Reading Round Up: March 1st – 10th

Hi Friends! I am here today with my first round up of the month. So far I have read 4 books and three of them had 5 stars! I don’t think I could pick a favorite as they were all great! I was hoping to get in some reading this past weekend as we got over 2 feet of snow here in Colorado but I didn’t end up getting much read. Instead I was bundled up on the couch watching movies and playing games with the family. How was your weekend?

Marriage and Murder by Penny Reid – 3 Stars This is the second book in Penney Reid’s cozy mystery series featuring Cletus and Jen from Beard Science. At their engagement party there ends up being a shooting and some ends up dead so this book is them trying to find the killer. While Jen and Cletus are one of my favorite couples ever, I really struggled with this one. I felt really disconnected from the characters for the first 2/3’s of the book but the last third was great and was what I was used to seeing with Penny’s books. I also think this could be a me thing as I am in a pretty big reading slump and not enjoying most of my reads like I normally do. One of my favorite scenes in this entire series is when Cletus is talking with his eldest brother Jethro about why he turned from a life in a motorcycle gang to became the person he is now.  It was so great getting that information about my second favorite Winston brother.  If you have read any of the Winston Brother’s books than I highly recommend these cozy mysteries. It would be best if you read Beard Science before these but not necessarily the other’s in the original series. Thank you to Social Butterfly PR for letting me be a part of the blog tour.

Heartbreak Bay by Rachel Caine – 5 Stars  I just have to say that I love this series and I am so sad we won’t get anymore. I have been reading Rachel Caine’s books for years but this thriller series was my favorite. Im so sad that she passed away and we won’t get any more of her books. Heartbreak Bay was the fifth in the series that follows the ex-wife of a serial killer and what she and her family goes through because of this. In this one we are following Gwen and her bff who is a local cop, as they get lured into a trap that might not end well.  I really love the friends that Gwen has gathered around her who know her original identity and do not hold her ex-husbands deeds against her. If you love tough females who go above and beyond then this series might be for you. I really can’t say enough about this series, if you haven’t read it yet I highly recommend it! Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for my gifted copy for review.

The Good Sister by Sally Hepworth – 5 Stars This book had me hooked from the very beginning! Rose and Fern are twin sisters who had a difficult upbringing and as adults are still dealing with things from their past. We get present day perspectives from Fern who has sensory issues and works as a Librarian and we also follow Rose through journal entries. From the very beginning I loved Fern and was so invested in her storyline, her and Wally were just too cute. I will say that I found this to be very predictable and had it figured out in the first 1/4 of the book but that didn’t take away any of the enjoyment I got from following their story. Highly recommend if you are looking for a good sibling mystery/thriller. Thank you to St. Martins Press and Librofm for my gifted copy for review.

Sandcastle Beach by Jenny Holiday – 5 Stars Enemies to lovers is my all time favorite trope and when its set in a small town, you know it’s going to be good. Maya runs the local theater in her small town and is also in a silent war with a local bar owner Benjamin “Law” Lawson. When the town decides to give out a grant to one local business owner, the stakes in their silent war go up as they are both wanting that money. I loved Maya and Ben’s relationship, my favorite parts are when they go on temporary truces so she can watch the Premier League games on his TV upstairs. Slowly the two realize maybe there is more to them than these short truces. This was a very fun story and I loved the town so much, now I just need to go back and read the other books in this series. Thank you to Forever Publishing for my gifted copy for review.