Book 14, 2026

Mrs. Morris and the Venomous Valentine by Traci Wilton

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


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Since I don’t have to work today, I stayed up late to finish reading Mrs Morris and the Venomous Valentine by Traci Wilton. It’s the 9th installment in the “Salem B&B” series of cozy paranormal mysteries. The main character is widowed B&B owner, Charlene Morris.

In the days leading up to Valentine’s Day, Charlene has a full house. An entire entourage of fashion models, along with their over-the-top photographer are booked at the B&B. Photographer Dane Stallone had made a name for himself with his famous Cupid photos, but he’s lost his mojo. This is a last-ditch attempt to catapult himself back into the limelight. Things aren’t going well until Charlene draws on her marketing background to help Dane brainstorm some ideas. The results are amazing, and the entire crew go out on Valentine’s night to celebrate. When they return to the B&B, however, disaster strikes. Dane dies of poisoning, and someone has corrupted his laptop and stolen his work. When the photos begin dropping, along with ominous messages, the models confess to Charlene that they had each signed a blood contract with Dane. Their predicament compels Charlene to seek the advice of local witches. The witches may be able to clear the negative energy, but there’s still a murder to solve.

The story started out slowly, subjecting the reader to the models’ dramatic diva antics and Dane’s worse heavy-handed narcissism. Once he was dead is when things picked up. Charlene wasn’t being a nosy busybody (Hooray!), but when she learned anything she either let the lead detective know or encouraged someone to ‘fess up. Her relationship with Sam is heating up, and Jack made an effort not to be a jackass, which I appreciated. Characters were portrayed well, although with a dozen different models it was at times difficult to keep track of them. While I appreciated the models’ diversity, it almost seemed as if the author(s) tried too hard, you know? There was one awful editing error when model Kai’s photo dropped at 4pm...and again at 5pm. I caught that; why didn’t the editor?

Favorite lines:
♦ “We all know that fat equals flavor!”
♦ “If I had to wish anything, it would be that human beings could learn to be nice to each other and treat each other with respect.”
♦ “You don’t need everyone to like you.”
♦ “I’m getting older and don’t have the same capacity for bullshit as I used to.”
♦ “Nothing says true love like salted caramel.”

Good book for the most part, and ideal for the season. Four stars.

Book 14.5, 2026

How to Bungle Your Jungle: A Micro June Nash Misadventure by Melissa Banczak

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


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Just read a wee prequel to the “June Nash Misadventures”. It was called How to Bungle Your Jungle by Melissa Banczak. Main character is June Nash, personal assistant to her brother, Dewey, who stars in a reality/nature show.

When Dewey asked June if she wanted to accompany him to Costa Rica, she envisioned beaches. What she got was a jungle filled with creepy crawlies, a thieving monkey, and a precocious child. June can’t leave soon enough, but part of her thinks she just might miss Costa Rica.

Favorite lines:
♦ A monkey was wearing my bra.

Cute, but too short to really get a handle on. Prequel to a series, and fun enough to make me want to read more. Four stars.