Gunpowder Green

In Laura Childs' Gunpowder Green, the second installment in the Tea Shop Cozy Mystery series, she brewed an interesting and sordid mystery from the ground up. It all started, when Theodosia Browning attended the annual Charleston yacht race to share her newest tea flavor from her shop. But it kicked off with a bang, when Oliver Dixon was shot in close proximity of his young bride. As a witness to hear the argument before it happened and then saw it from her own eyes, she became intrigued on why someone wanted him dead. As she prepared for her own mystery tea party, she dig up the dirt on Oliver's personal and private life as she received idle threats of her own. Later on, she concocted a plot to lure the murderer out with her friends and discovered the real culprit and how he done it and why... when it was nothing more than strictly business.

This was another great cozy mystery to read in a light setting or two. I love the tea shop theme and how each novel features a new flavor to brew and try at home. I do care for Theodosia and her friends at the shop and liked how Timothy turned his own cheek by helping her out. I thought Tidwell was okay and maybe warming on Theo. I loved the Charleston location and descriptive settings in each compelling scene. This would get you intrigued on the first page with drama, non-stop action, suspense and a great mystery from start to finish.

Will you be tempting to try Gunpowder Green today?

Triple Six

In Erica Spindler's Triple Six, the second installment in the Lightkeepers Paranormal Thriller series, the battle between good and evil, dark and light rage on in this compelling gripping thriller. Months later, after Detective Michaela "Mad Dog" Dare was injured on their first fight against the Dark Bearer, she had questions that she needed the answers for. Back on her feet on the next case, they deal with home invasions across the neighborhood. Meanwhile, Angel meets and gets rescued by a man named Seth, who she fells in love for. But both Micki and her partner Detective Zach Harris are both leery and wary about. As she's drawn into his embraces and meets his uncle Will, the case heats up for Micki and Zach, when they have possible leads and suspects, which hit a dead end, literary. As they get closer to the truth, Angel's turns against them, not know who's drawn her into a deadly web of her own. When it dawned to her, it would be too late, until it would come crashing down on her with a shocking ending.

This was another explosive installment into the paranormal thriller series. I really continued to care for Micki and Zach and worried about Angel. I felt compelled to read more and drawn on how she became tangled into an otherwordly web. I loved the New Orleans scenery and gripping locations, especially with the epic battle of good vs evil. This cross-genre of paranormal elements in a mind-blowing thriller will take you for a wild ride with drama, non-stop action, plenty of suspense and a hint of intriguing romance from start to finish.

Will you watch your step with Triple Six?

An October Bride

In Katie Ganshert's An October Bride, the eleventh installment in the A Year of Weddings Contemporary Romance Novella Anthology, she had brought forth a moving love story to warm your heart. Ever since Emma Tate spotted her father's bucket list, she wanted to make it come true. Enter Jake Sawyer, a local neighbor and childhood crush since junior high to help her make it happen. So he gives her a fake proposal for a fake wedding. When the word spread in Mayfair, it stirred a lot of commotion from her folks up to her best friend Lily. With rumors spread out about the fast wedding, as it quickly approaches to the end of October, Emma realizes she's in love with Jake and calls the fake wedding off. But he has a change of heart and tells her, his best friend's kid sister, that he's in love with her, and wants a real one. Emma gives her terminal ill father a happily ever after with her own happy ending.

This was a real beautiful contemporary romance novella. This one really moved me to tears and warmed my heart with a lovely contemporary love story. I really cared for Emma and Jake's story and how they followed their heart and went with their true feelings. I'm so happy that she made her father's last wish to come true on his bucket list before he passed away. I loved the small town of Mayfair and how they came together. I would love how to see Liam and Lily would've turned out, too. I would love to read more of Katie's books in the future. This would take you on a sweet ride in this easy ride with romance, a hint of drama, and a whole lot of warmth.

Will you be the next October Bride?

Termination Dust

In Sue Henry's Termination Dust, the second installment in the Alex Jensen/Jessie Arnold serial mystery series, this gripping mystery brought forth a hint of mystery from the past into the present. It all started, when Jim Hampton, a tourist from Colorado, visits Alaska on a trek to discover a skeleton with bones and a journal of Addison Riser, a gold prospector during the rush in 1897. From there, he's been concussed and set up for murder, when Alex Jensen from Anchorage and Charles Delafosse from the RCMP came to his attention. From there, they question him and his story and later watch it unfold, when two dead bodies turn up at the same time. During the brisk Alaskan cold, it brought along danger and mystery to Jim, Alex, and Del, when the past is connected to the present with new suspects popping out of the woodwork. As they sorted things out, it placed Jessie in danger as the real culprit came up and surprised them, when they put him behind bars.

This was an very good compelling mystery that brought a past mystery to take centerfold in the present fold. I cared for Jim Hampton and for Alex, Del and Jessie. I loved how they worked together to solve this mystery that took part in both parts of the country--Alaska and Canada. I loved the beautiful scenic settings for both dual locations across the border in the cold winter. This would take you into a compelling ride in every gripping turning page with drama, a bit of history, a lot of mystery, a hint of romance, and a lot of suspense with non-stop action.

Will you be checking out Termination Dust today?

Seasons of Paradise

In Barbara Cameron's Seasons of Paradise, the second installment in the Coming Home Inspirational Romance series, this beautiful story would move you to tears and tug your heart. For Mary Elizabeth Zook, she lives and works with her Amish family in Paradise, Pennsylvania in Lancaster County. All her life, she wants to be with Sam Stoltzfus and have a life with him. Ever since he left his community to live with the English, she gave up on him and moved on to be with Ben Miller. And her older sister Lavina prepares to have her first child with her brother-in-law. As Sam dealt with such acrimony with his father, he rarely came home to the farm, except when his father was diagnosed with cancer and helped David out. As he tried to find a place in her heart, he wants to live his own life and have worked hard with his friend Peter. Later, Sam and Mary Elizabeth became friends together as they let God guide them to be back together to start a new life as a couple.

This was a beautiful inspirational romance about letting God guide your heart and lead you to your one true love, other than him. This deals with heartache, romance, life, love and loss, and second chances to come back home. I cared for Mary Elizabeth and Sam and liked Rose Anna and Lavina and David. I did find Amos was a bit harsh and Ben wasn't well suited for her. I loved the beautiful scenic descriptions of Paradise in Amish Lancaster county in Pennsylvania. This would make you listen to your heart with romance, inspiration, a hint of drama and little action along the way.

Will you welcome your own seasons of paradise today?

In Twenty Years

In Allison Winn Scotch's In Twenty Years, this woman's fiction novel grips you about friendship, love and loss and life itself from the very start. Twenty years ago, six Penn students make a pact to reunite and write their future plans in a time capsule on their graduation day. When their ringleader Bea died 13 years ago, the five friends reunited together on what would've been her fortieth birthday at the house they shared at Penn State. Each of the five friends took their own path. Narrated from the five friends' POV and how they dealt with the issues along the way. The college sweethearts, Catherine and Owen, who are going through marriage problems, when Owen's a stay at home dad and quit his law firm, and Catherine who's a superstar crafty diva like Martha Stewart. There's Annie, who's have her own marriage crisis, Colin, a single doctor, who had eyes for Bea and later for Annie, and Lindy, a Nashville superstar who's bisexual and an expectant mother. In the end, they remember Bea and what secret she took to the grave on her illness.

This was a beautiful woman's fiction that would tug at your heart strings. I cared for the five friends in their own way and how a remembrance for Bea had brought them together. In return, she gave something back. I loved the Pennsylvania scenic locations and the crisp settings that was seen from the five friends. I really felt bad for Bea who had to go through cancer again and later die from it, hiding the terrible secret of the real truth she died. This would grip you real hard and take you on an emotional heart-breaking ride with drama, romance, and plenty of heart-breaking scene with a hint of action.

Will you remember where you are in Twenty Years?

Dark Mirror

In Barry Maitland's Dark Mirror, the 10th installment in the Brock and Kolla mystery series, we'll be introduced to the dark side of the rich and famous in this compelling mystery. For Special Crimes Unit Detective Kathy Kolla, it all started with the mysterious death of Marion Summers. As Kathy and her supervisor, DCI David Brock, they look into her life and the days that lead up to her death from arsenic poisoning. They talked to everyone she knew at the university, including her family life, and lined up a string of suspects. The more disturbing details appeared, the most they were concerned, as they discovered secrets of her private life and her paperwork on the pre-Raphaelite art period. When they dug deeper, they learned more about the truth and who done it and why in the end with a shocking ending you wouldn't believe.

This was a dark and gritty British serial mystery. I instantly liked Kathy and David working as a team at the Mat. I liked the central English locations and the compelling settings of city life in London. I didn't like the Warrenders one bit for one reason or another--the same for Marion's mother and sleazy step-father. I thought Guy and Kathy would make a great couple. This would hook you from the start with this gripping and twisted storyline with drama, suspense, non-stop action and tons of mystery with a hint of art history.

Will you be cautious of the dark mirror tonight?