Despite how fast things happen for his characters, I think this is one of his best books. Kimberly Rossi‘s father sends her to a dream writer‘s conference. There she meets Zeke and everything seems to be going perfectly in the beginning. Can I just say Kim is a bit of a drama queen. If I didn‘t know people like her I‘d otherwise say the author was stretching it.

I don‘t like a book to start with an extreme spice scene; call me a prude if you want. Otherwise a decent read. Ellen, the last of the roommates meets a man she can‘t get out of her mind, as a one-night stand. Lo and behold, he is the venture capitalist who is taking over her company. I‘m sure this happened in revisions, but it is impossible to be 5 months pregnant at Christmas and the next Christmas give birth to the same twins, both 7lbs.

Second in this series of short stories/novellas, we visit Candy‘s life. Daughter of a famous toy maker, Candy has made a series of bad decisions and is starting over at Kaine Toys. She quickly becomes involved with the CEO as a fake girlfriend (and we all know where that goes. However, it has a good subplot through the making of toys. Spicy, but an interesting romance.

Merry Christmas all!

Whoa! A bit spicy for me, but loveable characters. Malcolm meets a gal that turns his mind. Daily they flirt as they pick up their morning coffee. Then he walks into work one morning as principal to find out she is the new teacher hire and there is a no fraternization policy.

Sienna is the personal assistant of Elizabeth, an estate owner. As such, she is much involved in running the estate, problem solving and running charity events. In this position of confidence, she is asked by Elizabeth to track down some leads for a grandson Elizabeth only recently discovered existed. Despite the tensions in the story line, it is a comforting Christmas read. So get your hot chocolate and get ready to curl up.

A lovely, charming Christmas story. Vera is awakened one day by the next door neighbor child scared because her mother is very sick. After taking the mother to the hospital, Vera becomes friends with Fiona as she babysits her. They decide to do a quilt for mom as she is healing. A group of four strangers comes to help Vera and they work their way through difficulties and become close friends as they finish the quilt.

This is my 2nd read of it and may become an annual thing. The most heartwarming Christmas story I‘ve read and you all know I‘ve read quite a few. Lauren has had a hard life and, when she witnesses a traffic accident, her life begins to change. 5⭐️

Olivia is sent on a forced holiday vacation to avoid burnout, yet her boss calls at least once a day with a crisis. While vacationing in a small seaside town, though, she is exposed to a much more peaceful way of life; and begins to question life decisions. Meeting Jack adds to new considerations. 3.8 ⭐️

Wow! Powerful and action packed. The MC and her husband are hit men, but she refuses to terminate a child. This enacts the kill clause of her contract with the Company. A big story in a short novella! 5⭐️

Chloe, her dog Max, and her mom are starting a Christmas vacation, when they discover the body of a Santa Clause. Sounds like a cute town. I found the solution a bit unbelievable, but I give some grace because it is a short read. I think I would enjoy the characters more as I read more in the series and they are fleshed out more. 3.7 ⭐️

A very satisfied sigh. A delightful novella, where the bad guy (a woman) is defeated without lowering oneself to her level, a marriage is on it‘s way to healing and the cafe is on its way to re-righting itself. Aiden‘s ex is trying to destroy Ginny and her friend has moved in and taken over. Despite all this chaos, Ginny mad her girls are determined to keep Christmas special.

Sneaking around as the merry maker, Violet and Darrel discover the body of Elias, though homeless still cared about in the community. When the sheriff declares it a murder, Violet of course has to find out why Elias was even in town. He was known to always winter instead in a nearby town. You may figure out the murderer, but it‘s still a fun time.

Jen is a regular Scrooge and is sent to a small town during Christmas to find a missing heir to millions. The people of the small town change her mind about Christmas as she spins wheels searching for the heir. I find it humorous that the bad guy can narrow down the search way quicker than her and I forgive the missing important details since it is a short story. 3.5⭐️

This is my favorite of hers I‘ve read so far. Filled with mystery, intrigue, romance and women defeating abusive men; loved it. Anais is coming out of a bad divorce where she lost everything except a rundown hotel. Trying to meet her book deadline and still revitalize the ramshackle hotel with minimal cash is daunting. Then she finds it has a mystery, which takes up her mind and energy, but also releases her writer‘s block.

Predictable but enjoyable. Kate and Alex find themselves double booked for the same getaway cabin during Christmas. Rather than canceling, they agree to take separate rooms and stay out of each other‘s way. But, as they get to know one another, sparks begin to fly.

Celia is on a cruise ship‘s maiden voyage as a guest speaker hoping to escape the humiliation from her fiancé‘s duping her and many others out of their life savings before his arrest. Also on the ship is Lady Em with a priceless emerald necklace having belonged to Cleapatra. A jewel thief plans to make it his own. 4 ⭐️

Another holiday read spanning from October and into the new year. Libby and Ethan have finally overcome Their differences and are moving ahead in their relationship. (I personally felt some halfway decent communication would have resolved this years ago.) In the meantime, Libby loses her job and starts her own business and, the train is up and running. A decent read if you can overcome how ridiculously long communication took. 3.8⭐️

Excellent read. I had some difficulty getting through parts of it because of issues in my own life, but that never made me want to stop reading it altogether. Ashna has agreed to participate in a cook off tv show. Her assigned star was the love of her life in high school. Her mother, who she has avoided most of her life, has inserted herself front and center. Will Ashna be able to succeed?

Perfect to read over the holidays as it stretches from Thanksgiving to Christmas. No murders, just a canine mystery of disappearing dogs. When Dickens too runs off, the Little Old Ladies get involved, figuring solving the case might give clues to Dickens‘ disappearance too. A delightful story.

Siobhan is catering for parts of a 3-day wedding celebration up at the castle. In the 1st day the best man is found murdered. Lots of red herrings flare but she continues to fight for the truth. I thought I was crazy early on, but it turns out I was onto the murderer from the start.

I liked this mystery a lot. Santa has disappeared, missing all of his Christmas Eve appointments and Mira and Aerie are on the trail.

Mira has invited Dara, her sister, and several others for Christmas. Told from the cat‘s perspective, it is unfortunate that Dara also brought her cats who love to torture him. When his kittens disappear, he gets into misadventures and trouble trying to find them and keep them safe. Then a friendly visitor saves the day. A cute short story.

A story of family trauma, romance, personal growth and lots and lots of humor. Sameera is recovering from a very bad, failed relationship and facing the real possibility of losing her job. At the office holiday party she meets an attractive waiter who turns out to actually be the caterer himself. Through a comedy of errors, she is forced by her family to visit his for Christmas and the humor as well as the heart tugs just keep mounting.

In the spirit of O. Henry‘s, The Gift of the Magi, this Christmas story is told. Monica and Holly finally take the elf gone bad back to the North Pole, where Monica finally finds the perfect gift for Brian. Meanwhile, Brian and her sister, Mona are back home trying to solve an arson case and Bryan is grilling Mona so he can find the perfect gift for Monica.

While reading fall reads, I also completed a table runner in time to use this month.

This series is a fun, easy read. While Violet and her mother are going over plans for Friendsgiving, they hear a scream. The 1st murder is discovered. As Violet heads to the victim‘s wife, she discovers the 2nd. While searching out clues, Violet is attacked and now it‘s personal. It‘s always fun watching Violet deal with news, holiday festivities and still sleuth.

It could just be the mood I‘m in, but I can‘t get into this book even after listening for 3 hours.

Claire and Nick head to St Augustine, Florida to help clear a client from suspicion of murder of her mother. Claire has narcolepsy, among other health issues, which add to the twists. As they‘re following clues it also seems like they are being followed/spied upon by someone else. While they find a murderer, you are left with a new trauma that is to be resolved later. 3.5-3.8 ⭐️

Amber thinks she‘s just stopping in for a quick visit with her godmother. Then she is swept into the overhaul of Cranberry Stores and feels like she has finally found her home. Her meeting with Josh was hazardous (they fell into the river 🤪), but they still warm up to each other. I felt the ending was abrupt in this meander to getting to know the village, but well worth the read. I really like getting to know the characters of the villages.

Both Lily and Ben have been career driven in their lives. Then Ben‘s father died and he sold his partnership to come home and renovate the family hotel. Lily gets redundant just when she is supposed to be offered a partnership at her interior decorating firm. The request for help at the hotel is a godsend. Maybe, just maybe, the hotel will rejuvenate their lives as they seek a fresh start. 5⭐️

Emma, trying to save her vineyards, hosts a wine and food tasting party for wealthy potential clients. Instead she finds a dead body in the cave after the event. Turns out he was murdered. Her vineyard is taking the heat in media, so she searches out the murderer to get back on an even keel. It doesn‘t hurt that the lead detective is hot.

While Charlotte‘s sister, Joslyn is away on retreat, a good friend is murdered. Charlotte receives keys and a note for Joslyn the next day. Trying to figure this all out Charlotte runs across Matt, a private detective. Together they attempt to untangle the truth. My favorite side story is the memoir being written by an old lady.

Lucy‘s mother has a long-term illness, for which Lucy has been trying to cover all the expenses and full-time care for her mother. One day, her mother tells her she has taken care of all the mother‘s care for a year and Lucy is to take a year off. During that time she is to earn to money for a trip to Paris and art school. Lucy lands in a small town and works on a maple ranch, where she uncovers a few mysteries. A lovely romance.

Ugh. Perfect Halloween seasonal read—creepy and gross, well written. Definitely NOT my cup of tea. Erin is hoping to buy her boss out of the ancient bar she runs. He tries to convince her it isn‘t worth her time or money. He tells her of his story and how he became so powerful in their neck of the woods to try to convince her to turn away. If you love things like Stephen King, you‘ll probably love it;otherwise avoid.

This one felt a little contrived to me, but that could just be that I was grossed out by the style of murder. Isaac is being bullied and his bully has been murdered. To clear his name, Monica, Holly and Brian look for clues and facts. Not sure what the nonsense about the elf was about, except maybe a tease for the next book. 3.5-3.8 ⭐️

A fun sideline about a stolen ring. The housekeeper was murdered at the manor. Caitlyn is the lead suspect, but she has an alibi. Searching for the murderer she comes across a lot of secrets.

A sports player is murdered during a game. The suspect is Mona‘s boyfriend, so she asks Monica to help clear his name. It turns out hate groups exist in all realms and Monica finds some members suspicious.

Monica and Holly go to the play Crucible and see a murder. As she and Brian investigate, Holly convinces the Mystic Council to make investigate what kind of mystic she is. A bit of a twist in our murderer and a cliffhanger at the end.

Delores hears her friend and downstairs neighbor murdered. She goes downstairs to check on her and immediately calls the police. Then she asks her daughter, Hannah (who is on her honeymoon), to start investigating. What a cliff hanger we‘re left with.

While not as hysterical as the 1st, Sisters Before Misters is funny and even heartwarming as the sisters snark their way to a closer relationship. Chad has disappeared; his apartment hints at murder. His wife, Eliana (the oldest Finch sister) is the primary suspect; so the sisters and Leo work to prove her innocence. This, despite Leo being convinced she‘s actually guilty. And, Eliana‘s actions and reactions don‘t help to contradict him.

I really liked this one. 5stars. Alex is called to a home visit to an almost 100 yo (out of the range of his typical clients. There he is grilled about psychopaths and asked to come back the next day. But, Talya is murdered overnight. It takes a quite a bit of sleuthing to figure out what happened! Mobsters, jewels and all kinds of “different” clues are dug up.

3.8-4⭐️ Campground owner, May, and the laundry room girls are asked to clear Ellis from the murder of her boyfriend in this Halloween cozy mystery. It takes some cave exploration and a Halloween party to find some answers.

A fast paced fantasy with romance, betrayal, honor and adventure . Rose gives her heart away to a fairie deamon when trying to escape her aunt‘s cruelty. When she is 20 he comes back to claim it, demanding she get a prize for him. Only as she attempts to honor her debt does she grasp his evil plans.

Stone Barrington is asked to guard a large satchel for the ex-president, being told it had information that could cause problems for those in power. The problem is that dead bodies keep turning up in connection with said case.

Creepy enough for my seasonal reading, although it was just the next book on the list. Told from two different time periods and two different women, Emma and Jayne. They both lived in an ultra modern home, with many exacting rules and lots of observation of them. One died in the house, and several suspected murder. The second one starts looking into it and finds strange things happening to her as well.

Humorous seasonal cozy mystery. Bizzy can read minds most of the time and she‘s not afraid to use this gift in an investigation. Cider Cove has turned itself into a Halloween town for the month of October. During one of the zombie walks a man dies, but everyone thinks it is just part of the show. Bizzy and her detective husband, Jasper, try to find out who poisoned him and why. Of course, the animal characters are my favorite.

Wow! This book shows how a chance encounter with someone can change the direction of our entire lives even if we don‘t know all parts of the individual. Sona met her patient Mira at the hospital. Falsely accused of killing Mira, Sona begins a journey to deliver Mira‘s last wish. 5⭐️

Will definitely hold your interest, but I hated the ending. Falk heads to his hometown for the funeral of his high school best and his family. Luke is believed to be a murder suicide, but Falk finds discrepancies. Cooperation from townsfolk is scarce. They all believe Falk murdered his girlfriend when they were in school and the real murderer was never found.

I wasn‘t sure I‘d like this but it is a good YA read. Charlie is in high school. Coming from a family of witches, she is disappointed that she never came into any powers. However, she is good at deducing and she is trying to figure out who hurt the popular mean girl, so that she can clear her cousin‘s name. She may be falling for her best friend too.