Category: Adult Fiction Reviews

REVIEW: Pomona Afton Can So Solve a Murder by Bellamy Rose

REVIEW: Pomona Afton Can So Solve a Murder by Bellamy Rose

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received a free electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Atria/Emily Bestler Books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

Summary

Pomona Afton plays the role of heiress perfectly. Swanky galas. Personal staff. Designer gowns. Sure, she has ideas of her own, but no one in her family listens to her, so she’s taken to just keeping them to herself.

But her lifestyle comes to a screeching halt after she finds her grandmother murdered. Apparenly Grandma felt her life was at some risk because she had added a clause to her will. If her death was “unnatural,” all of her assets would be frozen. For a year. Pom and her family are evicted from their homes and cut off from their funds immediately. And it will stay that way unless the killer is caught.

When it starts to look like that will never happen, Pom teams up with Gabe, son of her former nanny (who is also feeling the pinch of the frozen assets), to see if she can find out the truth. Everyone has always thought so little of her that she’s just believed them. No one thinks she can really find the truth.

Review

Fantastic! The voice of this was immediately engaging. And it can be tricky to write a spoiled heiress and keep her likeable. But I loved Pom! I was furious that her family was so dismissive of her – and mean in their assumptions that she would fail in the real world. How dare they create an environment that built the woman and then act all put upon and superior when she acts exactly as they have taught her?!

But Pom surprises herself and her family when she rises to the occasion again and again. Choosing the hard thing over the easy thing. I adored her journey!

On top of the excellent character work in this book, the mystery is also terrific. I loved the premise of the family lock out after the grandmother’s murder. I loved watching Pomona warm to her investigative work. And the resolution was supremely satisfying. The relationship with Gabe was the cherry on top of this terrific story – I loved all of it!

This was a perfect fit for me from start to finish. And I am here for more Pomona mysteries in the future. Highly recommend for mystery fans! (Language)

Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥*

*♥♥♥♥♥ – Outstanding!

REVIEW: Beast of the North Woods by Annelise Ryan

REVIEW: Beast of the North Woods by Annelise Ryan

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received a free electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Berkley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

Summary

Andy Bosworth was working his way through the snowy winter woods with his fishing gear when he spotted the man, mauled by some sort of animal. As he raced to the river for better reception to call for help he encountered the likely animal. But Hodags aren’t supposed to be real! He could never tell anyone that was what he saw. But keeping it to himself doesn’t keep him from becoming the primary suspect.

Andy’s aunt, Rita, works for cryptozoologist – and Odds and Ends shop owner – Morgan Carter. And Andy’s father, an attorney, wants to hire Morgan to investigate Andy’s Hodag sighting as part of his defense.

Morgan would love to say no. The Hodag is a fictional cryptid, and she has her hands full with her shop and watching over her shoulder for her merdourous ex. But she can’t say no to Rita.

Morgan encounters local business owners who want her to leave and not tank the local economy with bad stories about their beloved Hodag.  And there are other weird things going on as she investigates. But nothing as mysterious as the creature she spots in the woods.

Review

This was a twisty adventure for Morgan and her friends! I was guessing all the way to the end how this was going to work out. I enjoyed both how the murder mystery was solved and also the solution to the Hodag question.

Readers who enjoy intricate mysteries that will keep you guessing should check this series out. I loved book 1, Death in Door County. I skipped book 2 (the opener was a few steps too far for me in terms of violence), but my husband has read it and really enjoyed it.

You don’t have to have an interest in cryptids to follow or enjoy these books. Most are aware enough of the Loch Ness Monster and Bigfoot to follow the first two books. The Hodag here in book 3 is a bit of a niche cryptid, but as a Wisconsin girl, I was familiar with it. I did ask two friends from Wisconsin – one who spent several years there for grad school and another who grew up not too far from where I did – and neither had heard of a Hodag. So this story might be a bit more unique for the average reader (although the author does a great job with plenty of backstory). Cyrptid fans will get a kick out of this.

I realized as I read this that while I enjoy the intricate mysteries and the cryptid connections, I have not really clicked with the main characters in the series – thus a “lower” rating than you might expect from my written review. Character connection really matters to me. I think my husband will continue with any future books that might come along, but this is not a great fit for me, so I’ll probably move on from here. (Violence, TW: Stalking)

Rating: ♥♥♥½*

*♥♥♥½ = Good +

REVIEW: Daindreth's Assassin by Elisabeth Wheatley

REVIEW: Daindreth’s Assassin by Elisabeth Wheatley

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

Amira has been a tool of others for most of her life. First by her mother and grandmother, for the Istovari Sorceresses. Then as her father’s fixer and assassin. Never fully able to pursue her own will.

When Amira is sent to assassinate Daindreth, the Archduke and future emperor, when he comes to marry her siser, she discovers a secret that could destroy everything. Amira has a power that could save Daindreth from a secret… affliction, so she offers herself and her gifts to save her sister. But Daindreth’s secrets go deeper than the assissin even realizes.

Review

I have been following the author – and her delightful Book Goblin character – on social media for awhile now, but last summer I ordered a copy of the first book in this romantasy series. And I enjoyed it! The magic system here is fascinating, and I’m not convinced I understad it fully after just one book. I am intrigued by the Istovari sorceresses and what that history and Amira’s past could mean for her future with Daindreth.

The “villains” of the story include “demons,” which might turn away some readers. This is another piece of the magic system that still has revelations in store. The author does a good job of telling an understandable story while still holding back pieces she can reveal later. I might have to pick up book two, Daindreth’s Outlaw, and see what happens next!

Rating: ♥♥♥½*

*♥♥♥½ = Good +

REVIEW: Death in the Stacks by Jenn McKinlay

REVIEW: Death in the Stacks by Jenn McKinlay

Posted on by Jaymie

[I recently discovered some unpublished reviews I wrote several years ago. I’m posting these now as they were originally written.]

Summary

Lindsey and the library crew are preparing for their biggest fundraiser of the year – the $50 per plate Dinner in the Stacks. But the new library board president is determined to cause trouble.

Olive Boyle is only chairing the board because she wants to run for mayor. She thinks a few local leadership positions will help secure her win. But her abrasive personality isn’t doing her any favors. She threatens to fire Lindsey and to expose another library employee for some past indiscretion. And then she tries to bully the event caterers into donating everything for Dinner in the Stacks.

Is it really any wonder that Olive ends up dead?

Unfortunately, Olive’s feud with Lindsey and her staff was quite public. And the body was found in the library. Even though Lindsey has sworn to all her friends that she is done sleuthing for good, how can she hang back now when her friend is the  prime suspect for Olive’s murder?

Review

This was excellent! As I have mentioned before, I love the characters in this series. I enjoy spending time with them in every book. The library angle is also a perfect fit for me.

Fans of McKinlay’s hat shop and cupcake shop series will be delighted to find the characters from those books making an appearance here. Both of those series are on my TBR pile – and this made me want to dive into those soon.

The mystery in this was outstanding. Olive was like Delores Umbridge in the HP series. Just a horrible, mean, hateful, narcissistic character. There were plenty of suspects to choose from. And the solution twisted and turned all the way to the end. Delightful!

I highly recommend this series. I am a big fan of Jenn McKinlay’s work. If you haven’t tried out any of her books, she has several series to choose from for both mystery and romance fans.

Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥*

*♥♥♥♥♥ = Outstanding!

REVIEW: A Grim Reaper's Guide to Catching a Killer by Maxie Dara

REVIEW: A Grim Reaper’s Guide to Catching a Killer by Maxie Dara

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

Kathy’s work for SCYTHE, escorting the souls of the newly dead to processing, is simple. Predictable. And newly-divorced and pregnant Kathy can use some “predictable” in her life.

But the soul she’s supposed to be picking up is at first missing. And then later, when she finds him, he’s belligerent and hostile, insisting he was murdered. So now she’s stuck with a mouthy teen soul as her sidekick while she tries to hunt down the truth.

Review

This was fun! I adored the relationship between Connor (the soul) and Kathy throughout the book. And the role Kathy’s ex played in the story was a sweet addition.

The world building here is fun – the role of SCYTHE, Kathy’s job responsibilities, etc.. I liked the combination of genre’s too – mystery, fantasy, with a little second chance love story to work out on the side. The pieces all came together for an engaging story with a fast-paced ending with a sweet, emotional touch. I loved this quirky story and would absolutely pick up a sequel. (Language)

Rating: ♥♥♥♥*

*♥♥♥♥ = Great! Might re-read

REVIEW: Fangs for Nothing by Steffanie Holmes

REVIEW: Fangs for Nothing by Steffanie Holmes

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received a free electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Bacchanalia House in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

Summary

Winnie has a new gig helping someone who needs a professional organizer. And the timing is perfect, getting her out of London and away from her mom and the memories of Patrick… and Claire.

Alaric’s butler has hired the organizer to help him prepare for a ball his mother insists on holding in his home. The problem is that the organizer is a human. And Alaric is a vampire.

Winnie’s job might be too much for one woman to handle in three weeks. But she’s joining a local book club – The Nevermore Murder Club and Smutty Book Coven – and they have a murder to solve. And that’s a nice distraction from her childhood trauma, from her ex-fiancé and ex-best friend who are in town, and from the completely inappropriate feelings she is developing for her client.

But instead of distracting her from her boss, she ends up faking a romantic relationship with him – at first to fool Winnie’s ex and then to fool Alaric’s mother – who has shown up with a woman she expects him to marry.

Review

So fun! I immediately fell in love with this – the characters, the world building, the romance, and the mystery. And the story is LONG – I felt like I really got to dig deep with this. And when I finished the ARC, I immediately bought my own copy and pre-ordered the sequel, A Grave Mistake. Together the books kick off the author’s Nevermore Murder Club and Smutty Book Coven series, which is a spinoff of an earlier Nevermore Bookshop Mystery series. I haven’t read that series, but plan to try it out. [Sadly for readers, book two has been postponed and pre-orders have been canceled. Happily for the author, she has secured a publishing deal! So book one is being re-released and book two will come out later this year. I guess I will have to re-read Fangs for Nothing while I wait!]

The mystery here – humans drained of blood by a rogue vampire – takes a back seat to the romance, and I was okay with that.  (Pieces of the mystery will carry over into book 2.) The romance between two broken people dealing with past trauma was the central focus, and I adored it so much I was a little sad to discover that Winnie and Alaric won’t be the POV characters for the sequel – but only a little sad because the premise for book 2 is fantastic!

I don’t generally love vampire stories – and I definitely don’t seek them out. But this, while also spicier than my usual read, really worked for me. The world building is well done and clever, and the pacing is terrific. I have an aversion to the word “smut,” so I didn’t love it’s use in the book, but it was a small price to pay for the overall experience of this fantastic story. This was the first book in a LONG time that trumped my other hobbies and chores and bedtime and kept me reading any chance I could find until I finished.

Paranormal romance and fantasy fans as well as vampire fans should definitely pick this up.  This checks a few of the same boxes as my 2024 find, the Riley Thorne series – the paranormal aspects (vampire here, psychic there) in a romance/mystery combo story. This is quite a bit darker than Riley as well as being more serious and more spicy. But I loved it all the same! (Language, sex. Trigger warning: Hoarding, nightmares, obsessive-compulsive behaviors)

Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥*

*♥♥♥♥♥ – Outstanding!

REVIEW: Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

REVIEW: Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

Violet has been preparing her whole life to attend Basgiath War College as a scribe, just like her father. But following his death, her mother, General Sorrengail, decides she must join the Riders Quadrant instead – the most ruthless and deadly path at Basgiath.

The cadets who survive the initiation and early training have the chance to bond with a dragon which means developing a magical gift and riding that dragon into battle. But there are fewer and fewer dragons willing to bond with humans. So the competition is fierce. Violet has never been physically strong or healthy, so she’s already at a significant disadvantage. And on top of that, there are others at Basgiath who want to kill her.

Review

Yes, I know. This book pubbed almost 2 years ago, and was almost immediately a huge hit. But my copy sat on my TBR bookcase for ages. I don’t always love books with a lot of hype, so I was reluctant to take my chances with it. Then book 3 released to great fanfare, and it felt like time.

This absolutely lived up to the hype! I was sold from the start, and never wanted to put the book down.

This felt comfortable and familiar from the start – I’ve read this sort of book before. The heroine who isn’t supposed to be special, who has to overcome all sorts of trials to prove herself – both to others and herself. The bad boy love interest. All familiar. And all ABSOLUTELY my jam. By the time I got to the dragon portion of the story, I had already ordered the next two books so I could get completely caught up with the series. It’s so fun to finally understand all the memes!

If you love these sorts of stories as much as I do, be sure to give this one a try if you haven’t already! (Language, violence, sex)

Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥*

*♥♥♥♥♥ = Outstanding!

REVIEW: Funny Story by Emily Henry

REVIEW: Funny Story by Emily Henry

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

When Daphne’s fiancé, Peter, calls off their wedding, she’s blindsided. He had always insisted his best friend, Petra, was just a platonic friend. But now they are together – and Daphne’s alone.

Petra’s fiancé, Miles, invites Daphne to move into the extra bedroom now that Petra is with Peter. They can lick their wounds and try to put their lives back together.

When Petra and Peter announce their upcoming wedding, Miles and Daphne both RSVP in a drunken haze. But when Peter calls, patronizing and dismissive, Daphne puts on a brave front and tells him Miles will be her plus 1 as they’re now a couple. Now, she just has to clue Miles in on their fake relationship.

Review

This is my first Emily Henry in awhile, and I enjoyed it. It took me a few chapters to get into it, and I even thought about DNFing. But then every year end favorites list I saw on social media included this book. I had to give it another try.

Once I was in a better reading space, I completely fell for Daphne and Miles both. I loved the fake relationship – and then the not-quite-fake relationship that grew between them.

And that fun romance would have been enough. But several of the female characters, including Daphne, had these great moments of personal growth or insight that seemed to jump off the page. These paragraphs were the icing on the cake of this story.

Henry fans should definitely pick this one up. Romance fans, especially those who like fake relationship stories, should not miss this. The painful lies and subterfuge you sometimes get in a fake relationship book are not present here, to my great relief. (Language, sex)

Rating: ♥♥♥♥*

*♥♥♥♥ = Great! Might re-read.

REVIEW: The Night Woods by Paula Munier

REVIEW: The Night Woods by Paula Munier

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received a free, electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Minotaur Books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

Summary

On a walk in the woods, a very pregnant Mercy and her dog Elvis discover a dead man in the home of their friend Homer. And they find Homer and his bloodhound in the woods, and Homer is gravely injured.

Then a wealthy landowner goes missing during a forest hunt with some of his guests. And Mercy – or Troy – receives an ominous, threatening note on the door of their home.

Mercy’s family and friends would like her to hunker down and wait for the baby, going as far as assigning her a teenaged “keeper.” But she’s determined to help Homer find the truth of what happened to his murdered friend.

Review

I enjoyed this 5th book in the Mercy Carr series. Mercy and Elvis are great, as always. I enjoyed how the author worked things to let Mercy be Mercy while also acknowledging her pregnancy and how that would impact her usual investigating.

One of my favorite things about the book was how Mercy honestly deliberates about her preparedness – and even suitability – for parenting. It felt so vulnerable and so honest. And also so true to the character.

Troy and Mercy are delightful together – as usual. He is protective and concerned while never asking or expecting Mercy to be someone she is not. It’s a beautiful partnership/relationship. The addition of Tandie, the teen, to the core group was a treat! I’ve said many times how much I love an amazing child or teen character, and Tandie fits that same feature I have loved in other things.

Series fans should totally pick this up to stay up on Mercy’s story. The mystery is good – twisty! – but it took a backseat for me to the baby/pregnancy deliberations and the group dynamics which I loved. Newcomers should really start the series from the beginning to get the most from this.

Rating: ♥♥♥♥*

*♥♥♥♥ = Great! Might re-read

REVIEW: Star Trek Lower Decks: Warp Your Own Way by Ryan North

REVIEW: Star Trek Lower Decks: Warp Your Own Way by Ryan North

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received a free electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and IDW Publishing in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

Summary and Review

A choose-your-own-adventure comic starring Beckett Mariner and the crew of the Cerritos was a must see for me. I have fallen in love with Star Trek Lower Decks over the last couple of years, and it is my go to comfort watch these days.

In this book, Mariner discovers the Cerritos crew is either acting strangely or completely missing, and she tries to save the day. Sounds just like an everyday episode of Star Trek!

Sadly, the ARC was NOT formatted to make the choose-your-own-adventure work. I couldn’t jump pages depending on my choice, so I could only scroll back and forth trying to find the right page. I ended up just flipping page by page and trying to put the story together that way. I determined that there are a lot of ways to die in this story!

I will definitely be looking for a print version of this since it contains the characters I already love. I’d be wary of an e-book version just based on my ARC experience. I’d give the overall concept here 4 stars, but only 2 for execution. Until I can verify a print version, I’m giving this 3.5 stars.

Rating: ♥♥♥½*

*♥♥♥½ = Good+