Fudge and Marriage by Nancy Coco
I've only read a couple of the Candy Coated Mysteries. Allie's life as a fudge maker on Macinac Island and her chocolate shop in a historic hotel really appeal to me, but I hadn't made time to go back and read the dozen or so books I'd missed. This is the one that's going to change that. I LOVED it. The mystery element is intriguing, but even more than that, I loved the drama leading up to Allie's wedding. The conflict with her mother was established in previous books, but wow did it escalate here. The wedding her mother wants is nothing like the community wide celebration that Allie and her husband-to-be have planned. This book is everything that's wonderful about small town cozy mysteries.
Follow Me by Elizabeth Rose Quinn
The word "coMOMmunity" makes my brain hurt. The whole world of Momfluencers presented in this book is grating enough to make me want to swear off of social media -- and I like mommy blogs! Somehow, Chiara got herself invited to this thing after a post about her twins went viral. The other moms hate her. She's feeling left out and miserable and then things get worse.
A year later, Chiara is still missing and her sister has signed up for the retreat, desperate to find some answers. A recovering addict who doesn't even have kids of her own, Adrienne has only the flimsiest cover story and isn't fitting in with the perfect instamoms any better than her sister did the year before. The second half of this book is absolutely wild and I wasn't surprised to read in the author's bio at the end that it's being made into a movie. I honestly think I'll enjoy watching this story more than I enjoyed reading it.
Falls to Pieces by Douglas Corleone
What drew me to this book was the idea of a woman and her daughter living off grid in Hawaii, desperate to hide from their past. That secrecy is an important element of the plot, but the "off the grid" part really isn't. They could have just as easily been living in a regular neighboorhood. I loved the parts of the book that focused on the islands and the unique dangers they present, but that's only a small part of the book. There's a lot of unrelated drama and conflict that comes together to create a roller coaster of a plot.
American Housewife by Anita Abriel
The star of the Maggie Lane Baking Show can't cook. She's newly married herself and suddenly she's advising the women of 1950s America, hoping that the skeletons in her closet won't be revealed as her fame grows. I really enjoyed this novel, which provides a quick glimse into a time gone by. I found myself looking up some details that didn't sound right (and discovering that they were accurate.) There's lots of attention given to the furniture and food and fashions, but if you're looking for details about the early days of television you won't find many.
Disclosure -- The publishers provided me with advance review copies.
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