A Home Come True by Cheryl Harper

💚💚💚💚 4-hearts

Luke Hollister must’ve been out of his mind thinking that he could manage his hectic life by moving from Austin, TX, to small-town Holly Heights. Having left behind his demanding Austin Police Detective job to bring his expansive, needy family to Holly Heights was shaping up to feel like more than he could handle. But his foster siblings, his little niece, and his grief-stricken mother need him, and he feels an obligation to help them. And there’s more pressure now that he’s working on a case involving a local woman’s missing father, Big Bobby Hillman, who’s running away from the consequences awaiting him for a non-violent crime he’s committed. Luke has been harassing Sarah Hillman, Bobby’s daughter, and one of Holly Heights’s own, to get answers regarding her father’s whereabouts; but Sarah’s loyal friends are not having it, and they’ve put up a protective wall around her that he’s finding hard to penetrate. One of these friends, Jennifer Neil, is Luke’s next door neighbor and she’s tough as nails. Even though Luke’s mother has dubbed her “the crazy lady,” he finds her decidedly attractive, and even at her feistiest, he has trouble resisting his desire to kiss her. Then Jennifer makes a mistake that affects Luke’s family, causing him to question his feelings for her when she’s finally beginning to see the good qualities he possesses.

I enjoyed A Home Come True. I was entertained by the way Jen initially reacted to Luke—always referring to him as “Hollister,” and refusing to give him the time of day. And it was heartwarming to see the effort Luke put into taking care of his entire family after his father died, even though it was difficult and mentally, emotionally and physically exhausting. I also appreciated the strong bonds of friendship that existed among Sarah’s friends, and how despite the discord and aggression that was present with the characters in the beginning of the book, the end result was a HEA that left me contented and in anticipation of my next Heartwarming book.

Have a great day bibliophiles!! 😉

Thread and Gone by Lea Wait

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5-stars

Lea Wait is my go-to author for highly intelligent, well-constructed cozy mysteries. Her intricately woven plots are so impressive that I often forget that I’m reading a cozy. I can always look forward to acquiring new and interesting facts when I read her books. There’s usually some historical facts that factor into the mystery, and I always come away feeling wiser about fascinating subjects I wasn’t previously familiar with. In Thread and Gone, I received a lesson in who Mary, Queen of Scots was, and how needlepoint was a major part of her life. I also learned about Marie Antoinette and several other facts that made me think of how much research went into preparing this mystery for the reader’s enjoyment.

And now a glimpse into the plot…

Angela Curtis and the Mainely Needlepointers are on a quest to find out the details about a unique piece of delicate embroidery that was brought to them for analysis by Mary Clough, a seventeen year-old girl, who found it in the attic eaves of her family’s old house. At least one of the Needlepointers believes it could date back to 16th century Elizabethan times and may even have been stitched by Mary, Queen of Scots. If so, it’s quite valuable, so Angela proposes that the embroidery be secured within an attorney’s office for safe keeping since Mary’s fiancé voices his concerns about it getting lost or even stolen by the Needlepointers. 🙄 But when the safe is broken into and the embroidery is stolen along with some valuable jewellery, and the attorney is found dead, the Needlepointers find themselves with more than a needlepoint mystery on their hands to solve.

Lea Wait is a heavyweight in this genre. If you enjoy a solid mystery, but without the profanity and gratuitous violence present in some traditional mysteries, I highly recommend that you try Lea Wait’s Mainely Needlepoint series. You will NOT be disappointed.

Christina Delaine did an impeccable job narrating this cozy. Her voice fits perfectly with this series and I’m always anticipating my next opportunity to listen when she narrates.

Thank you, Tantor Audio, for a complimentary download of Thread and Gone. In exchange I have provided my honest, unbiased opinion of it.

Thanks for reading. Have a wonderful day! 😊