strangled to death in a room filled with ominous jack-o’-lanterns. All signs suggest a crime of passion—but when the hostess’s jewelry disappears, malevolent intentions seem way more likely . . .
 
With the estate on lockdown and a killer roaming the halls, Krissy must help Officer Paul Dalton investigate each nook, cranny, and guest for answers—while also confronting a few demons of her own. Someone has lots of skeletons in the closet, and Krissy better tread lightly to expose them . . .

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Oh Krissy, Krissy, Krissy.

I still can't decide if I adore you or want to swat at you like a gnat ... but I don't seem to be able to stop requesting your stories whenever they pop up on NetGalley.

I flew through the first one, Death by Coffee, and saw some definite promise. I flew through the second one, Death by Tea, as well and wanted to smack you upside the head repeatedly.  The positive sides for that one were that it did fly by quickly and you were called out on your annoyances by other characters at least a couple of times. Somehow by the time Death by Pumpkin Spice takes place most everyone seems to think it's perfectly normal and quite adorable of you to be playing Sherlock (while in a Sherlock Holmes Halloween costume, of course) and, for some reason, I still want to swat at you. 

I really wish that I could pinpoint what it is that I find so irritating. It can't just be the amateur sleuthiness since that's pretty much standard in cozy mysteries and it's one of my favorite genres. Maybe it's the way that you're always putting yourself down over one thing or another just to have anyone within earshot immediately start singing your praises. I know people like that. I don't like people who need constant coddling and you get coddled a lot.

(Thank goodness Buchanan finally made an appearance half way through! He doesn't like you much, either.)

So, dear reader, now that we've covered my little predicament with the main character (who's probably off crying to someone about how horrible she is now that I've been so mean), let's talk a little bit more about the book.

I loved the descriptions of the estate and the party guests. I could picture the spooky decor perfectly and could almost smell the pumpkin treats at the refreshment tables. The mystery, once again, was a little predictable for me but with enough twists to keep it interesting. Now, if we could just replace Krissy with .... hmmmm .... her gay neighbors? One of the nosy old gossipy women? Someone? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller? 

(sorry ... I got carried away there)

There's a fourth book for the series set to come out in May. Part of me is yelling "run away! run away!" and another part wants to give Krissy one more chance to redeem herself because according to the description already up for it on Goodreads her father will be coming to town and I've been pretty curious about him since the beginning...

Rambling About.. Take A Chance On Me by Carol Wyer

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Back in February I had read (and absolutely loved) Carol Wyer's Life Swap and she's back again with the oh-so-fabulous Take A Chance On Me! It's being released on September 23rd so if you go and pre-order it now it should be all ready for you when you wake up Friday morning!

This is the story of Charlie Blundell. She's almost 40, her daughter would have turned 18 this year had she not died five years prior, her marriage had fallen apart shortly thereafter and her ex is now remarried and expecting a new baby, her mother died soon after her divorce, and in spite of staying constantly busy with volunteering and dj-ing at the hospital radio station and working at an Art Cafe, she hasn't really been living.

On New Year's Eve her best friend, Mercedes, convinces her to write up a Carpe Diem list for the year and then tells her that the two are going to fulfill the other's lists. Mercedes is wheelchair-bound and has lots of things on her list that she can't do because of it so she's having Charlie be her legs. As an added bonus, the list Mercedes has come up with is destined to shake up Charlie's life and bust her out of the shell she's been living in for the past five years.

I absolutely adore Charlie and her friends -- old and new. Mercedes, of course, is an absolute favorite along with Charlie's elderly neighbor Peggy and her parrot Bert. (It almost makes me want to break my "no, we are absolutely NOT getting a pet bird" ruling for the house!) And the girls from her belly dancing class? I can totally see myself bonding with them over big-bellied shimmies (and pig squeals)! They're all a wonderful support system for her (and vice-versa) and although she's initially hesitant about most of the things that Mercedes has put on her list, she ends up embracing them and taking on even more challenges.

Of course, probably the biggest challenge of all is to find love again -- in spite of the persistent knob from her past who won't leave her alone and the gorgeous mystery man who keeps popping up at the most embarrassing moments.

So much laughter and love and, yes, a tear or two (or fifteen ... ) make this story glorious. I'd probably be able to ooh and aah and ramble more, but I really don't want to give too much of the awesomeness away. Besides, I have to go see about buying a kazoo and I'm pretty sure you have to go order this book!

The Book Club Murders by Leslie Nagel (Tuesday Intros & Teaser Tuesday)

It's Tuesday again so time for another round of linking up to Tuesday Intros & Teaser Tuesday! "First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros" is the first paragraph (or two) of a book being read now or in the future and is hosted by Bibliophile by the Sea. "Teaser Tuesday" from Books and a Beat asks for a random line or two from anywhere in the book currently being read.

***Text from Uncorrected Proof provided by the publisher via NetGalley for review -- final version may differ***

Amazon Description

In a charming cozy mystery series debut, Leslie Nagel’s irrepressible small-town heroine finds that her fellow mystery book club members may be taking their Agatha Christie a bit too literally—and murder a bit too lightly.

Charley Carpenter has poured heart and soul into her clothing store, Old Hat Vintage Fashions. She’ll do anything to make it a success—even join the stuffy Agathas Book Club in order to cultivate customers among the wealthy elite of Oakwood, Ohio.

Although mixing with the most influential women in town has its advantages, Charley finds the endless gossip a high price to pay. But after two women with close ties to the Agathas are brutally murdered, everyone falls under threat—and suspicion. When key evidence indicates that both murders are the work of the same hand, Charley realizes that the killer has arranged each corpse in perfect imitation of crime scenes from the Club’s murder mystery reading list. She uses her membership in the Club to convince Detective Marcus Trenault to use her as an inside informant. Not that he could stop her anyway.

Intelligent, fearless, and every bit as stubborn as Marc is, Charley soon learns the Agathas aren’t the only ones with secrets to protect. Passions explode as she and Marc must race against time to prevent another murder. And if Charley’s not careful, she may find herself becoming the killer’s next plot twist.

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I was hooked from the very beginning. By the time I hit the 20% mark I was ready to declare this a favorite series. By 67% I had come to the conclusion that Leslie Nagel is absofreakinlutely brilliant. By the end I was praying that Nagel is a fast writer so I don't have to wait too long for the next book!

This has so many elements that I love in a cozy: a quirky lead heroine, a rough-around-the-edges romantic interest, comic relief, heartfelt "awwwww" moments, a good mystery with enough twists and turns to keep me guessing, and added bonus points for the tie-ins to other phenomenal mysteries that have come before. It's all woven together brilliantly and it's so hard for me to narrow down which part of any of it I enjoyed the most.

Charley is stubborn and fearless and yet absolutely terrified of so much -- failure, emotions, something else happening to her dad, etc. She owns a vintage clothing store in Oakwood, Ohio, and lives with her father and his full-time caretaker, Lawrence. Her father has had three strokes and had partial paralysis and speech issues, but is absolutely darling and the three of them make a delightful family grouping. Her extended family of choice also includes her best friends Dmitri and Frankie. She and Frankie have been joined at the hip since they were young and Frankie is how Charley first becomes involved with the Agathas -- the center of our mystery.

Dmitri and Frankie crack me up repeatedly but I think that my loudest guffaws came courtesy of Marc's partner, Paul Brixton. We don't see an awful lot of him, but when we do he tends to light up the page and often puts Marc to rights about life in general (and Charley specifically) referring to him as Grasshopper. 

Oh, Marc. Manly. Damaged. Protective. Hot. It took a while to break him down, but once he was I absolutely knew why Charley had been crushing on him since high school.

As for the mystery itself, well, I won't say much. The description above lays out the basics of it well and the nitty gritty awesomeness you just have to read for yourself. Luckily, you don't have to wait for long to do so since the book will be released by Alibi on September 27th.

Christmas Under a Cranberry Sky by Holly Martin (Book Beginnings & Friday 56)

Friday 56 (share from the 56th page or 56% mark) is hosted at Freda's Voice (today pg 56 of the epub) 
& Book Beginnings (share the first few sentences) is at Rose City Reader

Amazon Description

This year spend a wonderful Christmas on Juniper Island, where love can melt even the iciest of hearts… 

Piper Chesterfield lives a glamorous life travelling the world and reviewing the finest hotels. She calls nowhere home, she works alone and that’s how she likes it. For long ago Piper decided that to protect her heart she should lock it away. 

So when Piper’s next assignment brings her to the newly opened Stardust Lake Hotel for the festive season, the last person she expects to face is Gabe Whitaker, the man who broke her heart so completely she could never love again. 

But Piper isn’t the only one who has been frozen in time by heartbreak. Gabe hasn’t forgotten the golden-eyed girl who disappeared from his world without a trace. 

Now fate has reunited them on Juniper island, can the magic of Christmas heal old wounds? And can this enchanting town be the one place Piper can finally call home? 

Curl up with this gorgeously romantic tale and let the glistening snow and the roaring fires of Stardust Lake Hotel get you in the festive spirit this Christmas. 

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I can't help the fact that I freaking adore Christmas. I could likely read at least one or two Christmas books a week for the entire year (before into taking into consideration any new releases) and then you would never get a break from my Holly Jolly Ho-Ho-Ho-Happiness. 

Hmmmmm .... Holly Jolly .... Holly Martin ....

I'm beginning to think that the "Holly" is not a mere coincidence.

I don't know if "Holly Martin" is a pen name or her actual legal name but it doesn't rightly matter -- either way, Holly was destined to write feel-good Christmas romances and Christmas Under a Cranberry Sky definitely fits that description. Of course, it's not all mistletoe, hot cocoa and peppermint sticks 

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because it's far more realistic than that (in spite of the gang of Shetland ponies that terrorize the community ... I find them to be a little far-fetched). It's a story of looking back and moving forward and embracing the magic of the season.

I'm not quite done with it yet but so far I'm loving this book. In spite of their flaws (and oh man oh man do they have some), I can't help but root for Piper and Gabe .... and, as part of the package deal, Gabe's adorable 4-year-old Frozen-obsessed daughter, Wren. The setting of the town called Christmas on Juniper Island sounds like a dream come true and, unless you're new around here, you already know that I love books based in and around hotels. I'm super-excited that I already have the next one in the series waiting for me and that it features the hotel's manager, Gabe's sister, Neve. She annoyed me a bit at first, but I've grown to adore her as the pages have scrolled by. (Hopefully the third book will feature their brother Luke. I need to know more about him!)

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The book is being released on September 22nd and once again I thank Bookouture for letting me read early via NetGalley. I sometimes wonder if every time they see that I've requested yet another one of their books if they just shake their heads and roll their eyes.

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Really, though, I typically imagine it to be much more like ....

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(No ... not REALLY really ... I've just been waiting for a good excuse to use the gif)

Rambling About.. Life in the Dead Lane by Lucy Quinn

Amazon Description

All Cookie James, FBI agent and Innkeeper extraordinaire, wants is a romantic date with her hot handy man… but what she gets is a corpse presented with a big red bow. 

When she and Dylan discover a boat with a dead body, not only is her picnic ruined, but a woman from Dylan’s past returns to the island. The famous rock star appears to want a comeback tour with her former bodyguard. But Cookie doesn’t have time to worry about that, because her oh-so-sexy ex-FBI partner has arrived, too. And he’s ready to make a little music of his own. 

With an entangled love life, too much manscaping, and a songbird in trouble, it’s once again Cookie’s job to wrap up another murder.

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I needed something light and easy after the last book that I had read completely tore me to shreds emotionally. As luck would have it, I was offered a copy of the second Secret Seal Isle Mysteries book just as that other book was finishing. What better to lighten the mood than death and murder? (I never said I was normal.)

So we're back with Cookie, her hippie mom Rain, hunky handyman Dylan and the rest of the Secret Seal community we got to know in the first book. Cookie and Dylan are heading out for a picnic date on a secluded island when they come across an abandoned ship -- although it's not totally abandoned as the owner is on deck -- naked and dead. Great way to start a date, huh? Of course, the deceased's sister pops up and is a gorgeous pop star who has a history with Dylan ... and then Cookie's former FBI partner, Hunter, ALSO shows up.

Awkward gets more awkward gets "omigosh just give Cookie a break already" awkward.

Poor girl is constantly trying to keep her mom and her hippie friends under control (and clothed), figure out what's going on with the men in her life, AND solve murders while also hiding out from a big baddie and his goons.

Exactly the light-hearted break that I needed!

Once again the duo that makes up Lucy Quinn has created a fun story with humor, twists, turns, and a mystery that keeps the pages turning. 

Wendy Darling: Volume 2: Seas by Colleen Oakes (Tuesday Intros & Teaser Tuesday)

"First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros" is the first paragraph (or two) of a book being read now or in the future and is hosted by Bibliophile by the Sea. "Teaser Tuesday" from Books and a Beat asks for a random line or two from anywhere in the book currently being read.

This is volume 2 of Colleen Oakes' Wendy Darling. The first volume, Stars, beat the emotional crap out of me a year ago. When I saw that this was finally coming out September 20th and was on NetGalley so I wouldn't have to wait so long? Call me a martyr, I jumped on it.

Sunday morning I started it. Monday night I finished it and I almost felt sorry for the guy who sat next to me on the bus on my way to work. I only had a couple of chapters left when he sat down and I may have been doing a bit of ugly crying ... and he may have been in fear of me using his shirtsleeve as a handkerchief. He tried to ask if I was okay at one point, but I muttered something about pirates and may have threatened to stick a cannon somewhere uncomfortable if he didn't let me read in peace.

If I thought that Stars had beaten me, then Seas has totally destroyed me (and almost some innocent bystanders, too, in the process).

I need to take at least a day off before I even think about reading something more substantial than one of John's Wimpy Kid books. I'm a wreck. I'm a hot mess. I'm struggling just to get by knowing that I'll likely have to wait yet another year to find out what the heck is going on.

Reading With John : The Adventurer's Guide to Successful Escapes by Wade Albert White

A new school year is upon us and so is a new installment of Reading With John! It was a long summer with very little reading done that didn't involve re-reads of Wimpy Kid books and lots of comics ... but as the start of school started to get closer I nabbed a couple of books on NetGalley from him that I thought looked good. The first he picked was Wade Albert White's The Adventurer's Guide to Successful Escapes, which is set to be released on September 13th.

He's a bit out of practice with writing neatly and completely -- he said a lot more about the book than he wrote -- but here's his "review" sheet:

Title: The Adventurer's Guide to Successful Escapes
Author: Wade Albert White
Year Published: 2016
# of Pages: 384
Stars: 4 1/2
Main Setting (Time/Place): Future/Tiers
Main Characters: Anne, Penelope, Hiro, Matron Jocelyn, Jeffrey, Nana, Rokk ("The picture is of Rokk since he's my favorite" - John)
What Happened In The Story: First Jocelyn gives Anne a gauntlet and Ann activates a quest. ("Really, first they were in the orphanage at Saint Lupin's and it was horrible. I didn't really like that part. I felt bad for them." - John) Then, Anne, Penelope and Hiro go to the tower with no door. Next, they meet Rokk. Lastly, Saint Lupin's is turned into an Academy.
Why Did You Give It The Rating You Did? Why I gave 4 1/2 stars if both Shard's and Matron's deaths because they were distrubing. [Also] the ending with Oswald was just weird.

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It was a fun book for the most part -- in spite of John being confused at the end and freaked out so much by the "black smoke stuff" that he took half of a star off. He's already looking forward to the next book in the series so he can see his new book friends again, though, so that half of a star obviously isn't very detrimental in the grand scheme of things.

Vivian Conroy's A Proposal to Die For (Book Beginnings & Friday 56)

Friday 56 (share from the 56th page or 56% mark) is hosted at Freda's Voice (today 56% on the Kindle app) 
& Book Beginnings (share the first few sentences) is at Rose City Reader

Amazon Description

With her father away in India, Lady Alkmene Callender finds being left to her own devices in London intolerably dull, until the glamorous Broadway star Evelyn Steinbeck arrives in town! Gossip abounds about the New York socialite, but when Ms Steinbeck’s wealthy uncle, Silas Norwhich, is found dead Lady Alkmene finds her interest is piqued. Because this death sounds a lot to her like murder…
Desperate to uncover the truth, Lady Alkmene begins to look into Ms Steinbeck’s past – only to be hampered by the arrival of journalist, Jake Dubois – who believes she is merely an amateur lady-detective meddling in matters she knows nothing about!
But Lady Alkmene refuses to be deterred from the case and together they dig deeper, only to discover that some secrets should never come to light…

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I wasn't sure when I first saw this on NetGalley if I was going to request it. After all, how many mystery series do I really need to be reading set in the 1920s? Obviously, more than I was. This is the first of a series of at least three books and I'm already hoping for more! Alkmene has just the right amount of fun and spunk and Jake has just the right amount of hunky gruffness. It's a fairly short read, but has the quality that makes up for the quantity ... and sometimes the shorter books are the perfect books for otherwise potentially dreadful computerless shifts at work. 

Recipe for Love by Katie Fforde (Tuesday Intros & Teaser Tuesday)

"First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros" is the first paragraph (or two) of a book being read now or in the future and is hosted by Bibliophile by the Sea. "Teaser Tuesday" from Books and a Beat asks for a random line or two from anywhere in the book currently being read.

Amazon Description

When Zoe Harper wins a coveted place in a televised cookery competition she's thrilled. It's a chance to cook her way to fame and fortune and the little delicatessen she's set her heart on.
The first task has hardly begun when she finds herself with rather too much on her plate. Not only has she got to contend with the fiercely competitive and downright devious Cher, but she's fast developing an inconvenient crush on one of the judges - the truly delicious Gideon Irving.
All too soon there's more than canapés, cupcakes and cordon bleu at stake. Will Zoe win the competition or is Gideon one temptation too far? And is Zoe really prepared to risk it all for love? 

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As of right now I'm only 16% in to this gem of a book and I already know that it's the kind of book I need someone at Hallmark Channel to fall in love with and decide to make into a movie. It's absolutely delicious! It was originally published in the UK in 2012 but those geniuses at Bookouture are doing a U.S release on September 14th and I was fortunate enough to nab a copy on NetGalley. If you love cooking competitions a la MasterChef and romance you'll love this book. (At least the first 16% of it. I doubt my opinion of it will go down over the remaining 84%, though!)

Christmas at the Little Village Bakery by Tilly Tennant (Book Beginnings & Friday 56)

What would be better than finishing up the #20BooksOfSummer list with a .... Christmas book???

I know, I know. I had several already this summer but tis the season for publishers to be getting a jump start on releasing books for the actual season and I was lucky enough to receive this one from the awesome folks at Bookouture on NetGalley. I adored the first book in the series and I adore Christmas-y books so I was extra-special giddy when I found out that this was coming out.

I haven't gotten more than a couple of pages into it yet but from the 56% quote matched with the description below I'm already worried about what might be going on. The cover says it's "a feel good festive romance," though, so I'm holding out hope for a happy ending!

Friday 56 (share from the 56th page or 56% mark) is hosted at Freda's Voice (today 56% on the Kindle app) 
& Book Beginnings (share the first few sentences) is at Rose City Reader

Amazon Description

It’s time to get toasty by the fire with a glass of mulled wine and a slice of chocolate yule log sprinkled with a little romance. Welcome to Christmas at the Little Village Bakery.
Snow is falling in Honeybourne and Spencer is bringing home his American fiancée Tori for a traditional English Christmas with all the trimmings. But when his hippie mum and dad meet her high-maintenance parents, sparks of the wrong sort start to fly. Then Spencer bumps into his first loveJasmine and unexpected feelings come flooding back.
Millie is run off her feet with Christmas orders at the Little Village Bakery and new baby Oscar. Thank goodness her cousin Darcie is here to help her. Although she does seem to be rather flirty with Millie’s boyfriend Dylan.
Will Darcie ever find true love of her own? And is marrying Tori a terrible mistake for Spencer if his heart is with someone else?