Ashleigh's Bookshelf

A Novel Proposal by E. E. Everly Annalise has a problem. She is in love with her boss, but Evan is clueless. Fed up with being in the friend zone, she quits without warning. She doesn't even want to read the edits he made on her novel. But when a friend insists she read the book, she discovers he has made some drastic suggestions. Will reading his changes help Annalise see Evan in a new light? Or has she lost her best friend. This was a very cute story and something I recommend for all romance writers, as we can relate to a lot of the situations within the story. That said, I did have a couple of issues with the book. There were several scenes, specifically the ones involving the ski resort and the hospital, that felt they could have used a little more research. I'm not exactly sure where this story was supposed to take place, but Annalise and Evan's experiences were drastically different than mine and the events, while cute and helped dri...

Murder, She Edited by Kaitlyn Dunnett Freelance editor Mikki Lincoln has just inherited a farm boarding house, from a woman she barely knew. But there is one stipulation: she must find, edit, and publish an unknown number of journals within one month, else she loses the farm. The mystery in this book unfolds slowly, first with the mystery of learning what the main character has inherited, then learning the mystery of what happened to the original owners, and ending with the mystery of who is trying to thwart Mikki's attempts. While I enjoyed watching the story unfold, the ending felt a little forced. I would have liked to have witnessed the cold case confession instead of hearing about it second hand. I also still had a few questions at the end of the book. (view spoiler) [After Mikki published the journals, were they successful? Why was the stepmother killed in the first place? Mikki had several theories; I would have liked to know which one was correct...

Goodbye Sea Angel by Anne Shillolo When Detective Constable Holly Towns agreed to serve as security on the Sea Angel party boat, she never expected to end up in the middle of a storm. Or that one of the passengers would leave in a body bag. Or that she would be in charge of the investigation because the rest of her team is too busy dealing with a sniper back on the mainland. As if that wasn't enough, she's still haunted by a cold case: the death of her parents. Will she be able to solve any of these cases before any more lives are lost? Although this is the third book in the series, it is the first one I have read and I fell in love with the main character. She was very relatable and I loved the fact that, despite being a police officer, she was far from perfect. I loved watching her grow and working on being a team player. Although the two main cases had satisfactory endings, I was not thrilled with the cold case story. I loved its progression, however t...

Up to No Gouda by Linda Reilly After the death of her husband, Carly has moved back to her small Vermont hometown to pursue her life-long dream: opening a restaurant that specializes in grilled cheese. Despite the fact business is booming, her new landlord decides not to renew her lease. When her best employee becomes the prime suspect in a murder, Carly embarks to prove her friend's innocence, maybe saving her shop in the process. The first chapter of this book is a huge backstory with a lot of information that will be repeated later in the book. However, once I got past that, I found this story fairly enjoyable. I liked the characters and I found myself trying to solve the mystery along with Carly. While I did figure out the whodunit before her, I didn't catch the motive until just before she did. I did have a few issues with the book. There were times when the dialogue felt a little forced and not natural. There was also the scene where Carly share...

Mr. Monk on the Road by Lee Goldberg After finally achieving a relaxed clarity he hasn't known since the death of his wife, Mr. Monk decides it is time for his brother to address his agoraphobia. After putting sleeping pills in his birthday cake, Mr. Monk and his assistant, Natalie, move Ambrose into an RV and set out on a tour of California. Of course, it wouldn't be a vacation if Mr. Monk doesn't assist in a few homicides along the way. But will his brother appreciate his efforts or is it too much for him to handle? Having been raised by someone who owns more Lysol wipes than Mr. Monk, I have always been a fan of the television show and was thrilled to learn about this book series. The first chapter of this book is mostly background information, which I didn't mind too much because it reminded me of all the major characters, since I haven't seen the show in over a decade. (Actually, it made me question whether I even watched the final season...

Well-Offed in Vermont by Amy Patricia Meade Stella and Nick can't wait to move into their new house in rural Vermont. There's just one problem: a dead guy in their well. Forced to stay in a privative hunting cabin, the newcomers take it upon themselves to solve the mystery so they can finally unpack their moving van. I found the first chapter of this story extremely engaging, especially since it ends with the beginning of the mystery. However, the second chapter then opens by giving background information on two characters that had yet to be introduced to the story. Since a lot of this information is revealed later, I would have much preferred to learn Alma's backstory slowly. I think it would have made her a more interesting character and possibly even a suspect. Instead, because I knew about what happened to her son, I felt about four steps ahead of Stella. Although I found the story enjoyable, there were many aspects that felt as unrealistic as a c...

Odyssey: The Reboot by Keith Tokash According to Homer's cousin, the original Odyssey was severely over embellished and this is the real story about the ancient king of Ithaca. As a former Classical Studies student, I am familiar with ancient Greek mythology, especially the story of Odysseus, and looked forward to reading this story. I was not disappointed. Although this book contained many grammatical and proofreading errors, the story was enjoyable. This is the second book in a series, though it is the first one I have read. This was not a problem, however, since the events of the first book were mentioned many times. In fact, some information was mentioned more than once. While I found this repetition slightly irksome, I think it would have been more of an issue had I read the first book. There were a few characters in whom I would have liked to have seen a little more development, but the main characters -- the narrator and Odysseus -- were very well deve...

A Knit Before Dying by Sadie Hartwell NYC fashion designer Josie is settling into her new life in rural Connecticut as the owner of a yarn shop and landlord. Hopefully, her new tenant, an antiques dealer, will help bring some life to the sleepy downtown. However, when an unexpected death calls up memories of a unsolved missing persons case, yarn is the last thing on her mind. It will be difficult for me to review this book without giving away too many spoilers, but I will try. While the first chapter helps set up the scene, it almost wasn't enough to engage me enough to keep reading. Honestly, if I weren't reading this for a Book Bingo square, I might not have continued past that first chapter. As the book continued, I did grow more interested in the story. However, it felt as if the main character was a little too focused on the cold case than the current mystery. Her obsession made me think early on that the two might be connected. There were also sever...

A Town Called Potato by Gary Blaine Randolph When computer expert Gabriel Lake meets with a new client, he expects them to ask him to develop a new app. He doesn't expect them to ask him to help find a missing person. Not just any missing person. Someone who doesn't belong on Earth. And that's just the beginning of the adventure. This book felt like A Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy crossed with Sherlock Holmes . Throughout the book, the main character admits he has no idea what he is doing, but he is drawing his knowledge from the noir mysteries he loves to read. Set on several other planets, this book required a lot of worldbuilding. And the author did not disappoint. Perhaps it was his likening it to science fiction shows I had seen, but I could really picture each new location, as well as the aliens who lived there. I also really enjoyed not only the explanation of how the chrono drive worked, but also watching it in motion. The author used ...

Publishable By Death by A.C.F. Bookens It's opening day for St. Marin's newest -- and only -- bookstore and owner Harvey can't be more excited. Books are on the shelves, coffee is in the cafe, a dead body is in the stockroom. While no one seems too upset by the loss of one of it's residents, Harvey wants to find the murderer before bad publicity ruins her reputation. I found this book to be extremely entertaining. I enjoyed watching the romance unfold between Harvey and a certain mechanic. I loved working with Harvey to figure out the identity of the murderer (although I have to admit I figured it out long before she did). I also loved learning the history of the bookstore. I look forward to reading more about St. Marin. Overall, I would rate this story four quills and place it on my middle shelf.