Posts Categorized: Giveaway

Blog Tour Review: Thicker Than Water by Kelly (Fiore) Stultz

January 4, 2016 Lily B Blog Tour, Giveaway, Review 18 ★★★★

Thicker Than Water by Kelly (Fiore) Stultz
Series: Stand-Alone
Published by Harper Teen on January 5th 2016
Genres: Young Adult Contemporary
Pages: 320
Format: Hardcover
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads
Rating:
Heat Rating: zero-flames

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Cecelia Price killed her brother. At least, that’s what the police and the district attorney are saying. And although Cecelia is now locked up and forced into treatment, she knows the real story is much more complicated.
Cyrus wasn’t always the drug-addled monster he’d become. He was a successful athlete, but when an injury forced him off the soccer field and onto pain medication, his life became a blur of anger, addiction, and violence. All CeCe could do was stand by and watch, until she realized one effective way to take away her brother’s drugs while earning the money she needed for college: selling the pills.
Soon, CeCe becomes part drug dealer, part honor student. But even when all she wants is to make things right, she learns that sometimes the best intentions lead to the worst possible outcome.
Thicker than Water is an unforgettable dark, harrowing look into the disturbing truth of drug addiction and the desperate love of a sister watching her brother deteriorate before her eyes.

Thicker Than Water was a read that I came away with quite surprised. It’s a story told from Cecelia Price‘s point of view about the death of her brother, her involvement, and going through treatment as she awaits trial for his death.

It was an interesting story, and even more of an interesting subject as the author takes on a challenge of tackling prescription drug abuse in a Young Adult novel. It didn’t feel for the faint of heart. The subject was a bit dark, it was scary, and at times it felt difficult to read.

As Cecelia unfolds the events leading up to her treatment, I found her journey a bit hard to follow. There had been times where I found myself stepping away from the book in order to sort out my feelings. It was heartbreaking witnessing the deterioration of not just her brother but the friendship between them. It was also hard to swallow the fact that this ended up being another Young Adult novel with the clueless absent parents who wore rose colored glasses of blissful ignorance. I won’t lie when I tell you that it was annoying the way her father had handled the brother’s addiction, or how he choose to live in denial instead of finding his own son some help. I won’t tell you how ironic it felt that Cece is the one who ends up in treatment. Thought I have to admit, that part stumped me.

But I did enjoy the book, more than I thought I would given the difficult subject. I applaud the author for bringing something like this up to attention. The writing was amazing and quite talented. The story had me hooked and wandering the entire time about what had happened and what made things fall apart. It was well crafted, but the end did kind of surprise me and I am not sure if it was in a good or bad way.

Everything I thought I knew, felt like it wasn’t. Making everything that Cece had ever felt guilty of kind of scratch my head a little. But unfortunately I cannot go too far into why, without ruining the book.

Overall, it was really well written, despite a few problems. The story line was a bit dark, parts of it made me feel bad for Cece and the sibling relationship she lost with her brother, parts of it made it hard to read it.

Giveaway Details:

3 winners will receive a finished copy of THICKER THAN WATER. US Only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Schedule:

Week One:

12/28/2015- Ohana Reads- Interview

12/29/2015- Here’s to Happy Endings- Review

12/30/2015- FICTION FARE- Guest Post

12/31/2015- In Wonderland- Review

1/1/2016- PLEASE FEED THE BOOKWORM- Interview

Week Two:

1/4/2016- Night Owl Book Café- Review

1/5/2016- Fiktshun- Guest Post

1/6/2016- Such a Novel Idea- Review

1/7/2016- YA Book Madness- Interview

1/8/2016- A Dream Within A Dream- Review

About Kelly (Fiore) Stultz

Kelly Fiore-Stultz has a BA in English from Salisbury University and an MFA in Poetry from West Virginia University. She received an Individual Artist Award from the Maryland State Arts Council in 2005 and 2009. Kelly’s poetry has appeared in Small Spiral Notebook, Samzidada, Mid Atlantic Review, Connotation Press, and the Grolier Annual Review. Her first young adult novel, Taste Test, was released in August 2013 from Bloomsbury USA, and her second, Just Like the Movies, again from Bloomsbury, was releasted in 2014. Forthcoming novels include Thicker Than Water from HarperTeen in 2015.

Review: Dead to the Last Drop: A Coffeehouse Mystery by Cleo Coyle + Guest Post + Giveaway

December 7, 2015 Lily B Giveaway, Guest Post, Review 17 ★★★★½

Dead to the Last Drop: A Coffeehouse Mystery by Cleo Coyle
Series: Coffeehouse Mystery series #15
Published by Berkley on December 1st 2015
Genres: Cozy Mystery
Pages: 432
Format: Hardcover
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads
Rating:
Heat Rating: one-flame

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

From the New York Times bestselling author of Once Upon a Grind comes a new installment in the Coffeehouse Mystery series.After the White House asks coffeehouse manager and master roaster Clare Cosi to consult on the coffee service for a Rose Garden Wedding, she discovers a historic pot was used as a CIA “dead drop” decades before. Now long-simmering secrets boil over, scalding Clare and the people around her… Clare’s visit to the nation’s capital is off to a graceful start. Her octogenarian employer is bunking with her in a charming Georgetown mansion, and she's invited to work with a respected curator on the Smithsonian's culinary salute to coffee in America. Unfortunately, Clare’s new Village Blend DC is struggling to earn a profit—until its second floor jazz club attracts a high-profile fan, the college-age daughter of the U.S. President. Clare’s stock rises as the First Lady befriends her, but she soon learns a stark lesson: Washington can be murder. First a stylish State Department employee suspiciously collapses in her coffeehouse. Then the President’s daughter goes missing. Is she a runaway bride or is something more sinister in play? After another deadly twist, Clare is on the run with her NYPD detective boyfriend. Branded an enemy of the state, she must piece together clues and uncover the truth before her life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness come to a bitter end. Includes great American recipes!

Cleo Coyle strikes again as she brings a new exciting release in her Coffeehouse Mystery Dead to the Last Drop. Clare Cosi has taken a major step by moving to DC to be closer to her boyfriend Mike Quinn. In DC she is managing a new location of Village Blend, DC opened by her owner. Things aren’t going so great for Clare. The opening day was a bust and her Chef with his ironclad contract is causing Clare lots of problems. The problems start to seem minor when the First Daughter, going by the musician’s name on Abby Lane shows up at the coffee house to perform with Gardener and his band mates. Suddenly Clare gets more than what she was willing to bargain for. People who work for the government dying, and the violent kidnapping of the First Daughter has Clare wanted and on the run. Not to mention Mike Quinn, Clare’s boyfriend is having his own share of troubles with his boss and as the two find themselves on the run from special agents, they must find not only the person who committed the crime but also how Quinn’s boss might be connected to it.

Wow! This book literally started out in the middle of the action, hooked me and did NOT let me go. It was fun, it was entertaining, and for book 15 of the series, it was NOT boring.

Somehow Clare moving to DC has opened up like a new chapter not only in Clare’s life but also in the series. It definitely felt like a small revamp, but it was also oh so good.

Coyle really knows how to bring it, with well fleshed out characters that keep you smiling. Her writing has become so familiar, it’s like coming home with each new book, and catching up with old friends.

Clare and her employees are as spunky as ever. Clare and Mike are as wonderful as ever and fear not long time lovers of the Coffeehouse mysteries because Coyle has found and clever way to enfold the old characters into the new book and the new scene. So not only does Matt make an appearance in the book, but the banter between him and Clare is as easy, familiar, and funny as ever.

I loved the writing style. It was fast paced and the chapters are short which is great for a mom like me that absolutely hates putting the book down in the middle of a chapter. There is a lot going on, there is a bit of action, a mystery, and I enjoyed the scenes of Clare and Mike on the run as Clare is retelling Mike the events that happen prior to the kidnapping as they are trying to find who did it before Clare is brought in by the agents.

If you are a fan of cozy mysteries and have not yet read this series, I strongly suggest you give this one a shot. What are you waiting for?

On the Run in Washington with Cleo Coyle’s new Coffeehouse Mystery

There are worse fates than being on the run with a handsome federal agent—like spending the rest of your natural life in a federal penitentiary. That’s the dilemma Clare Cosi is facing when White House officials come to believe she aided and abetted kidnappers of the President’s daughter and conspired to end the life of a State Department employee.

These capital crimes are the last thing this hard-working single mom and coffeehouse manager expects to be accused of when she opens a new shop in our nation’s capital, but she must solve both mysteries—and discover who framed her—or she may discover firsthand…

Washington is murder.

If you are new to our long-running Coffeehouse Mystery series, don’t hestitate to pick up DEAD TO THE LAST DROP. You can read it as a stand-alone story, and if you like the ride, you have fourteen more in our series to enjoy. But don’t miss this Washington entry. It’s embedded with twists, turns, and hidden secrets about our nation’s capital that were inspired by my own experiences while living, studying, and working in D.C.

To read the prologue and first chapter, click here.

DEAD TO THE LAST DROP is also a culinary mystery, with an appendix of more than 25 wonderful recipes, including a fantastic version of Black Magic Cake with a “secret ingredient” chocolate frosting to die for.

To see the book’s free Recipe Guide, click here.

Here are some of the places Clare Cosi
will take you on her visit to Washington…

THE WHITE HOUSE

Clare makes two trips to this grand destination, one at the request of the First Lady, who shares a private lunch with her in the Diplomatic Reception Room, a magnificent oval-shaped space famously redecorated by Jacqueline Kennedy and once used by Franklin D. Roosevelt for his legendary fireside chats.

GEORGETOWN

This picturesque neighborhood boasts some of the finest examples of Federal period architecture in the country. Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Graham Bell, and John F. Kennedy are among the past residents. It’s here that Clare lands a posh housesitting gig on “Cox’s Row” in a charming mansion that was once part of the Underground Railroad.

THE SMITHSONIAN

A glittering black-tie party brings Clare to “America’s Attic,” the nickname of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. Clare witnesses a fateful meeting here, in front of Dorothy’s ruby slippers from The Wizard of Oz, one of the many fascinating artifacts that celebrate American culture, creativity, and cuisine. Yes, cuisine! As a master roaster and expert on the bean, Clare is asked to contribute her ideas to one of the museum’s newest exhibits, Coffee and the Presidency.

THE JAZZ SPACE

This fictional location is based on a real jazz club in Washington called Blues Alley. The mouthwatering menu of our Jazz Space becomes an important plot point in DEAD TO THE LAST DROP, and the recipes for many of the menu’s items are included in the book. You can even visit our Jazz Space online. Come to our website CoffeehouseMystery.com to learn more.

CLEO’S NEWSLETTER: Contests, recipes, news, fun facts, and videos. To sign up, simply write an e-mail that says “sign me up” and send it to CoffeehouseMystery@gmail(dot)com You will receive a reply with links to past newsletters that include free recipes.
TITLE CHECKLIST: Get a free title checklist with mini summaries of all 15 Coffeehouse Mysteries. To download the list as a PDF document, click here.

Rules

Must be 13 years old or older to enter. (People under must have a parent enter for them)
Must be a follower of the blog
Winners will be notified by e-mail within 72 hours of the giveaway ending and will have 72 hours to respond to that e-mail or else a new winner will be chosen. So please do not skip the option of putting in the e-mail that you check most frequently.
Entries that do not follow the rules will be disqualified.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

About Cleo Coyle

CLEO COYLE is a pseudonym for Alice Alfonsi, writing in collaboration with her husband, Marc Cerasini. Both are New York Times bestselling authors of the Coffeehouse Mysteries, now celebrating over ten years in print. Alice has worked as a journalist in Washington, D.C., and New York City, and has written young adult and children’s books. A former magazine editor, Marc has authored espionage thrillers and nonfiction for adults and children. Alice and Marc are also bestselling media tie-in writers who have penned properties for Lucasfilm, NBC, Fox, Disney, Imagine, and MGM. They live and work in New York City, where they write independently and together, including the national bestselling Haunted Bookshop Mysteries.

PHOTO CREDITS:

1 – Black Magic Cake photo by Alice Alfonsi

2—Alice Alfonsi and her husband, Marc Cerasini, who write as Cleo Coyle. Photo by Alice Alfonsi

3 – White House photo courtesy HiraV, Wiki Commons

4 – Cox’s Row of Georgetown courtesy Library of Congress

5 – Dorothy’s Ruby Slippers courtesy Wiki Commons

6 – Jazz Space photo, no credit

Thankful for You Giveaway Hop!

November 20, 2015 Lily B Giveaway 23

This week we’re letting everyone know just what we’re thankful for. And that includes…YOU! There’s a new giveaway at every single stop so be sure to hop around and visit your favorite blogs and find a few new ones to follow too! Hosted by Anna from Herding Cats & Burning Soup .

This giveaway is entirely dedicated to my followers of the blog. The new and the old. For those of you who are recently following, thank you, I hope you stick around. For the old followers, I can’t express the gratitude I feel for you guys. Thank you for coming back to my blog, thank you for all your lovely comments you leave behind. Not only do I try to answer them all as I can, I also love returning the favor. I have been blogging for 3 years now and been loving every single one of those years, even if I come and go duo to life outside of blogging, it is nice to know I can come back into this warm and welcoming community.

As a thank you, I am giving away one lucky winner an e-book for under $10 dollars from the store and format of your choice. To enter please fill out a rafflecopter below. You obviously have to be a follower to enter.

Rules

Must be 13 years old or older to enter. (People under must have a parent enter for them)
Must be a follower of the blog. As this giveaway is special to me, if you drop from being a follower right after, you will be disqualified from future giveaways of this blog, sorry.
Winners will be notified by e-mail within 72 hours of the giveaway ending and will have 72 hours to respond to that e-mail or else a new winner will be chosen. So please do not skip the option of putting in the e-mail that you check most frequently.
Entries that do not follow the rules will be disqualified.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Review: The Glass Arrow by Kristen Simmons + Giveaway

November 7, 2015 Lily B Giveaway, Review 26 ★★★★

The Glass Arrow by Kristen Simmons
Series: Stand-Alone
Published by Tor Teen on February 10th 2015
Genres: Young Adult Dystopia
Pages: 336
Format: Hardcover
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads
Rating:
Heat Rating: half-flame

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

The Handmaid’s Tale meets Blood Red Road in Glass Arrow, the story of Aya, who lives with a small group of women on the run from the men who hunt them, men who want to auction off breeding rights to the highest bidder.
In a world where females are scarce and are hunted, then bought and sold at market for their breeding rights, 15-year old Aya has learned how to hide. With a ragtag bunch of other women and girls, she has successfully avoided capture and eked out a nomadic but free existence in the mountains. But when Aya’s luck runs out and she’s caught by a group of businessmen on a hunting expedition, fighting to survive takes on a whole new meaning.

Guys, I could not believe this! I was going through my 2015 list, compiling my favorites for the year and I noticed that I have missed reviewing The Glass Arrow. At first I was shocked because I liked it so much, then I was confused and then I looked at my Goodreads shelf and everything came to light. I read The Glass Arrow literally the day before my son was born.

So despite this being several months late. I figured it was still better late then never.

Wow, I have to admit, this was my first time dipping my toes into Simmons writing and I do not regret it. The Glass Arrow, did it for me. It hooked me from the beginning and continued to hold on until the very end. It was wonderful, it was emotional, and it was addictive. I did not want to let this book go.

Simmons introduces us to a darker world where women are haunted, sold, and used as breeders. The girls that are caught in the wild are brought to this jail like place called the Garden, where they are groomed to be sold. Aya was born in the wild, outside of the city limits, and when she was caught, she did everything in her power to try and stay away from being sold in the auctions - injuries, fights, pissing off the woman in charge. I think the fact that she wasn’t born within the city is what drove her will for survival and her wild like instincts to keep herself from being sold like a piece of meat. She was strong, resilient and she did things that I probably would never have the guts to do. She also has a sort of a pet wolf Brax who I adored.

I was a little perplexed about the way these girls treated each other in the Garden. I was really hoping sisterhood would prevail at a time of need. In a way, later in the story, it does. Still, it saddened me how easily the girls accepted their faith, that this is all they think they will amount to.

The romance in this was slow building, and I was so happy that it was not insta-love. Kiran is a Driver, who is equally as brave as Aya. They meet when Aya get’s tossed into solitary due to her behavior, and after a rocky start they eventually form a kind of bond. Aya thinks that Kiran is a mute as he does not speak, and so there were a lot of one sided conversations between the two. Aya does not trust Kiran at first, but eventually it became kind of hard not to when he tries to help her.

The world building was fabulous. I was shocked how well Simmons had woven everything together into one Stand-Alone novel. For the most part, I think she has managed to cover everything and how the world worked. From how the girls were groomed to be sold, to Drivers, and the food pills.

The ending was action packed and a bit of a nail biter for me. I wanted to know what happens, how will it end. Daphne, one of the girls from the Garden and her sudden resilience surprised me. Her relationship with Aya is rocky and not well liked, but both do what they have to in order to survive. Aya is loyal to a fault and I loved that about her. I loved learning about her past and who she is. I applaud Aya for the sacrifices she had made, seriously the ending made me cry, and if you read the book you know exactly why. I almost gave up on the book there and then, I couldn’t believe it happened. I think that was the major part that took away 1 star for me from the book

Because I am feeling generous today I am giving away an e-book copy of this book from amazon, or B & N or wherever I can send a copy to you from. Open INT. Yay!

Rules

Must be 13 years old or older to enter. (People under must have a parent enter for them)
Must be a follower of the blog
Winners will be notified by e-mail within 72 hours of the giveaway ending and will have 72 hours to respond to that e-mail or else a new winner will be chosen. So please do not skip the option of putting in the e-mail that you check most frequently.
Entries that do not follow the rules will be disqualified.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Trimmed With Murder: A Seaside Knitters Mystery by Sally Goldenbaum + Giveaway

November 6, 2015 Lily B Giveaway, Review 19 ★★★★

Trimmed With Murder: A Seaside Knitters Mystery (A Seaside Knitters Mystery, #10) by Sally Goldenbaum
Series: A Seaside Knitters Mystery #10
Published by NAL on November 3rd 2015
Genres: Cozy Mystery
Pages: 336
Format: Hardcover
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads
Rating:
Heat Rating: half-flame

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

All Izzy Chambers Perry wants for Christmas is to keep her brother out of jail—in this holiday yarn from the national bestselling author of A Finely Knit Murder…
In Sea Harbor the holidays mean cozy fires, festive carols, and soft skeins of yarn waiting to become hats and sweaters and scarves. And this year Izzy and the other Seaside Knitters are also knitting tiny ornaments to decorate a tree for the first annual tree-trimming contest.
Their holiday cheer is multiplied when Izzy's younger brother, Charlie Chambers, unexpectedly arrives to volunteer at a local clinic. He brings with him outspoken hitchhiker Amber Hanson, who is returning to Sea Harbor to claim an inheritance. She quickly reacquaints herself with the area--and forms an unlikely friendship with Charlie. But their bond is shattered when her body is found beneath the undecorated trees on the Harbor Green.
With Charlie a suspect in the murder, Izzy and her fellow knitters step in to uncover the truth. It's only by peeling away long-buried secrets that they can hope to restore joy to the season, and enjoy the shining lights of the newly decorated trees.

At First Glance: Trimmed With Murder looks like a great cozy mystery to bundle up with on a dreary day.

Though my days this week have not been as dreary, summer made some kind of a comeback, Trimmed With Murder was still a great cozy to bundle up at nights with. It was exactly what I was looking for starting this November. I love books with holiday themes around this time of year and Sally Goldenbaum delivered just that.

As Sea Harbor prepares for Christmas by kicking off a Christmas tree contest, two new strangers make way into the small town and create a bit of a disturbance. Amber is a woman that jumps into Charlie’s car in the middle of the night, in the middle of the road when he almost accidentally hits her coming into town. She is flighty, abrasive, and has somehow managed to wedge herself into Charlie’s life. Unfortunately, Amber ends up dead shortly after being included in a recent will reading that dumped some big news on this newcomer, and Charlie ends up being the suspect.

I enjoyed this one I did. The writing was well done, very descriptive and warm. Charlie has left Sea Harbor a while ago and it’s his first time back after being away. There is a bit of wariness between him, his sister and his aunt so it takes a bit for Charlie to try and mend this relationship in hopes to begin some healing. I couldn’t help but feel a little mad that Nell, his aunt, doubted Charlie at the beginning in light of the events.

The story was done a bit different. Goldenbaum introduces Amber into the story before the murder and really gives the reader a feel for the girl. You can’t help but feel sorry for Amber and what she was going through. Her grandmother and her family blamed her for her mother’s mistakes and kind of taking it out on her. She suffered and became a sort of a black sheep in the family. It was nice to see Esther, a town resident step up and take care of the girl during her short stay at Sea Harbor. I felt for Amber, I did, she seemed sort of lost and a bit of a tortured soul, misunderstood. When it turns out that she ends up the murder victim, the style that Goldenbaum introduced me to in this book is rare. We meet Amber, and it isn’t until almost 100 pages into the book that the murder finally happens and you just feel for you, you can’t help it. Or, at least I did.

Outside of that, there were plenty of warmth and friendship that you can’t help but adore and admire through the book. This is the first book for me in this series and I guess It could benefit from reading it from the beginning, but for me it did work as a stand-alone. I was able to learn about the characters quickly and it was nice to see how they stick up for each other, especially when it came to try and clear Charlie’s death.

There were a few other mysteries connecting to Amber that played a big roll in this book, which I liked. I also liked the whole holiday feel as well. It was definitely worth a read.

Rules

Must be 13 years old or older to enter. (People under must have a parent enter for them)
Must be a follower of the blog
Winners will be notified by e-mail within 72 hours of the giveaway ending and will have 72 hours to respond to that e-mail or else a new winner will be chosen. So please do not skip the option of putting in the e-mail that you check most frequently.
Entries that do not follow the rules will be disqualified.
Sent by the publishers, so US only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Review: Murder on St. Nicholas Avenue (Gaslight Mystery #18) by Victoria Thompson + Giveaway

November 2, 2015 Lily B Giveaway, Review 59 ★★★★

Murder on St. Nicholas Avenue by Victoria Thompson
Series: Gaslight Mystery, #18
Published by Berkley on November 3rd 2015
Genres: Historical Mystery
Pages: 320
Format: Hardcover
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads
Rating:
Heat Rating: half-flame

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

The author of Murder on Amsterdam Avenue returns to nineteenth-century New York City to find Christmas in the air, a police detective and a midwife with love in their hearts, and a wealthy newlywed with blood on her hands…
Detective Sergeant Frank Malloy and Sarah Brandt are not the only ones who have recently tied the knot. Family friend Mrs. O’Neill was delighted when her daughter Una wed the seemingly wealthy and charming Randolph Pollock. She didn’t wonder why such an affluent man would want to marry a poor Irish girl, no matter how pretty she was. But now Mrs. O’Neill has a problem.
Pollock’s servants have found their employer bludgeoned to death with Una cradling his body. Rendered mute by the horror of her husband’s death, Una cannot explain what happened, so the police have charged her with murder and locked her away in the Tombs to await trial.
Mrs. O’Neill would like Frank to investigate the case and save Una, yet with Frank and Sarah still on their honeymoon, it’s up to the other members of their newly formed household to do some detective work. But solving the mystery behind Pollock’s death means first discovering the truth about who he really is…

When a woman shows up on Franks Malloy’s doorsteps, his midwife Maeve is weary of her appearance and think that this is just another person from her employers old neighborhood looking for a handout. When it turns out that Mrs. O’Neill is there on behalf of her daughter Una seeking Frank’s help to rescue her daughter for being accused of murder, Maeve jumps into the Malloy’s spot to handle the situation (as Frank is on his honeymoon and is unavailable). As Maeve tries to find the real killer, it will take the help of a few other friends in order to clear Una’s name, including the help of Gino Donatelli, a cop who happens to be very sweet on Maeve.

Excellent story, I thoroughly enjoyed Murder on St. Nicholas Avenue. Victoria Thompson does an amazing job of combining historical fiction with mystery, into a novel that’s so compelling, it is hard to put down. Character driven and fast paced, I found the 18th book of this series totally engrossing. Maeve was an excellent character. Do not be fooled by the blurb, though it does mention Frank and Sarah Malloy, the usual due of Gaslight mysteries, this one really stars Maeve and Gine. Maeve is fierce, out-spoken and tough as nails. She was such a joy to follow around this mystery and her relationship and banter between Gino Donatelli was both amusing and heartwarming. I loved the little romance brewing between these two.

“This is so much nicer than a cab,” Maeve said, stroking the fine wool lap robe.

“Much more private, too,” he said, remembering his claim that Maeve was his girl and wishing it were true.

He thought she gave him a look, but it was too dark to be sure. “Yes, we don’t have to worry about little ears hearing what we say. I think that’s why Mrs.Decker suggested we go to their house.”

Gino managed not to sigh his disappointment that she didn’t get his hint.

The story also featured a curious Mrs. Decker, who loves to butt in and her husband, Mr. Decker that finds his wife’s involvement, very amusing especially when she tries to hide it. I love their relationship mainly because of the way Mr. Decker reacts to his wife’s involvement, especially when he finds out that she is doing to sneak behind his back. He teases her, and lures her just to watch her reaction when she realizes that he knows her antics all along. Their interaction is easy, teasing, and can really put a smile on my face.

“How very clever,” Mrs.Decker said. “I must remember that.”

“Why?” her husband asked. “Are you planning to murder someone?”

The mystery was fun, and like I had already mentioned a bit hard to put down. Una is the woman accused of bashing her husbands head in. As we learn more about Mr.Pollock, her husband, you can’t help but feel a kind of resentment for the man and all of his wrong doings. Una was a really hard character to like, so if that was the case that Thompson was building, she had accomplished it because not only did I not like her, I downright hated her by the end of the book.

“But I didn’t kill him,” she repeated. Maeve would’ve been angry by this point, but Una just pouted prettily.

The woman grated my nerves, especially when throughout the entire book she was using her looks to sway people and to me she just seemed like a total nutcase.heh.

The only thing that disappointed me was that I was hoping for a bit more of a holiday feel to the book because the cover suggested that, but I didn’t get much of that at all.

Overall, if you are a fan of historical mystery, Victoria Thompson is a master at writing with memorable characters that grow with every book, an engrossing mystery and just simply wonderful writing.

The publisher is offering one copy to a US winner.

Rules

Must be 13 years old or older to enter. (People under must have a parent enter for them)
Must be a follower of the blog
Winners will be notified by e-mail within 72 hours of the giveaway ending and will have 72 hours to respond to that e-mail or else a new winner will be chosen. So please do not skip the option of putting in the e-mail that you check most frequently.
Entries that do not follow the rules will be disqualified.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

September Reviews Giveaway

October 1, 2015 Lily B Giveaway 37

Hey guys! I cannot believe it’s October already. This year is going by so quickly! Lots of changes so far this year for my family and my blog. I had a wonderful baby boy at the beginning of the year and parenthood has thought me that I don’t have as much time to read as I use to. Now I must somehow work that in between running around a 7 1/2 month old that wants to be walking any day now. But I have to tell you. I am glad to be back. I missed blogging, I feel like it gives me a purpose that is all my own. Plus, I love reading, so in a way it’s a win win.

As for the blog, you might have noticed I moved not only from blogspot but to a page that Ashley from Noze Graze helped me set up (Thanks for putting up with hundred of questions!) and also left the old name Lily Pond Reads behind. I won’t lie. I’ll miss that blog, I do miss the name, but since I went through a lot of changes this year, I felt it was time for another to reinvent myself. Lily Pond Reads has left me with many memories and accomplishments, one of which is the fact that I was noticed and my review was mentioned in Ghost of a Potion by Heather Blake, I was over the moon and I’ll treasure that. Now it’s time to make new memories and new friends.

I probably won’t do this often but I wanted to do a small giveaway to not only welcome fall, my new blog and a new chapter but to thank my readers. This giveaway is for one of the books I have read in September listed below. It will be a kindle copy, so that way my INT friends can also enter! Just read the rules and fill out the rafflecopter bellow. Thank you!

One of the winners will be able to choose from one of the books below.

*If the winner chooses a copy of The Lies About Truth, a copy will not be available till November when it’s official release date.

The Rules

Must be 13 years old or older to enter. (People under must have a parent enter for them)
Must be a follower of the blog
Winners will be notified by e-mail within 72 hours of the giveaway ending and will have 72 hours to respond to that e-mail or else a new winner will be chosen. So please do not skip the option of putting in the e-mail that you check most frequently.
Entries that do not follow the rules will be disqualified.

a Rafflecopter giveaway