Tag: holiday theme cozy

Knit of the Living Dead by Peggy Ehrhart

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Book 6 of the Knit and Nibble Cozy Mystery Series

Knit of the Living Dead (A Knit & Nibble Mystery #6) 4 STARS

I highly recommend this series for crafters, wanna be crafters, cozy lovers, and lovers of small town mysteries.

Knit and Nibble is one of my top series, mainly for the close “knit” group (pun intended). I love the community and the knitting group. I love for small town life; however, I could do without the murders.

In this installment, its Halloween. I adore Fall themed cozies. Pamela and Bettina joined by Nel this go around, use their sleuthing skills to get to the bottom of murders, yes that is plural.

I did thoroughly enjoy this book, but it was not one of the stand outs in this series for me. I was hoping for more Fall for one, Penny didn’t come in town, and the murders (not to spoil) were not anyone of importance in my opinion. Maybe its just me as I am totally invested in the series and I know its ending next year, I just wanted more.

Again, this was still a 4 Star Mystery!

I enjoyed the digital version of this book (from Netgalley) as well as the audio version.

An Ale of Two Cities by Sarah Fox

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Book 2 of A Literary Pub Mystery Series
Release Date is 11/26/19

An Ale of Two Cities (Literary Pub Mystery #2) 4.5 STARS

I love Sarah Fox’s Pancake House Mysteries so I had no doubts that I would enjoy this series, and of course I was correct. How much fun would it be to have a literary pub to hang out in?!?!?! Ms. Fox has a great way of making you fall in love with the characters, the town, and the story.

Sadie leaves her life in Boston with her gambling addicted boyfriend and moves to the small town of Shady Creek, Vermont. She’s bought and redecorated the old grist mill pub, transforming the Inkwell into a cozy spot where tourists and regulars alike can enjoy a pint or a literary-themed cocktail, or join one of several book clubs.

After dealing with a murder and a murderer after her in the first installment, she has settled down in her new life in a great town with great people, including her Aunt Gilda, her friend Shontelle, and the handsome brewery owner Grayson.

Its winter in the town of Shady Creek and what better way to celebrate than with a Winter Carnival and ice sculpture contest? Everything is going perfect until one of the contests is found dead. To make matters worse, Mel, one of Sadie’s employees, has had her tools from the competition stolen and it turns out one of them was the murder weapon. With Mel being Suspect #1, Sadie is out to prove her friend’s innocence. Although the police have their eyes set on Mel, it seems everyone in town had a grudge against Freddy, including his assistant, his mentor, his former flame, and even his half-brother.

With the help up Grayson, who has some interesting secrets and sleuthing skills, Sadie is heating up the search for the killer…. and heating up her emotions for Grayson.

A very fast paced read, I didn’t want to stop. I am totally on board with Sadie and the gang and can’t wait to see what the future holds for Sadie and Grayson. I am highly anticipating book 3.
I was humbly awarded an advanced copy of the book, signed by Sarah Fox, as well as a digital copy from Kensington Publishing and NetGalley.

Apple Cider Slaying by Julie Anne Lindsey

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Book One of A Cider Shop Mystery
Release date is 10/28/19

Apple Cider Slaying (A Cider Shop Mystery #1) 5 STARS

Amazing start to what I hope will be a long-lived series!!

Winnie Montgomery was raised by her beloved grandmother and late grandfather, whom own the Smythe Orchard. With the future of the orchard in jeopardy, Winnie wants to do everything she can to save the orchard and continue her family’s legacy. Her goal is to open a Cider Shop and Party Hall to bring in more revenue and to give the small town better options.
All that seems to come crashing down on her and Granny. While showing the investor the property plans, they stumble across the dead body of Granny’s nemesis. It also seems that someone may be sabotaging the orchard. With everything on the line, including clearing Granny’s name, Winnie, her BFF Dot, and Granny’s pals set out to get to the bottom of this. When things start to hit too close to home and their safety becomes an issue, dreamy detective Colton is there for Winnie. Can they solve the crimes before the orchard and family legacy is ruined? There seems to be a lot of secrets in this small town and a lot of players in the game. Can Winnie and friends get to the bottom of it before someone else is hurt, or worse, murdered?

I adored this book so much… the plot, the setting, the characters, EVERYTHING!! I also have a new book crush in Colton!! I am impatiently waiting for the next installment, Pulp Friction, which is set to release April 28, 2020.

I received an advanced physical copy of the book from the amazing and talented Julie Anne Lindsey and Kensington Publishing. I was also awarded a digital copy from NetGalley in return for an honest review.

There are also Cider recipes in the book that I will definitely be trying come the cooler weather.

A Midwinter’s Tail by Bethany Blake

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A Lucky Paws Petsitting Mystery

A Midwinter’s Tail (Lucky Paws Petsitting Mystery #4) 5 STARS

If I could go on a winter holiday, it would be to the pet-friendly Pocono Mountains town of Sylvan Creek. I love everything about the people and the place. The author makes the town seem so warm and inviting, well I mean yeah they have murders, but they are usually targeted. I wouldn’t feel unsafe there lol.

Daphne Templeton is a free-spirited pet sitter, armed only with a Ph.D. in Philosophy and a stubborn Basset Hound, who has become an amateur sleuth.

In this installment of the series, a former classmate and nemesis returns to Sylvan Creek. She plans on opening a big box discount pet store from her chain that she runs. In a town full of small business owners, especially pet shops, everyone is none to happy about this news. When her body is found soon after, the list of suspects seem vast, but someone has an obvious motive. However, it is very obvious that the suspect did not do it. Daphne, working better with Detective Jonathan Black, is hell bent on solving this murder and clearing her friend’s name.

This novel is just oozing with Christmas and Winter Bliss. As cold as it is in Sylvan Creek, relationships are heating up, both human and canine. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. I adore the series but this was my favorite thus far. I am a Christmas enthusiast, so I am quite certain that aspect of the book helped.

This series is a fun way to escape the day or intrigue those who love a good “who dunnit” series. I swear, I have yet to figure it out in this series. I really enjoyed the detail of the story and character development, even all the dogs have great character development. A lot of cozies that I read, I describe as quick and fun, I would not describe this one as such. Ms. Blake is very detailed in her plot and characters, so you really get to dive into the story. I would not say one style is better than the other because I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I am looking forward to continuing on with the series.

I have this book in both digital (NetGalley) and audio versions. The narrator, Elise Arsenault, does an amazing job.