The Corner Shop in Cockleberry Bay by Nicola May

Here is what it is about...

     Rosa Larkin is down on her luck in London, so when she inherits a near-derelict corner shop in a quaint Devon village, her first thought is to sell it for cash and sort out her life. But nothing is straightforward about this legacy. While the identity of her benefactor remains a mystery, he - or she - has left one important legal proviso: that the shop cannot be sold, only passed on to somebody who really deserves it. 
     Rosa makes up her mind to give it a go: to put everything she has into getting the shop up and running again in the small seaside community of Cockleberry Bay. But can she do it all on her own? And if not, who will help her succeed - and who among the following will work secretly to see her fail?
     There is a handsome rugby player, a sexy plumber, a charlatan reporter and a selection of meddling locals. Add in a hit and run incident and the disappearance of a valuable engraved necklace – and what you get is a journey of self-discovery and unpredictable events. 
     With surprising and heartfelt results, Rosa, accompanied at all times by her little sausage dog Hot, will slowly unravel the shadowy secrets of the inheritance, and also bring her own, long-hidden heritage into the light.

Here is what I thought...

     I went into this one expecting a quaint little cozy mystery about a young woman running a cozy shop in a small English village but that is not quite what I got. This ended up being more of a story about Rosa and her growing up with a couple of little side mysteries to give some suspense to the story.
      I liked Rosa immediately though felt she had some emotional issues she needed to work on and many of the secondary characters were funny and interesting.  I enjoyed the story but did feel at times that there was just a bit too much going on; a hit and run, Rosa's mysterious benefactor, several relationships up in the air, missing jewelry, deaths, and poor doggie injuries!  
     All in all an enjoyable read that I liked but wasn't in love with.  3/5 stars

Author's site: http://www.nicolamay.com/

Our Little Secret by Roz Nay

Here is what it is about...

They say you never forget your first love. What they don't say though, is that sometimes your first love won't forget you...

A police interview room is the last place Angela expected to find herself today. It's been hours, and they keep asking her the same inane questions over and over. "How do you know the victim?" "What's your relationship with Mr. Parker?" Her ex's wife has gone missing, and anyone who was close to the couple is a suspect. Angela is tired of the bottomless questions and tired of the cold room that stays the same while a rotating litany of interrogators changes shifts around her. But when criminologist Novak takes over, she can tell he's not like the others. He's ready to listen, and she knows he'll understand. When she tells him that her story begins a decade before, long before Saskia was in the picture, he gives her the floor.

A twenty-something young professional, Angela claims to have no involvement. How could she? It's been years since she and H.P., Mr. Parker that is, were together. As her story unfolds, it deepens and darkens. There's a lot to unpack... betrayal, jealousy, and a group of people who all have motives for retribution. If Angela is telling the truth, then who's lying?   

 

Here is what I thought...

     Holy unreliable narrator, Batman!!!  I am a big fan of the mystery/thriller genre and have read A LOT of them but lately they have all felt a little stale and repetitive to me.  I have been slightly bored with the genre only because nothing I have read lately felt new or different then I received this book....whoa!
     Angela is a great narrator and even though she is obviously a little messed up you still can't help but like her just a little.  I also felt a little sorry for her in that she seemed very alone and basically was raised by two very selfish parents.  All of the characters are believable and great...even though you kind of hate most of them.
     Our Little Secret is a great thriller that I could not put down and devoured it a just a few short sittings.  This may not exactly be a new plot line but Ms. Nay writes it so well that you will enjoy every single crazy minute of it! 4/5 stars

*Thanks to St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read and review! All opinions are mine and are completely honest!*

 

 

Author's site:  https://roznay.com/

    

Love and Other Words by Christina Lauren

Here's what it is about...

Macy Sorensen is settling into an ambitious if emotionally tepid routine: work hard as a new pediatrics resident, plan her wedding to an older, financially secure man, keep her head down and heart tucked away.

But when she runs into Elliot Petropoulos—the first and only love of her life—the careful bubble she’s constructed begins to dissolve. Once upon a time, Elliot was Macy’s entire world—growing from her gangly bookish friend into the man who coaxed her heart open again after the loss of her mother...only to break it on the very night he declared his love for her.

Told in alternating timelines between Then and Now, teenage Elliot and Macy grow from friends to much more—spending weekends and lazy summers together in a house outside of San Francisco devouring books, sharing favorite words, and talking through their growing pains and triumphs. As adults, they have become strangers to one another until their chance reunion. Although their memories are obscured by the agony of what happened that night so many years ago, Elliot will come to understand the truth behind Macy’s decade-long silence, and will have to overcome the past and himself to revive her faith in the possibility of an all-consuming love.  

Here's what I thought...

     Love and Other Words in another great addition to the Christina Lauren collection.  I have really enjoyed their books in the past and this is another good love story.  I must admit that sometimes reading about people in their 20's dating and falling in love feels odd since I am much older but I still enjoy a good romance.    
     Macy and Elliot have a great story of best friends that grow up together, fall in love but then fall apart.  I liked Macy even though she had very obvious emotional issues and was rather closed off. Elliot is funny and sweet as her book nerd friend and you can't help but root for them to figure their crap out.  If I have to complain, I would say the last few chapters felt a bit rushed because I felt like there was so many emotions involved I would have liked a bit more of a fleshing out of those.
     If you like a good angst-y friends-turned-lovers story I think this would be a great one for your beach bag this summer! 4/5 stars

Favorite Quotes:

"Don't spoil her with toys; spoil her with books."

"Unfortunately for me, I don't speak Danish Eyeball."

"I can be enough of your world that it feels like everyone is."

 

Author info:

 Christina Lauren is the combined pen name of long-time writing partners/besties/soulmates/brain-twins Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings. The coauthor duo writes both Young Adult and Adult Fiction, and together has produced fourteen New York Times bestselling novels. Their books have been translated into 30+ languages. (Some of these books have kissing. Some of these books have A LOT of kissing.)

After Anna by Lisa Scottoline

Here's what it is about...

Nobody cuts deeper than family...

Dr. Noah Alderman, a widower and single father, has remarried a wonderful woman, Maggie Ippolitti, and for the first time in a long time, he and his young son are happy. Despite her longing for the daughter she hasn’t seen since she was a baby, Maggie is happy too, and she’s even more overjoyed when she unexpectedly gets another chance to be a mother to the child she thought she’d lost forever, her only daughter Anna.

Maggie and Noah know that having Anna around will change their lives, but they would never have guessed that everything would go wrong, and so quickly. Anna turns out to be a gorgeous seventeen-year-old who balks at living under their rules, though Maggie, ecstatic to have her daughter back, ignores the red flags that hint at the trouble brewing in a once-perfect marriage and home.

Events take a heartbreaking turn when Anna is murdered and Noah is accused and tried for the heinous crime. Maggie must face not only the devastation of losing her daughter, but the realization that Anna’s murder may have been at the hands of a husband she loves. In the wake of this tragedy, new information drives Maggie to search for the truth, leading her to discover something darker than she could have ever imagined.

Here's what I thought....

      I have been a fan of Ms. Scottoline's Rosato & Associates series for many years so I was excited to get a chance to read her newest stand alone, After Anna.  Unfortunately, I was disappointed.

     The story is told from two perspectives, Maggie's and Noah's. Maggie's story line moves from the past forward and Noah's moves from current day (the trial) backward so that we see the after effects of Anna's appearance while we are learning how it happened.  It is a good concept for storytelling but I have see it quite a lot lately.

     My main problem with this story is that the narrative from Maggie started out a little unbelievable and then became more and more immature and annoying as it went along.  The half of the story told from Noah's perspective was much more interesting and I wish the whole book had been this way.  

     I will admit that I did actually read (skim) through to the end just because I was curious as to what the end game here was and for that I will give it a 2.5/5 stars.

Author's site: https://scottoline.com/

The Shadow of Death by Jane Willan

Here's what it is about....

The sisters of Gwenafwy Abbey have cherished their contemplative life—days spent in prayer, reflection, tending the Convent’s vegetable gardens and making their award-winning organic cheese, Heavenly Gouda. Life seems perfect, except for Sister Agatha, a die-hard mystery fan who despairs of ever finding any real life inspiration for her own novel. That is, until the Abbey’s sexton is found dead under an avalanche of gouda. Despite the reservations of the local constable, Sister Agatha is convinced it’s murder and the game is afoot.

Armed only with the notes she’s scribbled during her favorite podcast, How to Write a Mystery Novel, as well as a lessons learned from crime heroes ranging from Hercule Poirot to Stephanie Plum, Sister Agatha leads the nuns of Gwenafwy Abbey (and her unwitting sidekick, Father Selwyn) as they begin a race against time to resolve the death of Jacob, save the Abbey, exonerate a beloved postulant, and restore the good name of their cheese.

source

 

Here's what I thought about it...

     This book struck me as a cozy mystery I would enjoy and turned out to be a little Louise Penny-like.  I used to read A LOT of cozy mysteries but then I got burnt out on them.  Over the last year or two I have started reading them again occasionally when one catches my attention...and doesn't have a cat on the cover.  Also, I should warn you that I am a bit of an Anglophile so the setting really intrigued me too. :)
     I thoroughly enjoyed all of the characters from Gwenafwy Abbey and found the main characters, Sister Agatha and Father Selwyn, delightful and fun. Sister Agatha is feisty and her mystery writer aspirations made her relatable and was a perfect excuse for her nosiness! I loved that she paid homage to some of her favorite literary detectives that also happen to be mine. 
   The only thing I can think to complain about is that there is A LOT happening in this book...murders, cheese festivals, confirmations, burglary, sabotage...it was occasionally overwhelming but I did still really enjoy this mystery.  I will definitely be looking forward to more in this series.  4/5 stars

 

Favorite Quotes:

"...but fortunately for Sister Agatha, Reverend Mother firmly believed that all-poverty-and-no-online-shopping made for a dull life."

"An angling enthusiast, he claimed that since the early disciples had been fishermen, his yearly fishing trips to Scotland were biblically mandated."

"Get rid of the Mini?" he said.  "Buy a van? Get thee behind me, Satan?"

Author's site:

https://www.janewillan.com/



*Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review*