Monthly Archives:: July 2014

Review: Cookies and Scream (A Cookie Cutter Shop Mystery #5) by Virginia Lowell

July 3, 2014 Lily B Uncategorized 6

Cookies and Scream (A Cookie Cutter Shop Mystery #5) by Virginia Lowell

Published July 1st 2014
by Berkley

Paperback, 304 pages

Series: A Cookie Cutter Shop Mystery

Genre: Cozy-Mystery

Source: I got a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange of an honest review.
Amazon | Goodreads

Summary from Goodreads

Olivia Greyson is the
proud owner of The Gingerbread House—a quaint shop that specializes in
all things cookie—and her best friend, Maddie, is her sidekick, baking
up scrumptious treats for their cookie-themed parties. But when a
stunning antique cookie cutter collection leads to murder, things get a
bit too hot to handle…

You know when you sometimes read a book with a specific theme that you wouldn’t really paid mind to other time and then you find yourself hopping on over to the internet just to google your curiosity? Well that’s what this book did to me.

Cookies and Scream is a 5th book in the A Cookie Cutter Shop Mystery. I haven’t read the previous installments in this series but had no problem just jumping into Olivia Greyson’s life and picking up the pieces along the way. Olivia owns a cookie store called The Gingerbread House (how cute is that name?) along with her best friend Maddie, who is also her sidekick and helps her around the kitchen. When they get offered to sell a stunning prized antique cookie cutter collection, they get more then they bargained for when it’s owned turned up dead. Now they jump head first into trying to prove that Greta was actually murdered, as they dig into her old life and world filled with mysteries, glamor and some painful past.

Fun story. I enjoyed all the buildup that the author did before the murder. Seriously, it took like over 100 pages before the murder and the story was well done leading up to it and the aftermath as well. I liked Olivia and Maddie, they make a great due. Where Olivia lacks, Maddie picks it up. A bit more open, spunky and a quick thinker.

The cookie cutters was the thing that had me browsing the internet with curiosity. I didn’t know how many different antique cookie cutters there can be out there and how some very rare ones have been sold for a lot of money. It was fascinating the thing that interests some people and collectors. I love finding stuff like this that I wouldn’t have otherwise if I haven’t had read the book.

Lowell is great at storytelling and she has build a world of very enjoyable characters. especially with such a fun duo of Olivia and Maddie. I enjoyed following them around as they stumbled through trying to crack the secrets and what really happened to Greta that night.

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Review: Ill-Gotten Panes (A Stained Glass Mystery) by Jennifer McAndrews

July 2, 2014 Lily B Uncategorized 15

Ill-Gotten Panes (A Stained Glass Mystery) by Jennifer McAndrews

Published July 1st 2014
by Berkley

Paperback, 304 pages

Series: A Stained Glass Mystery

Genre: Cozy Mystery

Source: I got a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange of an honest review.
Amazon | Goodreads

Summary from Goodreads

FIRST IN A NEW SERIES!

Stained-glass
aficionado Georgia Kelly packed up her city life for the quiet of small
town Wenwood, New York. But the sleepy village’s peace is about to get
shattered—by murder…

After a banking scandal loses Georgia
her job and fiancé, she decides that a change of scenery will help piece
her life back together. But escaping to her grandfather’s house in the
old-fashioned, brick-making Hudson River hamlet of Wenwood, New York,
turns out to be less relaxing than she expects. Not only is the
close-knit community on edge about their beloved brickworks being turned
into a marina to draw in tourists, one of those most opposed to the
project winds up dead—cracked over the head with a famous Wenwood brick.

Georgia wouldn’t be broken up over the news except for the fact that
the main suspect is the deceased’s biggest adversary—her grandfather.
Now, to remove the stain from her grandy’s record, Georgia will have to
figure out who in town was willing to kill to keep the renovation
project alive, before someone else is permanently cut out of the
picture…

After a bad work scandal, Georgia not only loses her job but also her fiancé and friends along with it. With a need to put the pieces of her life back together, she goes to one place that her own mother keeps coming back to regroup - her grandfather’s house. Georgia isn’t even back in town for a few days when already she is stepping on some people’s toes. To make matter’s worse, her grandfather’s enemy turns up dead soon after and her grandfather ends up the prime suspect in his murder. Unable to sit back and watch as the police work on accusing her Grandy, Georgia takes it into her own hands to snoop around town and get to the bottom of this murder before her Grandy ends up in handcuffs.

Great start to a new series, I really enjoyed it. Georgia is a new sleuth and she doesn’t have it all together and I like that. She is back in small town trying to kind of find her next path in life and while she is doing that, she is taking a break in her grandfathers house. She uses stained glass art as a way to kind of relax, and when an Antique store owner presents her with a fixer up, Georgia is more then glad to undertake the task. It also starts a quick friendship between her and Carrie (the Antique store owner). I don’t know much about Stained Glass art, but I found reading about it fascinating, and all the things Georgia had to do with the glass and how you can cut it into different shapes.

Besides that, I loved how the author uses humor scattered through the book and the wit accompanied it. The storyline was well told and fun to follow as Georgia stumbles through small town life and some ‘politics’ in order to find who was the real murderer. I also loved the fact that this story features a grandfather instead of typical grandma, it made it exciting and just as fun with the roles reversed.

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Review: When Day Breaks (KGI #9) by Maya Banks

July 2, 2014 Lily B Uncategorized 8

When Day Breaks (KGI #9) by Maya Banks

Published June 24th 2014
by Berkley

Paperback, 304 pages

Series: KGI #9

Genre: Adult Romantic Suspense

Heat Rating: Sizzling

Source: I got a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange of an honest review.
Amazon | Goodreads

Mature Content Advisory, must be 18+ for strong sexual content and language

Summary from Goodreads

THE ALL-NEW KGI NOVEL BY NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELING AUTHOR AUTHOR MAYA BANKS

The
Kelly Group International (KGI): A super-elite, top secret, family-run
business. Qualifications: High intelligence, rock-hard body, military
background. Mission: Hostage/kidnap victim recovery. Intelligence
gathering. Handling jobs the U.S. government can’t…

Eden is said to be one of the most beautiful women in the world. Her
face has graced countless magazines and her body has sold millions of
dollars of clothing. But her fame and beauty has earned her more than
she ever imagined. Evil is stalking her, determined to extinguish the
ethereal beauty forever.

Swanson or “Swanny” as his teammates
call him is always up for the next mission. He came back from
Afghanistan wounded and scarred. Hardly the kind of man who even belongs
in the same room with Eden. And yet there’s something about the quiet
beauty that stirs his blood and makes him dream of the impossible.
Because Beauty loving the Beast only happens in fairy tales and KGI
doesn’t deal in fairy tales. Ever.

Let me get this straight out now. I enjoy Maya Banks KGI series before and have had a few in the series that I really liked. This one, wasn’t my favorite, unfortunately. It wasn’t all bad. I did enjoy quiet a bit of it, but the storyline just did not work for me at all.

What I did enjoy…

Swanny. I love broken hero’s. I love hero’s period, and Swanny is the hero in this story. He came back from Afghanistan scarred and wounded after a mission that went horribly wrong and he was captured and tortured. Now Swanny doesn’t find himself attractive and hides the scare that occupies much of one side of his face. He also still has a bit of demons, because he remembers the incident quiet well as it also happened to one of his friends who was with him. Now Swanny doesn’t believe that he has a shot at love, which at first made me just want to cuddle him and tell him it would be okay. After all, his a hero with battle scar and that could be very sexy on a man.
The action, when it happened. Which unfortunately did feel a little scars. A lot of the book focused on the attraction between Swanny and Eden. But when it did take off and stuff was happening, I did find that I was enjoying it quiet a bit more.
Skyler. A female KGI that totally kicked ass, enough said here - she was awesome and I loved the brother sister relationship she had with Swanny.

What not so much….

There was a bit of an insta-love between Swanny and Eden. He already had a thing for her thinking she was one of the most gorgeous women seeing her pictures in magazines (Eden is a model) so when she singles him out right away out of all the big hunky KGI men in the room, Swanny is floored that she is giving him all the attention.
Thought it was endearing at first that Swanny was cautious about Eden seeing the scarred side of him, afraid that he would drive her away. His insecurity was cute at first, and made me want to hug him and call him silly for thinking that something like that would turn us women off. Unfortunately it got old after the fifth time it happened and it kept happening, even up until they fell into bed together.
I was surprised at what Eden revealed to Swanny before she jumped into bed with him. With the way she was putting herself out there, it was kind of like lame……really? moment.

Review: Some Enchanted Éclair (A Magical Bakery Mystery #4) by Bailey Cates + Giveaway

July 1, 2014 Lily B Uncategorized 12

Some Enchanted Éclair (A Magical Bakery Mystery #4) by Bailey Cates

Published July 1st 2014
by Signet

Paperback, 336 pages

Series: A Magical Bakery Mystery

Genre: Cozy Mystery

Source: I got a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange of an honest review.
Amazon | Goodreads

Summary from Goodreads

FLOUR POWER

When Hollywood invades Savannah’s historic district to film a
Revolutionary War movie, magical baker Katie Lightfoot, and her witches’
coven, the Spellbook Club, take a break from casting spells for casting
calls. One of the witches snags a part as an extra, while Katie’s
firefighter boyfriend, Declan, acts as on-set security. Katie and her
aunt Lucy decide to stay out of the action, but after the movie’s
“fixer” fires the caterer, the Honeybee Bakery comes to the rescue,
working their magic to keep the hungry crew happy.

But when
someone fixes the fixer—permanently—and a spooky psychic predicts Katie
will find the killer, the charming baker and her fellow conjurers step
in to sift through the suspects…before someone else winds up on the
cutting room floor…

Oh what an enchanting treat this book really was!!

Katie Lightfoot is a magical baker, who is also a part of a witches’ coven called the Spellbook Club. They live in a Savannah’s historical district and Katie happens to own the best bakery in town. So when Hollywood comes to town, Katie is asked to prepare lunch for the the actors and crew. Little did Katie expect was to stumble into another murder, and surely not one where one of her bakeries very own knifes was used.

Oh I adored this book. It really was cozy. I liked the mystery twisted with a bit of magic, and I love how the paranormal was done it this. Light without being over the top. Really felt almost kind of believable. Add warm batch of characters to it and delicious baked goods, and you got yourself a lighthearted adventure worth getting lost in.

Katie is also a lightwitch and is drawn to murder scenes, something that her boyfriend Declan is a bit worried about - until he of course finds out his own little family trait he wasn’t aware of. Now as Katie tries to find who is behind the murder, she also struggles with finding out how to sort of distance herself away from this trouble. Unsure why of all people, she was picked to solve these murders. Magic, mystery, seance and ghosts kept the book entertaining and unbelievably hard to put down.

I really enjoyed the characters of Savannah and Katie’s batch of friends. I did have a hard time with the Hollywood star Althea who for some random reason just randomly decided not to like Katie and cause her and her shop a bit of trouble along the way.

Overall a really fun read, well written, well put together, with characters that stay with you long after. Including Mungo Katie’s dog familiar.