Class Reunions Are Murder (A Poppy McAllister Mystery #1) by Libby Klein

Class Reunions Are Murder by Libby Klein

My Rating: ★★★★★

Poppy McAllister is going through one of the worst periods of her life. Her husband passed away six months ago and she’s living on junk food and infomercials while hanging out with her at, Figaro. Just to top things off, she got a letter from her bully inviting her to a special meeting at their 25-year high school reunion. With no plans to attend her high school reunion, Poppy’s best friend calls on her to attend and give moral support because her ex-husband is going to be at the reunion. Poppy packs up, gets Figaro in the car, and makes her way back Cape May just in time for her bully to get murdered, and Poppy is the main suspect.

This book is, hands down, one of the funniest books I’ve read. Libby Klein had me laughing so many times that I had to take a short break from reading to collect myself a few times. I also like that Poppy is extremely relatable, especially as a fat lady, because I rarely come across realistic plus size characters. It’s so nice to see someone who looks like me as the protagonist of her own series. It’s even better when that character isn’t just the comedy relief or a big dummy.

There are so many great characters in this book. I particularly enjoyed Aunt Ginny and her group of friends. Not only is Ginny a hoot, but she’s also extremely caring and thoughtful. I wish I had a cool aunt like her. She’s also got a great group of friends who are almost equally funny and caring. Poppy’s group of friends from high school are also wonderful and hilarious. I can’t wait to learn more about them in future books.

Of course, there are the terrible characters that we love to hate, especially Barbie. Sadly, I think we all have had a Barbie in our lives at some point, so it was understandable for Poppy to want nothing to do with her and her group of friends who also bullied Poppy and her friends. It certainly makes the murder mystery aspect of the story interesting because Barbie has a long list of enemies. I was convinced that one of Barbie’s former friends, Amber, was the killer from early on because she was so quick to point the finger at Poppy and not look elsewhere.

All in all, this is a wonderful book and I have already picked up the second installment.

Minus by Lisa Naffziger

Minus by Lisa Naffziger

My Rating: ★

I received a copy from Letter Better Publishing Services through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

After being home schooled for most of her life, Beck is nervous and on her way to college. Her overprotective and paranoid dad is driving her to college and dropping hints about staying home, but Beck is excited about going to university and doesn’t have plants to change her mind. Their trip is going great until they stop at a gas station so Beck can use the bathroom. When Beck comes out, the gas station is trashed, and her dad is gone. Scared and confused about why her dad took off without her, she takes off on foot and hopes to meet up with some friends she made through her university online group until she contacts her dad. Along the way, Beck discovers the truth about her life and why her dad has always been so paranoid.

I thought this book had an interesting concept and it really drew me in before it went off the rails. I think Lisa Naffziger had something going there early in the story. It’s clear that something is up with Beck’s dad from the start. He’s paranoid, doesn’t think Beck should use her phone unless it’s to communicate with him, and has rules about the kinds of apps she can use and how to not draw attention to herself. It’s very clear that he abducted her at some point in her life but that she doesn’t know this since she was raised by him.

Once Beck is separated from her dad, I could see why the story is marketed as a thriller because I felt on edge like Beck did. However, the story starts go to off the rails as Beck tries to find her dad. The story asks me to suspend more and more belief the closer it gets to the end. At some point, I couldn’t spare anymore. The way Beck’s abduction case is handled is questionable at best and there’s more focus put on her kidnapper’s perspective and well-being in relation to her than there should’ve been.

I understand why Beck is attached to her kidnapper. He’s raised her and that’s who she sees as a parental figure. That said, this aspect could’ve been handled much better. I also wish that we saw her reuniting with her mom before the story ends rather than her kidnapper. It seems to cater to Beck’s “father” more than her and her biological family for a story about someone who was kidnapped and just had their entire life changed again when he finally gets busted.

I think the opening was great and the artwork is nice, but it lacks depth and compassion for Beck and her biological family. Overall, it comes off as one big kidnapper’s redemption arc and that’s not something I can get behind.

Bear Witness to Murder (Shamelessly Adorable Teddy Bear Mystery #2) by Meg Macy

Bear Witness to Murder by Meg Macy

My Rating: ★★

Sasha Silverman is preparing for Silver Hollow’s autumn events while managing her family’s business, the Silver Bear Shop. Everything seems to be going well until Holly Parker, Sasha’s high school rival, returns to town and becomes her new business rival. While trying to put old drama behind her, Sasha stumbles upon Holly’s assistant’s body, and quickly finds herself in the middle of a brand-new murder mystery. Unfortunately for Sasha, Holly still has it out for her, and she finds herself torn between Oktobear Fest and trying to get to the bottom of the murder and Holly’s undeserved rage.

I picked this book up thinking it’d be an adorable cozy but instead found myself dragging along with the story because of the slow pace. There are good things about it, but it’s too weighed down by a very large cast that pops in and out of the story. I found the sheer number of characters confusing, especially because so many of them didn’t have anything memorable about them. It made it hard to keep who was who straight at times, but I was able to keep the core cast straight for the most part, so I guess that’s what matters.

I love that Sasha family oriented, an animal lover, and hard worker. However, she’s a bland character that didn’t get me excited about reading the book. I enjoyed when she was hanging out with her sister because Mattie is such a vibrant character. Otherwise, it seemed like Sasha didn’t have much of a personality and was somewhat emotionless at times. I think the most emotion we really saw from her was toward the end of the book, but otherwise, her emotions seemed to be set on mute. I also didn’t find her motivations for getting involved in the murder mystery believable until one of her family members was being eyed as the killer.

I thoroughly enjoyed the drama that Holly brought to the table because she’s such a vile character who has her fingers in all the pies. Holly really gets the story going because she has so many sides to her, and none of them are good. Unfortunately, the real mystery was Holly’s beef with Sasha and not the murder. I never really understood why Holly zeroed in on Sasha in the first place. I wish that’s something that was cleared up in a way that made sense by the end of the book, but I’m okay with accepting the explanation that was given. Holly is a character that is unhinged in many ways, so it’s understandable that her motivations don’t necessarily make sense to anyone but her.

The relationship between Sasha’s ex-husband, Flynn, and her mother is an odd one. There were times where I wondered if her mother had an affair with Flynn and no one has figured it out yet. It’s so odd that she would favor her cheating former son-in-law over her own daughter down to trying to get them back together. It makes even less sense when I think about what her thoughts were on the situation, as revealed by Sasha’s father, but now she’s Flynn’s number one fan. I understand that she likes Flynn and has remained friends with him after the divorce, but the rest is just strange.

All in all, I enjoyed some parts of the book, but the number of characters and slow pacing didn’t do it justice. I found Sasha a bland character that is not exciting to follow, and some of the relationships between characters odd, which didn’t help matters. I do think the mystery surrounding Holly’s venomous actions interesting and Oktobear fest cute, so that made it worth the read.

Huckleberry Hill (The Matchmakers of Huckleberry Hill #1) by Jennifer Beckstrand

Huckleberry Hill by Jennifer Beckstrand

My Rating: ★★★★

Lia Shetler has always come second best in her family. According to her father, there isn’t a man who wants a tall, homely wife. Raised to believe that she’ll never marry, she’s spent her life content to help her parents and make sure her younger, shorter, and beautiful sister is taken care of. That’s until Anna Helmuth gets it in her head that Lia would make a great wife of her grandson, Moses, who is hellbent on never marrying anyone but his childhood sweetheart and former fiancé. After traveling for an hour to get to Huckleberry Hill, Lia quickly discovers that love might be in the cards for her as she blossoms under Anna and her husband’s care.

Jennifer Beckstrand’s books were highly recommended by a friend, so I looked at her books and decided to pick this one up. Boy, am I glad that I read this! It’s such a perfect, light, and heartwarming read. There are some serious moments and a character who is a real pain in the butt, but all in all, it was a light read that’s also perfect for bedtime reading.

I absolutely love most of the characters. I wish I could hang out with Anna and her husband, Felty. They seem like such a sweet couple and an all-around great people that bring light wherever they go. Their grandson, Moses, is very sweet like his grandparents but stubborn to a fault just like his grandma. I loved following the three of these characters and seeing how much this family cares for each other even if they raise each other’s eyebrows from time to time.

Lia is a wonderful character that resonated with me. I know what it’s like to grow up believing you’re ugly and not good enough. While her life is very different from mine, I understand where she’s coming from and why she feels the way she does. While I don’t have any sisters, I totally understand what it’s like for her to have someone like her sister, Rachel, in her life. I grew up with the family favorite who is very much like Rachel to this day, and it took a long time for me to realize that I could step out of her shadow and stand up for myself just like Lia does. I loved following Lia and seeing her really grow as a person.

While this book is sweet and heartwarming, it’s also hilarious at times. Watching the types of shenanigans that unfold was hilarious at times. Plus, some of the character’s antics were realistic, eyeroll inducing, and even hilarious. I had a great time watching the way Anna and Felty react to Rachel when she takes their home by storm. Honestly, I’m surprised they didn’t give her the boot, but they were too nice for that.

I will be picking up the next book in the series in the near future. I want to see what Anna and Felty get up to next as Anna plots her next matchmaking scheme!

The Dastardly Miss Lizzie (Electric Empire #3) by Viola Carr

The Dastardly Miss Lizzie by Viola Carr

My Rating: ★★★★

Dr. Eliza Jekyll continues to fight the other side of herself, Lizzie Hyde, while trying to stop the serial killer who is terrorizing scientists. She must also find who The Ripper is before more women turn up dead. The problem? Life has gotten a lot worse than Eliza and Lizzie fighting over who has control of their body at any given time. With Eliza’s reputation on the line as a crime scene physician, her fight with Lizzie goes from bad to worse as sorcerers aim to make their timeline the worst of the worst.

I’ve enjoyed this series since book one, so I was very excited to finally pick up the third installment. I think that this has been an interesting series that has a good balance between paranormal and science fiction from the start. I’ve always enjoyed following Eliza and Lizzie, the daughters of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and watching how they struggle with sharing the same body. On the same token, it’s been fun how supernatural elements such as werewolves and sorcerers, were weaved into the story.

This time around, a new science fiction element gets thrown into the ring: time travel. I have mixed feelings about this because it was done well, but it does get confusing as the story inches closer to the end. I like how time traveling is explained and that the rules of time travel are very clear. However, too much was going on at some point and it was very confusing by the time I reached the climax. There are a few things that I’m still confused on, but overall, I’m happy with how the story ends.

I believe that this is the final book in the series and I’m happy with how it has ended. However, I wish the time travel plot was introduced much earlier in the book so that it had time to truly flourish.