Chapter . . . & Book Stores I Could Live In . . .

 

Have no idea where this beauty is but.  I sure could cozy up here! 

The Wedding Ranch by Nancy Naigle My Review

 

About the book 

A second chance at love awaits two brokenhearted people if they’re just willing to trust each other—and themselves, in USA Today bestselling author Nancy Naigle's The Wedding Ranch.

When Lori Walker’s husband gifted her with a mastiff puppy on Valentine’s Day, she believed he was recommitting himself to their marriage after going astray. Six months later, he left both her and their dog for someone else. Since her recent move to Dalton Mill to unbraid herself from the past, Lorri’s graphic design business is now flourishing, her growing mastiff, Mister, has plenty of space to romp, and her ex in Raleigh can fade to a distant memory.

Ryder Bolt is haunted by the tragic loss of his wife and young son seven years ago. Thankfully, ranching keeps Ryder busy, and spending time with his niece and nephew—whose venue, The Wedding Ranch, has become a popular tourist destination—keeps him from getting lonely.

When Lorri and Ryder met, love was the last thing they were looking for. When they’re together, smiles come easier and burdens feel lighter, and both are embracing the possibility of something deeper.

But when a long-buried revelation surfaces, the fate that brought them together threatens to tear them apart.

And I thought 

Just a feel good Romance.  I  was searching for an audio book and this one popped up.  Sounded good so I gave it a whirl. 

I am glad I did.  I am happy to meet Nancy and her characters. 

 Well most of them. 

I actually really liked all of them except Lori's ex.  His fiancee and a couple of Lori's friends that in my opinion weren't really her friends. 

True friends don't befriend the new fiancee especially when she and he were/are cheaters.  

But it made for a good story.  

Lori was able to walk away and start over.  In a really better life.  

I did feel like the prologue was way too long.  I didn't feel we needed so much back story of the cheating.  Especially since Lori kind of had a hard time putting it all to rest and dwelled on it a bit even after the divorce and moving.  But who could? 

All in all I enjoyed listening to this book.  

And I will look for more by the author.   

 I received a complimentary copy from Net Galley. 

My review will appear on Amazon, Good Reads and Net Galley. 

Buy the book  

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Visit the author 

Website

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Christmas New Releases offered by Faith Books

Miracle Inn (Christmas at the Inn Book 22) by Regina Walker

Layla left Double Creek and she left behind the things that held her down. She swore she'd never move back, even after her best friend, Megan, returned to their small hometown. Everything changed when Layla's grandmother got hurt, and now Layla is back in Double Creek. Running her grandmother's beloved inn, Layla realizes she's not the same girl that left this town.

Jacob Haskill is just a cowboy. Punching cows, baling hay, and fixing fences are all he knows. Well, and he's had a crush on Layla since grade school. Her return gives him hope that maybe now she'll finally notice him. Riding in on a white horse, Jacob determines to save Layla from what troubles her, and to help her save the inn, too.

But is a cowboy on a white horse really what a paramedic-turned-inn-manager needs?

Available on Amazon

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To Rescue My Love (A Christmas Surprise) by J.E. Grace

Jake Prosser, owner of Prosser Ranch in Nortonville, Colorado had fallen hard when he met the love of his life. He trusted God for his future, but nothing went as planned. It appears he must endure more than he ever expected, and can his faith withstand it all?

Emma Wright, kidnapped by outlaws, leaving behind a life she loved, now spends time imprisoned in a strange town. Held by an abusive man, she only dreams of her escape. An unexpected event and help from someone she didn’t expect, brings her freedom, but only to suffer another fate. It seems she can’t win but never gives up hope.

Will God heal their broken hearts and bring them the happiness they desire?

Available on Amazon

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A Bride for Harley by Heidi Gray McGill. My Review

 

About the book 

I would have preferred to choose my destiny rather than have it thrust upon me. I’m not sure what I wanted out of life, but it wasn’t being a proxy bride to a man I never desired to marry. While others flock to the west to hide their past sins and start a new life, I killed any hope for a new life and live in my transgressions.”

“My name is Mrs. Harrison. The story I am about to tell you is not my own. Neither is my past.”

Set in the wilds of Montana above the Yellowstone River in Assiniboine Indian territory, the realities of life in 1868 come alive in this sweet, heartwarming coming-of-age story.

And I thought

A new fan of Historical Romance and it is 'All' author Heidi Gray McGills fault.  

This is the second title that I got into my hands and I just loved A Bride for Harley.

The author proved to me that a really good Historical Romance is possible.  To be able to write an exceptional romance in a time period that you can only research shows me a really great author! 

The story is unbelievably wove together with a bit of drama.  The story is emotional and sweet and filled with faith.  

Thank you Heidi for giving this reader a surprise.  

I received a complimentary copy.  

My review will appear on Amazon and Good Reads and be featured in a in Love Is In The Air post here and in My Journey Back the Journey Back blog. 

The series  

Buy the book 

Available on Amazon

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Meet  the author 

So, who am I? In a nutshell — preferably pistachio — I love Jesus, my husband of 30 years, my two precious adult girls, my son-in-love, and my two adorable grandsons.

Writing is my ministry. I’m less of an evangelistic writer and more of a hands-on craftsman. Finding unintrusive ways to weave God throughout my stories and into the lives of my characters is fun for me. I strive to write characters who become so real you think of them long after turning the book’s final page. I work to write books that leave you yearning for the same kind of faith as your new character friend.

I’m an avid reader myself and enjoy wholesome and proper romances, clean mysteries, sweet historical fiction, and literary classics. Reading allows me to travel the world and through time, which is only beat out by the real thing. So, if you figure out time travel, let me know!

I daily live out my favorite Bible verse, 1 Samuel 1:18 “[Hannah] said, ‘May your servant find favor in your eyes.’ Then she went her way and ate something, and her face was no longer downcast.” I identify with Hannah, believing we each choose to be joyful in our hearts, no matter our circumstances. Besides, eating something, especially chocolate, can solve myriad issues.

Authors website click Here

Cozy New Releases

 

 The case of the Absent Heirs 

by Cathy Ace 

The sixth book in the series finds the women of the WISE Enquiries Agency looking forward to spending their first Christmas and New Year together as guests of the Duke and Duchess of Chellingworth. They’re expecting some memorable festivities – which might owe more to ancient Welsh traditions than mince pies and plum puddings if Dowager Althea has anything to do with it.

Available on Amazon

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Muffin But the Truth

 by Ellie Alexander

Ashland is known for its Elizabethan charm and touches of Shakespeare around every corner, but the surrounding Rogue Valley draws adventure enthusiasts to its outdoor wonderland of high alpine lakes, mountain ranges, and pristine rivers. Jules Capshaw and the team at Torte have been hired to cater a weekend getaway on the mighty Rogue River. 

Available on Amazon

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Killer Cupid

 by Laurien Berenson 

Melanie is delighted at the prospect of three uninterrupted days alone with Sam (and, of course, her prize-winning Standard Poodle, Faith). They’re booked at the White Birch Inn, a picturesque New England resort nestled at the foot of a snow-covered mountain. 

Available on Amazon

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Vinyl Resting Place

 by Olivia Blacke 

When Juni Jessup and her sisters Tansy and Maggie put all their beans in one basket to open Sip & Spin Records, a record-slash-coffee shop in Cedar River, Texas, they knew there could be some scratches on the track, but no one was expecting to find a body deader than disco in the supply closet. 

Available on Amazon

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Bookclubbed to Death

 by V.M. Burns

After the local library in North Harbor, Michigan, is flooded in a storm, Sam offers her bookstore as a new venue for the Mystery Mavens Book Club. Unfortunately, she immediately runs afoul of the club leader, Delia Marshall, a book reviewer who can make or break careers—something Sam can ill afford with her debut historical mystery soon to be published. 

Available on Amazon

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Lack of Luxury Tenant and Trouble 

by Hope Callaghan 

When a mysterious stranger is found beaten and barely alive just hours after demanding to speak with her new tenant, Liz and the Garden Girls jump in to investigate and begin unraveling the tenant’s troubling past to figure out if Liz and Floyd have a tenant in trouble or a tenant who is trouble. 

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Cat Dancer

 by Shaw Collins 

After one month in Forgotten Valley, Cassia Lemon knows three things: Owning a mansion costs a lot, her friend Genevieve’s idea of fun frightens her more than a little, and Sheriff Andrews will punish the slightest infraction of the rules. Most of which Cassia decidedly does not like. 

Available on Amazon

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A Spot of Earl Slay 

by Aubrey Elle 

When Naomi Front moves her teenage daughter, Ella, to the small town of Fayette, all she hopes for is a new start after an ugly divorce. But the mother-and-daughter duo have a rocky start on day one—finding the corpse of the local busybody in their storage shed. Welcomed into their neighbors’ house when the police arrive, Naomi and Ella quickly learn that the victim on their property is not likely to be missed. 

Available on Amazon

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Honeymoons Can Be Hazardous

 by Amanda Flower 

Millie’s decidedly not Amish best friend, Lois Henry, is outspoken, colorful, and so hopelessly romantic, she’s had four husbands. Millie doesn’t judge, and she also doesn’t expect to run into Lois’s most recent ex, gambler Gerome Moorhead, in small-town Harvest, Ohio. With him is the very young, new Mrs. Moorhead, aka “Honeybee.” Lois is outraged, but Millie is completely shocked to learn the next day that Gerome is already a widower.

Available on Amazon

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Rum and Choke 

by Sherry Harris

The Florida Panhandle Barback Games are coming up and Chloe’s been drafted to represent the Sea Glass Saloon—competing in various obstacle-course events that conclude with rolling an empty keg up a hill. The rivalries are so fierce that some of the participating bars even stoop to bringing in ringers. 

Available on Amazon

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Slippery Saturday

 by Denise Jaden 

Tabby is excited for the winter solstice festival, where she plans to gently introduce her little sister to the magic of Crystal Cove. But when the local witches act evasive rather than friendly, and when one of them falls to her death from a high-wire act that appears to have been rigged, Tabby has no choice but to give her sister a crash course in magic-led sleuthing. 

Available on Amazon

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The Lies That Bind

 by Karen MacInerney

Bookstore owner Max Sayers of Seaside Cottage Books is starting to settle into Snug Harbor, Maine when a local playboy plunges to his death… and Max’s best friend Denise is on the hotseat for murder. Denise is an obvious prime suspect—the dead man just nabbed the coffee house she’d been planning to buy for years right out from under her—and Max seems to be the only one in Snug Harbor who believes her friend isn’t Maine’s answer to Lizzie Borden. 

Available on Amazon

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Death by Arts and Crafts

 by Alexis Morgan 

As the newest member of the Snowberry Creek City Council, perpetually overextended Abby McCree is picked to liaise between the council and the new planning committee for the town’s first ever arts and crafts fair. As far as gigs go, it’s a fun one—Abby’s spending the weekend tooling around Washington State, checking out similar fairs with her two besties, coffee shop owner Bridey Roker, and ceramic artisan Dayna Fisk. 

Available on Amazon

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Moving is Murder

 by Nellie H. Steele (Paranormal)

Ellie Byrne’s pending divorce from her cheating husband threatens to leave her broke and homeless. But when she inherits a bed and breakfast in the unique town of Salem Falls, her prayers may be answered. That is, until she finds out her aunt didn’t just die on the property, she was murdered. 

Available on Amazon

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Katrina The Christmas Quilt Series by Annee Jones My Review

 

About the book 

She knew the trip could be difficult, but she never imagined it’d change her life…

An unfortunate stagecoach accident leaves Katrina with no memory of who she is and where she was headed. The only clues to her identity are stitched in hand-sewn quilt, but to unravel them she must traverse across the countryside and find someone willing to answer her many questions.

Luke, the man who saved her after the accident and is now providing shelter for her, volunteers to travel with her. Their journey and those they meet along the way provide some clues, but unless she can stitch the pieces together, she may never learn the truth about who she is and why she was traveling on that fateful day.

Will she and Luke find the answers she so desperately needs or have memories faded and secrets remained intact?

And I thought  

A heartwarming holiday read featuring two of my favorite things quilts (quilting) and Christmas. 

Katrina is part of the Christmas Quilt Series written by several authors.  

Author Annee Jones gives the reader a sweet story with some mystery too since Katrina has lost her memory.  Being able to write a good story set in a historical setting makes me feel like the author is good at her craft. 

The characters draw you into the story and are easily likeable. 

I have enjoyed several books written by Annee Jones and look forward to reading more. 

And reading the other books in the series.  

I received my a complimentary copy.

My review will be appear on Amazon and Good Reads. 

The series 

This is a multiple author series available on Amazon.  Click the purchase link for Katrina and you can find the links to the rest of the series. 

Buy the book 

Available on Amazon

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Faith Books Christian New Releases

Cowboy Marrying the Lady 

by Jessie Gussman 

Tadgh O’Reilly followed the racehorse he fell in love with across the ocean and to the barren fields of North Dakota.

Content to live with his young daughter in his small, caretaker’s cottage as long as he gets to see his beloved Thoroughbred every day, he never dreams that his life is missing something very important.

Ashley Christensen can’t believe she ran off the road and got stuck in a snow drift. But that’s just as well. After all, the heiress was running from a life she just couldn’t stand anymore. When a kindly Irishman takes her in for the duration of the storm, she pretends to have amnesia, just so she doesn’t have to answer any difficult questions.

Happy living with Tadgh, Ashley doesn’t want to leave, but when her past comes out, will she lose the only thing that’s ever been real to her?

Read Now

Listen Free 

Until We All Run Free 

by Heather Wood

Jed and Jack Young may be brothers by birth, but as orphans, their separate upbringings produced polarizing results. Now that the Civil War is over, the brothers look forward to settling into the next chapter of their lives as they learn to walk in their new faith. Each brother's ideal happily-ever-after is the other's worst nightmare - and when that nightmare becomes their own reality, their relationship with each other is threatened. Mary Pierce has a picture-perfect life with three beautiful daughters and a husband who adores her. When tragedy alters the course of her life, Mary has to lean on God in deeper ways as she learns to navigate a confusing and painful new path. Face to face with their greatest fears, Jed, Jack, and Mary must anchor themselves in the unchanging character of God, holding fast the belief that what God is doing in them is greater than their pain. As they each overcome sin, learn everyday obedience, and find peace in surrender, they discover there are no dark corners in their lives that God’s grace won’t illuminate and His power can't resurr

A Christmas Candle for Eleanor 

(Mail-Order Brides' First Christmas Book 12) 

by Regina Walker

Available on Amazon

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Cozy New Releases

 

Roast Date 

by Heather Day Gilbert

After much cajoling, Macy gives in to her neighbor, Vera, and agrees to come to her book club’s Christmas party so she can share about the café. While public speaking isn’t Macy’s thing, she wants to brighten Vera’s lonely holiday season…and she can sell a little house blend on the side. 

Available on Amazon

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Gingerbread and Gunshots

 by C.A. Phipps 

It’s going to take all Maddie’s skills, a legacy from her grandad, to solve the crime. While that’s not exactly a new thing, this level of vengeance is worse than anything she’s encountered so far. Fortunately, she has her team of gal pals and a bossy cat on the case. Big Red, the large Maine coon, senses something is amiss from day one and he’s on a one cat mission to track down the people messing with his family. 

Available on Amazon

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A Christmas Date by Camilla Isley

 

About the book 

No one wants to be single at the holidays.

Even Little Miss Grinch, Nikki, a successful and independent woman, must face her bachelorette status at the most horrible time of the year.

December is her personal version of holly-jolly hell: a merry torture made of couples kissing at every corner, forced vacation days, and an inescapable family reunion.

And when her baby sister announces she’s engaged—to Paul, the man Nikki is secretly in love with—and that he’s spending the holidays with them, Christmas starts looking bluer than ever.

Nikki can’t possibly survive an entire week trapped home as the family’s spinster. But she has no time to meet men or to try the newest dating app, she’s too busy working as a video producer for an advertising agency.

So what’s a girl to do?

Nikki has the perfect solution: to hire a fake boyfriend.

Luckily, her job gives her access to an endless catalog of gorgeous actors to choose from.

But Nikki will soon discover that keeping business and pleasure from mixing isn’t so easy, and that she might not be immune to a little mistletoe magic. Especially not when she picked out the perfect man as her Christmas date...

A fun, festive romantic comedy with lots of bad behavior and Christmas spirit. Like a creamy hot chocolate with marshmallows, you won’t want to put this deliciously hilarious novel down. Perfect for fans of Sophie Kinsella, Sally Thorne, and Jo Watson.

First Comes Love is a series of interconnected romantic novels. However, each book in the series can be read as a standalone.

And others are saying . . . 

Expect laughs, romance and a sprinkling of Christmas spirit. Hannah - Echoes In An Empty Room

If you love to read heartwarming Christmas stories about friendship, family and love, then you should definitely read A Christmas Date. Anniek - With Love for Books

I absolutely loved this book and found myself whizzing through it... Rachel - Rachel Random Reads

I adored this book, and for so many reasons. It’s fun, it’s clever, it’s Christmassy... Stephanie - Books Are Cool

Absolutely recommend, this is one of the best Christmas romances I have read this season! Berit - Audio Killed the Bookmark

This is a great light- hearted Christmas read... Full of family and friendship, this book is never going to be anything other than a feel-good, festive read. Marianne - Books, Life and Everything

Winter is slowly creeping up on us as well, so if you want to shut the world out for a few hours, I suggest you snuggle under a blanket, get yourself a hot drink and enjoy this heartwarming and fluently written story. Els - B for Bookreview

There were so many heartwarming, laugh out loud and wonderful moments in this book and scenes that I adored. Lucy - The Blossom Twins

Such an enjoyable, warm, funny and low dramatic read that put me right into a Christmassy mood. Fede - ItaPixie's Book Corner

Romantic and funny, while filled with holiday cheer and sibling drama. Stormi - Boundless Book Reviews

What an absolute must-read this holiday season! Maryline - M's Bookshelf

Diego is a dreamboat of a book boyfriend and Camilla Isley’s festive story will have you purring over the pages. Gorgeous, addictive, fun and festive. Adele - Krafti Reader

Perfect for fans of Christmas Shopaholic 

And I thought . . .  

This is my first chance to read a book from Camilla Isley and we'll I am hooked.   If the many others she has under her belt are half as good well . .    

Camilla gives the reader characters and a plot that keep you interested and turning the pages. 

I enjoy the fake boyfriend trope.  But alot of times the plots seem to be just the 'Same ole'  'Same ole'. 

Not here though.  There's so more to the story.  Niki the  main character not only is challenged with the family thinking she needs to get married.  But she has a spoiled and  manipulative sister that isn't above going after Niki's sort of boyfriend. 

Honestly I never began to like Julie.   She was a piece of work. 

And her boyfriend Niki's almost ex.  They never really dated but Niki 'see's' herself  'In Love' with Paul. And actually looses it when Julie announces thier engagement!  

Niki never intends to fall in love with be Diego her preten/fake boyfriend but this is a love story so they kind of have to fall for each other.  Right? 

I was a little (only a little) disappointed in the ending.  Only because it was abrupt.  But it was a happy ever after. 

A Christmas Date was a great RomCom.  There was one bedroom scenes but other than the fact they weren't married Ma Ma really  wouldn't blush.  

I received an audio copy from Net Galley and enjoyed the female narrator.  

On my tbr pile are the other titles in this series.  

I received a complimentary copy. 

My review will appear on Amazon, Net Galley and Good Reads. 

 

The series 

Buy the book  

Available on Amazon

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New ReleasesI

Devil’s Delight

 by M.C. Beaton (Agatha Raisin #33)

Beloved New York Times bestseller M.C. Beaton's cranky, crafty Agatha Raisin—the star of her own hit T.V. series—is back on the case again in Devil's Delight.

Agatha and her assistant, Toni, are driving to their friend Bill Wong’s long-awaited wedding, thinking of nothing more than what the beautiful bride will be wearing when a terrified young man comes running down the country lane towards them wearing…nothing at all.

The encounter leads them to become embroiled with a naturist group, a disappearing corpse, fantasy games, witchcraft, an ice cream empire, intrigue and murder. In the meantime, Agatha’s hectic life swirls along at dizzying pace, her private detective agency as busy as ever and her private affairs in turmoil, with old loves to contend with and a new suitor on the scene.

But when she begins to close in on a suspected murderer, she finds herself in deadly peril, as the sinister nature of the ice cream business leads her to a chilling conclusion 

Available on Amazon

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Lowcountry Getaway by Susan M. Boyer (Traditional)

Nate Andrews whisked the entire Talbot clan off for a holiday adventure in the U.S. Virgin Islands. As they relax on the beach of sunny St. John, Liz Talbot grapples with the secret her husband has kept since the day she met him—he’s a very wealthy man. Will all that money change everything? 

Available on Amazon

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Not Mushroom for Death

 by Helen Golden (Right Royal Cozy Investigation #3)

TV Chef Luca Mazza Dies After Collapse at Food Show on the King’s Private Estate

Luca Mazza (38), who was taken ill during a food demonstration at the Fenn House Food and Wine Festival two days ago, is now known to have ingested poison. Lady Beatrice (36), the king’s niece, who is working on a refurbishment project at Fenn House with her business partner Perry Juke (34), is believed to be comforting Luca’s boss and close friend Sebastiano Marchetti (38), who she began dating last month

Is he crazy? Why else would Detective Chief Inspector Richard Fitzwilliam suggest that Sebastiano poisoned Luca without any evidence? So now, with the help of her little dog Daisy and her best friends Perry and Simon, Lady Beatrice will have to prove to Mr Know-it-all Fitzwilliam that Seb is innocent. But with so many people having access to the food preparation area at the show how will she find out who did murder Luca before Fitzwilliam lets his personal dislike get the better of him and arrests Seb? 

Available on Amazon

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The First Fiancée

 by Rita A. Popp (Bethany Jarviss) *new series*

The discovery of human bones near a remote New Mexico mountain village sets a worried sister on a treacherous path to solve a murder. Bethany Jarviss fears her sister's fiancé killed the long-missing young woman. He was first engaged to her and swears he thought she left him to pursue a singing career. News of the murder swirls as the newly engaged couple get set to open their bed-and-breakfast inn right before Christmas. Bethany, who once solved the murder of a college girl, gives in to her sister's pleas to investigate this case. Soon she meets many locals besides her future brother-in-law who had motives for killing his beautiful, thieving, secretive first fiancée.

Available on Amazon

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Barking up the Wrong Tree

 by Janice Thompson (Gone to the Dogs #3)

A Champion Dog Is Off His Game

 

Grab a puppy to snuggle and unwind with a delightful small-town mystery in book 3 of the Gone to the Dogs series.

 

Inquisitive, detail-oriented, Veterinarian Kristin Keller prides herself on winning over any dog. But has this self-proclaimed dog whisperer finally met her match in a Sheltie named Remington who has just won the Texas state agility course competition? The champion pooch is acting out of sorts—almost as if he is not the same dog. Has he, by chance, been switched out with another dog just before the next big competition? Kristin and the other Lone Star employees will do anything to help the Atkinson family figure out this mystery surrounding their beloved Remington. 

Available on Amazon

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A Tail of Woe

 by Eryn Scott (Whiskers and Words #5) 

In this Christmas story, there is no happy ending for Scrooge.

Louisa Henry has read the Dickens classic enough times to spot a Scrooge when she sees one. Arthur Crawford is as sour as they come. Even worse? There’s no chance for his redemption because during the town’s Christmas tree lighting, his body is found suspended in the lights of the largest pine.

No one is surprised that Arthur’s selfish ways finally caught up with him. But when it becomes apparent that the killer won’t stop, Lou must delve deep into Arthur’s Christmases past to find out who took away his Christmas future.

Dear reader, if you love rescue cats, goats who wear pajamas, and a cozy bookstore, you’re going to love this new series by Eryn Scott. Hold on to your hats. The town of Button is as cute as they come, but that doesn’t mean it’s free of murder. These books are clean with no foul language or gore. Each book and mystery stands alone. Curl up under a cozy blanket, cuddle with a cat (or two), and come join Lou as she solves mysteries in the town of Button. 

Available on Amazon

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