{I've Been Reading}

Castle Deadly, Castle Deep by Veronica Bond 

I love the atmosphere that the author creates in this one! The catacombs beneath Castle Dark are just for show, created for the theater troupe's latest murder-mystery performance, but the murder that takes place there is genuinely unsettling for the reader. With a killer loose in the castle, unexplained noises coming from the library next to her room, and worries about her new romance, Nora has her hands full trying to figure everything out.  I read this one straight through and can't wait for the next book in the series to come out so I can spend more time with the characters. 

A Perilous Pal by Laura Bradford 

Emma Westlake is a Friend for Hire, whether that's as a workout buddy or a plus one to a social event. Her latest client is a divorced woman with an empty nest who's trying to figure out what to do with herself now that she's not spending every moment being a busy wife and mother.  Her bucket list is filled with creative ways to do away with her ex. When the man is found dead and all of those plans are preserved in writing, things look bad and Emma is determined to help. The book has a fun, endlessly entertaining cast of characters and I really got caught up in the mystery element.  As I've read the first two books in the series, I've found myself wondering where the line between friend and client is...and Emma seems to be wondering about it, too. I'm curious to see what she decides in future books. 

 

 A Hint of Mischief by Daryl Wood Gerber 

Fairy garden parties are a big part of Courtney's business, but this will be the first time she's organized one for adults. The event is definitely going to be more upscale than she's used to, so she's scrambling to adapt her party games for a group of forty-year-old sorority sisters...and then a spa day for the guests ends in an unsatisfactory eyebrow wax and murder. 

The mystery is complicated with a ton of different suspects and didn't entirely hold my interest this time around. I was more intrigued by the subplots and I enjoyed the chance to spend some time in Courtney's fairy filled world. (Not all of her friends and family can see them, but they're definitely real!)  

Disclosure -- The publishers provided me with advance review copies. This post contains affiliate links. 

{I've Been Reading} Little Nothings

 

Little Nothings by Julie Mayhew 

Four women and their families are set to spend three weeks together at a resort in Greece. They're the best of friends and should be having an absolute blast in paradise...but they're not. Not having the fun they expected. And maybe the friendships aren't quite as good as they thought. Someone isn't what she's been pretending to be. 

I enjoyed this book, which is an entertaining train wreck of relationships. The whole thing is told from Liv's point of view and it's told mostly in order, occasionally filling in details from the past to explain what's going on now. The transitions were abrupt but worked for me. I'm still not sure how I feel about the ending. It went the way I expected. but not quite. 

Disclosure -- The publishers provided me with advance review copies. This post contains affiliate links.