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Kiss My Axe by May Archer

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


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Since I was snowed in today, I spent the day reading the rest of Kiss My Axe by May Archer. It’s a male/male romance set in the quaint Vermont town of Winsome. Main characters are Griffin Mercer, newly unemployed marketing exec, and Beckett Axford, lumber specialist.

Griffin’s career and dreams go up in flames when someone sabotages a million-dollar ad campaign he’d put his all into. Unemployed and seemingly unemployable, he’s given a lifeline when he learns he’s inherited property from a man he knew in his youth, whom he referred to as Uncle Jim. With his BFF, Milo, in tow, Griffin relocates (temporarily!) to Winsome VT, the home of busy bodies and pickles. As if that weren’t bad enough, he’s soon butting heads with Beckett Axford over an unrecorded easement agreement across the property that Jim left to him. Griffin is done being anyone’s doormat, and he digs in his heels, refusing to cave in to Beckett’s demands for access to his own tract of land.

Since taking over the family lumber business from his father, Beckett has been facing the pressure of running the company, working on schedules, and learning his father made some questionable deals that have Axford Lumber teetering on being in the red. When some upstart city boy refuses to allow Beck’s crew to cross his property to get to a tract of trees, Beckett sees red. Never mind how sexy Griffin Mercer is, nor how he makes Beckett feel.

A new May Archer series? Yes, please! This one did not disappoint. It was funny, tender, and vexing by turns. Characterizations were stellar, from the two mcs to Beckett’s mad family, Griffin's mothers, and the locals. There was even a smarmy villain and some interesting subplots thrown in. All of it written with Archer’s deft touch that makes you want to move to that setting and meet everyone there.

Favorite lines:
♦ Perky could not look more horrified if I laid out a pentagram on his linoleum floor and summoned a pickle demon.
♦ I glare at my brothers and cousin so hard they’d burst into flame if there were any justice in the world.
♦ I mentally shake my fist at the sky and think, Fucking Vermont.
♦ I’d spotted a half-dozen Winsomefolk gathered around the front window of the Pickle Jar, gasping like they’d just witnessed the second coming of Cucumber Christ.
♦ “I mean r-ride like a horse!” he blurts, cheeks going crimson so fast I almost hear the sizzle. “Like g-galloping. Trotting. Whinnying. Neeeiiiiighhh!” // “I never whinny on the first date, Mercer. That’s a hard neigh from me.”
♦ I’m trapped in a Norman Rockwell painting with people who simultaneously know me way too well and not at all.
♦ If the edge of his lips hadn’t twitched, I might have thought he blamed me for this surprise waffle attack.
♦ A bunch of people who have jobs and mortgages and the right to vote taking turns racing around the bar.
♦ “YOU THROW LIKE MY GRANDMOTHER’S POODLE!”

Delightful fun! I did figure some things out, while other things caught me by surprise. Lovely story, full of fun and feels. Five stars!

Hacked by Lucy Lennox

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


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I finished reading Hacked last night, which is the third installment in the “Horn of Glory” series by authors May Archer and Lucy Lennox. This story follows Jasper Huxley, of Champion Security, and Kevin Rogers, inventor. Both of them are computer whizzes, and they each play the trendy ‘Horn of Glory’ game.

Hux and Kev have been butting heads long before they met, as rivals in the HOG game. Now, however, they’re forced into close proximity and working together to hack the Horn game systems of some members of an infamous drug cartel who’ve been using the game to launder money. Hux can’t believe his boss is allowing a civilian to assist with a covert operation, especially a civilian as infuriating as Kevin. For his part, Kev is determined to prove Huxley wrong. The more time they spend together, the more difficult they find it to ignore the attraction and sexual tension simmering between them. When the UST is finally resolved, it opens another slew of problems. Namely, how can Hux sit back and watch Kev put himself in danger for the sake of the operation?

Lots of humor in this one, in spite of the nerve-wracking mission that Hux and Kevin were involved with. Characters were relatable and real, and I enjoyed reconnecting with familiar characters from previous books. There were some tense moments, along with some emotional ones, and the spicy moments were delightful. Some things I figured out as the story went on, and others caught me by surprise.

Favorite lines:
♦ “The time travel was the trickiest part. Once I had that down, the rest was easy.”
♦ What did you call someone you wanted to kiss the shit out of but also strangle?
♦ Was it a friendship sort of duck? Or a courtship sort of duck? Or a “Hey, sorry I gave you a giant boner last night – oh, and the night before – but I don’t actually find you all that attractive, so have this duck in lieu of hot sex, you giant loser” sort of duck?
♦ “Let me kiss you all over.” // “Like...naked?” Kev pretended to sound shocked, though his eyes danced. // I held back a snort of laughter. “Naked! God, no. What kind of guy do you think I am? I meant I wanted to taste your cotton-blend hoodie.”
♦ “The last time you guys threw down a food challenge, he was up all night crying and trying to pick out a name for his ‘cake baby’.”

Marvelous fun, and I do hope the authors revisit this verse. Five stars.

Drive Me Daisy by Annabel Chase

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


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I finished my most recent ebook early this morning. It was Drive Me Daisy by Annabel Chase, and it’s the third in her “Bloomin’ Psychic” series of cozy mysteries with a paranormal twist. I had books 1-3 in a “box set”, and I decided to read them all. Woo!

Mia is dismayed when her mother comes to town, with husband number three in tow. At least Mia now has a job and a beau, although she refuses to let her mother, Madeline, know she’s sort of dating a lawyer for fear her mother will have them married before she leaves town. In an effort to keep her mother distracted, Mia takes them to a local festival. Too bad someone was murdered, and Madeline’s husband, Jurgen, is the one holding the murder weapon. He claims he pulled the knife out of the woman’s back, but he’s not allowed to leave town during the investigation. Mia had no intention of getting involved again, but desperate times call for desperate measures. Mia is even willing to try out the psychic abilities her friends, Scarlet and Patrick, insist she has. She’ll do anything to speed up the investigation and hasten her mother out of town.

This was as lite and laughable as the first two books in the series. I love Mia’s wit, and I love the enormous cat, Ophelia, that she inherited from her Aunt Hazel. Mia’s abilities, or intuition as she prefers, lead her to question certain people that weren’t even on the police radar. It was entertaining to watch her as she tried to juggle reluctant hostessing duties, avoid being seen with Dane, deal with his exasperating brother, Derek, and try to find out who killed the victim.

Favorite lines:
♦ My mother had an endless supply of criticism for me, yet she was willing to marry someone who was one feather short of a yodeling hat.
♦ I wasn’t sure what the appropriate response was to a vague invitation to a senior orgy.
♦ “Are we sure this isn’t one of the Weasley boys?” // “I’m not sure of anything, but he’s not wearing a Hogwarts uniform.”
♦ “What does a Kentucky situation involve—dueling banjos at dusk?” // “Know your hillbillies, Miss Thorne. That’s ‘Deliverance’.”
♦ Only a man would believe that correcting erectile dysfunction could save lives.
♦ “He’s pansexual and he’s not afraid to prove it. He’d grab a llama’s ass if it walked close enough.”
♦ I had Patrick’s stamp of approval, which was basically like getting Harry Potter to approve your choice of wand.

Lots of laughs and fun! Five stars!

The Rivals of Copper County by May Archer

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


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I took Tuesday off work and used my free day to read The Rivals of Copper County by May Archer. It’s the second book in her “Copper County” series of male/male romance. Main characters are Watt Bartlett, single father and owner of an apple orchard, and Jasper (Wrigley) Lancaster, divorced former model.

When they were teens, Watt and Jasper were best friends and friendly rivals, daring and challenging one another each summer that Jasper spent in Copper County. After one awkward kiss, Jasper left town and didn’t return, never reached out, and seemed to have shaken the dust of Copper County from his heels. Now, twenty years later, he’s back in town to settle his great-aunt’s estate. He’s also taken on the dual roles of history teacher and hockey coach, which infuriates Watt. His son, Derry, has a chance at a scholarship, but not if the new coach can’t even skate. When Watt gets roped into co-coaching, he and Jasper end up spending more time together and what they learn is that things aren’t always black and white, and sometimes a second chance is all you need.

Once the two idiots main characters cleared the air between them, the story was surprisingly low-angst. From there, it was a matter of dancing around their long-time attraction to one another and then wondering how to handle it once they took things to the next level. I loved how supportive the secondary characters were, not to mention how zany many of them were, as well. There was also the conflict of Jasper’s looming return to LA and how that would impact his renewed relationship with Watt. If I have any complaint at all, it was the overused trope of “youthful romantic feelings-misunderstanding-reunion-reconciliation” with a side of “dastardly ex puts in an appearance”. It didn’t lessen my enjoyment of the story, but it did make me wish for something more original.

Favorite lines:
♦ I’d craved solitude and a chance to mutter under my breath without anyone wondering whether I’d gone crazy.
♦ “You can’t tell a story like that to a pregnant woman. I’m made up of ninety percent hormones and ten percent chocolate right now. I need happy endings only.”
♦ “Sometimes you need to take a wrong turn to get where you’re supposed to be.”
♦ I released a breath that sounded a little too much like a marmot hiss.
♦ “Chris and I will be your gay sherpas. Together, we will help you summit Gay Sex Mountain. The climb will be hard.”
♦ “Labels are for cheese.”
♦ “You brought me a cheese skate and a flying groundhog? As a Mature Friendship Peace Offering?”

Excellent characterizations, lively banter and humor, spicy times, and a hard-won HEA. Five stars.

Nine Lives to Die by Rita Mae Brown

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


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After I finished cleaning my house, I finished reading my book: Nine Lives to Die by Rita Mae Brown and Sneaky Pie Brown. It’s the 23rd in the “Mrs Murphy” series of cozy cat mysteries. Main characters are Mary “Harry” Harristeen and her pets: Mrs Murphy, Tucker, and Pewter.

As the holidays approach, Harry, her husband Fair, and many of their friends and neighbors are busy helping local churches distribute gifts and supplies to those in need, as well as attending social functions and fundraisers. When two prominent sponsors of Silver Linings (an organization dedicated to helping boys get a good start on life) are murdered within days of one another, the entire community is rattled. The discovery of a skeleton on property adjoining Harry’s just adds to the level of unease, especially when it goes missing before the police can retrieve it. Harry can’t help but wonder if the cold case and the recent murders are connected. Somebody knows for sure, and may go to any lengths to keep a secret.

Harry spent more time speculating than sleuthing in this one, which I appreciated. Her cats and dog did far more investigating than she did. LOL! They’re the ones who led Harry and Fair to the skeleton. Even without active investigating on Harry’s part, the plot moved at a swift pace and kept me engaged. Characters are always portrayed wonderfully in this series, and this book was no exception. I was able to figure things out thanks to some clues the author(s) skillfully dropped in the narrative. I was also pleased that Harry didn’t stumble over any (recently dead) bodies, nor did she end up in mortal peril at the end of the book. Hallelujah! My only complaint is that Harry was referred to as “Harriett” on page 1 of the book, causing me to clutch my pearls in shock and dismay. Womp womp! Wait. I do have another complaint. These books typically include some artwork interspersed throughout, and some of the drawings in this one were rather ghastly. I had to clutch my pearls all over again!

Favorite lines:
♦ “If you don’t have children, don’t start.”
♦ One is never truly alone on a farm. If nothing else, there’s always a spider within three feet of you.

Excellent story (wish I’d read it in December!), five stars

Murder at the Blarney Bash by Darci Hannah

My rating: 5 of 5 stars





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Last night I completed the book Murder at the Blarney Bash by Darci Hannah. This is the fifth in the “Beacon Bakeshop” cozy mystery series. The main character is baker Lindsey Bakewell.

As St Patrick’s Day approaches, Lindsey is busy creating an amazing array of themed goodies for her business, the Beacon Bakeshop. She’s also making items for the grand opening of a new, Irish-themed shop in town, owned by her boyfriend’s uncle, Finnigan O’Connor. Finn and his daughter, Colleen, have recently moved to Beacon Harbor from Ireland. Lindsey and many of the locals are bemused by Finn’s tall tales, but when he claims to have tracked a leprechaun and found his pot of gold, things take a turn for the bizarre. Lindsey herself swears she saw a leprechaun in town, and an employee at the Village Hall claims it was a leprechaun that attacked one of her co-workers. When the leprechaun himself is found murdered, Finn becomes a prime suspect. Not helping matters is the fact that he refuses to reveal where he found the gold, nor where he’s stashed it for safekeeping. Soon Lindsey and Rory are on the case, trying to create a timeline of the leprechaun’s movements, not only to discover who he was and what he was doing in town, but also to prove that Finnigan didn’t kill him.

This was very appropriate for the season, what with leprechauns and pots of gold, etc. The plot moved quickly and held my attention. In fact, I even dreamed about this book one night as I sought to make sense of it in my sleep. LOL! Characterizations were superb, and the baked goodies were making me drool. Nothing much made sense until the end, but it all came together neatly.

Favorite lines:
♦ Blood and glitter were definitely not a good mix. It was highly disturbing and looked utterly surreal.
♦ From now on Betty’s green Jell-O salad ought to be an Irish tradition.
♦ “The last one took him for all he was worth, the hoor.”
♦ “In the immortal words of Mr T, I pity the fool.”
♦ “They say that extreme wealth warps one’s sense of reality, but how warped do you have to be to go around clubbing the fairy folk?”
♦ “My night has been a bloody hellscape of leprechaun-driven lunacy!”

Alas, we also had the ‘didn’t realize I was holding my breath’ line: I exhaled, not realizing I’d been holding my breath.

Compelling and enchanting—five stars!

The Pretenders of Copper County by May Archer

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


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Today I finished reading The Pretenders of Copper County by May Archer. It’s the first in her “Copper County” series of male/male romance. Story is told in alternating first-person points-of-view of the main characters, Reed Sunday, undercover bodyguard, and Chris Winowski, shy charcuterie enthusiast.

Reed’s current assignment should be easy enough: pick up his latest protectee in Vermont and keep him safe until his mafia boss uncle signs a plea deal and testifies. What Reed hadn’t counted on was just how adorkable and accident-prone his new charge would be, nor how naive and chatty. When Chris befriends the drug dealer next door and blows their cover, Reed must go on the run with him as they search for a new safehouse. They both end up going undercover as the new caretakers of a rundown campground near O’Leary, NY. Make that married caretakers. The more time Reed spends with Chris, however, the less pretend their relationship seems.

Chris leads the most boring life in existence. When his boss tells him he should open himself to new experiences and seize the day, Chris responds by allowing Reed Sunday to pick him up. Only what Chris thought was a date seems more like a kidnapping, and what’s this about his beloved Uncle Danny being a crime lord? But, when Reed saves him from the midst of a bar brawl (one that Chris might have sort of accidentally instigated), Chris begins to see his protector in a new light. Too bad Reed is only pretending to like him as part of their cover.

This was laugh-out-loud funny, in spite of the danger lurking in the background. I loved how the author wove this story neatly into other series she writes: “Love in O’Leary”, “Sunday Brothers”, and “Whispering Key”. There were so many misunderstandings, especially in regards to Chris and his co-worker, Crys, and there was a lot to unpack and untangle along the way. This was like reading a Ray Cooney play. LOL! Of course, Reed and Chris developed feelings for one another, but neither wanted to say anything for fear the other didn’t feel the same. Maddening. But, what’s a May Archer book without its HEA?

Favorite lines:
♦ I resisted the urge to punch myself in the face.
♦ Was this how I would finally lose my mind?
♦ “Shouldn’t the universe have limits on the number of times a person can mortify himself in one day?”
♦ “He couldn’t walk across an open field without triggering a groundhog rebellion and compelling the bumblebees to fight for him to the death.”
♦ “You did call me the greatest lover of all time, which I think I’m going to have printed on a T-shirt and noted on my Grindr profile.” // “Do with it what you will. Ten out of ten. Excellent service. Will come again.”
♦ “Life’s all about embracing your own personal weird.”
♦ “See how much we have in common? Tell me you like hockey and I’ll make us friendship bracelets right now.”
♦ “Nothing says I want to be committed to you like getting hit in the face with a chair for the person you love, right?”

But, there was also this line: ”I’ve got eleven-eleven-cases that have all gone hot at once.”
Can’t even escape the curse of 1111 in a May Archer book!

Funny, flirty, fabulous, and hot! Five stars!

The Skeleton in the Closet by Angie Fox

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


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Finished reading The Skeleton in the Closet by Angie Fox last night. This is the second in her “Southern Ghost Hunter” mystery series. The main character is Verity Long, and the story is in her first-person point of view.

When Verity and her sister, Melody, discover a dead body in the local library, in the midst of the town’s “Cannonball in the Wall” celebration, deputy Ellis Wydell actually asks Verity for her help. With no leads, he has nothing to go on. Verity agrees to use her ability to see and speak to ghosts in an effort to find out who killed the volunteer. Surely, in a haunted library, someone must have seen something? Not every ghost is friendly, however, and some are still stuck in the past and unaware of recent events around them. The only thing the police know is that Darla placed some calls in the middle of night, indicating she’d found something interesting in the newest donated artifacts. In the meantime, Verity’s ex-fiancé, Beau, seems intent on courting her again, while Frankie, the ghost she inadvertently grounded on her property, is pressing her to figure out how to free him. It’s a good thing Verity comes from a long line of strong, Southern women.

The plot was quick and entertaining. Some of the ghosts Verity encountered were downright terrifying, even as others were friendly and helpful. Characters were fleshed out, including Verity’s pet skunk, and the mystery was sprinkled with humor and romance. Sweet and scary!

Favorite lines:
♦ “It’s all going well. The whole place is on fire. There’s hand-to-hand fighting in the streets. They’ll be talking about this for years.”
♦ “Lucy and I ate too much dessert and were in bed early. I should never have let her talk me into a second banana.”
♦ “You don’t just attract trouble. You have it on speed dial.”
♦ A frigid gust of air seized me. Dead leaves swirled at my feet, prickling my legs. All normal for fall. Or for a haunting.
♦ No sense wasting good candy.

Very good, engrossing, five stars.

The Litter of the Law by Rita Mae Brown

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


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I took advantage of having a day off work to finish reading The Litter of the Law by Rita Mae Brown (and Sneaky Pie Brown). It's the 22nd "Mrs Murphy" series, starring Mary Minor "Harry" Haristeen and her brood of pets: Tee Tucker, Mrs Murphy, and Pewter.

It's October, and the residents of Crozet, VA are preparing for Halloween. Included is a haunted hayride, intended to raise funds for the local library. The spooky holiday begins early for Harry and her husband, Fair, when they discover a grisly scarecrow in a field of corn. With the local police looking into the crime, life goes on...until another person is found dead in a similar fashion. There's no question that the murders are related, and Harry can't help but try to connect the dots to see how and why. What she and Deputy Cynthia Cooper uncover is an injustice going back generations. But, was it enough to kill for?

Once again, I managed to choose a Halloween-themed book in January. D'oh! This one was creepy enough that I really wish I'd read it in October. Ah, well. As always, the characterizations were amazing, even to the pets and the assorted wildlife. While Harry was nosing around, she was also shown to be engaged in normal life, which I appreciate. The narrative was engrossing and kept me turning pages. The plot made sense as it moved along, and the author(s) dropped a tiny hint that helped me figure out who dunnit. Bonus!

Favorite lines:
♦ "Ever notice how sometimes money makes people stupid?"
♦ "Her friends and interests fell into categories, which didn't overlap."
♦ "Don't see how people can argue with climate change."
♦ Anyone who lives with cats figures out soon enough they will do what they want.
♦ "I have some iced tea. Always have it, even in winter."
♦ "Here's a frightening Halloween idea: I'll jump on the table and make everyone scream, 'Get the cat off the table!' Now, that's really scary."

Fabulous fun, five stars

Hell for the Holidays: A 24/7 Demon Mart Christmas Special by D.M. Guay

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


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I stayed up half an hour past bedtime to finish reading Hell for the Holidays last night. It's by author DM Guay, and it's part of the "24/7 Demon Mart" series of paranormal lite. I haven't read any others in the series, even though it's recommended to read the first book in the series before this. I am a rebel! And, in any case, I did not feel as if I were floundering and wondering what was going on.

Lloyd Wallace is using his time off from working at the local mini-mart (which has a beer cave that doubles as a gate to hell) to build the perfect snowman. This year, he intends to win the neighborhood competition. Scooter Davis is going down! Lloyd must also help his parents get ready for their annual Christmas Eve party--the last gasp of fun before the dour relatives descend on them for Christmas day. However, when a blizzard is forecast, the relatives arrive early. Lloyd's mother is on the verge of a nervous breakdown, and Lloyd himself is wondering how he let Kevin, the cockroach, talk him into a party invitation. Things go from bad to worse when a van load of new ghosts possess the local snowmen and go on a rampage, targeting the Wallace house. Now it's up to Lloyd and his co-workers, Doc and DeeDee, to save the day. And Christmas. All without letting the "normal" people realize that the supernatural is alive and well and coming for them.

This was hilarious! Crack at its finest! It seemed that every disaster that could befall Lloyd (and the party) did, from the cat peeing on the cords and shorting out the tree to a snobby socialite dropping in to lord it over everyone, to the booze running out. Lloyd was teetering on a meltdown, but his co-workers helped him remain focused, even when they sent him out as live bait for the murderous snowmen.

Favorite lines:
♦ Handmade sweaters, knit by the gnarled bony hands of Great Aunt Edna herself, from the scratchiest wool on earth, likely harvested from the meanest, most bitter sheep on the planet.
♦ "We are going to pretend to be a happy family, and we are going to have a fucking Hallmark Channel, It's a Wonderful Life, Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus picture perfect Christmas so help me God, or I will kill you all."
♦ "That's some Harry Potter shit right there."
♦ He was making the same sound an old man makes when he's honking out a dirt snake. *

I laughed my way all through this and would definitely read more in the series. Five stars!