New Releases ~ week of 11/28/2016

Blood Eclipse by Gabrielle Bisset, K. M. Scott (#6 Sons of Navarus)

Caught Up in You by Jules Bennett (#2 Monroes)
Chase by Sidney Bristol (#3 Hot Rides)
Chasing Shadows by Karen Harper (#1 South Shores)
Closer to You by Barbara Freethy (#11 Callaways)
Confluence by S. K. Dunstall (#3 Linesman)
Death Comes to the Fair by Catherine Lloyd (#4 Kurland St. Mary Mysteries)
Duke of Pleasure by Elizabeth Hoyt (#11 Maiden Lane)
Family Jewels by Denise Grover Swank (#1 Rose Gardner Investigations)
First Degree Mudder by Kate Dyer-Seeley (#4 Pacific Northwest)
Haunted Is Always in Fashion by Rose Pressey (#4 Haunted Vintage Mystery)
Hope Everlasting by JN Chaney (#3 The Variant Sage)
Ink Exposed by Carrie Ann Ryan (#6 Montgomery Ink)

Just Try To Stop Me by Gregg Olsen (#3 Birdy Waterman)
Miracle on 5th Avenue by Sarah Morgan (#3 Made in New York)
More Than A Promise by Amy Lillard (#2 Quilting Circle)
Perfectly Paired by Lexi Blake (#3 Topped)
Queen of the Cookbooks by Ashton Lee (#5 Cherry Cola Book Club)
Scoring Her by Max Monroe (#3.5 Billionaire Bad Boys)
Shades of Wrath by Karen Rose Smith (#6 Caprice De Luca Mystery)
Taken by Cynthia Eden (#5 Last Option Search Team)
The Battle of Hackham Heath by John Flanagan (#2 Ranger's Apprentice Early Year)
The Blockade by Jean Johnson (#3 First Salik War)
The Cherished Quilt by Amy Clipston (#3 Amish Heirloom)
The Fate of the Tearling by Erika Johansen (#3 The Queen of the Tearling)
The Glow of Death by Jane K Cleland (#11 Josie Prescott Antiques Mysteries)
The Turtle Invasion by Jack Patton (#10 Battle Bugs)
The Varangian by Bruce MacBain (#3 Odd Tangle-Hair's Saga)
The Viscount and the Vixen by Lorraine Heath (#3 Hellions of Havisham)
Wild at Whiskey Creek by Julie Anne Long (#2 Hellcat Canyon)
Winter Moon by Dannika Dark (#7.5 Seven)
Wrong For Me by Jackie Ashenden (#2 Motor City Royals)
You Make Me Weak by Juliana Stone (#1 The Blackwells of Crystal Lake)

This Week's Reads

A Study in Charlotte by Brittany Cavallaro
Charlotte Holmes #1 (Goodreads)
**The cover grabbed my attention, something about the colors works for me even better than the actual picture.
I've been enjoying mysteries of late and this is set in the Holmes world without actually being a Sherlock book.

Breath of Earth by Beth Cato
Breath of Earth #1 (Goodreads)
**Alt History, magic, and steampunk sounds like something that I should like. Steampunk has always been a hit or miss genre for me but I'm hoping with everything else that is part of this book I will still enjoy it.

New Releases ~ week of 11/21/2016

Stone Coffin by Kjell Eriksson (#7 Ann Lindell)

All the Dead Girls by Rita Herron (#3 Graveyard Falls)
An Aspen Creek Christmas by Roxanne Rustand (#4 Aspen Creek Crossroads)
Apes and Angels by Ben Bova (#3 Star Quest)
Arcanum Unbounded by Brandon Sanderson (#3 Cosmere)
Bound By A Scandalous Secret by Diane Gaston (#3 Scandalous Summerfields)
Bound By Betrayal by Trish McCallan (#5 Red-Hot SEALs)
Campbell's Redemption by Sharon Cullen (#3 Highland Pride)
Christmas on Crimson Mountain by Michelle Major (#8 Crimson Colorado)
Fireborn by David Dalglish (#2 Seraphim)

Flawless by Heather Graham (#1 New York Confidential)
For Duty and Honor by Leo J. Maloney (#6 Dan Morgan)
One Enchanted Eve by Melissa Tagg (#2 Enchanted Christmas)
One Hot December by Tiffany Reisz (#3 Men at Work)
One Mistletoe Wish by A C Arthur (#1 Taylors of Temptation)
Over the Edge by Meredith Wild (#3 Bridge )
Scythe by Neal Shusterman (#1 Scythe)
Spaceman by Tom Abrahams (#1 Spaceman Chronicles)
Storm Cell by Brendan DuBois (#10 Lewis Cole)
The Christmas Tree by Allyson Charles (#2 Pineville)
The Danger of Desire by Sabrina Jeffries (#3 Sinful Suitors)
The Operator by Kim Harrison (#2 The Peri Reed Chronicles)
The Prince's Pregnant Mistress by Maisey Yates (#2 Heirs Before Vows)
The Vindication of Man by John C. Wright (#5 The Eschaton Sequence)
Trouble Makes a Comeback by Stephanie Tromly (#2 Trouble)
Unraveling the Pieces by Terri Dulong (#3 Ormond Beach)
Unyielding by Robert J. Crane (#11 Out of the Box)

This Week's Reads

Burning Water by Mercedes Lackey
Diana Tregarde #1 (Goodreads)
**I came across a list of UF series and liked the sound of it. A psychic police detective and a romance writing witch, sounds like a good pairing to me.

Blood Engines by T.A. Pratt
Marla Mason #1 (Goodreads)
**I was in the mood for witches and supernatural when I selected books this week. Another witch (sorcerer) trying to save her city and racing against the clock.

The Dragon Conspiracy and The Brimstone Deception by Lisa Shearin
SPI Files #2 &3 (Goodreads)
**Really enjoyed the first book and finally getting back to the rest of the series.

New Releases ~ week of 11/14/2016

A Composition in Murder by Larissa Reinhart (#6 Cherry Tucker Mysteries)

Achilles by Julia Mills (#3 Kings of the Blood)
An Empire Asunder by Evan Currie (#2 Scourwind Legacy)
Chaos by Patricia Cornwell (#24 The Scarpetta Series)
City on Edge by Stefanie Pintoff (#2 Eve Rossi)
Crash and Burn by James Rollins (#12.5 SIGMA Force)
Dark Crime by Christine Feehan (#27 The Carpathians (Dark))
Demons of the Flame Sea by Jean Johnson (Flame Seas #2)
Empire by Logan Rutherford (#1 Empire)
Evan by Dale Mayer (#8 Seals of Honor)
Excalibur Reigning by Kathryn Rose (Metal & Lace #3)
Faithful Addiction by Kennedy Layne (#2 Safeguard)

For the Bear's Eyes Only by Kathy Lyons (#3 Grizzlies Gone Wild)
Into the Lion's Den by Linda Fairstein (#1 Devlin Quick Mystery)
Keeping Time by Wendy Sparrow (#3 Servants of Fate)
Love on Call by Radclyffe (#3 Rivers Community)
Mischief and the Masters by Cherise Sinclair (#12 Masters of the Shadowlands)
Mosaic by Sarah Fine (#3 Reliquary)
Nest by Terry Goodkind
Odessa Sea by Clive Cussler (#24 Dirk Pitt)
Rhapsodic by Laura Thalassa (The Bargainer #1)
Rescuing Harley by Susan Stoker (#3 Delta Force Heroes)

Scorched Ice by Erica Stevens (#3 The Fire and Ice Series)
SEAL's Deliverance by Elle James (#9 Take No Prisoners)
Shadow Born by D.K. Holmberg (#3 The Shadow Accords)
Silver-Tongued Devil by Rosalind James (#1 Portland Devils)
Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy by Cassandra Clare
The Mistletoe Secret by Richard Paul Evans (#3 Mistletoe Collection)
The Sleeping Beauty Killer by Mary Higgins Clark, Alafair Burke (#4 Under Suspicion)
The Turncoat's Gambit by Andrea Cremer (#3 The Inventor's Secret)
Tied to His Betrayal by Stacey Kennedy (#2 Dirty Little Secrets)
To the Rescue by Stephanie Faris (#3 Piper Morgan)
Treasure & Treason by Lisa Shearin (Raine Benares #8)
Turbo Twenty Three by Janet Evanovich (#23 The Stephanie Plum Series)

This Week's Reads

India Black and The Shadows of Anarchy by Carol K Carr
Madam of Espionage #3 (Goodreads)
**Another historical mystery series that I have enjoyed previously. Just started this one and so far it's as good as I remember.

Weird Things Customers Say in Bookshops by Jen Campbell
Weird Things Customers Say in Bookshops #1 (Goodreads)
**As someone who worked in retail and customer service for several years, I found this accurate and very funny. There were several that had me laughing remembering dealing with similar customers.

Dangerous to Know by Tasha Alexander
Lady Emily #5 (Goodreads)
**Book 4 was not my favorite but I still really enjoy this series and hope it picks back up.

New Releases ~ week of 11/07/2016

A Red Dotted Line by Simon Gervais (#3 A Mike Walton Thriller)

A Texas Cowboy's Christmas by Cathy Gillen Thacker (#3 Texas Legacies: The Lockharts)
A Whole Latte Murder by Caroline Fardig (#3 Java Jive Mystery)
Abducted by Dana Mentink (#3 Pacific Coast Private Eyes)
Belle Chasse by Suzanne Johnson (#5 Sentinels of New Orleans)
Dark Corners by A. M. Madden (#3 True Heroes)
Deadly Dog Days by Jamie Blair (#1 Dog Days Mystery)
Dirty Sexy Sinner by Carly Phillips, Erika Wilde (#4 Dirty Sexy Series)
Dirty Wicked by Shayla Black (#11.5 Wicked Lovers)
Double Eclipse by Melissa de la Cruz (#6 Witches of the East - Beauchamp Family Book)

Heart Attack and Vine by Phoef Sutton (#2 Crush)
Heartless by Marissa Meyer
His Pregnant Christmas Bride by Olivia Gates (#6 Billionaires of Black Castle)
His Secretary's Little Secret by Catherine Mann (#1 Lourdes Brothers of Key Largo)
HMS Nightingale by J.A. Sutherland (#4 Alexis Carew)
Holding Out for a Hero by Codi Gary (#4 Men in Uniform)
Hunter by Melody Anne (#3 7 Brides for 7 Brothers)
Immortal by Nicole Conway (#4 The Dragonrider Chronicles)
Judgment of Murder by C S Challinor (#10 Rex Graves Mysteries)
Leopard's Fury by Christine Feehan (#9 Leopard)
Letting Go by Kate L. Mary (#4 College of Charleston)
Moral Defense by Marcia Clark (#2 Samantha Brinkman)

New Eden by William Vitka (#3 Hellcat)
Not Quite A Scot by Janice Maynard (#3 Kilted Heros)
Promise of Wrath by Steve McHugh (#6 Hellequin Chronicles)
Remnants of Trust by Elizabeth Bonesteel (#2 Central Corps)
Rhythm and Clues by Sue Ann Jaffarian (#11 Odelia Grey Mystery)
Shielding His Christmas Witness by Laura Scott (#1 Callahan Confidential)
Silver Road by James Maxwell (#2 The Shifting Tides)
Suddenly Dating by Julia London (#2 Lake Haven)
The Bodyguard's Bride To Be by Amelia Autin (#7 Man on a Mission)
The Chemist by Stephenie Meyer
The Christmas Target by Shirlee McCoy (#6 Mission: Rescue)
The Iron Beast by Andy Remic (#3 Song for No Man's Land)
The Last Descent by Jeff Soloway (#2 Travel Writer Mystery)

The Magician's Key by Matthew Cody (#2 Secrets of the Pied Piper)
The Man Who Wanted to Know Everything by D A Mishani (#3 Avraham Avraham Mystery)
The Mountain of Kept Memory by Rachel Neumeier
The Silent Songbird by Melanie Dickerson (#7 Healer's Apprentice)
The Target by Brad Taylor (#10.5 Pike Logan)
The White Widow's Revenge by Jacob Grey (#3 Ferals)
This Was a Man by Jeffrey Archer (#7 Clifton Chronicles)
Timekeeper by Tara Sim (#1 Timekeeper)
Turbulent Desires by Melody Anne (#2 Billionaire Aviators)
Unraveling the Past by Elisabeth Rees (#4 Navy SEAL Defenders)

Book Review ~ The Book Club Murders

The Book Club Murders (Oakwood Mystery #1)

by Leslie Nagel
published by Alibi
released: September 27, 2016
genre: Adult, Mystery, Cozy

**Received from NetGalley and publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Summary (Goodreads): In a charming cozy mystery series debut, Leslie Nagel’s irrepressible small-town heroine finds that her fellow mystery book club members may be taking their Agatha Christie a bit too literally—and murder a bit too lightly.

Charley Carpenter has poured heart and soul into her clothing store, Old Hat Vintage Fashions. She’ll do anything to make it a success—even join the stuffy Agathas Book Club in order to cultivate customers among Oakwood, Ohio’s wealthy elite.

Although mixing with the most influential women in town has its advantages, Charley finds the endless gossip a high price to pay. But after two women with close ties to the Agathas are brutally murdered, everyone falls under threat—and suspicion. When key evidence indicates that both murders are the work of the same hand, Charley realizes that the killer has arranged each corpse in perfect imitation of crime scenes from the Club’s murder mystery reading list. She uses her membership in the Club to convince Detective Marcus Trenault to use her as an inside informant. Not that he could stop her anyway.

Intelligent, fearless, and every bit as stubborn as Marc is, Charley soon learns the Agathas aren’t the only ones with secrets to protect. Passions explode as she and Marc must race against time to prevent another murder. And if Charley’s not careful, she may find herself becoming the killer’s next plot twist.

My Thoughts: There are two reasons this went down to 3.5 stars. First, I felt lost right from the start. I had to look up the book to make sure it was the first in the series. It felt like I should already know who all the characters were. Especially the members of the Agathas. It could just be me but I had trouble trying to keep them all straight and since they were all very much involved in the murders and the resulting mystery surrounding them, it was confusing.
The second was the ending. This is more of a personal thing but it felt more like an ending for either a stand alone or the last book in a series not the first. After one too many twists, the author made sure to give the characters all HEAs and tell you where they all were as one would if closing out a series. There was nothing there that would lead to book two or make you even feel that there was going to be a book two. If this had been a stand alone I would have been more than okay with this and it wouldn't have bothered me as much.
Fortunately, I really enjoyed the middle 75% of the book. I really liked Charley and her group of friends, Frankie, Dimitri, and Lawrence made this book. Following along as Charley and Frankie (very much against Marc's wishes) tried to solve who would want to kill their "friends". This is the part where not being sure which Agatha was which played a part. I ended up just enjoying the story despite not always knowing who was who.
Overall, while I enjoyed most of the book there were just too many things that added up and made me lower the rating on this one. I did like the main characters and the author's writing style and can see myself giving the second book in this series a try.

Rating: 3.5

This Week's Reads

As Old As Time by Liz Braswell
Twisted Tales #3 (Goodreads)
**I wasn't crazy about the Aladdin retelling but I couldn't resist giving this one a try. It sounds like an interesting twist on Beauty and the Beast using Belle's mom.

Blood Red Snow White by Marcus Sedgwick
(Goodreads)
**I've always been interested in reading stories set in Russia. I'm not really familiar with Arthur Ransome but even without the setting it sounds like a good read.

New Releases ~ week of 10/31/2016

A Killer Kebab by Susannah Hardy (#3 Greek to Me Mystery)
A Million Worlds With You by Claudia Gray (#3 Firebird Trilogy)
A Very Pukka Murder by Arjin Gaind (#1 Maharajah Mystery)
An Import of Intrigue by Marshall Ryan Maresca (#2 Maradaine Constabulary)
Archangel's Heart by Nalini Singh (#9 Guild Hunter)
Bad Blood by Jennifer Lynn Barnes (#4 The Naturals)
Beignets, Brides and Bodies by J. R. Ripley (#2 Maggie Miller)
Better Late Than Never by Jenn McKinlay (#7 Library Lover's Mystery)
Blood for Blood by Ryan Graudin (#2 Wolf By Wolf)
Curse on the Land by Faith Hunter (#2 Soulwood)

Death at First Sight by Lena Gregory (#1 A Bay Island Psychic Mystery)
Deck the Hallways by Kate Carlisle (#4 Fixer-Upper Mystery)
Den of Wolves by Juliet Marillier (#3 Blackthorn & Grim)
Double Down by Jeff Kinney (#11 Diary of a Wimpy Kid)
Gabe by Ruth Cardello (#2 7 Brides for 7 Brothers)
Hang Tough by Lorelei James (#8 Blacktop Cowboys)
Hellfighters by Alexander Gordon Smith (#2 The Devil's Engine)
Hooking for Trouble by Betty Hechtman (#11 Crochet Mystery)
How to Impress a Marquess by Susanna Ives (#3 Wicked Little Secrets)
Jester by Lilly atlas (#2 No Prisoners M C)
Left at the Altar by Margaret Brownley (#1 Match Made in Texas)
Living Spectres by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro (#2 Chesterton Holte Novels)

Lodestar by Shannon Messenger (#5 Keeper of the Lost Cities)
Lone Star Cowboy by Delores Fossen (#1 Wrangler's Creek)
Lost Girls by Allison Brennan (#13 Lucy Kincaid)
Picture Perfect Wedding by Lynnette Austin (#3 Magnolia Brides)
Return to Umbria by David P Wagner (#4 Rick Montoya Italian Mystery)
Right to Kill by Andrew Peterson (#6 Nathan McBride)
Romancing the Inventor by Gail Carriger (Supernatural Society #1)
Say No More by Hank Phillippi Ryan (#5 Jane Ryland)
Shadow of Victory by David Weber (#14 Honor Harrington)

Sins of the Father by Denise Grover Swank (#9.5 Rose Gardner Mysteries)
Suddenly at Home by Graham Ison (#15 Brock and Poole)
Taking the Titanic by James Patterson, Scott Slaven (#49 BookShots)
Tempting Texas by Kimberly Raye (#3 Rebel Moonshine)
The Amateurs by Sara Shepard (#1 The Amateurs)
The Champagne Conspiracy by Ellen Crosby (#7 Wine Country Mystery)
The Chocolate Bunny Brouhaha by JoAnna Carl (#16 Chocoholic Mysteries)
The Darkest Heart by Juliette Cross (#2 Age of Gray)
The Fisher King by Melissa Lenhardt (#2 Jack McBride)
The Good, the Bad and the Guacamole by Rebecca Adler (#2 A Taste of Texas)
The Inheritance by Charles Finch (#10 Charles Lenox Mysteries)
The Knight in the Crypt by Raymond Khoury (#2 Last Templar)

The Legendary Lord by Valerie Bowman (#6 Playful Brides)
The Operative by Gerald Brandt (#2 San Angeles)
The Shattered Vigil by Patrick W. Carr (#2 Darkwater Saga)
The Twenty Three by Linwood Barclay (#3 Promise Falls)
The Wrong Side of Goodbye by Michael Connelly (#21 Harry Bosch)
There Was a Crooked Man by K J Larsen (#5 Cat DeLuca Mystery)
Twice Told Tail by Ali Brandon (#6 Black Cat Bookshop Mystery)
Unnatural Deeds by Cyn Balog
Unquiet Land by Sharon Shinn (#4 Elemental Blessing)
Venom and Vanilla by Shannon Mayer (#1 The Venom Trilogy)
We Wish You a Murderous Christmas by Vicki Delany (#2 A Year Round Christmas Mystery)
What You Do to Me by Barbara Longley (#1 The Haneys)
Whiskey Eyes by Mari Carr (#5 Sparks in Texas)
Wrath of Betty by Steven Erikson (#2 Willful Child)