Light romance. Paige moved back home after her husband‘s death, only to have her mom pass a few months later. As she picks up the pieces, she finds encouragement through the people in town. When her friend Jerry return, she finds herself smiling again.

Debbie Macomber is an uplifting read. Starting a fresh relationship with Craig, Marie Rose learns that Mark is still alive but seriously injured. She races to the hospital. At the same time Emily and Nick fight through their attraction.

Each book just gets better. Shayla and Seamus have set the date. However, the wedding venue was double booked and yanked out from under them with nothing available for over 6 months. Just a short time later, the winning bride is murdered and Sheila is the lead suspect. The only thing I didn‘t like is we never know the detailed why.

Not a Valentines‘s Day story, but still a romance. At 1st I had a hard time with the patois, but I do realize I‘m not the target audience. Valentine and Jaelen (Kiss) meet in 6th grade and become best friends. In their teens they Jaelen acknowledges they‘re falling in love but are not ready for it, so he heads to England for college and to start his career, allowing the relationship to take wrong turns. Told by what goes on in their heads.

I couldn‘t help it…1 more holiday book. Issy and Austin have a problem. His career is now in New York and her cafe in London. Luckily their friends and family are smarter than them and push them to find a solution. Love most of the characters. My favorite scene is at the ice skating rink!

This was an absolute delight, a keeper. Harriet‘s business has failed, leaving her in debt. She heads to her inherited home in Canfield to lick her wounds and sell the cottage to get out of debt. Instead, she discovers that her beloved lavender fields are to be sold out from under her. While a romance, this is a story of courage and a woman finding her strengths.

I‘m not partial to using prayer as a form of preaching; however, otherwise a decent read about a 4year old who runs off on his personal adventure and the adults trying to find him. Some personal growth for the adults looking at their own poor actions.

Wow! Sonali Dev takes us right into the lives and emotions of her characters again! Mira is feeling trapped trying to meet the “needs” of all the loves in her life, not even seeing how they abuse her willingness to satisfy them. After her fiancé cancels their New York trip for the 3rd time, she decides to go on her own. Finding a lost ring, determined to find the owner, sends her on a journey that changes her and her life.

A cute short story about women and friends. Ellie begins to wonder why her friends stopped showing up at her exercise class. She quickly learns there is a new competitor in town and suspects her friends are now going there, making her heartbroken…til a few strangers come.

Loving this series. A qyuick, enjoyable read, with interesting characters. Rylie, Shayla‘s best friend from the US is visiting. After they enjoy a horseback ride, they discover the body of the vet in the horse stall with Grainne‘s prize race horse. At 1st it looks like an accident, but Shayla and Rylie are convinced there‘s been a murder.

To be released in February. I was immediately pulled into the realm of Effluvium and the Battle of Bria and Brent (good) vs. Ningursu (self-proclaimed god of death and the world) (evil). Ningursu controls all magic and many people long distance, so you not always sure if someone is on the good side or under Ningursu‘s control/in disguise. Truth is starting to win and the ending battles leave you with hope that the tides may be turning.

The author pushed too much on trying to feel like a gothic mystery. Too much repetition and vague references to dark history, without giving any given. 3.5⭐️. Vivian, her cousin Ellie, and friend Milo are digging deep into the town‘s dark history due to a vague letter from her now deceased aunt. Most of these records just happen to be in secret rooms of the ancient mansion Vivian inherited from her aunt.

Fun holiday cozy mystery. Mae, Violet‘s friend from Normal, is visiting and they discover a dead body in the miniature village. With the sheriff‘s permission, they are in full sleuth mode. At the same time, Violet‘s romance is picking up.

A sweet story and perfect to end my Christmas reads (because I have some New Year ones and an ARC I promised to read). Mirren‘s great aunt (Violet) is dying and asked for a rare book she had when she was a child. Mirren hunts high and low in England and Scotland for this rare edition with little success and running into unsavory characters. However, she finds something better.

Emily is trying to find her position in life now that Charlie won the Mayor seat; Sophie is fighting her family for the right to stay home; Justin and Zoey are finding each other and Charlie is trying to learn the ropes as new Mayor. Then a bad freeze storm hits Cape Light and the town works together to keep everyone safe. All this and trying to celebrate Christmas.

I‘m not sure if the title it‘s under is an old one. But mine was “Mistletoe & Memories” and is more appropriate. I liked this one. The mystery is who Connie‘s Secret Santa might be, and while I was able to guess, this was a festive short story.

At first I was hesitant to read this because I‘d seen some bad reviews. I think they were just unhappy that it wasn‘t a “mystery”. Instead, this was a perfect read for Christmas, touching on how things can influence our attitude towards the holiday. Yes, I figured out the conundrum, but I expected to…a nice, feel good short story.

Izzy has inherited a castle in Scotland. The only way she can keep it is to run it as a hotel, but her mother keeps taking over as if it‘s her own and spending money they don‘t have. How does this turn into their best Christmas?

This novella/cozy mystery did not disappoint. A couple weeks before Christmas Baubles the clown is found dead leaning against one of his ponies. It seems like the entire town is stumbling over clues and as they turn them over to Janz, their only police force, she begins to see hoe everything ties in.

Workaholic Evie has a crush on her neighbor directly upstairs and someone is leaving home made gifts/ornaments on her door. She figures the Christmas party themed Only Santas in the Building is the perfect chance to attract Daniel‘s attention and figure out who has been acting as a secret Santa. Soft pick. Spicy.

Everleigh first meets Griffin (a fireman) when her neighbor reports smoke coming from her house. Four days later, while hanging Christmas lights, her ladder breaks and she‘s left hanging from the roof till Griffin and the fire department shows up. Soft pick.

Perfect Christmas story filled with small miracles (some will say impossible & I‘ll say similar to ones I‘ve experienced) and hope. Lauren‘s life has been hard (though not as bad as others). She‘s looking for a family for Christmas. A series of unexpected events may just give her one.

A delightful short story, more women‘s fiction than romance. Loved characters, just didn‘t like the cliffhanger ending, because I wanted to know how that turned out. 😂 Having been denied a promotion by being tricked by a co-worker, Alexis decides to visit her mom for Christmas At her mom‘s new home in Bella Beach. Her trip makes her question some changes she needs to bring to her life.

Again very little content in this short story except spice and spicey jokes. Not my cup of tea and will probably be tossing the entire series if the next one is no better. 2 college instructors have a crush which they acknowledge during a winter break job.

This short story was way too spicy for me and won‘t be a keeper. I felt the story was only about that and didn‘t go into much character development. Yes, I know, it‘s short. Not for me.

Short story is more sordid than the title implies. While his niece and Jack are off on their honeymoon, Sal meets an old friend from his stage days who hers him a job @ a movie studio. In the meantime, they discover his friend‘s daughter has been made the victim of pornographic pictures and they try to find the culprit.

With a unique setting (antique toy shop) and some humor, this was a fun Cozy Mystery. A man who didn‘t leave his name wants to know the value of antique toys. A few nights later he is murdered in the shop, the toys have disappeared and the owner was knocked unconscious. Lots of suspects.

A short love story taking place during a winter storm at Christmas. This was a pleasant listen while sewing.

So much fun! Loved the characters and the humor. Charlotte and Marianne are looking for a platter to display the cupcakes they catered for a Christmas part. Opening the pantry a dead body falls onto Charlotte.

Tilly has been hiding out in the Crow‘s Nest till she can save enough for a new place, since it‘s been vacant. However, the new owner shows up. She moves up to the attic but then he falls off the roof. Cute short story.

Wow! What a love story! Yes, there are creepy tones, but I felt the story dealt with it. I think this is one l‘ll want to read again. While dealing with his own divorce, Alex falls in love with the heart of a woman through her blog.

An interesting way for the couple to meet. I had a hard time believing Daniel could turn from a harsh father to a gentle loving one overnight 🤷🏻‍♀️. However, I loved the cute meet of Holly and Ivy. Both families lost loved ones in a tragic accident and could not heal for 8 years. As both adults begin to awake to life around them, they find each other. The bet character is Holly.

A cute modern day retelling of The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry. A bit slow at 1st. Steph finally is about to get her hands on the limited edition of ale, called Jingle All the Way. Only, her love interest let it be released for resale and now he has to somehow replace it. At the same time she‘s looking for ways to keep him in the hometown.

A cute, quick cozy mystery. Coming out of a bad relationship, Holly is hoping to start a dog walking business. Excited to meet her 1st client and take the dog out, she is surprised nobody answers her knock. She steps inside and is greeted by the dog, who leads her to the dead owner. Of course, Holly is the lead suspect in the murder and must clear her name.

Delightful. At times Shayla seems a bit naive for a cop, but that is supposed to be her character. Arriving in Ireland for a Christmas holiday, hoping to receive a proposal, Shayla meets Seamus‘ family. At the party to introduce her to family and friends, the wealthy uncle Alabaster is murdered. Can‘t wait to read the next one.

I‘m really enjoying this series and am going to have to get more. There‘s a new Earl in town and he‘s a particularly nasty American. Leta and Peter find his one car accident and watch him die before the ambulance could leave. Then they discover a knife hole in his tire. Since this no longer appears to be an accident and Gemma, the local detective will be away for training, the Little Old Ladies Detective Agency Is asked to help.

The President calls Stone in for help because the Speaker‘s daughter has been kidnapped to force him to make his party vote on a bill in a specific way. Senators have been killed too. Stone brings back rogue CIA agent Teddy to help solve the conspiracy.

A very satisfactory read, despite the abusive parents and ex (so, yes, sometimes I had to walk away for a while). This was a story of the love of a lifetime, the kind we all hope for and yet is rarely seen. Alexis and Daniel meet after her single car accident. The magic of the town enfolds them as they begin to discover each other, but are they strong enough to surmount the obstacles standing in front of them?

A quick read. Emma & Lily are doing well in a bake off for Christmas. Then one of the judges has an allergic reaction. I was never sure if it was an injury or a death. In any event, Emma starts poking around until she finds the culprit.

This short story could almost be described as funny, except that it triggered my own more disturbing mother issues. Franki‘s co-worker demands she bring down a bottle of forgotten Braulio to a party Ruth is hosting for her Krewe. A mermaid nearly dies, which starts a brawl and gets Franki arrested, which motivates her to solve the crime.

A fun read cozy mystery. Emma‘s candy shop has been invited to join other merchants in creating floats for the city‘s Thanksgiving Parade. When Emma comes back from work to continue decorating the float, she finds the popular handyman lying at the bottom of his ladder. He apparently fell while working on her float. Later she finds a bolt that was pulled from the ladder, indicating this was no accident.

Wow! Great read/listen. Scott and a 4 year old boy are the only survivors of 11 people in an airplane crash into the ocean. After swimming miles into shore carrying the child with him, Scott becomes the lead suspect. The media vilifies him and tries to set him up. Fast paced.

A very satisfying read. Leaphorn and Manuelito are working on 2 different cases. A woman has disappeared for a few weeks, then there is an explosion at the school where she worked and a body is discovered. Leaphorn is trying to discover where a “lost bird” came from.

No violence in this one and introduction to new characters. Everyone heads to the mountains for a Thanksgiving with Ted‘s family. However, items begin to disappear…and Connie wants to get to the bottom of it.

I didn‘t really like this one. We spent more time moaning about Connie‘s lack of sleep than anything else and the solution to the mystery felt like a cop out rather than true exploration. Maybe 3 stars.

Again more character driven, but this time more believable. On the day Connie is handed the keys for her new property and business, the realtor is found strangled on her back deck. This time she has a good alibi, but she still wants to clear her name. And, Mabel is screaming murderer at her whenever Connie comes to town.

Hoping to catch an interview for the local paper, Connie instead finds a body, making herself the lead suspect. While she tries to clear her name, she gets herself kidnapped. A quick, light read.

Her characters are more entertaining than the mystery. After the Harvest Fete the magician was murdered, and Leta‘s new friend, Trisha, is the lead suspect. Leta and her group of friends (nicknamed The Little Old Ladies Detective Agency) set out to clear Trisha‘s name. It gave them a good excuse to travel and explore and they discovered the magician was a nasty work.

There were times I laughed so hard, I hurt. At other points my heart ached for Vivian. I could not put this down. Vivian finds divorce papers in her husband‘s sock drawer and her life begins to spin out of control. He wants the divorce but refuses to leave home. And, so begins Vivian‘s search to discover what she needs and wants in life.

“Bread and wine were essential. Jesus told me so.” Was what Vivian thought when her husband told her to give them up to lose weight. Made me laugh; I love it.