Book Review: Mince Pies and Murder (Morwenna Mutton Mystery #4) by Judy Leigh @judyrleigh   @theboldbookclub

Mince Pies and Murder
(Morwenna Mutton Mystery #4)
by Judy Leigh

 

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The BRAND NEW instalment in the Morwenna Mutton Mystery series from MILLION COPY BESTSELLER Judy Leigh, perfect for fans of Richard Osman. As Christmas approaches in the Cornish town of Seal Bay, festive cheer fills the air. Twinkling lights, jingling bells, and sparkling trees adorn every corner, and Morwenna Mutton, the sharp-witted sexagenarian sleuth, is eagerly counting down the days. But when local author Pawly Yelland is discovered dead at a party, a champagne flute in one hand and a mince pie in the other, it seems this Christmas will be anything but merry.

Known for his grudges against several neighbours, Pawly had recently made no secret of his disdain for some of the local crowd — and now, with his death, a long list of suspects emerges. As the police begin narrowing down those with a motive, Morwenna knows she’s the only one who can uncover the truth and restore some yuletide magic to Seal Bay.

But things take a darker turn. Mysterious Christmas cards begin arriving at doorsteps, and sightings of a sinister Santa-costumed figure at windows only add to the growing tension. Can Morwenna solve the murder before Christmas is ruined for good?

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

This year, the same as every year, an anonymous person gifted in the art of crochet had covered all the post boxes in Seal Bay with little woollen Santas clutching a wine glass in one hand and an envelope in the other. No one in Seal Bay had any idea who made them. It was a Seal Bay mystery.

It occurred to her that the sea was like the future. It stretched in front of you, uncharted, and you could make your way across it as you wished, quickly, slowly, hesitantly. You could swim, sink. Or you could ride the waves.

My Review:

 

This was an amusing and intriguing cozy read that kept me guessing on several fronts. Judy Leigh is a smooth and gifted storyteller who never fails to pull me into her oddly compelling characters’ vortex and involve me in the minutiae of their lives.

And score – I found a new addition to my Brit Word List with rufazrats, which Mr. Google has informed me is slang for a hangover, feeling poorly, or something that isn’t working correctly.  I am assuming it is pronounced somewhat like rough as rats, which seems like an excellent term for a hangover, not that I would know anything about one of those… ;-}

About the Author

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Judy Leigh is the bestselling author of Five French Hens, A Grand Old Time, and The Age of Misadventure, and the doyenne of the ‘it’s never too late’ genre of women’s fiction. She has lived all over the UK from Liverpool to Cornwall, but currently resides in Somerset.

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Book Review: The Whispering Girls (Detective Katie Scott Book 14) by Jennifer Chase  @jenchaseauthor @bookouture

The Whispering Girls
(Detective Katie Scott Book 14)
by Jennifer Chase

Amazon  / B&N

Dressed only in an oversized t-shirt, with a burlap sack covering her head, the body of a girl swings gently from the branches in the breeze. A newly-lit candle burns on the ground below. The killer was here just moments ago…

Taking a much-needed break in a cabin in the woods with her service dog Cisco, Detective Katie Scott is disturbed by a sharp knocking at the door. Outside, she finds a terrified girl called TJ, begging for help—she says she has found a dead girl in the forest. When they reach the scene, Katie turns to ask TJ further questions, but she has vanished.

At dawn the next day, the body of another girl is found laid out only a mile from the first. To Katie’s horror, she realizes it is TJ. The scene looks eerily similar, with a small shrine below her feet. What kind of monster would do this? And if a twisted serial killer is at work, who is their next victim?

As more bodies and shrines emerge, Katie needs to find the link between the girls and the unhinged killer. But when she stumbles across a cold case that the local police seem determined to keep quiet, Katie realizes danger could be closer to her than she first thought. How much will Katie sacrifice to find the killer and can she stop more innocent lives from being taken?

An addictive crime fiction novel for fans of Lisa Regan, Rachel Caine and Melinda Leigh. A nail-biting rollercoaster ride from USA Today and Amazon bestseller Jennifer Chase!

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

These investigations were not only the hardest they’d had to investigate, but the twists and turns were both unusual and horrific. It was as if they were being dropped into a play with no script and didn’t know what was going to happen next.

Everything seems to read like a soap opera and not a crazed killer taking victims. There are too many moving parts to this case. People who aren’t who they say they are. People not telling us the truth.

My Review:

 

This complex and compelling tale was more than a bit complicated, while fraught with tension and an eerie unease from beginning to end. Katie was supposed to be on vacation and resting, but the location of her R&R was an unfortunate choice. The creepiness factor was high in that odd little berg with impending peril always seeming to be just around the corner.

This installment had my shoulders in my ears as I white knuckled my Kindle and fretted that the main character wasn’t going to unravel it in time to save one of their own. Silly me, I should know better. While she is not without personal challenges and foibles, Detective Katie Scott and her wonder dog, Cisco, are a phenomenon with an unheard-of 100% closure rate.

Jennifer Chase is a multi-award-winning author and consulting criminologist. She has authored eight crime fiction novels, including the multiple award-winning Emily Stone thriller series, as well as a screenwriting workbook.

Jennifer holds a Bachelor’s degree in police forensics and a Master’s degree in criminology. These academic pursuits developed out of her curiosity about the criminal mind as well as from her own experience with a violent sociopath, providing Jennifer with deep personal investment in every story she tells. In addition, she holds certifications in serial crime and criminal profiling. She is an affiliate member of the International Association of Forensic Criminologists.

 

Book Review: How to Slay at Christmas by Sarah Bonner @sarahbonner101 @theboldbookclub

How to Slay at Christmas
by Sarah Bonner

She’s making a list, she’s checking it twice…

Jessica Williams loves the food, the drink, the fairy lights, the opportunities to take out all the miserable people who ruin the festive season for others. And what better cover for her murderous intentions than taking a job as Mrs Claus at the Ellsbury Christmas Market grotto? After all, who would possibly think Mrs Claus could stab a man through the eye with a Phillips-head screwdriver?

Fearne Dixon hates Christmas. As the long-suffering wife of the Ellsbury Christmas Market’s manager, she’s sick to the back teeth of it and it’s still only November. But then the bodies start piling up, an old rival arrives back in her life, and Fearne reaches breaking point.

When the lives of the two women collide, who will end up on the Naughty List?

A brilliantly subversive, darkly funny crime thriller that fans of Katy Brent, CJ Skuse and Bella Mackie will devour.

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Wow. Well that really does go to prove you can’t judge a book by its cover. She looks so prim and proper and then BAM! It’s all fairy porn and werewolf harems.

Not that I don’t like what I do. But it’s not exactly a respectable pastime is it? When people ask what you do for fun, it would be far easier if you could say you like reading or building Lego or whatever, rather than killing scrooges.

Spoiler alert: I’m still convinced I’m in my twenties and that fate is just playing some kind of cruel stunt on me by making me look like I’m mid-forties.

‘I don’t use TikTok.’ It was set up a few years ago when I was having a crisis of confidence about my writing career and thought I needed to do more myself. I vowed to post to TikTok every single day for three months to see what happened. I lasted four days before I ran out of content and lost the will to live. Sometimes I get an urge to try again and then I remind myself just how painful it was and have a large glass of wine instead.

I read something last year about how the average person consumes over six thousand calories on Christmas Day. I’m treating that as a challenge that I fully intend to beat.

My Review:

The name Sarah Bonner has become synonymous with the idea of smirk-worthy good fun to me. The little pea in my brain leaps for joy whenever I pick up one of her cleverly penned missives. I revel in her witty snark, wry humor, and snappy inner musings. I adored this tale; it kept me gleefully engaged from start to finish.

 

About the Author

Sarah grew up in Salisbury, dreaming of a career as a writer and performer. Instead, she became an accountant! After a fifteen-year career, she decided to answer her original calling and completed her first novel which was published in 2022.

Sarah lives in Devon with her husband and very spoiled rescue dog.

Book Review: Well, Actually by Mazey Eddings    @mazeyeddings @stmartinspress

Well, Actually
by Mazey Eddings

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An utterly delightful and sexy second-chance romance between a black cat and golden retriever with Mazey Edding’s signature sparkling voice!

Eva Kitt never expected to be the host of Sausage Talk, interviewing B-list celebrities over lukewarm hot dogs, instead of pursuing the journalism career she dreamed of. But when Eva’s impromptu public call out of her college ex goes viral, she’s thrust into the spotlight. It doesn’t help said ex is Rylie Cooper, a beloved social media personality that has built a platform on deconstructing toxic masculinity and teaching men how to be good partners.

Forced to confront Rylie on a live episode of Sausage Talk, he offers Eva a allow him to take her on a series of dates to make up for his toxic behavior, then debrief them on his channel to show he’s changed. Eva refuses to play nice, but agrees to the scheme to advance her own career and continue defaming Rylie’s good name. When these manufactured dates start to feel real, Eva has to wonder if the boy that broke her heart has become the man that might heal it.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

I roll my eyes so hard I see spots.

I’ve never been a particularly touchy person, but something about Rylie has me constantly reaching for him like I’m a plant and he’s the sun.

My Review:

 

I wasn’t sure I was going to enjoy this book as much as I did, as I had a hard time finding anything likable about the female main character; she was caustic and rather vile, and my distaste for her in the first half of the book was palpable. But she came around, and so did I. The primary and secondary characters were authentic and well-drawn, and realistically flawed. The writing was well-paced, well-honed, easy to follow, cleverly amusing, and smoking hot. The storylines kept me engaged and interested, even when I was annoyed and exasperated with Eva. I truly loved the ending beyond measure – girl-power!

Mazey Eddings is a bestselling author, dentist, and (most importantly) stage mom to her cats, Yaya and Zadie. She can most often be found reading romance novels under her weighted blanket and asking her husband to bring her snacks. She’s made it her personal mission in life to destigmatize mental health issues and write love stories for every brain. With roots in Ohio and Philadelphia, she now calls North Carolina home.

Book Review: One Snowy Day by Shari Low @sharilowbooks @theboldbookclub

One Snowy Day
by Shari Low

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On a cold winter’s day, a storm is brewing in the village of Weirbridge…

Georgie Dern has the chance to swap her empty nest for the job of a lifetime in Los Angeles. Can she chase her dream if it means letting down the woman who has given her the world?

Jessie McLean should be counting down the hours until she jets off to spend her retirement years in the sun. But when a devastating betrayal resurfaces, she has to choose between a fresh start and staying behind to settle old scores.

Alyssa Canavan has spent years building the business she adores. Now a legal letter has threatened her home and livelihood, but how does she fight a family that doesn’t give a damn?

Lachlan Morden is forced to return to Scotland to face the people who almost destroyed him. Will coming home reopen old wounds, or will a memory from the past lead him to the perfect revenge?

One snowy day, four lives, but who will have a bright new future when the snow is gone?

No1 bestseller Shari Low is back with her brilliant new release about love, loss, friendship and second chances.

Perfect for the fans of Marian Keyes, Lauren Weisberger and Beth Moran.

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

‘I’m surprised you’re not doing a Joan Collins, luxuriating in your bed until lunchtime, wrapped in white fake fur, with thirty-year-old oiled-up bodybuilders feeding you grapes. Actually, I don’t know that Joan Collins does that, but I like to imagine it that way.’ ‘I’m not having oiled-up bodybuilders anywhere near my bed, thank you.’ Jessie countered. ‘I’d need to boil wash my sheets and it would take the pattern right off my duvet cover.’

…the little devil on her other shoulder hadn’t been able to get past hoping that Monica would dump him on his arse and he’d wither away, loveless and sexless until his penis fell off. The devil watched too many crime shows.

Eve, it’s been three years. And in that time, the only hot hip action in my life has been watching Strictly.

Being a lawyer must be like being a doctor, she imagined. As soon as people at dinner parties knew what you did, they wanted to ask your advice on their speeding ticket or their piles.

My Review:

 

This was a fun and wryly amusing read that was stuffed to the gills with engaging and entertaining storylines that converged in a brilliant and highly satisfying manner. Shari Low is a clever wordsmith and weaves absorbing, well-honed, and insightfully written tales that are laced together with witty humor and perceptive observations, while populated with admirable and endearing characters doing their best to get ahead while handling problematic family members. Every time I pick up one of her books, I want to stop time and rearrange my schedule to do nothing else but read her entire listing.

 

About the Author

 

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In January 2001, Shari Low’s Low’s first novel, What If?, was published. Since then, Shari has published over 35 books and sold three million copies around the globe, hitting the bestseller charts in many countries, including the UK, USA, Canada, Germany, and Australia. In 2023, she had three consecutive #1 best sellers – One Day With You, One Moment in Time, and One Christmas Eve. Her first release of 2024, One Year After You, also hit the #1 spot.

In late 2020, her first novel, What If?, was updated and re-published, followed by the sequels What Now? and What Next?. All three novels became international bestsellers.

Shari has also co-written three Hollywood thrillers, The Rise, The Catch, and The Fall, with LA-based TV presenter and actor Ross King.

In real life, once upon a time, she met a guy, got engaged after a week, and thirty-something years later, she lives near Glasgow with the one they said would never last. Their children have now grown and scattered across the world, so she spends an inordinate amount of time on video calls and aeroplanes.

Book Review: That One Night (The Heartbreak Brothers Next Generation Book 4) by Carrie Elks  @CarrieElks

That One Night
(The Heartbreak Brothers Next Generation # 4)
by Carrie Elks

 

Amazon / B&N / BB

 

She’s back in her hometown with a shattered heart, a suitcase full of secrets, and no idea how to put herself back together…

After discovering her fiancé’s ultimate betrayal, Emery Reed returns to the only place that ever felt like home. Her family’s crumbling farm in Hartson’s Creek.

She tells everyone she’s just here for the summer. But what she doesn’t say is that the wedding’s off. Or that the life she spent ten years building is gone.

Most days, it’s all she can do to breathe under the weight of everyone’s expectations.

Then she meets him. Hendrix Hartson. The grumpy, tattooed neighbor who’s just as guarded as she is broken. And he makes her feel something she thought she’d lost for good. Hope.

But Emery isn’t the sweet, straightforward girl he thinks she is. And if the truth comes out, it could break them both.

Because Emery’s heart isn’t just bruised. It’s fractured. Fragile.
And falling for him might be the final break.

That One Night is a standalone, raw, emotional small-town romance about two scarred souls, one impossible connection, and the kind of love that dares you to believe in forever. Even when it hurts…

My Rating:

Favorite Quote:

 

I’m not overthinking. I’m catastrophizing. It’s different.

My Review:

 

Carrie Elks’ characters are so knowable I feel I would recognize them at first sight. The main characters in this installment were flawed and struggling, yet genuine and endearing. I relish her storytelling; her writing has a smooth flow and is easy to fall into, allowing me to lose myself. This installment was more tropey than I would have liked, but I enjoyed it regardless.

 

Carrie Elks writes contemporary romance with a sizzling edge. Her first book, Fix You, has been translated into eight languages and made a surprise appearance on Big Brother in Brazil. Luckily for her, it wasn’t voted out. Carrie lives with her husband, two lovely children, and a larger-than-life black pug called Plato. When she isn’t writing or reading, she can be found baking, drinking an occasional (!) glass of wine, or chatting on social media.

Book Review: Crystal Creek (A Port Promise Novel Book 2) by Kelly Collins @kcollinsauthor

Crystal Creek
(A Port Promise Novel Book 2) 
by Kelly Collins 

Amazon / BB

She came to Alaska for a photo shoot. She didn’t expect to be stranded with a grumpy survival guide and no cell service.

Lena Kensington’s career is in freefall. A remote lodge in Alaska was supposed to be her comeback—a few glamorous photos, a scenic backdrop, a quick exit. Instead, she lands in the middle of a rugged reality series with one rule: no script, no filters, and no escape.

Even worse? Her guide is Finn Hollister, the brooding lodge owner blindsided by a contract that forces him into the wilderness with the very type of woman he’s spent years avoiding.
But the wild has its own agenda.

Stripped of makeup, headlines, and the walls they’ve built around their hearts, Lena and Finn begin to see each other—and themselves—more clearly. She’s tougher than she looks. He’s not nearly as cold as he seems. And somewhere between bear warnings and blizzards, something real begins to grow.

She’s the outsider with everything to prove.
He’s the local with everything to lose.

Out here, survival isn’t the only thing at stake—so is their chance at forever.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

He moves through the world with a quiet kind of certainty, like he’s reading a map I can’t see. Like he understands things I’ve never learned to name.

Honestly, a squirrel with a head injury could probably find north faster than this guy.

“Your voice went up about three octaves,” I point out. “You sounded like you were auditioning for a boys’ choir.

My Review:

 

Much like the female main character at the beginning of this engaging tale, I’m a lazy girly-girl, and not a wilderness-loving, camping, or even glamping kinda gal. I need hot and cold running water, a memory foam mattress, and a bug and varmint-free climate-controlled sleeping environment. So I cringed and flinched a bit while reading their less-than-comfortable trek across the Alaskan frontier, as Kelly Collins has the superb knack of slotting me into the scenes of her characters’ encounters… consider me a less-than-innocent bystander.

The two main characters were not immediately endearing or lovable, but they soon won me over as their prickly edges smoothed. As always, Ms. Collins’ descriptive writing style was easy to fall into, perceptively detailed, well-paced, and keenly honed for a quick and entertaining read.

 

ABOUT KELLY COLLINS   

 

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Kelly Collins is a bestselling, award-winning author of feel-good small-town romance filled with heart, heat, and happily-ever-afters. Her books are perfect for readers who crave heartwarming contemporary love stories, sassy heroines, and slow-burn romances with cinnamon roll heroes you’ll wish were real.

With humor, charm, and emotional depth, Kelly brings to life tight-knit towns, unforgettable characters, and the kind of love that feels like coming home. When she’s not plotting her next happily-ever-after, she’s sipping strong coffee and dreaming up heroes who are tough on the outside and gooey in the middle.

Come for the charm, stay for the swoon—and don’t be surprised if you fall in love with the whole town.

Book Review: The Case of the Body on the Orient Express (The Detection Club #2) by Kelly Oliver @KellyOliverBook

The Case of the Body on the Orient Express
(The Detection Club #2)
by Kelly Oliver

 

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Kelly Oliver’s brilliantly addictive Detection Club cozy mystery series

Paris, 1928: Agatha Christie and fellow writer Dorothy L Sayers board the Orient Express, bound for Constantinople. Christie in particular is looking forward to a break from recent dispiriting events in both her work and private life – the finalisation of her divorce from her philanderous husband Archie, and the miserly reception of her latest book.

But before the duo can settle in to enjoy the luxuries of their first-class journey, their journey is derailed when a fellow guest drops dead during the dinner service. And as the last person to speak to the victim, Dorothy finds herself a prime suspect in his murder.

As the train hurtles East, Sayers’ resourceful assistant Eliza and her friend Theo must navigate a maze of suspects. But with each passing mile, the stakes rise, and when another body is discovered, their search to find the killer before they reach their destination becomes increasingly complicated.

Can Eliza and Theo stay one step ahead, crack the mystery and clear Dorothy’s name? Or will this be one journey too far for the amateur sleuths?

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

For a large woman, Dorothy L. Sayers was quick on her feet. The only things quicker than her feet were her wit and her temper.

Why would anyone pretend to be poor? She knew from experience that poverty wasn’t romantic, but an unfortunate condition to be avoided at all costs.

Didn’t people read to escape the horrors of life rather than wallow in them? Theo was all for verisimilitude, but he had to draw the line somewhere: namely, sharing a toilet with someone who hadn’t bathed since the nineteenth century.

Apparently, MI5 suspected one of the writers, probably Agatha Christie, had access to classified information. From what Eliza had seen, the mystery writers had access to nothing more classified than overactive imaginations.

Like a moth between panes of glass, he was stuck between what he was and what he wanted to be.

My Review:

 

I adore Kelly Oliver’s smooth and amusing writing style. I so covet her word craft. She weaves an entertaining, easy-to-follow, and engaging tale that never fails to hold my interest with her well-plotted mysteries and clever arrangements of words that put a smile on my face with her colorful descriptions and authentic and quirky characters.

Kelly Oliver grew up in the Northwest, Montana, Idaho, and Washington states. Her maternal grandfather was a forest ranger committed to saving the trees, and her paternal grandfather was a logger hell-bent on cutting them down. On both sides, her ancestors were some of the first settlers in Northern Idaho. In her own unlikely story, Kelly went from eating a steady diet of wild game shot by her dad to becoming a vegetarian while studying philosophy and pondering animal minds. Competing with peers who’d come from private schools and posh families “back East,” Kelly’s working-class backwoods grit has served her well. And much to her parents’ surprise, she’s managed to feed and clothe herself as a professional philosopher.

When she’s not writing mysteries, Kelly Oliver is a Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at Vanderbilt University. She earned her B.A. from Gonzaga University and her Ph.D. from Northwestern University. She is the author of thirteen scholarly books, ten anthologies, and over 100 articles, including work on campus rape, reproductive technologies, women and the media, film noir, and Alfred Hitchcock. Her work has been translated into seven languages, and she has published an op-ed on loving our pets in The New York Times. She has been interviewed on ABC television news, the Canadian Broadcasting Network, and various radio programs.

Kelly lives in Nashville with her husband, Benigno Trigo, and her furry family, Mischief and Mayhem.

 

Book Review: The Unlucky Ones (Black Harbor #4) by Hannah Morrissey  @hannahmorrisseywriter @minotaur_books

The Unlucky Ones
(Black Harbor #4)
by Hannah Morrissey

 

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A police transcriber-turned-novelist returns to Black Harbor to help solve the case of her ex-husband’s murder in the next riveting Black Harbor, featuring the return of characters from Hannah Morrissey’s breakout debut, Hello, Transcriber.

Black Harbor is a tinderbox. Temperatures and violent crime have both risen to all-time highs, a new drug razes the city, and the scene to which Sergeant Nikolai Kole responds is anything but a rote homicide. In the back of a clubhouse lies a body wrapped in garbage bags and doused in bleach.

It isn’t just any body. Tommy Greenlee, the ex-husband of Kole’s former lover, Hazel, has been shot several times and left for dead. What’s more…the killer left what appears to be a calling card.

Elsewhere, Hazel is haunted by her memories of Black Harbor. Lured there after eight years, she returns to find out who killed Tommy and why. Now back in Kole’s orbit, their love affair can hardly pick up where it left off. They both used each other to their own ends before, which begs the question: would they do it again?

With the atmosphere growing more volatile by the second, Hazel and Kole call a truce, and as they work together to solve this murder, they will not only unearth Black Harbor’s deepest, darkest secrets–they’ll each have to face their own

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Not a lot of good comes out of there, but a lot of bad passes through.

While turning a funeral into a bender isn’t a crime, it is frowned upon, like driving naked or marrying your stepsister.

We always remember our firsts and lasts, don’t we? It’s everything in the middle that ends up in one congealed mess.

He takes that as his cue to get out of the car, skirting around a patch of fake hair flattened to the asphalt like roadkill. Tumbleweave comes with the territory. It’s all fun and games until someone’s wig gets yanked off.

I’ve finally accepted that some feelings are only meant to be felt, not explained.

My Review:

 

I consistently peruse over a hundred or more books a year and can’t recall but a few storylines from most of them soon after. However, even several years later, this dark and gritty series has stayed with me, far beyond the salient details. Hannah Morrissey has strong word voodoo and has mastered the craft of storytelling. She pulls me into an absorbing vortex with her compelling tales and paints complete and startling movie reels with her descriptive word choices, which are most often simultaneously heart-squeezing, consuming, and brain-tickling. I had been longing for Hazel and Cole to reconnect with each other since the first installment, and had cracked open each new addition to the series with that eager anticipation. Now my fervent hopes are for yet more installments of Ms. Morressey’s addictive missives.

 

 

Hannah Morrissey is the author of the Black Harbor suspense series, which includes Hello, Transcriber, The Widowmaker, and When I’m Dead. A three-decade survivor of Wisconsin winters, Hannah enjoys putting her characters (and readers) in bone-chilling atmospheres that permeate beyond the page. Naturally, her books have carved out their own sub-genre of “Midwestern Noir.”

Between roles of bookseller and copywriter, Hannah was inspired to write her debut novel while transcribing reports for her local police department. Far from home in a grim, crime-ridden city, it was her job to sit alone in the dead of night, listen, and type as detectives divulged the city’s darkest secrets. There, she realized that every case was a story, and every story started with the same two words: “Hello, Transcriber.”

Hannah graduated from the University of Wisconsin – Madison where she majored in English with an emphasis in Creative Writing. She grew up in a small northern town and now lives near Milwaukee with her husband, three pugs, and a TBR pile that never seems to get any smaller.

Book Review: The All-Inclusive  (The Jilted Brides Honeymoon Club Book 3) by Tawna Fenske @tawnafenskebooks

The All-Inclusive
 (The Jilted Brides Honeymoon Club Book 3)
by Tawna Fenske

Amazon / BB

 

A sweet little virgin left at the altar by her brooding alpha hero.
Such a trite tale, right?

But it happened to me, so I’m ready to blow up the whole damn fairytale.
That’s not all I’ll be blowing, if you catch my drift.
Yes, I just made a sex joke. So what?
I’m done being the good girl.
My besties came to the Jilted Brides Honeymoon Club and had their wildest fantasies fulfilled.
Sign me up for the same, please.
So what if my only real fantasy was marrying my hot Navy SEAL sweetheart?
I still don’t get why he swears that would ruin my life.
Shouldn’t I be the judge of that?
Screw judgment.
I’m here at this exclusive, luxury resort with a menu of explicit choices
And dozens of men eager to satisfy my curiosity.
There’s even a package for virgins like me.
But what happens when the only man I’ve loved storms in to claim me for himself?
My real-life military hero has something to get off his chest.
And he’s got his hands all over mine.
But the secret he’s hidden so well all these years has the power to change us forever.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

You know it’s Portland when you have to specify which vegan strip club.

My Review:

 

Holy scorched sheets, this missive was atomically hot! This is the final installment of the series, and it was on fire from beginning to end; my Kindle was sweating, and so was I. There were multiple well-paced and relevant storylines with the plot featuring a dumped, repressed, chastity culture virgin bride who had been saving herself for her Marine fiancé/childhood sweetheart, who BTW, had been sampling a variety of wares elsewhere. Sparks flew, romance bloomed, snarky repartee was flung about, family issues were dealt with, and all had a much-anticipated and highly desired happy ending. Sigh, if only real life ran as smoothly as this was written.

About the Author 

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When Tawna Fenske finished her English lit degree at 22, she celebrated by filling a giant trash bag full of romance novels and dragging it everywhere until she’d read them all. Now she’s a RITA-nominated, USA Today bestselling author who writes humorous fiction, risqué romance, and heartwarming love stories with a quirky twist. Publishers Weekly has praised Tawna’s offbeat romances with multiple starred reviews and noted, “There’s something wonderfully relaxing about being immersed in a story filled with over-the-top characters in undeniably relatable situations. Heartache and humor go hand in hand.”

Tawna lives in Bend, Oregon, with her husband, stepkids, and a menagerie of ill-behaved pets. She loves hiking, snowshoeing, standup paddleboarding, and inventing excuses to sip wine on her back porch. She can peel a banana with her toes and loses an average of twenty pairs of eyeglasses per year. To find out more about Tawna and her books, visit www.tawnafenske.com.