Close to Death - Anthony Horowitz

 

Riverside Close is a picture-perfect community. The six exclusive and attractive houses are tucked far away from the noise and grime of city life, allowing the residents to enjoy beautiful gardens, pleasant birdsong, and tranquility from behind the security of a locked gate.

It is the perfect idyll, until the Kentworthy family arrives, with their four giant, gas-guzzling cars, gaggle of shrieking children, and plans for a garish swimming pool in the backyard. Obvious outsiders, the Kentworthys do not belong in Riverside Close, and quickly offend every last one of the neighbors.

When Charles Kentworthy is found dead on his own doorstep, a crossbow bolt sticking out of his chest, Detective Hawthorne is the only investigator they can call to solve the case.

Because how do you solve a murder when everyone is a suspect?

Blurb taken from Goodreads.

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I was provided with an advance copy of this book by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I am a big fan of Anthony Horowitz' crime novels. I think he's great at capturing a modern classic of a crime story in a way that's very accessible for the reader. However I will admit that I've had a bit of a tumultuous relationship with the Hawthorne series. I really wasn't convinced by the first, but enjoyed the second and loved the third. Then I wasn't as keen on #4. 

Close To Death is my favourite so far. The closed community of Riverside Close lends itself perfectly to a murder mystery, and the characters were all so vivid. A fantastic read that I finished in no time.

Rating: ✫✫✫✫.5

The Catch - Amy Lea

A grumpy lobster fisherman tosses a fashion influencer’s impeccably curated life overboard in the next romantic comedy from international bestselling author Amy Lea.

In a last-ditch effort to rescue her brand from the brink of irrelevance, Boston fashion influencer Melanie Karlsen finds herself in a rural fishing village on the east coast of Canada. The only thing scarier than nature itself? The burly and bearded bed-and-breakfast owner and fisherman, Evan Whaler—who single-handedly disproves the theory that Canadians are “nice.”

After a boating accident lands Evan unconscious in the hospital, Mel is mistaken for his fiancée by his welcoming yet quirky family, who are embroiled in a long-standing feud over the B&B. In a bold attempt to mend family fences, Mel agrees to fake their engagement for one week in exchange for Evan’s help with her social media content.

Amid long hikes and campfire chats, reeling in their budding feelings for each other proves more difficult by the day. But is Mel willing to sacrifice her picture-perfect life in the city for a chance at a true, unfiltered love in the wild?

Blurb taken from Goodreads.

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I was provided with an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I’ve read both of Amy Lea’s previous books in this series, and I was keen to finish off the set!

I had mixed feelings about Set On You (2.5*) and Execs and Os (4*), the latter of which I found much more enjoyable.

The Catch fell somewhere in the middle for me. It was an enjoyable, light read, but it wasn’t until about halfway through that I found myself actually wanting to pick it up.

The reason? I think I just found Mel a bit difficult to like. It really took me a long time to warm up to her, as she just does not come across very well at first. I understand that her role as a fashion influencer, and her actions as part of that, are established to highlight the vast differences between her and Evan, but I think it might have gone a bit far.

I did end up enjoying the novel, but it started well on the back foot as there was a lot of ground for Mel to make up with me!

Enjoyable, but not my favourite by Amy Lea.

Rating: ✫✫✫

Bride - Ali Hazelwood

A dangerous alliance between a Vampyre bride and an Alpha Werewolf becomes a love deep enough to sink your teeth into in this new paranormal romance.

Misery Lark, the only daughter of the most powerful Vampyre councilman of the Southwest, is an outcast—again. Her days of living in anonymity among the Humans are over: she has been called upon to uphold a historic peacekeeping alliance between the Vampyres and their mortal enemies, the Weres, and she sees little choice but to surrender herself in the exchange—again...

Weres are ruthless and unpredictable, and their Alpha, Lowe Moreland, is no exception. He rules his pack with absolute authority, but not without justice. And, unlike the Vampyre Council, not without feeling. It’s clear from the way he tracks Misery’s every movement that he doesn’t trust her. If only he knew how right he was….

Because Misery has her own reasons to agree to this marriage of convenience, reasons that have nothing to do with politics or alliances, and everything to do with the only thing she's ever cared about. And she is willing to do whatever it takes to get back what’s hers, even if it means a life alone in Were territory…alone with the wolf.

Blurb taken from Goodreads.

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I received an advance copy o this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I was so excited to read Bride! I've been a big fan of Ali Hazelwood's books ever since first reading The Love Hypothesis, and I love the easy-to-read romance they put onto the page. I thought it would be a lot of fun to read something a bit different from Hazelwood, especially after really enjoying Check & Mate last year.

Bride was a lot of fun - if you take it with a pinch of salt. There's a lot of talk of Weres and Vampyres, but it's all a bit of smoke and mirrors. In reality, the romance formula is classic, entrenched Hazelwood. But don't let that put you off! Bride is a proper escape. It's fun, it's sweet, and it's a bit different. If anything, I think I really respected Hazelwood for writing something a bit out there. 

Rating: ✫✫✫✫