ARC Review: I Died for Beauty by Amanda Flower

I Died for Beauty
Author: Amanda Flower
Series: An Emily Dickinson Mystery (Book 3)
Publication: Berkley (February 25, 2025)

Description: When a blaze takes both a neighbor’s home and his life, Emily Dickinson and her maid Willa have a burning desire to crack the case in this new historical mystery from Agatha Award–winning author Amanda Flower.

Amherst, 1857. The Dickinson family braves one of the worst winters in New England’s history. Trains are snowbound and boats are frozen in the harbor. Emily Dickinson and her maid, Willa Noble, have never witnessed anything like it. As Amherst families attempt to keep their homes warm, fears of fire abound.

These worries prove not to be unfounded as a blaze breaks out just down the street from the Dickinson in Kelley Square, the Irish community in Amherst, and a young couple is killed, leaving behind their young child. Their deaths appear to be a tragic accident, but Emily finds herself harboring suspicions there may be more to the fire than meets the eye. Emily and Willa must withstand the frigid temperatures and discover a killer lurking among the deadly frost.

My Thoughts: During a very cold January 1857 in Amherst, Emily Dickinson and her loyal maid Willa Noble investigate the deaths of two Irish immigrants who left an 8-year-old daughter behind when they died in a fire. 

Their investigations take them into the drawing rooms of Amherst's high society. Many of the women had employed the dead woman as a seamstress and the dead man worked at the college as a janitor. He also assisted one of the professors with his botanical experiments. 

Tensions rise as the temperatures plummet. Suffragist Lucy Stone is stranded in town and staying with the president of Amherst College's wife who has a childhood friend. She has strong opinions about the roles and rights of women and offers lectures. 

Meanwhile, two competing organizations are working to provide for the mainly Irish Poor who are running out of food and fuel.

Willa is the narrator, and, in this episode, we learn about a tough decision she has to make about her future. Does she love her policeman boyfriend enough to marry him? And can they make a home and family with the young orphan?

This was another engaging historical mystery. I like Emily's portrayal as a woman who doesn't concern herself with social rules and who often goes off into her own mind when a poem comes to her. I like that Willa collects the bits of poems that Emily discards.

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.

Audiobook Review: One in Vermillion by Jennifer Crusie & Bob Mayer

One in Vermillion
Author: Jennifer Crusie & Bob Mayer
Narrator: Cris Dukehart & Eric G. Dove
Series: Liz Danger (Book 3)
Publication: Brilliance Audio (February 6, 2024)
Length: 9 hours and 49 minutes

Description: One in Vermillion: That red in the ledger isn’t just the ink.

Liz Danger is stuck in her hometown of Burney, Ohio, because her insane employer has rented a house there for the summer, which means she has three more months of trying to get a copy edit done, babysitting a seven-year-old, and figuring out what to do with three hundred and ninety-two teddy bears. And then there’s her mother. Even the good news that she’s living with a hot cop is tempered by the knowledge that sooner or later, she’s going to have to figure out her future, and she's still not sure what she wants that to be.

Vince Cooper is stuck in a town that keeps asking him when he’s going to make an honest woman of Liz Danger and in a job that’s just sunk into anarchy because of local and state politics that are kneecapping the police department, not to mention a biker gang and Liz’s ex-boyfriend who still hasn’t figured out that the ex part is permanent. Good thing he has Liz to come home to . . . until he doesn’t.

As Liz and Vince try to navigate their increasingly complicated relationship, they’re finding out startling new things about themselves and the town they’re trying to protect, and that means dealing with greedy politicians, arson, broken hearts (not theirs), vandalism, questionable real estate, murder, and a lot of soggy bears.

My Thoughts: This is the finale of the Liz Danger trilogy. It has romance, politics, family secrets and family interference. It also has a really cute seven-year-old and lots and lots of stuffed bears. 

The arsonist trying to burn down Burney is in prison, but the criminals aren't all caught. The motorcycle gang is still causing problems and Liz's ex is right in the middle of it all. Cash can't accept that Liz has moved on. He's sure that his charm will win her back no matter what he does to alienate her. 

With the senator's interference, George is no longer chief of police and the incompetent toady put in the department by the spouse-abusing mayor is the new chief. Vince is almost to the point of resigning and would if he didn't care so much for Burney. 

His relationship with Liz is also a point of contention between them. They are in love but are both used to being independent. When Liz buys an old house in the country, she is making a decision. She loves Vince but doesn't want to marry him or live with him. 

There are still secrets to be revealed about Liz's family that will make changes in her life. And Anemone looks like she's in Burney to stay which should make making the final copy edits on her biography possible. She also wants Liz to ghostwrite more books which will be handy now that they are both planning to stay in Burney.

This was an excellent story which comes to a very satisfying conclusion after a lot of perilous bumps in the road. I enjoyed what each narrator brought to the story. 

I bought this one October, 26, 2024. You can buy your copy here.

ARC Review: A Slash of Emerald by Patrice McDonough

A Slash of Emerald
Author: Patrice McDonough
Series: A Dr. Julia Lewis Mystery (Book 2)
Publication: Kensington (February 25, 2025)

Description: A trailblazing female medical examiner in 1867 London and a skeptical Scotland Yard detective investigate a string of art world murders in this dark, atmospheric, historically rich mystery for readers of Andrea Penrose and Deanna Raybourn.

London, 1867: Among the genteel young ladies of London society, painting is a perfectly acceptable pastime—but a woman who dares to pursue art as a profession is another prospect, indeed. Dr. Julia Lewis, familiar with the disrespect afforded women in untraditional careers, is hardly surprised when Scotland Yard shows little interest in complaints made by her friend, Mary Allingham, about a break-in at her art studio. Mary is just one of many “lady painters” being targeted by vandals.

Painters’ sitters are vanishing, too—women viewed by some as dispensable outcasts. Inspector Richard Tennant, however, takes the attacks seriously, suspecting they’re linked to the poison-pen letters received by additional members of the Allingham family. For Julia, the issue is complicated by Tennant’s previous relationship with Mary’s sister-in-law, Louisa, and by her own surprising reaction to that entanglement.

But when someone close to them commits suicide and a young woman turns up dead, the case can no longer be so easily ignored by ‘respectable’ society. Layer after layer, Julia and Tennant scrape away the facts of the case like paint from a canvas. What emerges is a somber picture of vice, depravity, and deception stretching from London’s East End to the Far East—with a killer at its center, determined to get away with one last, grisly murder . . .

My Thoughts: We are dropped right into London is 1867 when Dr. Julia Grey is called to a police station to examine a woman who has been arrested for prostitution by her friend Inspector Tennant. Just passing by an Army base is enough for any woman to be arrested. In this case, the young hatter has been on a legitimate errand and is let go. The blatant sexism of the time is something that winds its way throughout the plot of this story. 

Not only did Julia get onto the registry of doctors through a loophole but she has to face all sorts of prejudice from most men who can't believe that a woman can be a doctor. When she is instrumental in rescuing a man from ice breaking while skating, he doesn't let her examine him leaving his sister Mary concerned about his welfare.

Mary Allingham is facing prejudice of her own as she is trying to make her name as a female artist. Richard Tennant is concerned about these female artists because there have been blackmail letters and other threatening letters sent to many female artists and many artists' models have been disappearing. 

Tennant is looking into the death of a young artists' model whose body was thrown from a speeding carriage. And shortly after, he also has the case of a famous artists' model who has had her throat cut. Margot Miller was frequently the subject of both male and female artists.

Tennant's investigation leads him into the world of pornography and trafficking which is partially wrapped into the art world. Mary's brother who is a wealthy printer and publisher is a suspect in both the trafficking and pornography until he is found dead in an apparent suicide. 

Julia and Richard are both involved in the investigation and have different sources of information. I liked the way the mystery unfolded. I also liked the way Julia and Richard's slow-burn romance is progressing. The story had great historical details. 

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (February 17, 2025)

It's Monday, What Are You Reading? is now hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date.

It’s Monday!  What Are You Reading is where we gather to share what we have read this past week and what we plan to read this week.  It is a great way to network with other bloggers, see some wonderful blogs, and put new titles on your reading list.

Want to See What I Added to My Stack? links to Stacking the Shelves hosted by Marlene at Reading Reality.

Other Than Reading...

This was a pretty good week. Our new stove arrived on Tuesday, so I baked bread, hamburger buns and English muffins this week. I should make banana bread today since the bananas are in a "use them or throw them" stage. Bill is making a chicken enchilada casserole for our dinner today using leftover rotisserie chicken.

Last week I started Onyx Storm, got a few pages in, and asked myself "who are these people?" which means I need to reread the whole series for this one to make sense to me. Since I have the Kindle copies but not the audiobooks, I checked Amazon and added on all the audiobooks. I have many, many hours of listening ahead of me. Fourth Wing is 21 hours and 22 minutes; Iron Flame is 28 hours and 16 minutes; and Onyx Storm is 23 hours and 52 minutes. I decided that since I was spending so much time with these, I would review them again on my blog which meant shifting my calendar around to make room for them. I've finished Fourth Wing but not yet started Iron Flame.

Otherwise, I have lots of review books in my reading plans. I have at least six that are being released on March 18 that are on next week's reading calendar. Luckily, I don't have plans for next week. Baseball hasn't quite started yet. I am watching this season's The Voice. So far, that is only one evening a week and I can play computer games while I watch. 

I'm staying in a lot. It snowed twice this week and brought us about 6 new fluffy inches. Currently it is cold (2F as I'm writing this) and will be unseasonably cold for the next 5 or 6 days. Bill and I will be doing a grocery run later today. He likes to take me with him when he shops at Cub since I have the Cub Rewards card that activates a lot of the deals. For some reason, he refuses to get a card of his own. 

Read Last Week

• The Four Queens of Crime by Rosanne Limoncelli (Review; March 11) -- A death at a house party/fund raiser attended by Agatha Christie, Dorothy Sayers, Ngaio Marsh, and Margery Allingham put their observation skills to the test as they help Scotland Yard solve the crime. My review will be posted on March 4.
• Shadow Beasts by Nellie H. Steele (Audiobook; mine since January 19, 2025) -- First in an urban fantasy trilogy that was okay. The whole tone seemed YA and tongue-in-cheek to me. My review will be posted on March 4.
• Kills Well with Others by Deanna Raybourn (Review; March 11) -- Four retired female assassins are back on the job when they learn they are targeted by a person who wants revenge for things they did years earlier. Great characters. My review will be posted on March 5.

• Conspiracy in Death by J. D. Robb (Mine; Audiobook) -- A reread of this In Death book that they are talking about on Facebook. 
• Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros (Mine; Audiobook) -- Reread of the first book in the Empyrean trilogy. My review will be posted on March 18.

Currently

• Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros (Audiobook)
• White King by Juan Gomez-Jurado (Review; March 11)

Slow and Steady

• Seeing Further edited by Bill Bryson (Mine) -- I'm at 69%

Next Week

• Code Word Romance by Carlie Walker (Review; March 18)
• The Summer Guests by Tess Gerritsen (Review; March 18)
• The Library Game by Gigi Pandian (Review; March 18)

• Murder by Memory by Olivia Waite (Review; March 18)
• A Map to Paradise by Susan Meissner (Review; March 18)
• Twice as Dead by Harry Turtledove (Review; March 18)

Reviews Posted

• Legacy of Lies by Robert Daily (Mine; Audiobook)
• Rest in Pink by Jennifer Crusie & Bob Mayer (Mine; Audiobook)
• Cold as Hell by Kelley Armstrong (Review copy)

• Unhallowed Halls by Lili Wilkinson (Review copy)
• The Dead Letter Delivery by C. J. Archer (Mine)
• My Phony Valentine by Courtney Walsh (Mine)

Want to See What I Added to My Stack Last Week?

Review:

• Them Bones by David Housewright (Review; June 24)
• Party of Liars by Kelsey Cox (Review; July 1)
• The Witch's Orchard by Archer Sullivan (Review; August 12)

Bought:

• Bone of Contention by Kristi Rose (Chirp Audiobook, $.99)
• Bone to Pick by Kristi Rose (Chirp Audiobook, $4.99)

• Paw Enforcement by Diane Kelly (Chirp Audiobook, $1.99)
• Paw and Order by Diane Kelly (Chirp Audiobook, $1.99)
• Laying Down the Paw by Diane Kelly (Chirp Audiobook, $1.99)

• Against the Paw by Diane Kelly (Chirp Audiobook, $1.99)
• Above the Paw by Diane Kelly (Chirp Audiobook, $1.99)
• Slow Dance by Rainbow Rowell (Kindle, BookPerks, $1.99)

• Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros (Audible Add-On, $7.49)
• Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros (Audible Add-On, $5.99)
• Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros (Audible Add-on, $7.49)

What was your week like?

Book Review: My Phony Valentine by Courtney Walsh

My Phony Valentine
Author: Courtney Walsh
Series: Holidays with Hart
Publication: Sweethaven Press; 1st edition (February 8, 2023)

Description: A chance meeting. A hunky hockey player. A fake romance.
Hardly an ordinary day in the life of Poppy Hart.

My days usually consist of agonizing over my failing restaurant, worrying about my mountain of debt and nursing my broken heart.

Everything changes when I bump into a man in the coffee shop and claim him as my new boyfriend. To my absolute horror, he turns out to be hockey’s most renowned bad boy, Dallas Burke. To my absolute delight, he goes along with my story. />When his no-nonsense manager and meddling grandmother jump in the picture, they see a win-win solution for my failing restaurant and Dallas’s less-than-stellar reputation.

A full-fledged fake romance complete with contract negotiations, pretend dates and phony PDA.

But as I get to know the real Dallas Burke, who is not the man the press says he is, it becomes clear that if this isn’t real. . . someone better tell it to my heart.

My Thoughts: Middle sister Poppy Hart makes a rash decision while standing in line at a coffee shop. Tired of being bullied by local mean girl Margot who also happened to steal Poppy's sister Raya's boyfriend, she claims the guy standing in line in front of her is her boyfriend.

Dallas Burke, right wing for the Denver Comets hockey team and famous hockey bad boy, is quite willing to play along. 

That simple event leads to a fake relationship to help Poppy build up business at her restaurant and Dallas to clean up his reputation. It comes with a contract, a rehabbing Gram - Dallas's, and Dallas's agent who also wants to rehabilitate Dallas's reputation. 

And their fake relationship seems to be going great despite conflicting advice from her older sister Raya who keeps telling her to look before she leaps and her younger sister Eloise who is all for leaping - thinking optional.

It doesn't take long for both Dallas and Poppy to want to change fake dating to real dating but neither is quite ready to tell the other about their change of heart.

This was a sweet romance filled with engaging characters. I loved the small-town setting and its juxtaposition with the world of professional sports. 

I bought this one February 12, 2024. You can buy your copy here.

Friday Memes: My Phony Valentine by Courtney Walsh

 Happy Friday!

Book Beginnings is hosted by Gillion at Rose City Reader. She asks that the first sentence is posted along with the author and title of the book and the reader's initial thoughts on the sentence, the book, or anything else it inspires. 

Carrie at Reading Is My Superpower.org also provides a linky for sharing first lines and connecting with others. This meme asks that the chosen books be PG or marked as Mature if they are not.  

Beginning:

I don't know why I did what I did.

I mean, I know why I did it--I just can't believe I did it. 

Friday 56:

Dallas reaches out to take a tote, but I step back. "This is like Jenga. If you pull the wrong bag, it's all going to come down."

This week I am spotlighting My Phony Valentine by Courtney Walsh. I added this one to my TBR Stack on February 12, 2024. Here's the description from Amazon:

A chance meeting. A hunky hockey player. A fake romance.
Hardly an ordinary day in the life of Poppy Hart.

My days usually consist of agonizing over my failing restaurant, worrying about my mountain of debt and nursing my broken heart.

Everything changes when I bump into a man in the coffee shop and claim him as my new boyfriend. To my absolute horror, he turns out to be hockey’s most renowned bad boy, Dallas Burke. To my absolute delight, he goes along with my story.

When his no-nonsense manager and meddling grandmother jump in the picture, they see a win-win solution for my failing restaurant and Dallas’s less-than-stellar reputation.

A full-fledged fake romance complete with contract negotiations, pretend dates and phony PDA.

But as I get to know the real Dallas Burke, who is not the man the press says he is, it becomes clear that if this isn’t real. . . someone better tell it to my heart.

Audiobook Review: Legacy of Lies by Robert Bailey

Legacy of Lies
Author: Robert Bailey
Narrator: Eric G. Dove
Series: Bocephus Haines (Book 1)
Publication: Brilliance Audio (June 1, 2020)
Length: 8 hours and 23 minutes

Description: A small-town attorney takes on prejudice and corruption in this powerful legal thriller.

Small-town lawyer Bocephus Haynes comes home late one night to find District Attorney General Helen Lewis waiting for him. Her ex-husband has just been killed. She’s about to be arrested for his murder. And she wants Bo to represent her.

There’s a lot working against them. Just before his death, Helen’s ex-husband threatened to reveal a dark secret from her past. Bo has been in a tailspin since his wife’s death. What’s more, his whole life has been defined by a crime committed against his family, and he continues to face prejudice as the only African American litigator in Pulaski, Tennessee.

Bo’s back is against the wall, and Helen resigns herself to a dismal fate - but a stunning discovery throws everything into chaos. There’s a chance for justice, but to achieve it, the cost might be too much for Bo to bear.

My Thoughts: The first Bocephus Haines mystery stars a lawyer who has gone through a difficult time including the shooting death of his wife and the loss of custody of his two teenage children, He also has the hanging death of the man he knew as his father by the Ku Klux Klan when he was five which led to his pursuit of the law and of those who were involved. Along the way he learned that one of the men who was involved in the hanging was a white man and his biological father. This cascade of things caused him to go into a state of depression.

When District Attorney General Helen Lewis comes to him one evening and wants to hire him because she believes that she is soon to be arrested for the murder of her ex-husband, Bo turns down the case at first. He comes around to accepting the case despite the overwhelming evidence that Helen did murder her ex. 

As the investigation goes on in preparation for the trial, all sorts of secrets are exposed both in Helen's life and in the movers and shakers of Pulaski, Tennessee. Among the villains is a man who has come to town after inheriting a bunch of money from his deceased parents and who plans to bring in a Japanese automaker who promises 1000 jobs. However, his accusation of the rape of a fifteen-year-old girl stands in the way of the business deal and Helen Lewis is the one who wants to bring him to trial. 

This story was filled with twists and turns and suspense. 

I bought this one November 7, 2020. You can buy your copy here.