Hopeful Hearts at the Cornish Cove by Kim Nash (Book Beginnings & Friday 56)

 

Title: Hopeful Hearts at the Cornish Cove

Author: Kim Nash

Publication: 30 March 2023

Format: Kindle eARC via NetGalley & Boldwood

Amazon Description: 

Meredith's life is at a standstill. She's stuck in a dead-end job, approaching fifty, and her dating life is a string of disasters. But one evening, while browsing the internet, she sees an ad for a lighthouse, and in a moment of impulsiveness, she makes a ridiculous bid for it.

With the help of local handyman Clem, she sets about renovating. And as they work together, a bond begins to form. But when Meredith finds out that Clem is keeping a secret from her, it changes everything. Will they find a way to build something more meaningful together?

A delightful story about community, friendship and having the courage to start over, perfect for fans of Carole Matthews, Milly Johnson and Lucy Dillon

Ramble-y Teaserish Stuff

I have adored Kim Nash since before she even became Kim Nash - Romance Novelist Extraordinaire. She's beginning to scare the ever-livin' out of me, though. My first real post of the year was a two-fer of her Muddleford Cove books. There was much ugly crying and multiple boxes of tissues and snotty sweater (or jumper, depending on which side of the pond you're on) sleeves ... and pure joy to be had.

I think after this one Kim probably owes me a new sweater/jumper ... or I need to find a way to AirMail some G&T across the Atlantic as thank for once again coming to the rescue of my repeatedly shattered being. Please please please tell me this won't be a one-and-done.

 

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Friday 56 (share a blurb from the 56th page or 56% mark) is hosted at Freda's Voice 

& Book Beginnings (share the first few sentences) is at Rose City Reader

 

The Moonshine Shack Murder by Diane Kelly (Tuesday Intros and Teaser Tuesday)

  

Title: The Moonshine Shack Murder

Author: Diane Kelly

Publication: 6 July 2021

Format: Kindle ebook

Amazon Description

In this intoxicating new cozy mystery series, the future for modern-day moonshiner Hattie Hayes looks bright--until death darkens the doorstep of her Moonshine Shack.

The Hayes family has made moonshine in Chattanooga since the days of Prohibition, and Hattie is happy to continue the tradition, serving up fun, fruity flavors in mason jars for locals and tourists alike. All signs indicate her new 'shine shop will be a smashing success. What's more, mounted police officer Marlon Landers has taken a shine to Hattie. For the first time ever, the stars seemed to have aligned in both her work and romantic life. But when a body ends up on her store's doorstep alongside a broken jar of her Firefly Moonshine, it just might be lights out for her fledgling business.

The homicide detective can't seem to identify the person who killed the owner of a nearby bar. The only witness is Hattie's longhaired gray cat, and Smoky isn't talking. When the detective learns that the victim and Hattie had a heated exchange shortly before his murder, she becomes her prime suspect.

Lest Hattie end up behind bars like her bootlegging great-grandfather a century before, she must distill the evidence herself and serve the killer a swift shot of justice.

Ramble-y Teaserish Stuff

I do love a good 'shine (my favorites being blackberry and apple cinnamon), so when I saw the third in this series on NetGalley I had to ask for it .... and then get my hands on the first two. I am so ridiculously behind on my NetGalley reads that I'll probably be denied and have to wait for the third, but I'm okay with that. I've loved this first one so much that I know it'll be worth the wait .... and I do still have to read the second one and find out what happens next with Hattie and crew. The mystery itself wasn't terribly complicated or surprising, but as long as the characters keep being a well-written as they were in this first one, it's a series that I will gladly continue with, mason jar in hand.

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"First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros" is from the first paragraph or two of a book being read now (or in the future) and is hosted by Socrates' Book Reviews. 

"Teaser Tuesday" at The Purple Booker asks for a random line or two from anywhere in the book currently being read.

 

 

 

 

The Love Wager by Lynn Painter (Book Beginnings & Friday 56)

Title: The Love Wager

Author: Lynn Painter

Publication: 14 March 2023

Format: Kindle eARC via NetGalley & Berkley

Amazon Description: 

Hallie Piper is turning over a new leaf. After belly-crawling out of a hotel room (hello, rock bottom), she decides it’s time to become a full-on adult. She gets a new apartment, a new haircut, and a new wardrobe, but when she logs onto the dating app that she has determined will find her new love, she sees none other than Jack, the guy whose room she snuck out of. 

After agreeing they are absolutely not interested in each other, Jack and Hallie realize they’re each other’s perfect wing-person in their searches for The One. They text each other about their dates, often scheduling them at the same restaurant so that if things don’t go well, the two of them can get tacos afterward. 

Spoiler: they get a lot of tacos together. 

Discouraged by the lack of prospects, Jack and Hallie make a wager to see who can find true love first, but when they agree to be fake dates for a weekend wedding, all bets are off. As they pretend to be a couple, lines become blurred and they both struggle to remember why the other was a bad idea to begin with.

Ramble-y Teaserish Stuff

I am still largely on the "romance is bullshit" end of the spectrum and I'm actually surprisingly okay with it ... for me. Then there's Jack and Hallie and you just have to know from the description that they're destined to be together. Watching them figure that out and overcome the obstacle course of online dating other people in the process was an absolute delight -- except, of course, for the times that I thought it was going to rip my heart out.

It was nice seeing Jack's best friend and sister, Colin and Liv. I would highly recommend reading Mr. Wrong Number first to meet the family ... and because it's another phenomenal book.

And now I go back to swiping left and right just in case there's actually a Jack out there.

 

 

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Friday 56 (share a blurb from the 56th page or 56% mark) is hosted at Freda's Voice 

& Book Beginnings (share the first few sentences) is at Rose City Reader

 

Chaos at Carnegie Hall by Kelly Oliver (Tuesday Intros and Teaser Tuesday)

 

Title: Chaos at Carnegie Hall 

Author: Kelly Oliver

Publication: 15 November 2022

Format: Kindle ebook

Amazon Description

Can Fiona catch a killer and find a decent cup of tea before her mustache wax melts?

1917. New York.

Notorious spy, Fredrick Fredricks, has invited Fiona to Carnegie Hall to hear a famous soprano. It’s an opportunity the War Office can’t turn down. Fiona and Clifford are soon on their way, but not before Fiona is saddled with chaperon duties for Captain Hall’s niece. Is Fiona a spy or a glorified babysitter?

From the minute Fiona meets the soprano aboard the RMS Adriatic it’s treble on the high C’s. Fiona sees something—or someone—thrown overboard, and then she overhears a chemist plotting in German with one of her own countrymen!

And the trouble doesn’t stop when they disembark. Soon Fiona is doing time with a group of suffragettes and investigating America’s most impressive inventor Thomas Edison.

When her number one suspect turns up dead at the opera and Fredrick Fredricks is caught red-handed, it looks like it’s finally curtains for the notorious spy.

But all the evidence points to his innocence. Will Fiona change her tune and clear her nemesis’ name? Or will she do her duty? And just what is she going to do with the pesky Kitty Lane? Not to mention swoon-worthy Archie Somersby . . .

If Fiona’s going to come out on top, she’s going to have to make the most difficult decision of her life: the choice between her head and her heart.

Ramble-y Teaserish Stuff

I've been having a hard time really getting into this one. I've been battling a nasty bug/cold/general blahness for a couple of weeks now and that may have something to do with it. After all, I absolutely adored the first three Fiona Figg books and this one I've been reading very VERY slowly for a week already and I'm still not even halfway through.

It's not a bad book. The characters I adored from the first three are all back. Fiona, the incorrigible Clifford, the mysterious Fredrick Fredricks, and the so-called swoon-worthy Archie Somersby .... whom I'm still very much questionable about. There's just something about him that niggles at me and I don't think I trust him.

But wait ... isn't this a "brand new cozy mystery series" like they claim?

No. 

It really isn't. 

 THIS IS NOT A NEW SERIES.

I don't care what they say. If you don't know the background from the first three Fiona Figg books, you'll probably feel like you're missing something.... and you are. Just tossing in "Kitty Lane" doesn't make it a new series .... it makes it a continuation with a new character added to the mix .... one who is currently sitting on the fence with Archie Somersby for me.

Read the others first.

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"First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros" is from the first paragraph or two of a book being read now (or in the future) and is hosted by Socrates' Book Reviews. 

"Teaser Tuesday" at The Purple Booker asks for a random line or two from anywhere in the book currently being read.

 

 

 

 

The Great Big Demon Hunting Agency by Peter Oxley (Tuesday Intros & Teaser Tuesday)

Title: The Great Big Demon Hunting Agency

Author: Peter Oxley

Publication: 2 March 2023

Format: Kindle eARC from NetGalley & Burning Chair Limited

Amazon Description

London, 1868. The streets are haunted by thieves, murderers… and demons from beyond the Aether.

Spencer and Bart are the city’s most incompetent crooks, and they are in deep trouble. Hunted by both police and their fellow criminals, they are forced to consider the unthinkable  — going straight.

Forming The Great Big Demon Hunting Agency, they thought their troubles were behind them, but they soon find themselves caught up in a web far more dangerous than they could ever imagine, pitched against demons, criminals and evil magicians.

Why are there so many demons roaming the London streets, and can Spencer and Bart stop them before it’s too late?

Who are the mysterious Tappers, and what are they doing with the women they abduct from the streets?

Can Spencer and Bart change the habits of a lifetime and not only stay on the right side of the law, but also save the day?

The Great Big Demon Hunting Agency is the new novel from Peter Oxley, the author of the Infernal Aether series. If you like dark gothic adventures with a light-hearted twist, then you’ll love The Great Big Demon Hunting Agency.

Ramble-y Teaserish Stuff

I have had almost ridiculously good luck lately with my book picks. Since the beginning of the year, there have only been four that I was just kind of "eh" about ... and only three that ended up firmly on the DNFWNEFYCMMF* pile. 

 

The Great Big Demon Hunting Agency is most definitely not going on that pile. It feels almost like Gail Carriger, Christopher Moore, and Derek Landy had a great big lovefest with the spirit of Terry Pratchett and the end result was somehow Peter Oxley. [Hey. It's Alternate Universe Land. It could happen.]

It has humor, snark, magic, mystery, snark, demons, snark, and monsters (not necessarily the same as demons, after all)... oh, and a bit of snark.

There was not a soul in London not in fear of these new monsters. Even the demons feared them, went out in pairs for their own protection. 

This new menace. Even their name sent a shiver down the spine. 

The Tappers.

And it all takes place in an alternate Victorian London.

London was never quiet. It was the noisiest hell-pit on Earth; a wonderful, chaotic, messy, beautiful sea of humanity.

I think by now you probably know how very much I adore snark and Victorian London -- alternative or otherwise. I still wasn't expecting to adore this book as much as I have and I am so hoping that there will be many more installments to come. I know that it's related to Oxley's Infernal Aether series, which I have yet to read, but I really just want more Spencer and Bart and I'm not sure how prominently they may be in those ... if at all. [I would, of course, be more than willing to find out if someone wants to gift me the box set or something.] 

 

From the first time we meet our dynamic fearless fearsome main duo in The Great Big Demon Hunting Agency, I knew they were my type of guys and that this was going to be one for the potential future re-read pile.

 “Mornin’, Dicky,” grinned Spencer, a short, scrawny man with a face like a weasel and a voice to match. “Been a while. Mind if we have a chat? Didn’t think so. Bart, help Dicky to his feet.” 

Dicky tried to back away as Bart’s lumbering bulk lent down over him. His vision was filled with the man’s excessively hairy body and completely smooth head as two hands the size of shovels grabbed him by the shoulders and hauled him—surprisingly gently—to his feet.

I know. 

 

I cheat. 

 

I throw in more blips and blurbs than necessary but sometimes it's just needed and it's not like there's some sort of blog police out there. If there was, I would just hide behind Bart. Besides, all those blips and blurbs happen in the first two chapters so it's just a realllllly extended Tuesday Intro .... or something. I'm sure Spencer would be able to come up with the right words to convince you. If not, I'm sure Bart would find a way.

 

* = did not finish - will not ever finish - you can't make me finish

 

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"First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros" is from the first paragraph or two of a book being read now (or in the future) and is hosted by Socrates' Book Reviews. 

"Teaser Tuesday" at The Purple Booker asks for a random line or two from anywhere in the book currently being read.

 

 

 

 

I'll Sleep When I've Read... A Geek Girl's Guide to Murder by Julie Anne Lindsey

Title: A Geek Girl's Guide to Murder

Author: Julie Anne Lindsey

Publication: 1 February 2021

Format: paperback

Amazon Description: 

IT manager Mia Connors is up to her tortoiseshell glasses in technical drama when a glitch in the Horseshoe Falls email system disrupts security and sends errant messages to residents of the gated community. Mia doesn't have time to hunt down a computer hacker. Her best friend has disappeared, and she finds another of her friends murdered—in her office. Then the hunky new head of Horseshoe Falls security identifies Mia as the prime suspect. 

Eager to clear her name, Mia moves into action to locate her missing buddy and find out who killed their friend. But her quick tongue gets her into trouble with more than the new head of security. When Mia begins receiving threats, the killer makes it clear that he's closer than she ever imagined.

Ramble-y Teaserish Stuff

I shared the beginning and a blip from page 56 of the paperback on Friday ... by Saturday evening I was cursing and praising Julie Anne Lindsey for bringing such amazing characters into my life ... and leaving the book in a way that is only acceptable because the rest of the Geek Girl's Guide trilogy is already available. [Geeks love trilogies, by the way. It's just the way it is.] Mia is so much like me in so many ways that it really didn't surprise me when I ended up with four pages of my blog notebook filled with quotes -- with even more highlighted in the digital version that had to also be obtained so I could continue to read even when the lights were off.

I understood her. I felt her. Aside from the family, age, bank account, and murder, I was her. My wardrobe is almost equal parts nerdy fandom shirts and cute girly-girl dresses (I prefer Mary Janes to Mia's stilettos, though). I never ever willingly go anywhere beyond the corner store without my tablet, my smart phone, and a book (not counting the hundreds of digital books on various clouds). I have serious social anxiety issues but get along remarkably well with just about everyone I have to deal with for work. I have little clue and little success when it comes to 90% or more of the members of the opposite sex. Hipsters make me cringe.

Mia Connors is my girl and Nate reminds me so very much of my beloved Ben -- one of my dearest friends who sadly passed a couple of years ago. I kept picturing us as Mia and Nate ... without Mia's Jimmy Choos and flowing Guinevere hair (I tend to stick with the pixie cut Ben insisted was my "bestest"). I regret that we never got to solve any actual mysteries together. We would have been epic.

As for the mystery and storyline, there were so many pieces that it kept me guessing as to how they would all fit together. Seeing how it all worked together was brilliant and stressful and awe-inspiring and a little bit anxiety-inducing. At one point, the oh-so-confusing security guard Jake told Mia that he was surprised that she was good at her part of the investigations going on. She replied with "well, I like a challenge, so this has been fun." It was fun for me, as well, and I look forward to getting my hands on the next two books. 

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If you want to share whatever has kept you up past your bedtime because you just needed one more chapter ... or the entire book ... please comment! My TBR pile is already toppling, but I can always add more.

A Geek Girl's Guide to Murder by Julie Anne Lindsey (Book Beginnings & Friday 56)

 

Title: A Geek Girl's Guide to Murder

Author: Julie Anne Lindsey

Publication: 1 February 2021

Format: paperback

Amazon Description: 

IT manager Mia Connors is up to her tortoiseshell glasses in technical drama when a glitch in the Horseshoe Falls email system disrupts security and sends errant messages to residents of the gated community. Mia doesn't have time to hunt down a computer hacker. Her best friend has disappeared, and she finds another of her friends murdered—in her office. Then the hunky new head of Horseshoe Falls security identifies Mia as the prime suspect. 

Eager to clear her name, Mia moves into action to locate her missing buddy and find out who killed their friend. But her quick tongue gets her into trouble with more than the new head of security. When Mia begins receiving threats, the killer makes it clear that he's closer than she ever imagined.

Ramble-y Teaserish Stuff

I got myself a paperback off Amazon in December after discovering that Julie Anne Lindsey is also Jacqueline Frost. Of course, then life got messy and then messier and I couldn't remember where I placed the book and .... you know how it is. I've still only just started it because of various distractions during my work shift, but I wanted to have something to share today and this just felt right. Hopefully I'll have enough done for a proper post in a couple days. I think it might end up being a good one for an I'll Sleep When I've Read... post.

 

 

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Friday 56 (share a blurb from the 56th page or 56% mark) is hosted at Freda's Voice 

& Book Beginnings (share the first few sentences) is at Rose City Reader