Blind Date

  In this blog post, I reviewed Wendy Clarke’s Blind Date. This dark psychological thriller is so twisted, enough to make your head spin right after you finish. For Melanie Abbott, a DJ presenter at a morning radio host, it all started for her when she’s been moved to the ll; ate Night shift and taking over the recent host. She’s been warned about it, though it intrigued her to her those Midnight Confessions from the callers. To make maters worse, her ex had moved on with his latest girlfriend and wanted her to move into their home. So she needed to move out and to find out a place of her own. To cheer her up, her two friends and co-workers, Chris and Simon, wanted to take her out and treat her while Chris wanted to set her up on a blind date with somebody. When she decided to do that, she met Malik, though he wasn’t her “blind date”. Their chemistry was off the charts when it was most than lust at first sight. He had something dark and disturbing about him. Strange things had happened to her while she worked at the radio station including a regular caller named “Natalie”, who she might’ve had a strange connection with, even when she took it off air. Things got complicated with Malik’s dark moods and how her co-workers acted strangely toward her including menacing threats and text messages. That’s when she brought the police in to investigate while a ruthless caller wanted her to “confess” her own sin. And in the end, when things couldn’t have gotten better for her in a normal routine, it had a dark shocking twist of its own.

This psychological thriller is dark, twisted, and spine-tingling, that would keep you up all night.  I cared for Melanie on how she’d gotten over her way with Malik and how she’d gotten too attached to “Natalie.” I became a bit wary of Malik, Chris, Nathan, and Simon altogether. They all acted strange toward her to keep me guessing who was the true culprit.  The locations set around London in and around itself was idealistic and picture perfect, day or night. The theme of the story is be careful on who you tell your dark secrets to before it would be revealed to others.

This twisted psychological thriller will send you chills right after you finish reading. I couldn’t find anything to nitpick on. I rated this book, four out of five stars for no reason. If you love dark psychological thrillers will twists and turns that would keep you all night with non-stop action, plenty of dramatic suspense, and lots of gasping surprises, Blind Date is the perfect book for you. This book is recommended for those who love dark psychological thrillers and goose-pimpling drama movies and TVs.

Death by the Finish Line

  In  this blog post, I reviewed Alexis Morgan’s Death by the Finish Line, the 5th installment in the Abby McCree cozy mystery series. This cozy mystery had excitement, danger, and twisted turns to keep you in suspense. It all started for Abby McCree, when she teamed up with Gil Pratt, a local biker, to coordinate the Snowberry Creek Founder’s Day Salmon Scoot race. Everything went smoothly until a dead body was found by the finish line. That’s when she called in the police to retrieve the body and later learned his name was identified as James DiSalvo. The main suspect was Gil’s brother Gary and arrested for his murder. But to help her friend prove his brother’s innocence, she did some shopping in Di Salvo’s background without sticking her head into it. To make things worse, his estranged daughter arrived on the scene and making a fuss about her father’s house. At this time, Abby’s uncertain about her feelings with her friend Tripp Blackston, who wanted to take their relationship to the next level. As Abby dug closer to the truth, danger lurked over her head and boomed ahead for her. When she thought she had figured it out, the real culprit revealed itself to her when she fought for her life to see justice service.

This intriguing cozy mystery had me hooked from the first page to keep on reading further.  I cared for Abby and how she’d gotten herself into another pickle. I loved how she cared about her family and the other residents in Snowberry Creek. I also have found Tripp ambitious to keep up with his studies in college and to help keep Abby out of trouble. Zeke was adorable and a true devoted pet by herself. The location of Snowberry Creek, Washington, was enchanted and charming to picture a small town in Northwestern Washington State with idyllic scenic settings by the river. The theme of the story is not to hold a grudge on someone when your anger is boiling hot.

This fascinating cozy will captivate you into a great mystery in one or two settings. I couldn’t find anything fault to nitpick on. I rated this book, four out of five stars for no reason. If you love great cozy capers to keep you in suspense with non-stop action, plenty of non-stop drama and a hint of romance, Death by the Finish Line is the book for you. This cozy is recommended for all mystery and cozy lovers who enjoy a good read to try out a new series and a new author to follow.

Night After Night

  In this blog, I reviewed Lauren Blakely’s Night After Night, the first  installment in the Seductive Nights contemporary romance series. This love story is so steamy and smoldering hot. Julia Bell is a bartender at a hot nightclub in San Francisco. When her sister McKenna hooked her up with Clay Nichols, an entertainment lawyer from New York City, the first night they met was red-hot after their first kiss. Besides their long-distance relationship and casual weekend visits to see each other, they couldn’t stop thinking about each other and seeing each other whenever they’ve gotten the chance. For Julia, she needed to keep the people she loved and cared about at a wide distance so they wouldn’t get harm. Her past had caught up to her. Until her debit was paid to a nasty loan shark, she couldn’t afford to fall too deeply with Clay and give him what he wants. For Clay, he had been burned by his ex who lied about her substance abuse addiction and problems. When he visited her for business, he would do anything to protect her, but if she continued to push him away and lie to him, would she be able to break free from that bind at any cost? This book had a happily for now ending in the series.

This was a steamy contemporary romance that kept me intrigued to know more about this sexy relationship they had with each other.  I cared for Julia and how she cared for the people she loved and would do anything to protect them. But as her past continued to sneak up on her, she would do anything to keep the close people in her world close to her even at wide berth. I felt for Clay who wanted to be with Julia, but remained concerned about how she kept putting off on telling the truth. I worried for the both of them. The dual locations of San Francisco and New York City worked out well for this smexy contemporary romance to portray a long-distance relationship.The theme is that honest is the best policy to break the binds that hold you.

This hot contemporary romance was smoldering hot and fascinated to read. I couldn’t find anything fault to nitpick on, other than to read the next book in the series to find out how it turned out.  I rated this book, four out of five stars, because  of the way it ended. If you love steamy contemporary romances that make you want to yearn for more with plenty of romantic action, a dose off steamy suspense, and heart-stopping non-stop drama, check out Night After Night.  This book is recommended for fans who love smoldering contemporary romance novels.

Accidentally in Love

  In this blog post, I reviewed Belinda Missen’s Accidentally in Love. This romcom is so hilariously funny and leave you in stitches by the time you finish this novel. Katharine Patterson wanted a big-time promotion at Webster gallery she worked so hard for. When she was passed over for the job, she quit on the spot. Her boyfriend John had been more work-centered and not paying any attention to her, or giving her what she wanted. During her clean break  from her split, she returned to Sheffield and stayed at her father’s house until she landed a new job and home of her own.  While she helped her best friend Lainey with her wedding, she developed a plan to start her own gallery and find her own artists.Then she met Christopher “Kit” Dunbar, a local artist, one her father had set her up with. At first, they’ve gotten off on the wrong foot and rubbed each other the wrong way. She needed him to display his art in her exhibition and he played hard to get with her. But when they’ve gotten together, things gelled between them when they worked together to make it happen for Katharine by the deadline, the chemistry begun to grow as they fell for each other. But when John returned to set things right with Katharine, it  threw a monkey-wrench into their relationship and shaken things up for her. It’s up to Katharine to follow her heart and chase after her dreams to get the happy ending she deserved.

This was a fantastic romcom that kept me laughing right to the end. I cared for Katharine and how she would make her own name for herself in the art world. She’s someone to champion for and to admire. And Kit was an interesting love interest who shared the same interests with her. They made the perfect couple in the end. The dual locations of Sheffield and London were interesting and mesmerizing to paint the scenic settings well. The theme of the story is don’t be afraid to take chances with your heart.

This laugh-out-loud romcom was wonderful to read in one or two can’t-put-me-down sittings.  I couldn’t find anything to nitpick on the story. I rated this book, five out of five stars, because it was so funny. If you love romcoms that tug your heart strings with non-stop drama, plenty of romantic action, a dose of humor and suspense, check out Accidentally in Love.  This book is recommended for fans who love romcoms and Hallmark movies that warms your heart from the inside-out.

A Glimmer of a Clue

  In this blog post, I reviewed Daryl Wood Gerber’s A Glimmer of a Clue, the 2nd installment in the Fairy Garden cozy mystery series. This magical and enchanted cozy mystery will make you believe in the impossible…. like in fairies.  For fairy garden and tea shop owner, Courtney Kelly, she loved living by Carmel-by-the-Sea and chatting with her Fairy friend Fiona. But when Lana Lamar gotten into an argument with Wanda Brownie in public, things turned heated between them. Later on, Wanda was caught sleep-walking with the murder weapon in her hand on that same night. And the police charged her with Lara’s murder. Courtney, Meagan, and her fairy Fiona believed her innocence, but who would’ve done the ghastly deed.  Without steeping on the Carmel PD’s toes, she did a little sleuthing to discover the wide range of the suspect list including Lana’s husband Elton. Everyone had a bone to pick with her and hated her guts. While this was on-going, she kept her feelings in check with Brady, a friend of hers who has a romantic interest in her. Before she could take their relationship to the next level, she’s got to sift out the truth from the lies and take a closer into Lana’s life when someone targeted her with a surprise attack that almost knocked her out of commission. The more questions she asked, the more in peril her life becomes, when she discovers the true culprit and why they’ve done it in an intense show-down.

This was an interesting and magical crafty cozy series that has a hint of fantasy with a sprinkling of fairy dust inside it. I did find Courtney delightful and interesting on how she was a true believer in fairies, loves a good cup of tea, and has a hankering to solve mysteries in her neighborhood. Fiona the Fairy was a hoot. And Brady wasn’t too bad to look at either. I l loved the Carmel-by-the-Sea backdrop for the location along the water, especially Dream-by-the-Sea too. The scenic settings were vivid and imaginary to transport you there on every page. The theme of the story is that your actions have consequences when you hate someone.

This fantastic cozy mystery had  kept me in suspense and hooked from the first page.  I couldn’t find anything to nitpick on the story since it was delightful. I rated this book, four out of five stars, because I didn’t want it to end. If you love cozy mysteries with a twist of its own, a Glimmer of a Clue have non-stop action, plenty of dramatic suspense, and a hint of crafting magic,  This book is recommended for fans who love cozies that provides recipes for crafting and/or cooking, and love cozies that has something different to offer from other cozies.