Disis19 Hearts...

My thoughts on the first book in the Harper Connelly series, Grave Sight by Charlaine Harris. I also talk about what I thought of The Remains of the Dead, which is the first book in the Ghost Dusters series by Wendy Roberts.These were the September and October #Book1CoziesClub selections. I announce the November selection in this video as well and would love it if you would join us for this read in the Mystery Madness Goodreads Group !

My thoughts on the first book in the Aunt Dimity Mystery series by Nancy Atherton, Aunt Dimity's Death. This was the #Book1CoziesClub selection for August 2020. If you've read Aunt Dimity's Death, please come share your thoughts with us in the Mystery Madness Goodreads Group! Mystery Madness Goodreads Group

My thoughts on the first book in the Cooking Class Mystery Series by Miranda Bliss. This was the #Book1CoziesClub selection for July 2020. If you have read Cooking Up Murder, please come share your thoughts with us in the Mystery Madness Goodreads Group !

Cooking Up Murder by Miranda Bliss My rating: 3 of 5 stars Read for #Book1CoziesClub This was entertaining, but I wouldn't say I'm invested in theses characters after this first installment. While I did enjoy watching Annie evolve into an amateur detective, I disliked Eve. I did find it interesting that Eve was the catalyst to investigate this case, however the reason she wanted to start to investigate made me shake my head. I also disliked that this book heavily mentions the two main character's exes. Would I read the next installment? Sure. Would I feel like I'm missing out on something if I didn't read the next installment? I wouldn't. View all my reviews

My thoughts on Murder Can Mess Up Your Masterpiece, the first book in the Haunted Craft Fair Mysteries and Cappuccinos, Cupcakes, and a Corpse which is the first book in the Cape Bay Cafe Mystery Series by Harper Lin. These were the May and June selections for #Book1CoziesClub in 2020. Timestamps after the break.

Cappuccinos, Cupcakes, and a Corpse by Harper Lin My rating: 4 of 5 stars Read for #Book1CoziesClub More like a 3.5 - I've been meaning to read this for a while and when it came out of the selection jar, I was excited. This mystery was very easy to read and I really enjoyed it. Finding time to read lately has been very difficult, but every time I came back to this story, the chapters seemed to fly. There were a couple times where I did get slightly irritated with Francesca's inner monologue, especially towards the end. I liked that she got reprimanded by the police officer working on the case at one point in the story. It's definitely not something I see often in cozy mysteries that I've read, and the fact that this installment doesn't include a love triangle was a big plus for me. I'll definitely be continuing this series and checking out the author's other series. View all my reviews

Murder Can Mess Up Your Masterpiece by Rose Pressey My rating: 4 of 5 stars Read for #Book1CoziesClub I really enjoyed this one! The story kept my interest and it leaves some breadcrumbs for things to be built on and explored in future installments. Looking forward to reading the next installment and more from this author. View all my reviews

My thoughts on the first book in the Irish Village Mystery Series by Carlene O'Connor. This was the #Book1CoziesClub selection for April 2020. If you have read this series, please let me know! You can also share your thoughts on this book in the thread posted in the Mystery Madness Goodreads Group.

Murder in an Irish Village by Carlene O'Connor My rating: 4 of 5 stars I really enjoyed this book. This book had a rhythm to it that kept me turning the page, not necessarily to find out what happened next, but the pace of the story made it feel like I spent no time reading it at all. The pronunciation guide in the beginning was very helpful as well. Looking forward to seeing what the next installment of this series brings. View all my reviews

My thoughts on the first book in The Goddess of Greene Street Mystery Series by Kate Collins, Statue of Limitations. This was the #Book1CoziesClub selection for March 2020. If you have read this or the author's Flower Shop Mystery Series, please let me know! You can also share your thoughts on this book in the thread posted in the Mystery Madness Goodreads Group.

Statue of Limitations by Kate Collins My rating: 3 of 5 stars More like a 2.5 - Read for #Book1CoziesClub and #MarchMysteryMadness I have not read the author's Flower Shop Mysteries so this was my first experience with her writing. While this was an entertaining story, there were many things that bothered me including several of the things our amateur sleuth did in the course of her investigation. The mystery itself was very predictable and I knew who the culprit was pretty early. I listened to this entirely on audiobook and it was very easy to listen to. At this point, I'm not sure if I will read the next one when it is released, though I may still try the Flower Shop Mystery series. I'm glad that this was a selection for my book club as I think there will be some interesting things to discuss. View all my reviews

My Thoughts on Murder, Uncorked. This is the first book in the Wine Lovers Mystery Series by Michele Scott and was the #Book1CoziesClub 4th Quarter Selection for 2019.

Find out what I thought about the first book in the Granny Reid Mystery Series by G.A. McKevett and if I will be continuing to read this series! This was the #Book1CoziesClub selection for December 2019. Mentions: Elizabeth's channel (Lizzyfayelovesbooks) Mystery Madness Goodreads Group Mystery Madness Twitter

Murder in Her Stocking by G.A. McKevett My rating: 4 of 5 stars Read for #Book1CoziesClub I read the first book in the Savannah Reid series this year and enjoyed it. When I heard about this prequel series, I was curious. I am glad I checked it out because I did enjoy this one a bit more than Just Desserts . At the very beginning of this book we are in present day, and I thought I was going to be spoiled for something in the Savannah Reid series, but I was not. At least, I don't feel like I was. It was interesting to see how Savannah was as a child, and also where she got her sleuthing gene from. Granny Reid was definitely an enjoyable character. I don't read many stories about sleuths who are older, so it was refreshing to read. The investigation process was very laid back, which I thought was fitting especially because we're dealing with an granny and a child. I was prepared for how Savannah's mom treated her kids from reading Just Desserts unf...

Dying in Style by Elaine Viets My rating: 3 of 5 stars More like a 2.5 - Read for #Book1CoziesClub If you enjoy shopping, I think you will really enjoy this series. Unfortunately for me, though learning about the profession of mystery shopping was interesting, I couldn't really get into this story. This book took me about a month to finish, which kind of tells you how invested I was. Josie as a character, I could relate to a bit because we are both single parents who's mother helps us out with babysitting/raising our child. Thankfully my mother is nothing like Josie's and the way her mother acted is something that bothered me about this story. While I could relate to Josie on that one point, there were a lot of things that I couldn't relate to about her as well though. The fact that she and her best friend constantly refer to one character as a derogatory term for a woman who is promiscuous didn't sit well with me. They are supposed to b...

Bewitched and Betrothed by Juliet Blackwell My rating: 4 of 5 stars As with the rest of the Witchcraft series, I really enjoyed this book. That being said, this one did start off a bit slow for me. Not sure what it was, but I didn't get hooked until the characters actually visited Alcatraz. From there, I literally couldn't put the book down. Finished the rest of it in one sitting! The big moment I've been waiting for finally happens in this installment, so that was wonderful. I'm looking forward to seeing where this installment takes us and can't wait until it's released. Thank you to the Penguin Random House First to Read Program for providing me with an advanced readers copy in exchange for my honest review. View all my reviews

Murder on Astor Place by Victoria Thompson My rating: 3 of 5 stars Read this for #Book1CoziesClub This is hovering between a 2.5 and 3 for me. There are parts that were really engaging, but there were other parts that I really disliked. I'm surprised that the author went for this subject for her first book in the series. It's definitely not what you expect when you think of cozy mysteries. Yes, this one does involve an amateur sleuth and there isn't violence or bloody scenes, however the subject matter is much darker than I'm used to with cozies, and it may bother some. That being said, I do enjoy grittier mysteries as well, so that didn't bother me about this one. I'm not sure if I will continue this series, to be honest. I had a lot of issues with Detective Malloy and I don't know if I liked where the author decided to take his character through out this book. I may pick up the second one to see how I feel about this, bu...

Twelve Slays of Christmas by Jacqueline Frost My rating: 4 of 5 stars Read for #Book1CoziesClub It's been quite a while since I enjoyed a cozy mystery this much! Not sure if it was the setting or the season, but I had a great time listening to this one. View all my reviews

The Cat, the Quilt and the Corpse by Leann Sweeney My rating: 2 of 5 stars Read for #Book1CoziesClub This one was just ok for me. I never owned pets, so I couldn't really connect with these characters. I did learn a lot about cats though including a breed I hadn't heard of before. The main character's investigative style bothered me. She threw out some snide comments about people's appearances in her head that I didn't appreciate. Threats are thrown about unrelated to the case, but nothing is done about it and that didn't sit well with me. Seeing how long it took me to get through this one, I think it's highly unlikely that I will read the next one. You never know though. View all my reviews

Murder in the Mystery Suite by Ellery Adams My rating: 4 of 5 stars Read for #Book1CoziesClub. This one is hovering between 3.5 and 4 for me, but I'm rounding up. I enjoyed this one and really want to attend a book retreat now. It definitely sounded like a lot of fun, minus the murder of course. The story surprised me with a second story line that I wasn't expecting and on retrospect, the last half of the book was more about that second story line than the book retreat which took away from the story for me. Of course with first books, there's always the setup that we need to get through so hopefully now that all that has been laid out for us, the next one will be smoother. The only thing that bothered me about this book was the fact that the author kept mentioning Aunt Octavia's weight, in what I wouldn't consider nice references. There would be the mention of how much they loved her or something to that effect after the mention, ...