Review Of Cottage By The Sea

Synopsis:

Annie Marlow has been through the worst. Rocked by tragedy, she heads to the one place that makes her happy: Oceanside in the Pacific Northwest, the destination of many family vacations when Annie was a teenager.

Once there, Annie begins to restore her broken spirit, thanks in part to the folks she meets: a local painter, Keaton, whose large frame is equal to his big heart—and who helps Annie fix up her rental cottage by the sea; Mellie, the reclusive, prickly landlord Annie is determined to befriend; and Britt, a teenager with a terrible secret. But it is Keaton to whom Annie feels most drawn. His quiet, peaceful nature offers her both comfort and reprieve from her grief, and the two begin to grow closer.

Then events threaten to undo the idyll Annie has come to enjoy. And when the opportunity of a lifetime lands in her lap, she is torn between the excitement of a new journey toward success and the safe and secure arms of the haven—and the man—she’s come to call home.

In this heartwarming tale, Annie finds that the surest way to fix what is damaged within is to help others rise above their pain and find a way to heal. (Goodreads)

Review:

The characters are well rounded and well developed. Annie has been through an unthinkable tragedy and she is having trouble getting through it. She returns to the place that she was very happy, a place where her and her family were happy, Oceanside. There she meets Keaton and Mellie, two of the residents in Oceanside. Mellie is the landlord that Annie has to deal with to rent the cottage that her family rented. And Keaton is a man who helps Annie fix up the cottage. I enjoyed getting to meet them, but I thought that Mellie and Keaton were a little too much. Keaton could hardly talk and Mellie was a nasty woman. That became a little over the top for me. That is only my opinion and others might disagree with me.

The author is very talented in her descriptive writing and these descriptions pulled me right to the cottage by the sea. The writing style flows smoothly and the book is an easy read. The author made me feel sad, made me feel happy and made me care about the characters and that is a hard thing for an author to do.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a well crafted women’s contemporary. Any time that I get to read a book by this author, I know I am in for a real treat.

I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book provided by the publisher, Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine, and NetGalley, which I greatly appreciate.

New Releases For The Week Of August 9th. 2020–Part 4

Here is a list of some of the new releases for the week of August 9th, 2020. I am going to divide the list into 4 days because there are so very many of them for the week. Today is the fourth and final day of my list for this week. Hope you find some selections for your weekly reading. Enjoy and happy reading.

 

What’s a fall festival without a murder?

For a hundred years, Keyhole Lake’s Fourth of July Festival and Barbecue Cook-Off has drawn people from all over the south, and this year’s no exception. Historically, though, some have been better than others for Noelle and crew.

This year, she’s hoping for the best. She and Hunter are newly engaged, her powers are leveling out, and life is good – at least until a woman turns up murdered in the fortune teller’s tent. The case takes a turn for the strange when Hunter discovers she’s an heiress that was reported missing three years ago.

Once word gets out, “beloved” family members start crawling out of the woodwork, and the situation goes from strange to downright nerve-wracking when the woman’s ghost shows up and starts pointing fingers.

If you like funny, small-town humor, Southern snark, and good, old-fashioned murder, then you’ll love this witch cozy mystery!  (Amazon)

Editions Available:  Kindle

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is the complete second box set in Jessica King’s mesmerizing Ivy Hart Series. You can get the next three mystery novels in the series : The Outbreak, The Corruption and The Secret.

Enjoy the journey!

Book 4: The Outbreak Of Ivy

Ivy Hart has to deal with a mysterious virus outbreak in Los Angeles.

She and Vince face a dramatic race against time to track down somebody known as “The Scientist” before millions are killed.

This is not the sort of case that Ivy Hart is used to be.

Usually there is only one person to save but now she has to save the world…

Book 5: The Corruption Of Ivy

Fresh off the plane from shutting down a Kingsmen uprising in Italy, LAPD Detectives Ivy Hart and Vince Benton are tasked with hunting down Public Enemy No. 1 – Elliot Miller, a bioengineer bent on mutating the virus causing a global pandemic into an even deadlier bioweapon to carry out his personal vendettas.

When mysterious “mentalist,” Maxwell Brannon, shows up and is suddenly able to predict Elliot’s next kills, Ivy finds out that she herself is Elliot’s next target – and he’ll kill anyone around her in order to take her down.


Book 6: The Secret Of Ivy
There are dead bodies turning up aboard a yacht that is headed for Miami and Ivy Hart has just been informed that they already have a prime suspect.

Her father.

Ivy and Vince head to board the yacht with the aim of discovering the truth behind the brutal killings.

But as Ivy begins to unearth clue after clue she doesn’t like what she discovers.

Can Ivy and Vince put the puzzle together and clear her father’s name? Or is a big family secret about to rear it’s ugly head?

This has been described as being a “genius” psychological thriller series similar to Nancy Drew, Willow Rose and AJ Rivers. The Ivy Hart Series will keep you hooked and addicted till the very end.
Scroll up and one click to start reading this NOW!  (Amazon)

Editions Available:  Kindle

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mary Linn and Valinda discover secret passageways, secret rooms, and unearth a plethora of the Charles Concannon family secrets in Volume 2 of Mary Linn Gravestone Hunter.
Did Mary Linn intend to ‘Hang Out the Dirty Laundry’ of Charles Concannon?
How does Lukretia know about the Charles Concannon treasure?
Whose teddy bear is hanging out on the front cover?
Did Bobbi, (the neighbor with the green hair that lives in the pink and purple house), spot Mary Linn’s Dad that’s been missing for more than a year?
What’s ‘Lonnie’s’ real life first name? Why do sparks fly when he and Mary Linn get within touching distance of each other?
Find the answers to these questions and more inside Mary Linn, Gravestone Hunter, Volume 2.
It’s a fun and interesting cozy mystery/adventure for young and old.  (Amazon)

Editions Available:  Kindle, Paperback

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There’s a vampire witch in town, and he’s after more than blood.

Lily has helped her PIB witch agent friends investigate missing-persons cases before, but this case is different. With no bodies and only scant clues from her camera to guide them, this is turning into their toughest assignment yet. When they finally get a break, it’s worse than she feared. Vampire witches were supposed to be extinct—except there seems to be one, and it’s preying on local witches.

If only the vampire witch was the sole thing Lily, Will, and the crew had to worry about, but their plan to raid the Regula Pythonissam factory is about to come to fruition. In the chaos that follows, will their secret investigation be compromised, ruining their chances of uncovering what happened to Lily’s parents forever?

Meanwhile, Angelica is missing in action and no one has any idea where she is. Have the PIB directors eradicated her once and for all?

Lily wishes she had time to deal with things one by one, but as usual, the universe has other ideas. Has she finally met a case she can’t solve?  (Amazon)

Editions Available:  Kindle

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When art in the park
leads to murder in the dark,
the Shepherd sisters
have another crime to solve.

Savanna Shepherd, an art expert turned elementary art teacher, is planning the Art in the Park festival for her hometown of Carson. But apparently, someone isn’t happy that Carson got to host the event: the beloved statue in the park is destroyed. Not long after, Savanna finds the dead body of one of the people on the planning committee.

Savanna and her sisters are convinced that the arrested murder suspect didn’t do it, despite strong evidence to the contrary. With the help of Dr. Aidan Gallager, Savanna’s new romantic interest, they uncover hidden resentments and intrigue. Several people in Carson had a motive for the murder. Can they find out which one of them is behind the framing of an innocent person?

This intriguing mystery includes a free Hallmark original recipe for Mini Rhubarb Pies.  (Amazon)

Editions Available:  Kindle, Paperback, Audiobook

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A haunted tower is the least of Thea’s worries.

It’s been six years since Lady Theodora Prescott-Pryce attended one of Ravenholm Castle’s famed hunts. After the excitement on the Flying Scotsman, she finds herself bored without a little danger. But life at Ravenholm is about to get a lot more exciting…

Six years ago, a maid disappeared during the hunt. With her reappearance, a blackmailer threatens to reveal secrets that the guests and residents of Ravenholm would rather keep hidden. And nobody in the castle is who they seem.

At Ravenholm Castle, nobody is who they seem.  (Amazon)

Editions Available:  Kindle

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Books 7-9 in the Apple Orchard Cozy Mystery Series from USA Today Bestselling Author Chelsea Thomas.

Miss May and Chelsea are playing whack-a-mole with murderers.

Every time they catch one killer in Pine Grove, another pops up.

Pine Grove is a small town, where people share secrets like apple pie, so there’s always a new mystery to solve.

But Miss May is a problem solver. She bakes the best apple pie in North America. And she’s the first person the people of Pine Grove run to with their secrets.

Miss May does not drop a case until it’s solved.

If you’ve read books 1-6 in this series, you know these cozies are suspenseful nail-biters. You also know they can be FUN and SILLY as a little kitten with a ball of string.

Awwwwww. Kittens with string.

Readers love the delicious food in these books. Four-ingredient sour dough bread, gooey cinnamon buns, peach pie that will make your mouth water so much you’ll need a bucket.

Plus, everyone LOVES Miss May’s zany friend, Teeny. And they can’t get enough of Chelsea.

No one is going to forget how sweaty Chelsea gets under pressure anytime soon. She can’t help it, she gets the nervous sweats!

So what are you waiting for?

Grab this box set and kick off a few days of fun, exciting sleuthing.

If you love cozy mysteries with smart sleuths and delicious food, you’ll love this box set.

Get it now.  (Amazon)

Editions Available:  Kindle

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After finding himself caught up in one of Louisiana’s oldest and bloodiest family rivalries, Detective Dave Robicheaux must battle the most terrifying adversary he has ever encountered: a time-traveling superhuman assassin.

The Shondell and Balangie families are longtime enemies in the New Iberia criminal underworld and show each other no mercy. Yet their youngest heirs, Johnny Shondell and Isolde Balangie, rock and roll-musician teenagers with magical voices, have fallen in love and run away after Isolde was given as a sex slave to Johnny’s uncle.

As he seeks to uncover why, Detective Dave Robicheaux gets too close to both Isolde’s mother and the mistress of her father, a venomous New Orleans mafioso whose jealousy has no bounds. In retribution, he hires a mysterious assassin to go after Robicheaux and his longtime partner, Clete Purcel. This hitman is unlike any the “Bobbsey Twins from Homicide” have ever faced. He has the ability to induce horrifying hallucinations and travels on a menacing ghost ship that materializes without warning. In order to defeat him and rescue Johnny and Isolde, Robicheaux will have to overcome the demons that have tormented him throughout his adult life—alcoholism, specters from combat in Vietnam, and painful memories of women to whom he opened his heart only to see killed.

A Private Cathedral, James Lee Burke’s fortieth book, is his most powerful tale, one that will captivate readers—mixing crime, romance, mythology, horror, and science fiction to produce a thrilling story about the all-consuming, all-conquering power of love.  (Amazon)

Editions Available:  Kindle, Hardcover, Audibook

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

New business, new boyfriend, new murder investigation?

Joanna Coffee is just getting used to life in her hometown after a three-year hiatus. She’s come to terms with being around her ex and his fiancée, who happens to be Jo’s former best friend. She’s even doing well with her new business, Cup of Jo, and her new boyfriend. The last thing she wants is to be wrapped up in yet another murder investigation.

Two dead bodies are discovered, both with cappuccinos from Jo’s coffee shop. The only difference is Jo isn’t a suspect this time around. Instead, she thinks the supposed accident was actually murder, and she’s determined to prove it even if it means working with her ex, Detective Quentin Perry.

Fans of Joanne Fluke will enjoy this culinary cozy mystery series.

Scroll up and one-click to start reading today!  (Amazon)

Editions Available:   Kindle. Paperback

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

National bestselling author Lucy Burdette’s tenth Key West Food Critic mystery is piping hot with pie-enthusiasts and murder suspects.

When a fierce rivalry between key lime pie bakers leads to a pastry chef’s murder, food critic Hayley Snow is fit to be pied.

During the week between Christmas and New Year’s, the year-round population of Key West, Florida, faces a tsunami of tourists and snowbirds. It doesn’t help that outrageously wealthy key lime pie aficionado David Sloan has persuaded the city to host his pie-baking contest. Every pie purveyor on the island is out to win the coveted Key Lime Key to the City and Key Zest food critic Hayley Snow is on the scene to report it.

Meanwhile, Hayley’s home life is turning more tart than sweet. Hayley’s new hubby, police detective Nathan Bransford, announces that her intimidating mother-in-law is bearing down on the island for a surprise visit. Hayley offers to escort Nathan’s crusty mom on the iconic Conch Train Tour of the island’s holiday lights, but it becomes a recipe for disaster when they find a corpse among the glittering palm trees and fantastic flamingos. The victim–Au Citron Vert’s controversial new pastry chef–was a frontrunner in Sloan’s contest.

It’s bad enough that Hayley’s too-curious mother-in-law is cooking up trouble. Now, the murderer is out to take a slice out of Hayley. Can she handle the heat of a killer’s kitchen?  (Amazon)

Editions Available:  Kindle, Hardcover, Audiobook

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Deck the mall with boughs of holly – until shots ring out.

Attempts to get Stacie in the holiday spirit fall flat when Santa’s elf finds herself in a shooter’s crosshairs. As Stacie and friends help the elf and deal with the potential witnesses, a man in the crowd stands out, the lapels of an old wool coat obscuring his face. Ignoring police demands, he disappears into the crowd only to reappear at strategic times. When the elf recovers and Santa is killed, initial theories go up in smoke and the search is on for the true motive. Faced with relationship turmoil and a killer on the loose, Stacie embraces her ‘bah humbug’ perspective as she seeks to identify the culprit.

Let this cozy holiday mystery novella with Stacie and her friends get you in the holiday spirit.  (Amazon)

Editions Available:  Kindle, Paperback