Yvonne
I have three lovely new books to be added to my virtual shelf this week.
I am still trying to be good and schedule all the books I receive, so as not to increase my toppling TBR pile, and so far it is working, although it’s quite a close call!
This book arrived courtesy of the lovely Noelle, representing publisher Bookouture, via NetGalley, ready for my April 2021 ‘Books On Tour’ spot.
MYSTERY AT THE ABBEY HOTEL (Eve Mallow #5)
by CLARE CHASE
Eve Mallow’s stay at the luxurious Abbey Hotel takes a turn for the suspicious when the owner is murdered – leaving Eve surrounded by suspects!
Saxford St Peter is Eve Mallow’s beloved home, but she can’t resist the chance to spend a weekend in the nearby Abbey Hotel, famed for its glamorous owner Debra Moran and an array of celebrity guests. For a confirmed people-watcher like Eve, it’s perfect: she can observe the rich and famous while sipping tea in the gardens, her faithful dachshund Gus by her side.
But her relaxing break takes a shocking turn when Debra is found lying dead in the shadowy woods around the hotel. One of Eve’s fellow guests didn’t come to the Abbey for fine food and delightful décor – but to kill.
When the investigation gets underway, Eve finds herself trapped with a wide range of suspects. Could it be Debra’s new friend Harper, who inherits everything? Her ex-husband Chester, still seething over their messy divorce? Or her estranged sister Amelia, who came hoping for reconciliation, only for Debra to shut the door in her face?
As Eve roams the hotel, searching for clues and hunting down alibis, she uncovers a whole host of secrets. But can she find the truth before the killer brings her holiday to a deadly end?
And to follow that, courtesy of the equally lovely Sarah, also representing publisher, Bookouture, another lovely story destined for an April 2021 ‘Books On Tour’ Review
THE MUSEUM MURDER (Epiphany Bloom #2)
by KATIE GAYLE
Epiphany ‘Pip’ Bloom, would-be detective and London’s unluckiest woman, finds herself in a real costume drama when she unearths a theft at a fashion museum.
The missing dress is a proper piece of Hollywood history, worth a fortune. And as Pip investigates, she finds the museum staff all had reasons to want the garment gone.
From fancy boutiques to sketchy back alleys, Pip discovers the fashion world is not all glitz and glamour as she hunts down her prize.
As if she doesn’t have enough on her plate, Pip also has her growing feelings for her housemate Tim to contend with, a family of cats to feed and her mother keeps phoning about a shipment of llamas arriving any day now from South America.
But there’s no time for distractions because Pip’s not the only one after the dress. And for the most dedicated collectors, a piece like this is worth any price – even murder…
This book I managed to grab as a ‘Read Now’ offer from publisher Bethany House, via NetGalley. I am not usually a ‘seasonal’ reader, but I just couldn’t resist that cover!
AN IVY HILL CHRISTMAS by JULIE KLASSEN
Richard Brockwell, the younger son of Ivy Hill’s most prominent family, hasn’t been home for Christmas in years. He prefers to live in the London townhouse, far away from Brockwell Court, the old family secret that haunts him, and the shadows of his past mistakes.
But then his mother threatens to stop funding his carefree life–unless he comes home for Christmas.
Out of options, he sets out for Ivy Hill, planning to be back on a coach bound for London and his unencumbered bachelor life as soon as the festivities are over.
But Christmas in the country presents unforeseen surprises, including encounters with an orphaned apprentice, the first love he disappointed years ago, and Arabella Awdry, a young lady who is far more appealing than he recalled . . . and determined to have nothing to do with him.
Will Christmastime in Ivy Hill, with its village charm, kissing boughs, joyous songs, and divine hope, work its magic in his heart . . . and hers as well?
‘Mailbox Monday’ is a gathering place for readers to share links to the books that came into their house during the last week.
This is a great way to plan out your reading week and see what others are currently reading as well, after all you never know where that next “must read” book will come from!
…
I’m torn as to which sounds better… the first or the second book. Honestly, I’d read any of the three. It’s a plus for the final one that it’s not part of a series. Maybe you can get it read before Christmas is officially over on January 6th!
Hi Kelly,
I am definitely keen to crack on with the first book, as I recently reviewed book #4, which was the first one I had read in the series. That one worked great as a stand alone, but I don’t want to get to the stage where I leave any more potential gaps in the backstory.
The first two books already have scheduled review dates anyway, but yes, I do hope to get the Christmas story read within the official dates of the season, although I shall still include a review even if it goes on into 2021!
Even under my new game plan, I am still managing to accept more books than I am able to schedule in comfortably, so I have to either learn to speed read, which will take all the fun out of things, or only accept a new book when I have finished with the one I am working on!!
Thanks for visiting and have a peaceful week 🙂
You tend to have books that tempt me. I just have to space out my NetGalley reading or it will take me half a year to finish what I select!
Have a blessed week and Happy Reading.
Hi Martha,
I have to be honest and say that I am holding my breath in the hope that NetGalley doesn’t ban me from being on the site sometime soon. I was checking out my review ratio and it is woefully short of where they would like it to be, even though my posts have become more consistent in recent weeks.
I just don’t seem to be able to read books as quickly as other people and I am at a loss as to why that is. I don’t think I read particularly slowly, although I do like to read every single word and to skip through books any quicker would definitely take the fun out of reading for me.
Or perhaps, and this is the more likely scenario, my proverbial “eyes are bigger than my appetite” and I simply download far more titles that I could ever hope to comfortably read!! 🙂 🙂
From one book monster to another, have a peaceful week and Happy Reading 🙂
You have some great looking titles. Enjoy, and thanks for sharing.
Hi Lorraine,
The weather is cold, wet and miserable. The news just couldn’t be much worse and is really beginning to get me down. So three light and comforting reads, with some colourful and eye-catching colours, is just what the doctor ordered today!
Thanks for stopping by and have a peaceful week 🙂
These all sound like books I would read. I have loved mysteries since I was a kid. What a pretty cover on An Ivy Hill Christmas. Hope you enjoy them.
Hi Cheryl,
I generally enjoy my crime and thriller reading with a bit more violence and gore, however I have found myself reading more and more cozy mysteries of late, and I have to say, thoroughly enjoying them.
As a child, I can remember reading just about anything I could get my hands on, however the Enid Blyton ‘Famous Five’ & ‘Secret Seven’ mysteries were always my favourites.
Yes! It was definitely the cover which attracted me to ‘An Ivy Hill Christmas’ and I couldn’t resist the ‘Read Now’ option which drew me in! It is quite a short book too, so I am hoping to fit in reading it over the festive period, between my scheduled Blog Tour Review commitments!
I hope you have some lovely books lined up to read this week and that you enjoy a safe and peaceful holiday period 🙂
The Museum Murder sounds fascinating, especially as it is a Fashion Museum. I visited the Fashion Museum in London and loved it, so this is the book I would like to read myself, if I had the time. Hope you enjoy all of them. x
Hi Anca,
The cover of ‘The Museum Murder’ is really quite eye-catching isn’t it?, as presumably befits the premise of the valuable ‘missing’ costume. I am just wondering why all of the staff have reasons for wanting to see it gone – intriguing!
Thanks for stopping by, maybe one day you will have time to indulge in a little more fiction reading, although I know how much you enjoy your non-fiction 🙂
All three look good, Yvonne.
I hope you have a great week this week.
Merry Holidays!!
Hi Elizabeth,
Yes! I have quite a mixed collection of genres on my Blog Tour Review list right now, which is good for me as a way of relieving the stress of too many serious reads in a row, although I still don’t know when to stop accepting books for review, as they all look so good and tempting 🙂
Also, where there are so many different genres in my schedule, I don’t need to have to choose a favourite, as you can’t compare them like for like and they are all good in their own right.
I hope that you have some good titles lined up for your Christmas reading and above all, whatever you decide to do over the holidays, Stay Safe! 🙂
Take care with the frightening new virus news from London. HUGS.
Hi Elizabeth,
Yes! We definitely seem to have become ‘plague island’ overnight – talk about “Billy no mates!”
They reckon that this virus variant doesn’t make you any more ill, it just spreads a lot easier – so what do the idiots in London do? – Cram on the public transport and in their cars and leave the City for their second homes in other parts of the country, taking the virus with them. Now we face another country wide several month long full lockdown!!
What with that and the food shortages because of the European attitude to us – but mainly the French, given the hate, hate relationship we have with them!!
Rant over, I am just so annoyed by everything at the moment and stressing myself out about something I can’t change or do anything about!
You stay safe too 🙂
These all look like fabulous reads! I’m a seasonal reader so the Klassen book is one I’d grab this week. Enjoy, Yvonne!
Hi Mary,
I’m not really a seasonal reader, so you will often find me reviewing Christmas books in the summer and vice versa. This year I have manged to read one Christmas book ‘in season’ and I hope to read ‘An Ivy Hill Christmas’ during the holidays, with a possible review in January, so I won’t be too far out of line! This was a NetGalley ‘Read Now’ opportunity and the cover caught my eye!
Thanks for visiting today and I hope that you have some great books lined up for the holiday week 🙂
Well I headed over to Goodreads to look up An Ivy Hill Christmas. It seems it’s part of a series but not. 🙂 There are three books in the series and this which is more of a standalone. As it’s only 96p I shall buy it and hope that it doesn’t matter that I haven’t read the rest. And who knows, I may like it enough to get the earlier books, which I could read for the historicals challenge I’m doing next year. I love a plan!
Hi Cath,
You don’t get many minutes to grab these ‘Read Now’ offers when Netgalley put them up, so I had to make a snap decision that, this would probably work okay as a stand alone. The cover also really caught my eye, and the fact that the series is set somewhere in Wiltshire, although in a fictional place, but I can live with that!
I hope to try and read it sometime over the Christmas / New Year period, so that an early New Year review, won’t be considered too out of place!
I am generally quite organised about things, but you know what they say about the best laid plans and all that 🙂 When it comes to my reading / reviewing strategy, I just don’t be able to find a system that works, although to be fair, that’s only because I keep adding more books to it than I know I can possibly read!!
Oh Well! There’s always next year! 🙂