Happy March 1st booklovers! I am looking forward to reading lots of cozy mysteries set in Ireland this month in honor of St. Patrick’s Day! I mean aren’t we all Irish when March rolls in…LOL? I am always excited when March comes which means Spring is getting closer and closer although the signs of Spring are appearing early this year due to the warm winter we had in North Carolina this year.
February was a great reading month! I read ten great cozy mysteries and with the exception of two I gave 4 or 5 stars. Most of the books I read were new to me authors which is always fun to discover a new mystery along with some of my favorite authors. Read some Valentine’s Day themed mysteries too.
Plus my mom’s birthday is in February and it was so much fun to celebrate her birthday the entire weekend and she was tickled beyond pink.
How was your February? What great books did you read?
I kicked off the month with Six Feet Deep Dish by Mindy Quigley this is the first book in the Deep Dish mystery series and I can’t wait to read the second book. Delilah O’Leary has relocated to Geneva Bay, WI to open her gourmet pizza restaurant after years of working in some of Chicago’s best restaurants. What she didn’t foresee was breaking up with her fiancée & business partner and a murder happening at the soft opening. When her aunt’s live in nurse is shot and killed at the soft opening and her aunt is the prime suspect Delilah knows she has to do everything she can to prove her aunt’s innocence. I really enjoyed this first book and while there were times I felt it dragged overall I felt there were plenty of suspects, a decent amount of red herrings, and the author did a great job overall. My one con is there was a lot of body shaming but my hope is that there will be less of that as the series progresses.
I followed up with Killer Cupid by Laurien Berenson the 29th Melanie Travis mystery and by the title you can guess it set during Valentine’s Day and outside of Connecticut. This was a novella and as far as I’m concerned you can never go wrong with this series. I couldn’t put the book down!
My other Valentine theme mystery I read was Mulled to Death by Kate Lansing the 3rd book in the Colorado Wine mystery series. When Parker Valentine is whisked away on a romantic weekend with her hunky chef boyfriend and her brother and his girlfriend who is Parker’s best friend. All she is looking forward to is lots of skiing until murder happens. Great plot and pacing and I was totally blown away when the killer was revealed! Can’t wait for book 4.
Because I Could Not Stop for Death by Amanda Flowers this is the first book in the Emily Dickinson mystery series and I read this book in 24 hours! I just couldn’t put it down! Amanda Flowers is an amazing author and she doesn’t disappoint with this newest cozy mystery series that features the poet Emily Dickinson as a sleuth helping her maid Willa Noble find out who killed Willa’s brother. My hats off to Amanda who did an amazing job with all the historical facts! Can’t wait for book 2.
Against the Currant by Olivia Matthews I absolutely loved this first book in the Spice Isle Bakery mystery series and this is a new to me author. This was another page turner and I really enjoyed seeing Lindsay Murray grow and become confident. Loved her family especially her grandmother and cousin and looking forward to seeing how these characters grow. It is so great when you can connect with the characters and become involved in the story as you read
I am a huge fan of V.M. Burns and it is my goal to read all of her cozy mystery series. I discovered this author two years ago after hearing her on a bookish podcast and immediately ordered the first book in her Dog Club series and her Mystery Bookshop series. I finally read The Plot is Murder the first book in her Mystery Bookshop series and OMG it was so good! In fact I’ve already reviewed this book. You can click on the link to read my review if you haven’t already.
Book Review — The Plot is Murder by V.M. Burns
Hello book lovers and especially cozy mystery lovers! I was going to post this Wednesday but decided to do a separate…
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I loved the second book in Abby Collette’s Ice Cream Parlor series A Game of Cones which was even better than her first book. This is another book I read in 24 hours. I am always happy when the second book is even better than the debut novel of an author. The plot, pacing, suspects, and red herrings were perfect. Loved Win’s family especially her Grandfather. My one problem is I didn’t really like the portrayal of her Aunt Jack (Jacqueline) and if possible her best friend Maisie was even more immature than she was in the first book. so far there are three books in the series but I am really hoping there are more books coming.
Wine and Punishment by Sara Fox is the first book in her Literary Pub mystery series and has set on my TBR for well over a year and I am kicking myself! I’ve heard and read so many great reviews about this series and I now understand why. The main character, Sadie Coleman, is starting over in the little town of Shady Creek, VT but when her ex shows up looking for another chance but ends up murdered Sadie puts on her sleuthing hat. The book started off a little slow for me and at first I didn’t know if I would even finish but the story picked up momentum and before I knew it I was staying up late to read just one more page.
With Midnight Spells Murder by Mary Angela I did something I rarely do and that is read the second book of a series but in this instance it happened because this was my Facebook book club pick for February but I do plan to read the first book in the Happy Camper series. This is a new to me author and I am always excited to discover a new author. I enjoyed the book and I was all for the secondary mystery that is running through the book too as Zo begins the search for her birth mother.
Buried in a Good Book by Tamara Berry is the first book in her By the Book mystery series that features Tess Harrow who is a best selling mystery author. I was really excited to read this first book in this series (there are 3 so far) especially after reading and hearing all the rave reviews about this series so imagine how excited I was this was the Cozy Mystery Book Club February pick. Sadly I didn’t like this book at all! I didn’t like Tess I found her beyond obnoxious and there were not too many likeable characters I could connect with. Tess seemed to think she was more knowledgeable than the police and I found her incredibly arrogant and entitled and she kept comparing her fictional detective to the Sheriff and found the fictional dectective so much better than acutal law enforcement. I know I always advise to never dismiss a series based on one book but I just don’t see myself reading the 2nd book in this series unless it is offered through Kindle Unlimited (free).
I ended this month with the first book in Jessica Thompson’s A Caterer’s Guide to Love & Murder book 1 in her Caterer’s Guide mystery series. I actually downloaded this book when it was offered on Kindle Unlimited and actually started reading it last month but it just didn’t hold my attention. Finally finished it yesterday only because I didn’t want to start a new paperback book until today. The murder happened several chapters in and I loved that Violet worked with the police but I just had trouble connecting with any of the characters plus there were just some parts of the book I felt could have been cut out all together.
Regina the Southernista 