REVIEW: The Victim by Gillian Jackson

Title: The Victim
Author: Gillian Jackson
Narrator: Hannah Curtis
Publisher: Dreamscape Media
Publication Date: May 2022
Genre: Mystery / Thriller / Suspense
Buy the Book: Amazon | BN | Audible

Description: She’s killed her husband—and now she must convince the police that she is not the villain but the victim . . .

Caron Rivers appeared to have it all. Lovely home. Loving spouse. Happy marriage. But behind closed doors, things were not what they seemed.

Why did Caron snap and kill Bill? Now she finds herself at the police station, facing questions about exactly what happened and what led to the shocking event. With Bill dead, she is free to tell her story. But the police may not believe it, in this gripping novel of emotional and psychological suspense from the author of Abduction and The Accident.

My Thoughts: The Victim by new to me author Gillian Jackson introduces the reader to Caron Rivers after she has stabbed her husband to death. What follows is a tale of an emotionally damaged woman who tells the authorities of the torture and abuse she suffered at the hands of her husband before she stabbed him in self-defense. Victims of domestic violence may find this story triggering.

The twisty bits of this story come as the investigation begins to uncover more questions as to the validity of Caron’s claims of abuse. As I listened, I felt an increasing sense of anticipation of whether or not she was the victim or the villain. My opinion of her changed just as rapidly as more layers of the story were revealed and more layers of this character’s personality are peeled back.

The story moves at a brisk pace without burying the listener under mountains of details. I really enjoyed the author’s plotting and look forward to more of her work. The narration by Hannah Curtis was expertly performed and gives the reader a clear picture of the nature of the characters in this story.

My Final Verdict: Overall, this was a compelling story that kept me on the edge of my seat. I highly recommend this book to fans of suspense, thriller and mystery genres. Readers who like having twisty details that pull the rug out from under them will also enjoy this one.

Thank you to the publisher, Dreamscape Media, who provided an advance reader copy of this audiobook via NetGalley.

REVIEW: Passion on Park Avenue by Lauren Layne

Title: Passion on Park Avenue (Central Park Pact #1)
Author: Lauren Layne
Publisher: Gallery Books
Publication Date: May 2019
Genre: Chick Lit / Contemporary Romance
Buy the Book: Amazon | BN | Audible

Description: From the author of the New York Times bestselling Stiletto and Oxford series, the first in a sizzling new series following the unlikely friendship of three Upper East Side women as they struggle to achieve their dreams and find true love and happiness in the city that never sleeps.

For as long as she can remember, Bronx-born Naomi Powell has had one goal: to prove her worth among the Upper East Side elite—the same people for which her mom worked as a housekeeper. Now, as the strongminded, sassy CEO of one of the biggest jewelry empires in the country, Naomi finally has exactly what she wants—but it’s going to take more than just the right address to make Manhattan’s upper class stop treating her like an outsider.

The worst offender is her new neighbor, Oliver Cunningham—the grown son of the very family Naomi’s mother used to work for. Oliver used to torment Naomi when they were children, and as a ridiculously attractive adult, he’s tormenting her in entirely different ways. Now they find themselves engaged in a battle-of-wills that will either consume or destroy them…

Filled with charm and heart and plenty of sex and snark, this entertaining series will hook you from the very first page.

My Thoughts: Passion on Park Avenue by new to me author Lauren Layne introduces us to three women, who by all intents and purposes should never have met or became friends. Two of these women are the mistresses of the third woman’s husband and these women meet on the day of the husband’s funeral. Awkward,, yes, Captain Obvious, but this trope pulled me all the way into the story. Who needs salacious daytime talk shows when this book provides everything enquiring minds want to know?

This is the first book in a series and I absolutely insist you read this one before the others as there is a lot of background detail on the three women that is crucial to know beforehand. This story is about one of the mistresses, Naomi, who still carries the shame of her mother’s affair with her mother’s employer and the fallout it brought to their lives. Now, decades later, Naomi is finally in a financial position to go for one of the apartments in the building on Park Avenue where she and her mother lived while working for the elite Cunningham family. Naomi carries a lot of anger towards this family because the Cunningham son, Oliver, lied about the affair, causing Naomi and her mother to be thrown into the street, penniless and homeless. The best part of this is that Oliver doesn’t remember his childhood playmate and his father is in the advanced stages of Alzheimer’s so he doesn’t remember much of anything either. I was on pins and needles watching this play out and the chemistry between Naomi and Oliver was palpable. I even felt a little bit of empathy and compassion for Oliver’s father, though he wasn’t a nice man before his illness and was hard to tolerate now at times.

In addition to Naomi and Oliver, I really liked the other two women, Claire and Audrey and look forward to getting to know them better in their stories. The plot moves at a wonderful pace and kept me fully engaged.

My Final Verdict: Overall, I found this story to be charming and hard to put down. I highly recommend it to readers who enjoy stories of unsuccessful revenge, letting go of past pain and characters who rise up from the ashes of their past trauma with head held high.

Thank you to the publisher, Gallery Books, who provided an advance reader copy of this book via NetGalley.

REVIEW: Kill Me Tomorrow by Britney King

Title: Kill Me Tomorrow
Author: Britney King
Narrator: Patrick Zeller
Publisher: OrangeSky Audio
Publication Date: September 2021
Genre: Mystery / Thriller

Description: Ali is a sex therapist-slash-guru, famous for the work she does helping others find pleasure.

The problem: Ali can never quite find it for herself.

Her life's work makes nothing taboo, nothing off limits. And she's tried everything short of murder. Although, with the way things are going, it's not off the table.

When Ethan Lane is hired to investigate the death of a wealthy bachelor, he isn't expecting to stumble into a string of murders. The victims are men, and all members of a popular dating app. Operating undercover with a profile of his own, he meets the woman of his dreams—who also happens to be his best suspect.

The question: Can Lane stay alive long enough to prove his theory? And does he want to?

My Thoughts: In all honesty, the best thing about this book was the narration performance by Patrick Zeller.

This story had so much potential. The main protagonist was a likable character in the beginning. He’s a former FBI agent who now has his own private investigation firm and is carrying enormous trauma after his young daughter was murdered in a home invasion. He seems to be moving forward in his life being a single parent to his two other children after suffering a painful divorce. He is a character I usually can empathize with and relate to.

When he starts investigating a string of murders of wealthy men and learns they are all members of the same dating app, he goes undercover and with the help of his assistant, creates a profile and ultimately meets a woman he falls hard for. She also happens to be his number one suspect in the murders, so what does he do? Sleeps with her. Yes, his brain takes an immediate exit stage right and he starts thinking with his other brain.

This story was beyond illogical and completely inappropriate for a character with the law enforcement background he has. Why did I keep listening? I kept hoping that somehow his investigation would reveal this woman was not who he suspected her to be, but instead, everything kept pointing to her being involved somehow, if not as the killer, certainly as an accomplice.

My Final Verdict: Based on the ratings of other readers, this book does appeal to some but not to me and I cannot recommend it.

Thank you to the publisher, OrangeSky Audio, who provided an advance reader copy of this audiobook via NetGalley.

REVIEW: His For the Holidays by Samantha Chase

Title: His For the Holidays
Author: Samantha Chase
Narrator: Elizabeth Cottle
Publisher: Dreamscape Media
Publication Date: December 2021
Genre: Christmas Holiday / Contemporary Romance
Buy the Book: Amazon | BN | Audible

Description: What better way to unwind from the stress of a family Thanksgiving, than escaping with an armload of Christmas cookies?

Hannah Christy was eager to head home and devour her treats in solitude, while doing some prep work for the promotion she was vying for. Those plans came to a screeching halt... along with the elevator.... trapping her inside with her sexy neighbor.

After being trapped with his match-making family over Thanksgiving, getting stuck in an elevator was a welcome reprieve for Gage Lawson.

If it were up to him, he would gladly stay stranded well into the new year. Especially since his neighbor has a whole treasure trove of ideas on how to pass the time. The best Christmas cookies he’s ever tasted. Delicious spiced wine. Fun getting-to-know-you games. It’s the most holiday merriment he’s had in a long while.

Somewhere in the midst of it all, Gage comes up with the perfect plan. A fake romance to help make both their family get-togethers more jolly! To his surprise, Hannah agrees to be his for the holidays. Yet with the mistletoe in full bloom, and her on his arm, Gage soon realizes their little Christmas show isn't enough. He wants her for real... and forever.

Roast the chestnuts and hang the stockings, Gage has a plan! With the help of the 55 and over residents, magical flurries, and a never-ending supply of hot cocoa with extra marshmallows, he’s determined to show Hannah that Christmas is the most wonderful time of year to fall in love.

My Thoughts: You’re probably thinking that if you have read one fake dating relationship trope, you’ve read them all. Let’s face it, this is a common plot device in many romance novels and some are definitely better than others. This is one of the better ones. Can you imagine anything worse than finally making it home after a Thanksgiving holiday with your family, you’re tired, the trip was long and the last thing you want is to make chit chat with anyone. You want to get yourself and your suitcases up to your apartment where you can shower, unpack and relax. Instead, the elevator doesn’t cooperate and you find yourself stuck inside with your very attractive and sexy neighbor. With nothing but several hours of waiting to be rescued ahead of them, Hannah opens up the cookie tin and bottle of wine and begins to get to know her neighbor, Gage.

This story was very charming. Being trapped in an elevator doesn’t sound like a lot of fun, but it gives Hannah and Gage the opportunity to get to know one another better and they learn a lot about each other’s lives and families. Hannah is skipping spending Christmas with her family because she is working hard on a presentation that will hopefully win her the promotion she has been vying for. She feels inadequate around her family because her sisters are both doctors and she works in interior design. Gage is dreading spending Christmas with his family because of their relentless matchmaking. Over a bottle of wine and several delicious Christmas cookies, he suggests that they pretend date to get his family off his back.

It becomes obvious very quickly that neither one of them can keep up the charade and the line between keeping up appearances and falling in love gets more difficult to see. I really liked Hannah and Gage and thought they had the perfect chemistry and enjoyed seeing it all unfold.

In all honesty, I didn’t have a lot of anticipation about reading this book because of the fake dating relationship trope. This is my second least favorite plot device after adultery because I feel relationships are hard work already and starting a relationship with a lie for any reason just doesn’t sit well with me. This story, however, flipped me on my head because the fake relationship was never fake and nobody was lied to as Gage falls hard for Hannah and has to figure out how to convince her that she feels the same way and Christmas is the most magical time of the year and miracles are all around them.

The author does an amazing job of giving us characters that are likable and easy to relate to. The story is well paced and despite my initial reservations, I quickly became immersed in the story, the characters and the location where Gage grew up.

My Final Verdict: Overall, this charming story would be an excellent choice for readers who crave Christmas themes during the holiday season as I do. This story will make you smile and feel all the feels. Grab those Christmas cookies and a glass of spiced wine, eggnog or cider and snuggle down in front of the fireplace with this book for several hours of Christmas cheer happiness.

Thank you to the publisher, Dreamscape Media, who provided an advance reader copy of this audiobook via NetGalley.

REVIEW: Not Another Christmas Rom Com by A.J. Pine

Title: Not Another Christmas Rom Com
Author: A.J. Pine
Narrator: Andi Arndt, Teddy Hamilton
Publisher: Audible
Publication Date: November 2024
Genre: Christmas Holiday / Chick-Lit / Contemporary Romance
Buy the Book: Amazon | Audible

Description: A meet-not-so-cute leads to spicy romance in this brilliantly hilarious new rom-com from best-selling author A. J. Pine!

It’s the flight before Christmas and Molly just got an unexpected gift: a free first-class upgrade on her plane trip home for the holidays. Bring on the complimentary cocktails! But after one too many, she spills all her secrets to the hot guy seated next to her—only to wake up mortified when her buzz has worn off. At least she never has to see Liam again ... or so she thinks.

When Molly arrives at Christmas House, the festive rental home that she and her family are sharing with her sister’s fiancé and his wealthy family, she discovers that Liam is one of the new in-laws. Oops. Now thanks to her boozy oversharing, he knows all her secrets—and they’ll be stuck in the same house all Christmas long. Double oops.

As their chemistry turns red-hot, will they be able keep their hands off each other long enough to navigate growing family drama? And what will Molly do when she discovers that Liam is hiding a scandalous secret of his own? Whatever happens, one thing is clear: These two are in for an unforgettable holiday ride.

My Thoughts: This was a lot of fun to listen to mainly because Andi Arndt and Teddy Hamilton are so massively talented that they make just about every book they narrate a pleasure to listen to. This book was my first experience with this author and I look forward to more of her Christmas rom com’s.

I really loved the way Molly and Liam meet for the first time on a plane to celebrate the holiday with family. Their chemistry is apparent but instead of exchanging numbers or email addresses, Molly consumes too much bubbly and reveals too much about her family and her new side hustle, which has netted her a million unexpected dollars in her bank account.

When Molly arrives at the lavish home she is staying with her parents, sister, future brother in law and his family, she is shocked to discover that her seatmate on the plane is none other than her future brother in law’s brother. How many ways can we say awkward? Liam and Molly manage to keep their meeting a secret and it turns out that he and everybody else in the house are harboring secrets of their own.

I adored Molly and Liam. I know this is not the first instance of the daughters in one family ending up with the sons in another family, but I loved how they clicked as friends and then as lovers and not wanting to steal the attention away from their siblings and the upcoming nuptials. It took me a bit longer to warm up to Liam’s parents and his brother as they come across as very pretentious in the beginning and I liked how protective of her family Molly is.

My Final Verdict: Overall, this book was a lot of fun and spending a week in a luxurious home with all the Christmas cheer and festivities sounds like a lot of fun. I highly recommend this story to fans of Christmas themes, contemporary romance and readers who enjoy stories where all of the characters are keeping secrets.

REVIEW: Stalking Around the Christmas Tree by Jacqueline Frost

Title: Stalking Around the Christmas Tree (Christmas Tree Farm Mystery #4)
Author: Jacqueline Frost
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books
Publication Date: October 2023
Genre: Christmas Holiday / Cozy Mystery
Buy the Book: Amazon | BN | Audible

Description: Tis the season to solve a murder—and innkeeper Holly White knows she’ll have to make her list and check it twice if she wants to catch the killer in the fourth Christmas Tree Farm mystery from bestselling author Jacqueline Frost.

For inn keeper Holly White, Christmas time in Mistletoe, Maine, is the ultimate holiday gift. Business at the Reindeer Games Inn is booming, her wedding to Sheriff Evan Gray is nearly here, and the annual parade is about to begin. The town is lucky to have another gift this year with the state’s ballet company staying for several performances of The Nutcracker. But disaster strikes when Tiffany, the lead ballerina, shows up dead on a float during the parade, the Rat King’s mask nearby. Holly will have to spruce up her sleuthing skills if she wants to catch the killer before Christmas—and her wedding day.

Immediately, Holly discovers that Tiffany had more than a few secrets. She finds out that the star of the show had a super fan that no one knows anything about. And the show’s understudy slips some other intriguing information Holly’s way: not only was Tiffany secretly seeing someone romantically, but there seems to be more than one rat in this company. When Holly discovers a secret passage leading to Tiffany’s dressing room, with footprints leading out; she wonders if this is evidence of a secret lover—or a stalking killer.

With an impending snowstorm and the ballet company on the way out of town, Holly must act quickly if she wants to find the person responsible for this terrible murder. Will she be able to save Christmas—or will her investigation turn cold like the weather?

My Thoughts: This series really hits the spot at Christmas time. With a character named Holly White, a town named Mistletoe and a business called Reindeer Games Inn, it’s just begging for a visit from the fat man in a red suit but I am beginning to suspect he’s already there.

In this installment, we find Holly busy planning her wedding (on Christmas Eve, of course!) to Sheriff Evan Gray and hosting a ballet troupe at the Inn. In Mistletoe, it wouldn’t be Christmas without the parade and the fun and frolic at Holly’s parent’s farm either, as well as murder, which seems to be an annual occurrence. As with the other stories in this series, Holly finds herself smack dab in the middle of the investigation so you know she will also be in the killer’s sights at some point. Normally, I would get annoyed at a non-law enforcement professional inserting themselves into a murder investigation but in this series, it just seems to find Holly, no matter how many snickerdoodles she is juggling on her already heaping plate.

The murder victim is the prima ballerina of the ballet company so there are a lot of suspects to choose from including all of the other dancers, the troupe’s manager and a mysterious ballet blogger who nobody has ever seen or met in person. Anybody familiar with this series already knows Christmas is a very big deal for the residents of Mistletoe and with Holly’s wedding coming up, yet another murder during the holiday season can make a Grinch out of anyone, but I really love how Holly, her friends and her family seem to take it in stride and get on with the season’s festivities.

Another wonderful thing about this series are the secondary characters that I have come to care about as much as Holly and Evan. There’s a sidebar mystery involving Evan’s sister which begins to derail her blossoming relationship with Ray and Holly’s best friend Caroline appears to have found a love interest too, so I am looking forward to the next installment to see what is going on there as well as who becomes the next dearly departed.

The author does such a wonderful job of bringing the town of Mistletoe and its residents to life, that I easily felt at home there and could be friends with everyone. I really love Holly and Evan as a couple and am looking forward to reconnecting with them again.

My Final Verdict: Overall, I highly recommend this story to readers who love Christmas themes and cozy mysteries.

Thank you to the publisher, Crooked Lane Books, who provided an advance reader copy of this book via NetGalley.

REVIEW: One Hundred Lights by Chrissy Hopewell

Title: One Hundred Lights
Author: Chrissy Hopewell
Publisher: Fox Hollow Publishing LLC
Publication Date: November 2024
Genre: Christmas Holiday / Contemporary Romance
Buy the Book: Amazon | BN

Description: One school dance. Two single parents who should stay away from each other. A magical holiday hunt for one hundred boxes of fairy lights for their kids’ school dance that makes falling in love inevitable.

Britt
There are few worse things than developing feelings for your best friend’s husband. I tried to do the right thing and step away from both of them, but they got divorced anyway. That’s definitely one of those worse things. And now Adrian’s at my front door, insisting on helping me decorate for the kids’ holiday dance. And I still want him. I also still want to make up with my best friend, but I’m afraid it’s all unforgivable.

Adrian
I know I should stay away from my ex-wife’s ex-best friend. Britt doesn’t want to see me. She pushed us away six months ago, but things still ended in divorce. Now I’m trying to get it together as a single dad, and I keep running into Britt at school events. I want to smooth things over with her. Britt won’t talk to me, but she needs help with the school dance, so if I just show up at the planning meeting, she won’t be able to say no. What could go wrong with this plan?

This is a prequel novella to the completed Hart Sisters If We Pretend, Unless It's You, and Since We're Here. If you read One Hundred Lights first, prepare yourself to despise Britt & Adrian in If We Pretend!

My Thoughts: I didn’t realize that this story is part of the author’s Hart Sisters series, which I have not read any of. Normally, this would put me off reading this book because I don’t enjoy feeling like I’m coming into the story where previous events from the other books are alluded to. Though this does happen in this story, I decided to overlook it and I’m glad I did because the story was enjoyable and learning that I might actually hate Britt and Adrian if I read the other stories, I probably won’t read them because I actually liked Britt and Adrian a lot.

I don’t think developing feelings for your best friend’s husband is ever a good idea but the way Britt and Adrian dealt with it was likely the only way, however, their feelings ran so much deeper and even though Britt tried to do the admirable thing and stay away from them, Adrian and his wife got divorced anyway. My only issue with this story was Britt’s desire to get her friendship with Adrian’s ex-wife back. I think Britt is asking for the impossible, especially when Reese finds out that Britt and Adrian do get together.

This book moves pretty fast with each chapter alternating between Britt and Adrian’s perception, which I really enjoy. I thought the characters were easy to relate to and it was easy to see how their friendship could begin to blossom into something more and it was quite sweet to witness.

My Final Verdict: Overall, this story is a good addition to the Christmas reading list. I recommend it to readers who enjoy Christmas themes, forbidden love and second chance tropes.

Thank you to the publisher, Fox Hollow Publishing LLC, who provided an advance reader copy of this book via NetGalley.