Review: Ready to Fumble by Christy Barritt

What a dilemma! Gabby St. Claire or Joey Darling? I'll take both, please!

Christy Barritt's new series introduces Joey Darling, an actress who is being manipulated into taking on her most famous role -- TV P.I. Raven Remington -- in order to solve a murder. As with the Squeaky Clean Mysteries, the Worst Detective Ever debut, Ready to Fumble, features a mix of fun, mystery, and even a little romance.

Joey Darling is in Nags Head, on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, to find out why her father disappeared. Sure, she told him she never wanted to see him again, but she didn't mean it. So with her life at an all-time low, she's heads away from Hollywood, rents a place, takes a job as a cosmetologist, and starts digging into her dad's disappearance. However, before she makes any headway, a "client" comes into the salon where she's working and hires Joey to find a missing boyfriend.

Along the way Joey gets help from next door neighbor Zane Oakley and Nags Harbor Police Detective Jackson Sullivan. Both come across as potential romantic partners, but one is more than willing to help with her investigation and the other is more than willing to discourage those pursuits.

Only five weeks until Reign of Error -- Book 2 in "The Worst Detective Ever Mystery Series" is released. I can't wait!

Highly recommended!

Rating: 5 Stars

Review: Seven Days of You by Cecilia Vinesse

Cecilia Vinesse's debut novel for young adults, Seven Days of You, is the kind of book that reminds a person why God doesn't allow do-overs. Nobody in their right mind would really want to relive the angst and heartbreak that comes with being a teen.

Teens are often reminded that the high school years are the best of their lives, but they can also be messy with friendships that start and end over stupid stuff, or romantic relationships that make the average daytime or nighttime drama pale in comparison.

On top of all this, Vinesse adds another wrinkle: Living in a foreign country and getting ready to head home.

Synopsis: Seventeen-year-old Sophia has seven days left as a student at the international school in Tokyo, Japan, before she moves back to the States with her family. One week to say good-bye to her friends, school, and–after a lifetime of moving around the globe–the closest thing to home she’s ever known. Sophia intends to make the most of every karaoke- and konbini-filled second. Until Jamie Foster-Collins reappears after three years away and ruins everything.

Jamie and Sophia have a history of heartbreak; one that Sophia thought was far behind her. She just wants to spend her remaining time with her wild best friend Mika and her eternal crush David. But as the week counts down, the relationships she thought were so stable begin to crash around her, and Sophia and Jamie forge a last-minute connection neither of them anticipated. When Sophia’s with Jamie, it’s as though she is seeing Tokyo again for the first time. Can their seven short days of Tokyo adventures end in anything but good-bye?

There is a part of me that feels like Sophia and her friends are a little too self-involved to be taken seriously as characters (and, seriously, do all YA writers think that teens use profanity?). The other part of me was pleased that what could have been a boring travelogue of Tokyo was instead a glimpse into the city from the characters who love living there.

Rating: 3.5 Stars (bumped up to 4 Stars on Goodreads)

I received a copy of the book from Little, Brown Books for Young Readers through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Review: Still Life by Dani Pettrey

It isn't often that the second book in a series exceeds my expectations. However, the second book in Dani Pettrey's Chesapeake Valor series is as good, and maybe even better, than the first.

Cold Shot, the first book in the series, introduced Griffin, Finley, Parker, Avery, Declan, Tanner, Kate, and Luke (who is missing and presumed dead by all except for Kate). The second book, Still Life, picks up nine months after the end of Book 1 and, except for brief explanations for why some of the friends have moved into different work positions, gets right into the action.

Synopsis: Blacklisted in the photography business over a controversial shot, Avery Tate answered an ad for a crime scene photographer. She expected to be laughed at, but crime scene analyst Parker Mitchell hired her outright--and changed her life. But six months ago, when her feelings for Parker became too strong, she left his employ to sort out her heart.

Now, for the first time, Avery is facing the world that rejected her to attend the gallery opening of a photography exhibit and support her best friend, who modeled for the show. But the only image of her friend is a chilling photo of her posing as if dead--and the photographer insists he didn't take the shot. Worse, her friend can't be found. She immediately calls Parker for help. As Avery, Parker, and his friends in law enforcement dig into the mystery, they find themselves face-to-face with a relentless and deadly threat.

The search for Avery's friend, Skylar Pierce, is as creepy as it is thrilling. Is Skylar dead? What had she been up to in the days leading up to the gallery exhibit? Did she cross the wrong people? Why can't Parker and Avery find her? Since I'm trying to keep this review spoiler free, I'm not answering any questions, but I highly encourage readers to pick up a copy of the book and read it. (For the male reading population who wouldn't ordinarily pick up a romantic suspense novel, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised at how little of the book focuses on the "will they or won't they get together" romance aspect.)

As with the first book, there is a subplot dealing with human trafficking that I expect will pay off in the fourth -- and final??? -- book in the Chesapeake Valor series. In the meantime, I am eagerly awaiting the third book, Blind Spot, which is set to be released in October 2017.

Highly recommended, with a suggestion for the author and publisher: How about spinning a Charm City Investigations mystery series out of this series? Author Pettrey has created characters who work well together and have experience in several different law enforcement areas. A series of mysteries featuring these friends seems like a logical thing to do.

Rating: 5 Stars

I received a copy of the book from Bethany House Publishers through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.