A Fatal Collection by Mary Ellen Hughes

This is the first book in a new cozy mystery series by Mary Ellen Hughes. You all should know about my love of cozy mysteries by now, but if not let me fill you in on their greatness.

You've got a main character facing some turmoil in their lives, a dramatic murder takes place (usually someone close to them for the first book) and then you get to watch them bloom as they work to solve the case. There's always a great cast of interesting characters, a town so cool that makes you wish you could visit, a couple of love interests, and a mystery that keeps you guessing. They are simple, fun, and totally engrossing. Like chocolate for your mind.

This one was just what I was looking for. It's about Callie Reed who makes an over due visit to her aunt in the little village of Keepsake Cove which is home to a bunch of collectible shops. Her aunt runs one that sells music boxes. When she finds her aunt has passed away on the floor of her shop from an apparent fall, she stays, believing that her aunt was actually murdered and seeks to find the truth of what happened. She enlists the help of her aunts next door neighbour who was also her aunts best friend, as well as a few other shop keepers in this small little village.

It was easy, but lovely. A quick read, but still one that kept me from putting it down. The characters, the shops, the feel of the town seems like it could really be a real place that would be wonderful to visit. The characters are so interesting that I really do want to know what happens next for Callie and the rest of the people living in Keepsake Cove.

This book will be hitting shelves in November and I do recommend snapping it up! I was given the e-book version of this book by NetGalley to review and I am so happy that I did!

Recommendation: This is for my cozy mystery people out there. You will not be disappointed!!

Big Mushy Happy Lump by Sarah Andersen

This is the second Sarah Scribbles book. I've got the first, and you can find my review of that one here.

I LOVED this so much. Just as much as the first book! Honestly her comics are golden and amazing and relatable to so many people. I know I see myself in them and it really makes you feel understood just a little bit more.

Like the first one, this book will brighten your day without fail. I like keeping them close by to pick up and flip open randomly when I am feeling down or just worn out. They bring a smile to my face.

This one was a little more closely related to anxiety and such, but I didn't mind. I enjoyed it all.

This one has the famous comic strip in it about the woman who walks into a bookstore and throws money up in the air like a rockstar in it. I'm sure you know the one.

I really hope she keeps releasing her work in collections like this for a long time to come because I love them so darn much. I noticed on Amazon that she's put out a planner too with her stuff and I am so excited to get my hands on that too! I am a big fan!

Recommendation: Read this. It'll take you all of a hour tops, if that. The joy and the feels that you will get from it will last you a whole hell of a lot longer!

Dead Man's Chest by Kerry Greenwood

Another Phryne Fisher book for you're reading pleasure. I mean, you have to like these books (or at least reading about them) if you're reading yet another one of my reviews about this series.

This one was a whole lot less mystery than many of the other ones. Don't get me wrong, I loved this book just as much as I love the busy and intense mystery filled ones. There wasn't really any steamy love bits in this one either. It was more about the day to day with a bit of a mystery thrown in.

Miss Fisher, her family, and her entourage are interesting and exciting all without the murders they work so hard to solve. I would read stories about them any day. How cool would they have been if they weren't just fictional characters. Putting my book lover problems aside, let's talk about this book:

This one is the 18th in the series. Miss Fisher takes her family off for a holiday, expecting a relaxing time with the sun and sand. Instead, they arrive to an empty house that should have had a butler and his wife prepared to welcome them on behalf of the owner of the home who arranged for Phryne to stay, and hints at buried treasure  by the sea that seems to have everyones attention. I won't say more, but it was interesting.

This one was a little light on the mystery, it kind of let things just move along at their own pace without a whole lot of intense investigation which I didn't mind. Doesn't mean I knew how things were going to turn out before they happened, I was still happily surprised.

I am now, and forever will be, a reader of this lovely series of books! Still waiting for the next series to appear on Netflix though. I love the show just as much!

Recommendation: If you still haven't read any of these but you are reading this review, just go to your nearest library and pick one of these babies up! You can't go wrong!

Midnight Crossroad by Charlaine Harris

I'm sure you've heard of the new show Midnight, Texas that has recently come out, and you might even know that it was based on a series by the lovely Charlaine Harris. (You'll know her as the author behind the books that are the basis of the t.v. show True Blood.) As a fan of her writing and a fan of this genre and type of book/show in general, I wanted to read the books and watch the show so I grabbed this up as part of a deal at Chapters.

This book is about a little tiny town in Texas called Midnight and the strange and secretive people who call it home. If you've seen the commercials for the show then you might know that theres hints of characters like vampires and psychics. With the arrival of a new person to town, things start to evolve that bring some secrets to light about some of the inhabitants of this little town, both good and bad.

The book was good. I enjoyed it. It kept me glued to the page and I really wanted to know how things all turned out by the end. This book didn't take me very long to read, and I didn't really want to put it down.

I liked how the story came from multiple points of view, giving a look into the lives of people living in Midnight and gave more depth to the story. Everyone has their own mysteries that they keep to themselves so although it was a mystery surrounding one character, each character was like their own little puzzle. I'm still confused and curious about a couple characters and I hope that by reading the other two books things might become clear.

Since watching an episode of the show, some of my suspicions have been confirmed and others are still mysteries for me. Reading more of the books and watching more of the show does need to happen.

I do have a bit of complaints about the show, but I will admit to only seeing one episode and not having read any more of the books yet so I really shouldn't be voicing my opinion. I just felt that even in the first 20 minutes that things were so different than the book was and that does tend to drive me a little nuts. I had no problem with the choice of actors or anything that, my problem was the actual changes being made in the story itself. It felt like the changes were so Hollywood and it was a bit hard for me. I know that the author does have writing credits in relation to the show too and if she's happy with it, then who am I to judge. Nevertheless I am interested and I am going to stick with it for now.

Recommendation: This book was pretty good, and coming from the point of view of someone who didn't know anything about the book or show (my fiancee) the show was pretty good too. I'm a big advocate of reading the book before watching anything related to it, but to each their own. Still, this is for the urban fantasy mystery lovers out there. Give it a chance. You might be pleasantly surprised.

A Spy in the House by Y.S. Lee

Half the time when I write these reviews I feel like I'm simply rewriting the blurb on the back of the book in my own words without really telling you much about the book but I hate spoilers and I actively try to avoid writing them. Bear with me while I try to tell you everything without telling you everything.

This is the first book in The Agency series. Set it 1850's London, it's about a girl named Mary who's life is saved from the gallows by these women who run a school for girls that helps them get ahead in life with education and manners, all the things girls need. Turns out the school is a cover for a secret group of women who call themselves The Agency. They are a group of all female private investigators who work behind the scenes going where only women can go, gathering information and helping elite organizations with their expertise.

Mary jumps at the chance to work with them and her first mission puts her in the home of a business man acting as a companion to his daughter. She is out there on her own, told only to pay attention and gather information if she can about his business practices. Things take a turn for the dangerous and Mary is in deeper than she thought.

This book has deception, intrigue, a little bit of romance, and a lot of action to keep you on your toes. Nothing is quite what it seems and with trouble lurking around every corner, as well as a deadline looming, Mary does whatever she can to find the truth.

This book was a simple read, didn't take me very long to finish. I bought it with a good discount because I had seen the cover a couple times, and I was intrigued. I really liked the idea of the all female investigative agency set in this time period and this book didn't disappoint. I do think I'll read more in this series if I can get my hands on them at the library.

Recommendation: For those who enjoy young adult mystery type Victorian intrigues. It's an easy, but interesting read.

Brownies and Broomsticks by Bailey Cates

Last year I found the book Daisies for Innocence by Bailey Cattrell at the library and I snapped it up because it had such a cute cover, and well, it was a mystery. Quite often that's all I need to know. Needless to say I loved it! (you can read what I thought about it by clicking on the title). The reason I'm telling you this is because that book was the first in a new series. I did some digging and it turns out that Bailey Cattrell was one of the names that the author of this book publishes under. There was a whole series she had written that I wanted to get my hands on.

You would be right in thinking this book is one of those cheesy titled, sweet, cosy mysteries with a single girl protagonist who finds herself solving a mystery when she probably has no business doing it, while getting stuck in a love triangle with two different and totally hot guys who both make it their life's work to save her butt at every turn even though they've only known her a week. 

And you know what? I loved it. It's silly and predictable, but honestly, it's a wonderful break from reality. It's just a book to pick up when you are looking for an easy read that sweeps you up, carries you off to a safe place, gives you a bit of romance and intrigue and keeps your mind occupied for a couple of hours. 

The bonus to this series is it involves magic. In this book, Katie Lightfoot moves to Savannah to open a bakery with her aunt and uncle. Shortly after arriving, she starts noticing strange things going on with her aunt. Turns out her aunt is actually a witch, and so is Katie! When a murder happens right outside the door of the shop, Katie's uncle becomes the prime suspect. With the help of her aunt and their witchy abilities, they must work together to find the real killer. 

For all its simplicity and cheese, I loved it. I will totally pick up more of this series and I am totally looking forward to the next one in the previous series too. This are just easy, fun reads. Like chocolate for the mind! 

Recommendation: If you're all about a good cheesy, cozy mystery that involves a little magic, than snap this one up. It'll be that distraction you've been looking for. 

Murder in the Dark by Kerry Greenwood

Yep. It's time again for another Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries review. Sorry, not sorry.

Murder in the Dark had a lot of action and a lot of drama. This one really kept me glue to the page. It showed a lot more of the seedy underbelly of drugs, sex, and partying that the rich set got up to back in the 1920's. It was quite thrilling! It didn't include a whole lot of her entourage that I love so much, but it made up for that with really interesting story telling. How Phryne metes out justice and lives to tell the tale is quite awesome.

I utterly enjoyed this book. It was dark and twisted, a little bit rougher than many of her books but I still loved very second of it.

Phryne receives and invitation to the Last Best party of 1928 being held by the Golden Twins whom Phryne knew from her days in Paris. It's a four day extravaganza, and someone has been sending her warning letters trying to keep her from going. Of course that isn't going to stop her. If anything it makers her want to go even more. There is a goat lady (complete with goat), female polo players, pipe smoking acolytes, flirtations, dancing, pleasure parties, and mint juleps. It's Phryne's type of party.

It was so interesting to read about the types of things they might have happened with the rich and popular back in the day. They kinds of trouble they could have gotten into made for a really interesting read. I don't want to give anything away, but if you like the naughtier side of things that tend to go on in these books, then you'll thoroughly enjoy this one!

Recommendation: If you're reading this and haven't yet picked up any of these books to read for yourself, then what are you waiting for?