Another One Bites the Crust by H.Y. Hanna – (Oxford Tearoom Mysteries – Book 7)

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5-stars

Another One Bites the Crust is cozy mystery done right. HY Hanna always delivers on a solid mystery with plenty of red herrings, engaging characters, an atmospheric setting (in and around Oxford, England), at least one amusing animal and a totally plausible outcome. There’s so much to love about this book, including the sub-plots which keep the story moving along at a pace that keeps you in anticipation of the next revelation.

When famed celebrity chef and former Oxford student, Josh McDermott, (aka “Posh McDishy”) is special guest at the Oxford University Ball, doing a live cooking show, the college ball committee and Josh’s fans are beside themselves with anticipation and admiration. Gemma’s friend Cassie, who attended the same College as McDermott, isn’t enthused. She’s always thought of him as an obnoxious snob who thinks he’s God’s gift to women. His ex-girlfriend would agree with that assessment since Josh dumped her. And then there’s rival chef, Antonio Casa, who believes Josh tried to sabotage him. Clearly, Josh McDermott had foes as well as fans. But when Gemma finds Josh dead before the cooking show competition even begins, she dons her sleuthing cap to determine who might have despised him enough to do him in.

I loved this book. You don’t get to book 7 of 8 in a series if you don’t enjoy it. The audio narrator, Pearl Hewitt, brings the characters to life. The unique voices she uses to portray each character makes it easy to recognize who’s speaking, and the emotions and actions are always performed in an entertaining, realistic way—even the animals! She’s one of my favorite audio narrators, and her skill and proficiency enhanced my enjoyment of this book.

I received a free download of this book in exchange for my honest review which I have given.

Have a great day everybody, and thank you for visiting. 😊

This Could Change Everything by Jill Mansell (Audiobook – Tantor Audio)

⭐⭐⭐⭐💫 – 4.5 stars

Sometimes a single incident in our life can change everything we’ve ever dreamed of, and that was certainly true in Essie Phillips’ case. This Could Change Everything expounds on the lives of three main characters whose lives converge, and in so doing, inadvertently change Essie’s life, and their own lives, in ways they could have never imagined.

When a scathing round robin (newsletter) gets sent out to everyone in Essie’s address book, her recently acquired idealic life is reversed overnight. Left with no boyfriend, no job and nowhere to live, things look hopeless. But when a chance encounter with an 83-year-old, spunky, eccentric woman, Zillah Walsh, occurs, things start looking up. In fact, losing her boyfriend and everything that went along with him, may be the best thing that’s ever happened to Essie. She soon learns that forming relationships with those who can impart wisdom and valuable lessons is priceless, and that helping others brings true and lasting happiness.

There were so many little brilliant facets within this story that steered my emotions from elation to sadness and back again. The three-dimensional characters drove the story forward and kept me thoroughly immersed. Admittedly, in the beginning the concept of a newsletter being sent out as a joke by an adult seemed quite far-fetched, and I wasn’t sure if I could suspend disbelief enough to enjoy the book. But the narrative took a quick turn and I became completely absorbed in the story.

This was an audiobook and the narrator, Esther Wane, was a perfect fit for telling this book. She brought the characters to life, especially Zillah’s character, which I enjoyed the most. The skillful narration most definitely enhanced my enjoyment of this book. Definitely recommended.

Thank you, Tantor Audio, for a complimentary download of This Could Change Everything. In exchange I have provided an honest review.

I’ve got lots of catching up to do. 🤦🏽‍♀️

Enjoy your day everyone, and thanks so much for stopping by. ☺

Giveaway Winners announced!!

Jill. Congratulations Jill!! Jill has been contacted and has chosen prize #2:

Winner #2 is….

Holly B. Congratulations Holly!! You have won prize #1:

And the four runner-up winners are:

– Kathy’s Cottage

– Kentucky Book Lover

– Jennifer Tar Heel Reader

– Zahra Hassan

Each of you will receive a copy of The Rancher’s Second Chance:

Thanks for participating everyone. I’ll be contacting you via e-mail, and then getting your prizes out to you as soon as possible, so don’t worry..

Have a great day!! 💕

The Happiness Pact Giveaway Winners announced!

Cyn. Cyn, you have won this:

I will be contacting you via email shortly. Congratulations. 🎊🎉

But wait, we have two runner-up winners. I have two other books to give away by Liz Flaherty, who so generously provided them.

And the runner-up winners are…

Lghiggans

Lraines78

You will each receive a copy of Back to McGuffey’s by Liz Flaherty.

I adored Back to McGuffey’s. (See my review of it here .) I will contact you via email.

Thanks everyone!! If you didn’t win this time, don’t despair. Winners of my other giveaway will be selected and announced on 7/9. Perhaps you’ll be one of them.

Bring Me Back by B.A. Paris

⭐️⭐️ – 2-stars

Simply put, this book wasnt for me. I didn’t like it at all. It became a tedious cat and mouse chase and I lost interest early on. The characters, including the main ones, were all one dimensional, and there wasn’t much to imagine outside of them. No engaging secondary characters, no atmosphere, no interesting landmarks, no development. Nothing. There was just no substance. It’s like everyone and everything existed in hazy outline, and I didn’t really care about anyone or anything, except maybe the dog, Peggy. And those silly Russian Dolls. 🙄 I didn’t particularly care for how it was structured either. There was quite a bit of introspection and first person narrative. I felt like it kept going in circles. Very repititious. It picked up a bit towards the final 20% of the book, but only briefly. I was just too tired of the whole thing to care by that time anyway. I couldn’t wait for it to be over. I was hoping for a climactic ending, but alas I found it disappointing and implausible.

Here’s a brief synopsis of the plot…

Finn McQuaid’s girlfriend, Layla, goes missing during a rest room break while on their way back to Devon, England, from their trip to France. Finn is devastated, but eventually he begins to accept that Layla is gone forever and he grows attached to Layla’s sister, Ellen. In the twelfth year of Layla’s disappearance, Finn gets engaged to Ellen and when their engagement becomes public knowledge clues begin popping up to suggest that Layla might still be alive and close by.

Initially, Finn paints this blissful picture of his relationship with Layla, but then there’s this undertone of discontent and animosity that existed. What really happened the night Layla disappeared, and has she really come back?

I’m sorry. I didn’t like any of it. That is all.

I want to thank St. Martin’s Press for a complimentary copy of Bring Me Back in exchange for an honest review which I have given.

Have a wonderful week everyone.