Anything for You

 In this blog post, I reviewed Kristin Higgins’s Anything for You, the fifth installment in the Blue Heron contemporary romance series. This romance is about star-crossed lovers with the opposites attract trope nestled inside. For the past decade, Connor O’Rourke have been in love with Jessica Dunn since 6th grade, even if she lived on the opposite side of the tracks. He would do anything to win her love, but it wasn’t easy as it seemed, since she needed to take care of her special needs younger brother, who hated Connor ever since the dog mauling incident years ago. She worked two jobs, and dealt with her absentee father who was always on a bender. But every time he proposed to her, she said no.  While she fell hard for him, Connor made sure they kept their relationship a secret, until he found a way to befriend him to earn his trust, to win her heart. But when she thought she couldn’t trust him, she learned the hard way that he always took care of her, and would do anything for her, until she professed her love for him.

This amazing heartfelt romance makes your heart weep and sigh for relief. I instantly cared for Jessica and Connor, who had been through a lot together. They both wanted to reach for the stars to work at their dream jobs in New York City. I adored the location in New York for the restaurant and the vineyard. Perfect settings.  The dual themes of this story are opposites attract, and forgiveness goes a long way.

If you like emotional heartfelt contemporary romance novels  with plenty of heated romance and drama, and lots of sparks of loveswept moments, Anything for You hits all the right notes.. This is recommended for fans who love Jill Shalvis, Kristen Hannah, Hallmark romcoms, and classic romance stories.

Dairy Dairy Quite Contrary

 In this blog post, I reviewed Amy Lillard’s Dairy Dairy Quite Contrary, the first installment in the Sunflower Cafe Amish cozy mystery series. (I finished this book last month.) You’ll be enchanted and intrigued in this debut novel. For Sissy Yoder, she left her hometown of Tulsa to live with her aunt and her cousin Lizzie. In Yoder, Kansas. It was supposed to be a temporary visit, while she helped her cousin at the cafe, until she had gotten caught up in a mystery. Who killed Kevin, the local milkman? And when she was the first one to find him, she became the prime suspect, though she’s new to town? To clear her name, she gathered up clues on Kevin, and learned about his family life, while running into some unwelcomed guests who didn’t want to pry into their business. With help from Gavin, who’s a reporter from the local newspaper, they team up to discover the clues to lead them to the true culprit right under their noses, before it would be too late.

This Amish cozy mystery is quaint and pretty charming. I cared for Sissy who’s learning a bit more of the Amish life, and her cousin Lizzie. I could see Gavin is sweet on Sissy. Though Yoder could’ve been better named (other than from her last name and from other characters), it’s a nice small town with the perfect location and settings for this storyline.  The theme of this story is family comes from different places. 

If you like cozy mysteries with an Amish twist, non-stop drama, plenty of intrigue and lots of red herrings, and sparks of intrigue to leave you in suspense, Dairy Dairy Quite Contrary is the cozy mystery for you. This is recommended for fans who love Amish mysteries, Laura Childs, MC Beaton, and Amanda Flower.

The Skull Beneath the Skin

 In this blog post, I reviewed PD James’s the Skull Beneath the Skin, the second installment in the Cordelia Gray mystery series. (I finished reading this book in mid-September last year.) This mystery has all the fixings of a locked-room mystery set in an island.  For Cordelia Grey, this was her first installment as a female private eye, when Clarissa Lile’s husband asks her to protect her from vile death threats and other mishappenings on the sunlit island of Courcy, Scotland. But it was anything but a simple assignment for Cordelia. She met the people who were closest to her, and discovered shocking secrets about her, up until when she discovered Clarissa was dead in her room. That’s when the local police were brought in, when more shocking twists and turns to the end would leave you guessing whodunit literally.

This compelling mystery will leave you in suspense from the first page to the last. I instantly cared about Cordelia, and how she would handle this most complex case, when danger all but surrounded her. I didn’t like Clarissa at all, but I  felt bad for her stepson Simon. I liked the far-off island of Courcy  set in the United Kingdom, which suited it as the best for the location and the settings. The theme of the story is that secrets always have a way of coming out of the dark.

I rated this intriguing mystery four stars, because it was a bit dark in nature.  If you love locked-room dark mysteries with non-stopping suspense, red herrings, surprising twists and turns, and a good book to hook you, The Skull Beneath the Skin should be read this year.  This book is recommended for fans of Knives Out, Britbox Mysteries, and Agatha Christie.