I'm A Voracious Reader : cozy

Showing posts with label cozy. Show all posts

Thursday, July 30, 2026

Audiobook Review ~ Hexes and Honey Buns by Danielle Garrett

The pen is mightier than the sword—but what's a witch to do when she has writer's block?

After landing my first official journalist job I thought the ideas would be spilling out faster than I could type. But it turns out life in the shadow of my debut piece is a little . . . make that a lot , harder than I expected.

So, when a convicted murderer reaches out begging for help in proving her innocence, I jump at the chance to dig into another investigation.

The only problem? This trail is ice cold.

I don't want to give up on a good story, or let down a witch desperate for my help, but I'm not sure where to turn and I'm running out of time.

Will my last ditch effort pan out, or will I be forced to give my editor a blank page?

Audiobook Review ~ Sugar Cookies and Sirens by Danielle Garrett

The witch who can talk to animals meets the witch with a talking cat. What could go wrong? It's Valentine's Day in Winterspell, but not everyone appears to be feeling the love. And no, I'm not talking about my date-less self. Instead of being wooed by candlelight, I'm working in a candle shop. Cora Hearth, Winterspell's magical chandler, has teamed up with Sugar Shack to create party favors for the lucky couples, and they're counting on us to spark some magic for their special night. So, when a thief breaks into my delivery van and swipes the goodies, Cora and I--and her persnickety talking cat--have to join forces to track down the culprit in time to save Valentine's Day.

Audiobook Review ~ Mermaids and Meringue by Danielle Garrett

It’s New Year’s Eve and Rosella Midnight has a date with danger.

A handsome date for New Year’s Eve? Check.

Red lipstick and a killer party dress? Double check.

A kiss when the clock strikes twelve? Undecided.

If I’m going to be stuck in Winterspell a little longer, I may as well have fun with it. But you know what they say about the best laid plans...

When my romantic evening turns into a kidnapping investigation, I can’t wait around to watch the ball drop. There’s a mermaid-snatching monster on the loose, and it’s up to me to stop them.

Luckily for me, my date always comes loaded for dragon.

Friday Featured Spotlight ~ BBNYA2025 Blog Tours: Finalists 3 & 2

Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon CA

BBNYA2025 Blog Tour Book Review ~ 2nd Place Finalist: A Little Bird Told Me by Rachael Gray

Psychologist Laurel Nightingale has fled from her problems in search of peace and respite. However, after discovering a dead body shortly after arriving in the tight-knit community of Elderwick, she wonders if village life is as wholesome as she first thought.

Local police are convinced the death was accidental, but Laurel suspects murder and enlists her new friend Maggie to join her quest to uncover the truth. When a second body is found, Laurel ruffles feathers by pointing the finger at one of the locals. But when her accusation backfires, she's left alienated and afraid.

With her fear at an all-time high, her sleuthing partner gone missing, and village gossip spreading like wildfire, Laurel wonders who she can truly trust. Is it time to move on yet again? And will her newly formed friendships be enough to save her from this mysterious murderer?

Sprinkles and Sea Serpents by Danielle Garrett ~ Audiobook Review

They say you can't go home again. . .oh, if only that were true.

Thanks to a series of unfortunate events - and one backstabbing frenemy - home is exactly where I'm headed. back to Winterspell Lake, the small community in Eastern Washington where magic runs rampant and humans are outlawed.

Faster than you can say hocus pocus I'm unpacking my bags and settling into the guest room of my parents' house, trying to ignore the creeping sensation that I'll never break free again.

The one thing Winterspell has going for it is the sweets shop in the center of town, a bakery filled with magical creations designed to enchant the taste buds and charm even the pickiest of connoisseurs. Luckily for me, I get the friends and family discount since my parents own the famous Sugar Shack. If I want room and board, I have to frost cupcakes and sling macaroons with the rest of the fam.

Unfortunately, things in Winterspell aren't all sugar cookies and rainbows. According to the local news, a dangerous sea serpent has claimed the lives to three missing girls. The journalist in me has to have a look for myself, and what I find is something far more deadly.

Something that makes me wish I'd stayed in the bakery.

2025 Book Round Up

This year hasn't been my worst year in terms of numbers. That award goes to 2023 with 55 books. This year I had 60 books read (or listened to) including five re-reads on my birthday. Unfortunately, I have 54 reviews to write (some from 2024 *cringe*), so you'll see nearly all without links for now. Eeek!

2025 has been another year to remember. Mostly in a good way. My brothers and I sold the family farm (very sad) and I used my inheritance to pay for my divorce and do some major renovations to my house. From February until November we've had work going on and while it's been very stressful, it has turned out gorgeous. I absolutely love what's been done! And hopefully, 2026 means I will have more time to read. AND write reviews.

Anyway, 60. Not as bad a year as I thought I would have only because I listened to audiobooks from Chirp when driving my son to and from work. About 45 minutes a day (M-F and some Saturdays) when I'm alone in the car. Then Anna started working at the same place in October and my audiobook listening went down to nothing. Except when he had to go in early and she didn't.

33 audiobooks

7 tour books (BBNYA & The Write Reads)

It's been a pretty good year in terms of quality,

with 42 of the 60 rated 4 bites or above.

5 bites ~ 14

4 bites and a nibble ~ 17

4 bites ~ 11

Friday Featured Spotlight ~ BBNYA2024 Blog Tour: WINNER! ~ Clues to You by Claire Huston

Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon CA

Midlife Curses ~ Audiobook

Gran says she’s a witch. The cat says she’s a witch. Wait, did the cat just…?

Constance Campbell has made a few questionable decisions in the run up to her fortieth birthday. So in a way, moving two thousand miles away from everything she’s ever known makes perfect sense.

She moves in with her estranged—and very strange—grandmother. What better place to hide from her humiliations than a town too small to warrant a mention on a map?

Creel Creek, Virginia s the last place either of her ex-husbands would ever think to look for her. But it’s like nothing she ever expected.

Then again, neither is she.

Constance learns that she comes from a long line of powerful witches. And on the day she hits the big 4-0, she’ll come into powers.

Constance has more magic in her pinky fingernail than she ever knew existed in the world. And it turns out she’s not the only paranormal person in town. Under the sleepy surface, the small town is teeming with supernatural beings.

When Constance finds the grocery store manager and the town’s resident vampire dead, things go from surreal to scary. The local sheriff is convinced that a killer is lurking in the shadows, hunting anyone with supernatural abilities…including witches like her.

He’s not wrong.

Can Constance learn enough magic to save herself and Creel Creek from this unknown foe?

Cover Reveal ~ Pierced by Silver by Anca Antoci

Where the boundaries blur between the living and the dead, the line between hero and monster is thin.

Deep in the heart of Transylvania, nestled amidst ancient forests and shrouded in centuries-old superstitions, lies the village of Vânători. A string of gruesome murders has left the villagers terrified, and the authorities baffled. Joining forces are Ella Martin, a witch with a hidden past, Felix Goia, a brilliant but haunted police inspector, and Radu Lupu, a mysterious police captain whose supernatural nature has the potential to unravel everything.

As the bodies pile up and the villagers’ fear turns to rage, Ella, Felix, and Radu find themselves caught in a race against time. The locals suspect one of their own to be a strigoi—a relentless force that hungers for blood. They must uncover the truth behind the killings, whether it’s a human monster or a strigoi, before the village is consumed by darkness.

However, their investigation takes a perilous twist when Radu, as a vârcolac, becomes the target of an unrelenting predator armed with silver tipped arrows. With their strongest ally out of commission, Ella and Felix must hurry to save him and stop the killings before Vânători becomes a ghost town.

2022 Book Round Up

This year has been my worst year yet in terms of numbers. 62 books read (or listened to) including two re-reads on my birthday. Ugh. That is my lowest number since I've been keeping track (2012).

7 audiobooks

10 monster porn

25 tour books

7 from Red Adept Publishing

3 from BBNYA

& several more!

But obviously not that many. Because 62.

However, it's been a great year in terms of quality,

with 55 of the 62 rated 4 bites or above.

5 bites ~ 15

4 bites and a nibble ~ 23

4 bites ~ 17

Mosaics and Magic ~ Joint Review with Bea's Book Nook

My Kindle Reviews will consist of:

Kindle Lending Library

Kindle Unlimited

Kindle First

Freebies

Strangled by Simile

Southern transplant Emma Lovett and her best friend, Leslie Parker, can hardly believe it’s Emma’s third year at Thomas Jefferson High School. In addition to an amazing year with Emma’s boyfriend, Hunter Wells, and Leslie’s brand-new love interest, they’ve gotten all the way through Homecoming with no one dying.

Oops!

At the end of October, Emma discovers the strangled body of Charlie Foreman, one of Leslie’s favorite nemeses. But the first clue implicates Leslie in the crime. To make things worse, Emma’s feeling a little oogy. She’s tired and dizzy and something’s wrong with her eyes.

All Emma and Leslie are trying to do is find new methods for teaching the youth of America, hopefully using lessons from the Great Bard, their hero, William Shakespeare.

But someone has a different idea: more schooling in murder.

Poison by Punctuation

High school teacher Emma Lovett is finally recovering from her first year of teaching when she discovers another dead body. As if that wasn’t bad enough, this time, someone has killed a student, Kisten Hollis.

Emma and her best friend, Leslie, are desperate to solve this murder. But suspects abound. The perpetrator could be a teacher, an administrator, a member of Kisten’s zealous church community, or even another student.

Emma must juggle her teaching responsibilities, her new romance with handsome Hunter Wells, and interest from a hunky second suitor, all while searching for evidence to bring a killer to justice before someone else dies.

Ribbing and Runes

Can a secret runic message lead to murder?

As Lucy and Rafe plan their wedding, everyone wants to get involved. The vampire knitting club are crafting the gown, William’s catering, the Miss Watts are making the cake. Everything’s under control. Or is it? Just as Lucy begins to believe there won’t be a hitch in their plans, she receives a curious wedding gift that leads to murder.

Between hen parties, her parents arriving early, running a knitting shop and a murder, will Lucy make it down the aisle in one piece?

Sheltering Spirits

Orphaned at a young age, all Mallory McGrath wants is a place to call home, the companionship of friends who have become her family and to keep her Basset Hound, Elmer, from wrecking everything she owns. A simple life.

And things are going her way until a sudden encounter with the bumper of a car driven by the intriguing new coroner in town leaves her with a head injury that unlocks a strange new talent.

Now Mallory is dealing with ghostly roommates, a dead body on her property and finding herself under suspicion of murdering the town’s matriarch. Not to mention the angry poltergeist trashing her attic!

To save all she holds dear, Mallory must catch a killer who has her in his sights … and to make sure her supply of peanut butter doesn’t run out.

Herringbones and Hexes

My Kindle Reviews will consist of:

Kindle Lending Library

Kindle Unlimited

Kindle First

Purchases

Freebies

Self-published Authors Appreciation Week: Melissa Bowersock

Self-published and small press authors always seem to get a lot of shit, so a bunch of book bloggers decided to get together and share our love for the self-pubbed and small press authors who entertain us with awesome stories. I don't know why certain people out there in the book blogging sphere keep insisting on saying that self-pubbed = crap writing because, while I may have hit a dud or two, most of what I've read over the last decade have been pretty fucking good! So, go click any and/or all of our posts all week long over on Witty & Sarcastic Bookclub run by the fabulous Jodie. Many thanks to her for organizing this and for Anca Antoci over at Summon Fantasy for creating the banners and badge.