The Christmas Pawdcast

The Christmas Pawdcast
by Emily March
Rating: ★★★
Publication Date: December 2, 2021
Genre: Fiction, Romance
Publisher: Audible Originals

Mary Landry and her pregnant rescue dog are on their way home for Christmas when the unthinkable happens: Her car breaks down along a deserted stretch of mountain highway in the middle of a blizzard. Facing dire conditions, Mary seeks shelter from a lone cabin in the distance whose warm light beckons her like a Christmas star.

Nick Carstairs has one wish this season -- to ride out his least favorite time of the year in peace while working on the latest episode of his hit True Crime podcast. The sexy-voiced podcaster didn’t plan to host a stranger and her pregnant dog, but he’s happy to help a traveler in need … it’s an extra perk that she’s gorgeous. Now if she would just stop trying to change his mind about Christmas.

As they spend time warming up by the fire -- and an unexpected attraction roars to life -- will Mary help Nick discover the wonder of the season after all?

My last wholly read book of 2022 and I didn’t love it. BUT there’s only one thing harder for me to do than read romance: listen to it. So, while I really liked the parts about the dog, and I appreciated the plausible opening of their meet cute, I didn’t enjoy the yearning bits – especially the part played by the male MC. There were more than a few fast-forwards through the yearning, and a lot of cringing. But it was a nice enough accompaniment while working on my jigsaw puzzle.

(This story was enjoyed by a reading friend who doesn’t like romance either, but found this one well done and with a cheerful Christmas vibe, which is why I tried it. It was well written and cheerful – just too much with the yearning and the romancing for me – especially in audio.)

Liz Hedgecock Magical Bookshop Books 1 and 2

Elentarri first brought these novellas to my attention and they sounded like fun.

Every Trick in the Book
by Liz Hedgecock
Rating: ★★★
Series: Magical Bookshop Novellas #1
Publication Date: August 4, 2020
Pages: 200
Genre: Fantasy
Publisher: Self-published

Turning over a new leaf doesn’t always go according to plan...

When Jemma James takes a job at Burns Books, the second-worst secondhand bookshop in London, she finds her ambition to turn it around thwarted at every step. Raphael, the owner, is more interested in his newspaper than sales. Folio the bookshop cat has it in for Jemma, and the shop itself appears to have a mind of its own. Or is it more than that?

Gradually Jemma starts to make a difference ... and then the anonymous letters start arriving. Who is behind them, and why?

As the threats escalate, and the shop becomes increasingly turbulent, Jemma and Raphael must work together to find the culprit. And what else will Jemma find in her investigations?

Every Trick In The Book is the first in the Magical Bookshop humorous mystery series, set in modern London.

The first book in the series, I was a little stumped, at first, as to what the actual plot of the story was going to be, as a lot of it was setup: Jemma losing her job, stumbling across Burns’ Books (perversely fabulous name), and finding a job at the quirky and odd bookshop. I immediately liked Raphael, loved Folio (the cat) and found Jemma irritating, as I think she was meant to be. The plot of the story doesn’t come until a bit past the halfway mark, and felt a bit rushed, but I enjoyed getting there, and I enjoyed watching Raphael squash Jemma’s constant attempts at being a corporate drone. The ending left off with a cool discovery that’s not properly described to the reader, so I was grateful to have the second one already queue’d up.

Brought to Book
by Liz Hedgecock
Rating: ★★★
Series: Magical Bookshop Novellas #2
Publication Date: September 15, 2020
Pages: 160
Genre: Fantasy
Publisher: Self-published

Not all new brooms sweep clean…

Business is booming at Burns Books — so much so that Jemma and Raphael hire a new assistant. And that’s when things start to go wrong.

Luke’s helpful, he’s knowledgeable, and the customers like him. So why is the shop up to its old tricks, and a few new ones? And what's the matter with Folio?

Jemma and Carl take it upon themselves to investigate, and end up finding out a lot more than they bargained for. Will working at the bookshop ever be the same again?

Brought To Book is the second in the Magical Bookshop humorous mystery series, set in modern London

The plot of this one kicks off a lot sooner, although magical or not, the bookstore’s turnaround felt completely unrealistic. Still, I wasn’t reading the story for the realism, which is fortunate, because while the first book could have been arguably magical realism, this novella is firmly in fantasy territory, with the introduction of new characters and magical world-building with a loose structure and rules, both of which are tested, which leaves Jemma stumped, Folio diminished, and Raphael in an angry panic. I thought the climax cleverly done and overall the story was fun.

There’s a few more books in the series, and I’ve got them on the list for future reads when I want to dip into something fun, frothy, and frivolous.

Lady Julia Grey Novellas 6-9

These have been sitting in my TBR on my iPad for … years? And after my recent re-read binge of all the novels, I thought I’d knock these out too.

They’re all about what you’d expect from a novella; too short to get into any character development or conflict, just short, happy little mysteries with tidy endings, but they’re fun to read and one or two loose ends from the main body of the series are wrapped up.

Plainly Murder (Amish Quilt Shops Mystery #0.5)

I pre-ordered the first book in this series, Murder, Plain and Simple, so when I saw this release I grabbed it, eager for an introduction to the characters and setting.

This felt longer than most of the in-between novellas I’ve read and definitely a bit more involved. Was Eric pushed or did he fall from the roof during a barn raising 15 years ago? It’s a very straight forward mystery, as it needs to be in it’s shorter format. As such, the suspects are few and the outcome somewhat predictable. But you don’t really to buy a novella for the plot, so much as for more information on the characters.

I liked Angie and the dog sounds like a gem. I was disappointed that it seems we can count on a cantankerous old biddy who will be going out of her way to make Angie’s life miserable in future books, in the form of Martha, but I might prove to be completely wrong about that. Hopefully she’ll be offset by Anna, and possibly Rachel.

Overall, a good introduction if you’re interested in reading the first book of the series.