Playing for Keeps - Bella North

It’s all fun and games until fake starts to feel like forever…

My life revolves around two things: football and family. Romance? Not so much. But my fans have other ideas. And they’ve turned my easy-going life into a nightmare with their campaign to find me a wife…

My childhood best friend Serena thinks it’s hilarious. She’s always wanted the big, swoony love story, but instead, she has a controlling ex she can’t shake breathing down her neck. And then the solution to both our problems hits me: a fake romance. ‘Settling down’ with Serena will get the fans off my back, and having a muscly football player on her arm should be enough to warn off her ex. Plus, we’re best friends, so what could go wrong?

Our first date is set for the city’s annual charity ball. I’m smug as I imagine how easy my life will be after tonight. Except, when my lips touch Serena’s in front of the flashing cameras, when I hear her soft sigh as I dip her lower, something like panic creeps through my chest. I’m not meant for love—letting people down runs in my genes. I can’t do that to Serena. I won’t.

As the story we’re spinning gets bigger, so do the feelings I’ve worked so hard to chase away. We want completely different things. But I can’t stop wondering: do we both want the one thing that counts—each other?

Playing for Keeps is a fun, steamy, friends-to-lovers sports romance, perfect for fans of Liz Tomforde, Stephanie Archer and Elsie Silver. The third in the Oakwood Ranch series, it can also be read as a standalone.

My Review

I love a good fake dating storyline. We all know where they're really going, and usually they are quite far-fetched, but they are still enormous fun. This time around, there was at least some reason behind the fake dating idea, and it worked really well. It probably helped that one of my other favourite romance genres is Friends to Lovers, and Playing for Keeps fits that as well.

Serena has been in love with Chase for years, but after he made it clear they were just friends, she's been determined not to step outside that role. When they start to fake date, her feelings all come rushing to the surface, and she's not the only one who is affected in that way.
This was a really fun read, and although there are some weighty issues for both Chase and Serena to deal with, it's still quite lighthearted and enjoyable. I really liked these two as a couple, and although they have been friends for years, best friends at that, there was still plenty to discover about one another.

I'm enjoying this Oakwood Ranch series. I'm hoping there's another one coming soon (I know who I think it might be about too), but we'll have to wait and see if that actually eventuates...

A Body at the Irish Book Club - Lucy Connelly

The Shamrock Cove Autumn Festival is filling the town with the delicious aroma of cinnamon-filled pastries, the cheerful sight of jaunty jack o’lanterns and… a body at the local book club

Mercy McCarthy is delighted to see old neighbors and new friends come to the bookstore to support her sister’s autumn book club. But as Mercy closes the chapter on the evening, she stumbles across local grandmother Eva, lifelessly slumped in a squashy armchair at the back of the store.

She recognizes Eva as one of the festival’s main organizers and though she looks to be at peace, the plot thickens when Mercy notices a suspicious mark on her neck. She knows this was no accident. With so many people in the store that night, any one of them could be the killer.

Just as Mercy reads a suspicious-sounding entry for the festival’s fiction-writing contest, another body turns up on the beach. Is someone in Shamrock Cove dying for a bestseller?

It’s up to Mercy and her crime-solving canine companion Mr. Poe to sniff out the suspects before another victim is taken. Could the murderer be the garden center owner who dabbles in chemistry? Eva’s ne’er-do-well grandson-in-law? Or the local busybody who has an opinion about everybody?

Mercy has to hit the books—and the streets of Shamrock Cove—to solve the mystery before the killer has the last word.

An utterly addictive Irish cozy mystery in a small town full of quirky neighbors, charming festivals and one unstoppable amateur detective. Fans of Agatha Christie, Carlene O’Connor and Faith Martin will love meeting Mercy McCarthy!

My Review

Of all the places you might think that you're unlikely to be murdered, I would think that a book club, in a book shop, would have to be up there. Of course, if it's the book shop that Mercy McCarthy and her sister run, then you might think differently, as she seems to have a habit of stumbling across the recently deceased. Fortunately, she also seems to have made a habit of solving the crimes and getting to the bottom of who might be behind the murders.

I think my solving rate is pretty hit and miss in this series. I had no clue this time, although I'm sure I've had better success in the past. There were plenty of clues and hints here, but I didn't manage to pick all of them up.

I really enjoy this series; there is a nice cast of supporting characters, and as Mercy starts to get even closer to local law enforcement and her sister even shows signs of having her broken heart mended, I'm enjoying the way that these stories develop. I'm sure it won't be long before we're back for another murder, and I, for one, am looking forward to reading all about it.

The Fatal Flotilla at Sea Oats Beach - Karen C.Whalen

 If you are looking for a quirky amateur sleuth with a knack for comedy, The Fatal Flotilla at Sea Oats Beach is right for you. This mystery is filled with laughs, twists, and an unforgettable lead character.

The dazzling lights of the Christmas Flotilla shimmer across Sea Oats Beach, transforming the December night into a twinkling wonderland. But for Breanna Hart, the brilliance dims when she discovers a gunshot fatality on an abandoned boat. The victim, known for his generosity in the animal welfare community, seems an unlikely target, making the suspicion cast upon one of Bree’s own neighbors all the more perplexing.

Driven by a connection to the victim’s love for animals and her own pursuit of truth, Bree begins a fact-finding mission. As an animal shelter volunteer, she sees a chance not only to solve the case but also to help a bloodhound named Tracker. If he can pick up overlooked clues, Bree hopes the police will train him as a K-9 detection dog and give him the forever home he deserves.

As Christmas Day approaches, Bree’s holiday plans compete with her investigation. Every question she asks edges her closer to a vicious killer who is definitely not feeling the holiday vibe.

My Review

Who doesn't love a good cosy mystery? The Fatal Flotilla certainly fits into that category. Our heroine, Bree, might not intend to be a sleuth, but when she finds a body on board a seemingly abandoned boat, she can't help but try to figure out what had happened.

One of the joys of this kind of story is trying to figure out whodunnit yourself. This time around I was completely barking up the wrong tree. I'd convinced myself that there were clues throughout the story that pointed to one particular person; to be fair, there were, but I just picked up the wrong clues and the wrong person. That didn't stop me from really enjoying this read, though.

This is the second book I've read in the Sea Oats Beach mystery series, and I'm sure that it won't be the last. I'm really enjoying them and look forward to reading more in the future.