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?

Silent Pretty Things

A small town…a prominent family…a secret. Only two people know the truth, and their silence will have murderous consequences.

Anna Goddard has spent a lifetime being the Good Daughter. Polished and primped into sleek, blond perfection, Anna learned from an early age that being a Goddard meant presenting a flawless façade to the world. But all that changes when Anna stumbles upon a private correspondence that leaves her reeling. With the help of Michael Donovan, a shy but charming local historian, Anna embarks on a journey to find the one thing her family has always denied: The Truth.

Propelled by her mission to protect those she loves, the young woman experiences a tantalizing taste of freedom. But in the process of unearthing the past, Anna and her family will expose a new threat so dangerous it could ruin them all.

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.

A Bad Day for Sunshine

Book source ~ NetGalley

A Bad Day for Sunshine

Sunshine Vicram, #1

Darynda Jones

7 April 2020

Suspense | Humor

352 Pages

Emeralds and Envy

Book source ~ ARC. 

My review is voluntary and honest.

Emeralds and Envy

Junkin' Jewelry Mysteries, #1

Angela McRae

16 April 2019

Cozy | Mystery

256 Pages

Tour ~ The Curl Up & Dye

*Book source ~ Review copy obtained through NetGalley. My opinion is my own.

Title ~ The Curl Up & Dye

Series ~ Curl Up & Dye, #1

Author ~ Sharon Sala

Publisher ~ Sourcebooks Landmark

Published ~ 4 February 2014

Genre ~ Contemporary/Romance

Pages ~ 288

My Rating ~ 4 bites out of 5

LilyAnn Bronte lived a charmed life until her fiancé enlisted in the Army, went off to Afghanistan and died by an IED. For 11 years she lost her way and didn’t know how to get back until a hot guy rolls into town providing the catalyst she needs to lose weight and rejoin the living. Her best friend and next door neighbor, Mike Dalton, hopes LilyAnn will finally see him as more than a friend, but how can she when he treats her like a sister? A series of misunderstandings shakes up their friendship and makes them miserable. Can they find their way to love?

I used to read contemporaries all the time, but in the last few years I’ve drifted away from them. However, once in awhile one will catch my eye and I must read it. The prequel to this book, Color Me Bad (my review here) was such a book and of course, since I enjoyed it that meant I needed to read the next book.

Sala’s romance involving a small Southern town in Georgia is a fun read. The story is told from several POVs, which really gives me a good feel of the town and inhabitants. The relationship between LilyAnn and Mike is painful at times. I just wanted to sit them down and bash their heads together. Ok, maybe not that harsh, but they’d settled into such a comfortable routine that they needed something to kick them in the asses. That something finally came in the form of a sleazy hot guy. Woah, doggy. This book is a great read filled with Southernisms, humor, small town gossip, romance, meddling and some danger. I think I wasn't quite as entertained with this one as the prequel because it was longer. It didn't move as fast as I would have liked and I believe that's only because my tastes for contemporary have changed and not a fault of the book. It's still a very entertaining read.