Murder with Earl Grey Tea by Karen Rose Smith

It has been a bit since a cozy mystery blindsided me on the whodunnit. I missed every red herring provided.

In book nine of the Daisy’s Tea Shop series, Daisy is happily engaged to Jonas but a little sad. Her oldest daughter, son-in-law, and grandson are moving from the garage apartment to a bigger home. Jazzi, her youngest daughter, is graduating high school and preparing for college. Daisy is experiencing the beginnings of empty nest syndrome. She has joined her friend Lydia for morning walks. Walks they both enjoy until one morning Lydia isn’t there waiting for her. What transpires after sets Daisy on a new path of investigation.

I will miss my visits with Daisy. As I’m not sure if there will be anymore after I read book ten but I do know Jazzi has a series all her own. This series is perfect for a quiet visit with a cup of tea in your hand.

Recipes are included.

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Truffle Trouble by Amanda Flower

Bailey and Aiden are finally getting married! It’s been a long road but the day has finally come. The whole town is coming to see the nuptials and eat some delicious food while celebrating the town’s favorite couple. Unfortunately, a wedding isn’t even safe from the demise of a wicked winery owner. Bailey finds herself married, no honeymoon, saving the Summer Soirée, and investigating a death. Bailey along with our favorite bacon bundle, Jethro, find themselves in every situation possible.

This series keeps getting better and it was perfect to start with. You have the best blend of Amish and English. It’s a clean read with no language or detailed relations. By the last sentence you are smiling ear to ear.

I am really excited for book eleven. I’m assuming there is a book eleven. If the destination is where it appears it will be a fun one!

I received a complimentary copy from the publisher and was not required to leave a positive review. The above review is in my owns words based on my reading of the book.

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The Queens of Crimes by Marie Benedict

The Queen of Crimes has all that we love about mysteries. The five women that gave us the beginnings of cozy mysteries team up to gain access to an all male club but in the process solve a cold case of a young female nurse.

Dorothy Sayers decides that her, Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsha, Margery Allingham, and Baroness Emma Orczy should prove to the world that they are just more than “little women” writing fluff. Dorothy’s husband, Mac, has been assigned to write a story about a young nurse’s body that has just been found many months after disappearing. His newspaper has agreed to let Dorothy write a side piece to his article as a view from a mystery writer. When they arrive to town so does Dorothy’s four friends. Unbeknownst to Mac they are going to try and solve the crime. They feel the police are overlooking many clues. And boy are they ever.

Grab a copy today and enter the world of 1930s France and England for a locked door mystery solved by the greats.

Short chapters make this an easy read for all. Perfect for those who have short snippets of time available to read.

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Mount TBR – 2nd mountain climbed

Challenge Mount TBR

I have completed my second mountain climb. First mountain was completed in January. As with the first mountain I made myself go up (physical owned books)and down (kindle owned books) the mountain.

Hope you will enjoy this new fun little challenge as you follow along.

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April Wrap Up

April Wrap Up 🪻🌷🦋🐣🦢🪺

16 books total, 1 DNF

2 books donated/given to others

7 books (kindle/physical) of my own read

Reviews of most books on my blog. http://www.kentuckybooklover.com

B Borrowed from friend/family

L  Library

KO  Kindle Owned

O  Physical Owned

EL  E-library (Libby/Overdrive/Hoopla)

AB  Audiobook 

KU  Kindle Unlimited 

NG NetGalley

ARC Advanced Reader Copy 

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One Feta in the Grave by Tina Karina

The Kitchen Kebab series is a series when you want to visit a small neighborhood on the beach and soak up all the gossip.

Since our last visit with Lucy she has continued to manage her family’s restaurant but has yet to convince her dad to let her officially take over and modernize their record keeping and ordering. She has agreed to be in charge of the summer festival where all the boardwalk restaurants have tents set up with yummies. Lucy’s best friend is in charge of the sand castle competition and has to release a judge from the competition when it came to light his nephew entered the competition. Unfortunately, a bit later Lucy finds the judge shot under the boardwalk. What ensues can only be described as chaos.

I didn’t figure out the killer ahead of time which I like. The red herrings were expertly done. I enjoyed that certain topics and careers weren’t tabooed. It gave the story the punch it needed to keep you interested.

The love triangle is still there. This is only book three so it hasn’t gotten stale yet. I’m still trying to decide who Lucy should be with as both have plenty of pros and cons.

I will continue the series.

Recipes included in the book.

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An Unexpected Match by Shelley Shepard Gray

A clean romance that brings the smiles.

Kinsey finally feels grown up. She has her own place and a job as a dental receptionist. Ever since her parents died when she was eleven she has felt lost and scared. Her last set of foster parents have been the closet to being family. In fact that is who she works for, her foster dad.

Hunt was the boy next door but he was already grown and serving in the military when she came around. After suffering a horrific military ending accident he has returned home and works as a handyman. Dr. Martin hired him to refresh the dental office.

Hunt and Kinsey get off on the wrong foot. Through a series of awkward moments they become friends that leads to a fake dating scenario to protect Kinsey from someone in her past.

This has all my favorite tropes especially grumpy/sunshine. I love a good grumpy guy and a bubbly girl that makes him turn into a big teddy bear. All men need that one woman who lets them be soft and mushy.

I thought this might be the last in this series but I’m hoping the epilogue is an insight to a possible future story.

Whether SSG writes contemporary romance, Amish romance, or historical romance you are guaranteed a good read.

I received a complementary copy from the author with no requirement to leave a review. The above positive review is in my own words and my own thoughts on the book.

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The Enemy by Sarah Adams

Since I have read all of Abby Jimenez books I am going back to Sarah Adams as my go-to feel good romance reads.

The Enemy is book two of the second book in the It Happened in Charleston series. June has had a rough go in the romance department. After she called off her wedding invoked the one date rule. One date with a guy and sayonara. Her BFF and co-owner of Darling Donuts is getting married and that means her secret crush from high school, Ryan, will be in town. What she doesn’t know is Ryan has always had a crush on her. Follow along as they tip toe and crash into their feelings.

I needed a book to make me laugh this week and this was perfect. Sometimes we need a fun book that doesn’t make you think too deep.

Next up is The Off-Limits Rule, book one in the It Happened in Nashville series.

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Gingerbread Danger by Amanda Flower

Another delightful adventure with Jethro the pig. We all know Bailey is the main character and sleuth but Jethro is the star of the series.

It’s the most wonderful time of year…Christmas. Bailey is enjoying her engagement to Sheriff Brody but their families are anxiously awaiting the big day. Well there would be a big day of Bailey and Brody would set a date. The moms take it into their own hands by hiring a wedding planner. At the same time Harvest has a life size game of Candyland going on in the town square. Swissman Sweets and the candy factory are responsible for providing the treats for the players. Bailey is busy keeping up and Brody is busy trying to solve the robberies going on in the community. Things come to a grim head when a murder occurs at the candy factory.

This is such a fun series. I have let a couple of releases build up so I can extend my time in Harvest. Amanda Flower is a talented cozy mystery author with all her series but my favorites are her Amish and Amish adjacent series.

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Bess W. Truman by Margaret Truman

This was a book of my mamaw’s. She loved to read biographies. I used to groan if I had to read one but as I’ve grown older I have started to enjoy them more. I’ve really enjoyed biographies about famous women in history. I knew very little about President Truman and his wife, Bess.

Bess was a powerhouse for her family and her husband. She became the head of household when her father killed himself. Her mother depended on her for everything. She had an alcoholic brother that the Truman’s tried to help many times over and over. She suffered miscarriages. She worried a lot especially when it came to her husband. She lived through four wars and an assassination of a president. She saw the progression from horse and buggy to trains to cars to airplanes as the preferred mode of travel. She survived Washington D. C., a place she fought long and hard to avoid but ended up loving.

A fascinating read with politics intertwined but it’s mainly on who Bess was a daughter, wife, and mother.

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