Review: No Bones About It

NO BONES ABOUT IT by Annie McEwen
Fiction, Cozy Mystery, Northwoods Mysteries #5
5*****

Blurb: While Emmy Cooper is happy to have settled back in her hometown in the Wisconsin Northwoods, leaving her life as an interior designer in Chicago behind, her skills come in handy when her good friends need help restoring a rundown Victorian mansion into a B&B on the shores of Lake Superior. But things take a turn for the sinister when Emmy uncovers a hidden tunnel on the property—and a skeleton that’s been keeping its secrets for over a century! The discovery points to a possible Prohibition past and a mystery that spans decades. While trying to uncover the skeleton’s long-dead secrets, Emmy is also helping at her family’s Cooper’s Cove Resort, where her grandparents’ high school reunion fills the lodge with laughter, memories, and familiar faces. The stories shared begin to reveal more than anyone expects, and as the gossip mill spins, new clues surface…along with another dead body! Emmy—alongside her closest friends—must uncover a killer in the present while untangling a century-old mystery, before Emmy herself becomes history!

THOUGHTS: I love this series! I’d love to visit Cooper’s Cove in person–stay at one of the cabins (or the lodge), meet the family, everything! The characters and setting are what make this series come alive. Unfortunately, alive is not something that happens to some people in these stories (come on, it’s a cozy mystery – you have to have a body or two). In this one Emma is in the process of restoring and decorating a historical Victorian mansion into a B&B. While looking at a building on the grounds for possibly renovating that she discovers not only a hidden cellar and tunnel, but also a long-dead skeleton. And before the mystery of who he was, a much fresher body is found in the cellar. As she’s looking into that mystery, other secrets are uncovered–like a hidden speakeasy in the main house. Uncovering all the secrets being hidden in the property becomes necessary for Emmy when a friend becomes a person of interest in everything. She has to help him out, hopefully before she becomes the next hidden secret.

A fun series with great characters and a setting you really want to go visit.

Definitely recommended.

Disclosure of Material: I received a final and/or advanced reader copy of this book with the hope that I will leave my unbiased opinion. I was not required to leave a review, positive or otherwise, and my opinions are just that… My Opinions. I am posting this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”

Review: Between a Witch and a Hard Place

BETWEEN A WITCH AND A HARD PLACE by Celia Roman
Fiction, Urban Fantasy
3***

BLURB: Twelve years ago, my mother, a powerful chaos witch, walked out on me and my twin brother without a backward glance. We didn’t hear another word out of her until a vampire walked into my brother Nick’s bar wanting me to track her down. She’d disappeared into thin air, and he insisted that I was the only one who could find her. Of course, I refused. How could I not? Disappearing was Mom’s wheelhouse, and after she’d disappeared on us, I never wanted to see her again. Then members of the local supernatural community started turning up dead, and Nick was fingered as the suspect. With his life on the line, I had to make a choice: Throw everything I had at finding our mother and, maybe, the real culprit, or be forced to watch while the local werewolf pack tore Nick limb from limb as punishment for a crime he didn’t commit.

THOUGHTS: This is a good start to a series. There is an issue in this story – missing paranormals – that gets solved while leaving enough threads dangling to let us know more is coming. But at least it doesn’t end on a nasty cliffhanger, which I appreciate. Yes, we know more is coming, that’s obvious, but we get this part of the story solved.

In this one, Vanessa (aka Nessie) is an ex-cop turned PI who is hired by the local werewolf alpha to find a missing female werewolf. What she finds is more missing than just one female, leads to her mother who disappeared years ago, and a lot of secrets that affected her and her brother’s lives. Like the fact that they aren’t failed witches, but actually rather powerful ones who had been blocked by their mother before she took off. The question is, why? And when her aunt unblocks them, then the power really comes out–and not necessarily in a good way. The world building in the story is done well as are most of the characters. I’m just not sure I believed Nessie a whole lot. She seemed too clueless at times, especially when it came to Seth, the alpha of the pack.

Still, not a bad book. And I will look forward to the following books and the solving of the overall mystery.

Recommended.

Review: Birth of the Witch

BIRTH OF THE WITCH by Nora Roberts

Fiction, Paranormal Fantasy, Witches

4****

Blurb: Niamh McShane was born a witch and died a witch in the same moment, at the tender age of thirteen. A victim of the madness that spread from Salem Town to her home on Piety Island, her only comfort in her last hours came from the weavers imprisoned with her, who saw within her light and power and gave her some of their own. Over three hundred years later, on the same island, Neve McShane wakes with excitement on her thirteenth birthday and unwraps gifts from her aunts: sneakers, an iPhone, and a stunning antique pendant. Then she receives something else: a revelation that will change her life. Astonished, Neve learns that her aunts’ abilities go beyond simple kitchen magic and the potions they sell in their shop. Their tales of past lives aren’t just whimsical fantasies. They are witches, and so is she. Their lives–past and present–are bound together by that pivotal day centuries ago. Now Neve has been tasked with stopping a growing darkness. To prepare for the dangerous enemy that awaits, Neve hones her skills and searches for clues to aid in her quest. And at night, she dreams of a young man from Ireland whose eyes met with hers for a fateful moment, centuries ago…

THOUGHTS: I love Nora Roberts and this book is one of the reasons why. It’s a great start to a new fantasy trilogy that crosses several centuries. The main character is an indentured servant in the late 1600s to a well-to-do family on Piety Island. On her thirteenth birthday, she is accused of being a witch even though she is innocent. Branded and thrown into jail with two women who really are witches and who comfort her before their hanging. What they don’t see happening is a young man rushing in to combine his magic with the women, making Niamh a witch just before her death. Fast forward 300 years to Neve (previously Niamh) living with her aunts (the two witches) and running a tourist shop of “magical” items in the small town on Piety Island. They have been together through multiple lifetimes, but this time is different. She has been tasked by The First to find three objects and meet with the man who is sworn to protect her in order to thwart the nasty witch who wants to end them all. I love that Neve is a strong girl who stands up for herself and doesn’t sit around waiting for her “prince” to come save her. She’s someone who is strong and smart and decisive. Good for her. And I love the aunts! They’re so different, and yet work well together.

While a tad slow in parts, the story is good in that it blends Neve’s past and her present really well. And she keeps missing her meeting with the protector in a lot of places. They don’t actually physically meet until the last couple of chapters! And the definite cliffhanger ending is a definite frustration. So now I have to wait for the next book – and then the next one after that to find out what happens!

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing this ARC. Disclosure of Material: I received a final and/or advanced reader copy of this book with the hope that I will leave my unbiased opinion. I was not required to leave a review, positive or otherwise, and my opinions are just that… My Opinions. I am posting this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”

Review: A Cultivated Corpse

A CULTIVATED CORPSE by Debra Sennefelder
Fiction, Cozy Mystery, 9th in series
4****

Blurb: When the local garden club president is killed, food blogger Hope Early will have to dig through the clues to catch a killer . . . The Jefferson Garden Club’s annual plant sale is just around the corner, but Hope Early and other members of the club are more focused on the garden restoration project at Ambrose House. The gorgeous landscaping promises to help return the stately old home to its former glory, but rumors are surfacing of unexplained delays and exorbitant costs. Then the club’s president is found dead amid signs of foul play, and Hope can’t ignore the uneasy feeling that the victim was silenced for something she knew about the renovations. Certain that the solution to the murder is tied to the garden project and the club’s recent financial struggles, Hope begins to go through their books and uncovers more than mismatched numbers. A tangle of transactions points to an intricate embezzlement scheme, but before she can weed out who’s behind it, a local reporter chasing the same story is killed. It’s clear now that someone is dead-set on keeping the truth buried, and Hope will have to unearth a vital piece of evidence before the killer decides it’s time to bury her as well . . .

THOUGHTS: This is the ninth in the Food Blogger Mysteries series. And although you don’t have to have read the others in the series, I strongly recommend it so you know the characters better. The books center around Hope Early, a food blogger, cookbook author, home renovator (her own), and avid list maker (she has to be!). I was exhausted just reading about everything she does! With three acres of land to figure out what to do with, she recently joined the local garden club to get some advice. Instead of a quiet group of people interested in plants, she finds conflicts, threats, back-biting… and murder. So much for a nice little garden club. Hope discovers the body of the club president in the woman’s greenhouse next to the nearly-dead one of her friend, she knows she has to help discover whodunnit before her friend is jailed for the murder. What she doesn’t expect to find is a maze of intrigue including embezzlement, cheating, and more. Nor does she expect to find herself as nearly one of the victims.

This is a fast-moving story with a lot of plot twists and turns – and a couple of really good recipes at the end. The characters are well-done and the setting a standard small-town (Connecticut) with the addition of garden club interests and food. And an ending that satisfies.

Recommended.

Review: No Solace for the Wicked

NO SOLACE FOR THE WICKED by Nancy Herriman
Fiction, Historical Cozy Mystery, Mysteries of old San series
4****

Blurb: When a man’s wife disappears without a trace, Celia’s hunt for the missing woman soon becomes a search for a killer . . . Celia Davies once hounded Dennis Merrill as a suspect for a murder he didn’t commit, so she’s more than a little surprised when he shows up at her door asking for help. His wife has vanished into thin air, and even the woman she was with at the time of her disappearance has no clue where she could be. Celia still doesn’t completely trust Merrill, but she begins to search for clues that might lead to his wife—right up until the moment when the young woman’s dead body is found. While Celia shifts her focus to finding Mrs. Merrill’s murderer, Detective Nick Greaves is convinced that Merrill himself killed his wife and is determined to prove it. But neither Celia nor Nick can find a reliable witness or a solid lead, and then another young woman is found murdered. Suddenly the death of this latest victim exposes a web of relationships that had eluded Celia and Nick, with everyone involved hiding their own wicked motives . . .

THOUGHTS: I haven’t read others in this series so wasn’t up on who all the characters were, but I didn’t feel that I was in the dark about them as I read the story. The best part of the book for me was the setting. The author did an amazing job with the setting and putting me right there in the story. But the characters were very well-done as well. Celia Davies (a nurse and investigator) and Nick Greaves (police detective) are a brilliant pairing. And there are as many twists and turns to the story that keeps you reading.

In this one, an old foe, Dennis Merrill, contacts Celia to ask for her help in finding his missing wife. Celia doesn’t really want to believe him, but she decides to help him anyway, against the advice of all her friends. What she uncovers, besides bodies (yes, 2) are a lot of secrets and shadowy relationships that lead to murder and mayhem.

I found the entire premise of the story intriguing – set in the late 1800s in San Francisco, Celia isn’t some rich do-gooder with nothing better to do. She’s a nurse with a busy clinic clientele who has housemates. She’s realistic and interesting. I love how she tries to earn enough money for a wedding dress for her friend. And her relationship with Greaves builds, even though they are definitely at odds about trusting Merrill. And a satisfying ending doesn’t hurt at all.

I recommend this book/series for those who like their mysteries set in historical times.

Review: Self-Directed Complex PTSD Exercises for Women

SELF-DIRECTED COMPLEX PTSD EXERCISES FOR WOMEN by Debbie Missud
Nonfiction, Self-Help, Psychology, @Zeitgeistpublishing, @penguinrandomhouse
4****

Blurb: Regulate your emotions, find safety in relationships, and live the fullest version of your life. Your trauma is not your fault. But managing its symptoms is something within your control. Complex PTSD (cPTSD) refers to the aftermath of ongoing or repeated trauma—often relational—that impacts a person’s life. Self-Directed Complex PTSD Exercises for Women is a compassionate, self-guided workbook that offers trauma-informed tools for being able to safely inhabit your body, reengage in relationships, and step into a full-color version of your life. Drawing from psychological training, holistic research, and direct clinical experience, it includes practices for nervous system regulation, mind-body integration, and self-understanding. Here, you’ll find:

50+ self-led exercises inspired by proven trauma-informed modalities—somatic practices, EMDR, IFS, DBT, attachment-based, and narrative therapy—to help you reconnect with your body, emotions, and inner wisdom.
Fast-working tools to move beyond fight, flight, freeze, or shutdown—helping you find stability, safety, and joy in everyday life.
A practical road map to identify your values, nurture self-compassion, and align with the truest version of yourself.
Compassionate guidance from holistic psychotherapist Debbie Missud, LMHC-D, who specializes in complex PTSD support for women, bridging the gap between clinical knowledge and everyday healing.

Created by and for women, this book is for those seeking peace, connection, and trust from the inside out. Feeling better—grounded, whole, and free—is possible. And the fact you are here means it is within reach.

THOUGHTS: “Healing doesn’t mean forgetting the past or never being triggered again.” I liked how this book started with an introduction to PTSD and an explanation of the different types of modalities including EMDR, IFS, DBT and more. Once you get past the introduction, you are into the exercises – and they are broad in range so if one style doesn’t work for you, another might. They can seem repetitive, but therapy is often like that. Not all the exercises will appeal to everyone, but you are welcome to pick and choose what best works for you. There are sixty exercises in all, so you’re sure to find something that fits. At the end, there are several pages of resources including podcasts, books, websites, online communities, apps and support lines. The author also stresses that if you are in danger to yourself or others, to seek professional help.

Review: Indigo

INDIGO by Karen Hulene Bartell
Fiction, Paranormal Romantic Suspense
5*****

BLURB: After encountering a Northwoods hunk, unscrupulous realtors, bloodthirsty prowlers, and a dysfunctional family, of which one member–according to windigo legends–never left, is Raluca at risk of losing her heart, her inheritance, or her mind?Reeling after her fiancé dumps her, Raluca Olson inherits a rustic cabin from an unknown relative. Eerie incidents and rumors of a mythical windigo alarm her, but she’s determined to learn the truth about her dysfunctional family before she flips the property. Despite unscrupulous realtors, bloodthirsty prowlers, and a devious ex, her life improves with a rescued puppy, and passion ignites when she meets Dylan McCoombs, but…What does a demonic half-beast share with a psychosis and porphyria? Are monsters born or formed? Nature or nurture? Is a windigo spirit genetic? More importantly, does she carry the gene?

THOUGHTS: This is a very well-written story. Which is why it got five stars. Did I like it? Nope. Not even a little. It’s fast paced, terrifying, creepy, at times gory… definitely not my kind of story. But I’m a reviewer so I try hard to tell the truth and give you my honest opinion.

In this story, the main character, Racula, inherits a rustic cabin in northern Wisconsin from a great aunt she didn’t even know she had. Having just been dumped a week before their wedding by her ex, coming to the cabin is a way for her to figure out what she’s going to do. She’s broke, broken, and alone. The first night in the cabin, she hears noises that go beyond any normal noises. She eventually meets Dylan, a good friend of her great-aunt. He introduces her to people who can help her repair the cabin so she can flip it as well as watch over her when unnatural –and scary things start happening. Like a gutted rabbit at her back door followed by a gutted deer at her front door. While on a walk, she finds a puppy that she names Indigo and he quickly becomes another protector. Meanwhile, she is introduced to her family lore and the myth of the wendigo – a human who is everything bad. Things go from bad to worse before Racula and her new friends finally figure out what’s really going on in their town.

This book is well-written in that it evokes strong emotions (and a nightmare or two in my case). Definitely not the kind of book I usually read, but the ending satisfies. There are a lot of twists and turns in the story and family secrets that come out as well as things going on in the town that add to the creepiness of the story.

Recommended with the caveat that, to me, it was more a horror story than a sweet romance. If you like your romances on the dark side, pick this one up. You won’t be disappointed.

Spotlight: Indigo

BUY LINKS:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Indigo-Cryptid-Charisma-Hulene-Bartell-ebook/dp/B0GHZHM1WQ
Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/indigo-karen-hulene-bartell/1149708480
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/books/indigo-by-karen-hulene-bartell
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/249818067-indigo
Walmart: https://www.walmart.com/search/?query=9781509265251
BooksAMillion: https://www.booksamillion.com/p/9781509265251
Indie Bound: https://bookshop.org/p/books/indigo-karen-hulene-bartell/d36bdd344e121211
iTunes: https://books.apple.com/us/book/indigo/id6760712664

BIO: The author of 29 published books and Indigo (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/249818067), Karen Hulene Bartell was born to rolling-stone parents who moved annually. Her earliest playmates were fictional friends in books. Paperbacks became her portable pals. Ghost stories kept her up at night–reading feverishly. Novels offered an imaginative escape, and she began her first novel at nine, learning the joys of creating her own HEAs. Professor emeritus of the University of Texas at Austin, she lives in the Texas Piney Woods with her husband and *mews*–three rescued cats and a rescued CATahoula Leopard dog.
SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KarenHuleneBartell
MeWe: https://mewe.com/i/karenbartell
Twitter: https://twitter.com/HuleneKaren
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/karenhulenebartell/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/611950.Karen_Hulene_Bartell
Website: http://www.KarenHuleneBartell.com/
Email: info@KarenHuleneBartell.com
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/author/karenhulenebartell
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BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/karen-hulene-bartell
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karenhulenebartell/
AUTHORSdb: https://authorsdb.com/community/17847-karen-hulene-bartell

Review: Masher of Ceremonies

MASHER OF CEREMONIES by Victoria Hamilton
Fiction, Cozy Mystery, 13th in series
4****

BLURB: A fundraiser for the local historical society nearly goes bust when someone fills the coffers with blackmail and murder . . . The annual Tea With the Queen fundraiser always makes for a festive weekend in Queensville, drawing visitors from far and wide and giving local shops a welcome boost. This year, vintage kitchenware collector Jaymie Müller is running the event, and she’s got her hands full organizing old and new volunteers along with a surly catering crew. Then her master of ceremonies tells her he’s being blackmailed but can’t go to the police, and before Jaymie can sort that out she stumbles over a dead body at the tea. Despite the demands of keeping the event up and running, Jaymie can’t help puzzling over the murder. There’s no concrete evidence linking the cretin behind the blackmail scheme to the dead body, so she begins questioning everyone connected to the blackmail, hoping to expose the killer. And just as she discovers a web of relationships that leads her to the culprit, she realizes that the Tea With the Queen may have been a royal pain, but outwitting a blackmailer and catching a killer may be the death of her . . .Includes a vintage recipe!

THOUGHTS: Jaymie Muller is trying to get her new store ready to open, help at her sister’s store, raise a child, and manage the Tea with the Queen weekend–just the biggest event of the season! She has to wrangle Nigel (owner of house where the event will take place), the volunteers, the chefs, and everything else and pray it doesn’t rain. What she doesn’t count on is a blackmailer photo-bombing the event and a dead body on the last day.

Even though the pace was a little slow, there were lots of suspects for the reader to check out. I will say, though, that the murder didn’t happen until almost half-way through the book, so there’s a lot of buildup beforehand. Actually, when you find out who the victim is, you might be surprised.

The characters are well done, especially Jaymie. And I loved that there is a descriptive “Cast of Characters” at the front of the book so you know who’s who and what the relationships are. That really helps if you haven’t read the other books in the series. What I found unique about the story was that it was German in flavor – the names of many of the characters and the recipe at the end. Very different from the usual small-town flavor.

Still, even though I found it a slow read, I did enjoy it and the ending was satisfying. I really liked Jaymie and her mother-bear attitude with her step-daughter and her organizational skills.

Recommended.

Review: The Writer’s Miracle Method

THE WRITER’S MIRACLE METHOD by Debra Landwehr Engle
Nonfiction, Self-help, Writing, Coming October 13, 2026
5*****

Blurb: A 30-day program to unlock your creative potential and write with confidence from the Spirit within. Struggling with writer’s block or paralyzing self-doubt? The Writer’s Miracle Method offers a powerful spiritual approach to conquering the fears that hold writers back. Rooted in the teachings of A Course in Miracles, this 30-day program helps writers shift from self-criticism to creative flow, building habits that empower you to write with confidence, clarity, and joy. Designed for writers at any stage, Debra Engle’s method combines practical exercises, guided meditations, and mindset shifts to help you break through mental barriers and unleash your creative potential. With more than four decades of experience in publishing and spiritual mentorship, Engle has crafted a proven path to help you overcome fear, embrace your true voice, and thrive as a writer.

THOUGHTS: This is a spiritual how-to book. It takes you through exercises that take you from self-doubt to creativity. It teaches you how to turn off the “I’m not good enough” and turn on the “I can do this” brain. There are thirty-one exercises – one for each day – and take about twenty minutes (more if you really go deep). According to the book, “There’s o one way to write. No right way to write.” If you’re having trouble with the “I can’t’s” maybe this book is for you. But be prepared to believe in yourself by the end.

Recommended.