Category: Novella

Tied Up In A Bow by Sheila Connolly

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Contemporary, Mystery, Novella3 Comments

Tied Up In A Bow(A County Cork Novella #1)Tied Up In A Bow by Sheila Connolly

Barbara’s rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: A County Cork Novella #1
Publication Date: 11/29/18

The ‘Thing’ and Christmas are both arriving in Leap, County Cork, Ireland and they are bringing a mystery and some suspense with them. This lovely, well-written, well-plotted novella goes along with the County Cork Mysteries series. It nicely whets our appetite for the next full-length novel, The Lost Traveller, that releases in January.

Maura Donovan, the owner of Sullivan’s, a pub in the small Irish village of Leap, is mystified by the construction going on across the street. When they discover that what is being constructed, Maura calls it the ‘thing’, is a secret and will be revealed in a ceremony the following Sunday, the crew at Sullivan’s decide to have a drawing to see if anyone can guess what it is. They’ll charge one euro per entry and then they’ll donate the proceeds to a worthy cause.

In the midst of all the guessing about what the ‘thing’ will be and collecting those guesses, Maura notices a small boy sitting on the bench outside her pub. She goes out and sits beside him and learns that he and his mother are new to Leap and that his name is Danny. Since it is much too cold for Danny to be sitting outside, Maura brings him a cup of hot chocolate. She can’t bring a small boy inside the pub, so she sits and visits for a while. When she returns inside, she is convinced that there is a big mystery about Danny and his mom. There is trouble there somewhere.

As Maura learns more about Danny and his mother, that trouble arrives in Leap and it’s looking for Danny and Hannah. All of the folks in Leap band together to help them. We have lovely visits with our favorite Garda, Sean Murphy, our young and lovely aspiring chef Rose, Maura’s love interest Mick, and the ever-present Seamus who is thinking he’s just having too much fun with this mystery.

Please check out my reviews at:
Blog: https://flippinpages.blog/
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/flippinpages…
Twitter: https://twitter.com/FlippinPagesRev
Twitter: https://twitter.com/BarbBookReview

“I requested and received this e-book at no cost to me and volunteered to read it; my review is my honest opinion and given without any influence by the author or publisher.”

I’ll Always Love You by Ella Quinn

On By TracyIn Novella, Regency Era (1811-1820), Tracy's ReviewsLeave a comment

I'll Always Love You (The Worthingtons, #5.5)I’ll Always Love You by Ella Quinn
Tracy’s rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: The Worthingtons, #5.5

Release Date: November 27, 2018

This was a sweet little addition to the Worthington series, featuring Louisa’s sister by marriage Lady Lucinda Hughlot and Gerald, Earl Elliot.

Lucinda is finally getting her London season thanks to Louisa and Rothwell being able to convince the dowager duchess that she must sponsor her – the dowager has not been in town since her husband’s death and has avoided returning due to the scandals her late husband caused. She informs Lucinda that she has spoken to her dear friend the Marchioness of Quorndon and they have decided that her son the Marquess and Lucinda will be a perfect match. Lucinda is dismayed, she wanted to choose her own husband and dreamt of a love match. But she agrees to meet the Marquess to keep the peace.

Gerald has not had much success in his quest for a bride, he seems to only notice a woman once she has become attached to another man. Far from heartbroken, he decides that this is the season that he will find the perfect woman. While visiting his club he sees Quorndon and learns that he will probably be married soon to Lucinda, as his mother believes they will be a good match, their conversation is overheard by Rothwell, who immediately asks Gerald to watch out for his sister. Gerald agrees thinking that it will give him a chance to meet potential brides.

When Lucinda meets Gerald, she is smitten, he is perfect for her! But she has promised to meet Quorndon and hopes that he inspires the same level of interest. He does not and now Lucinda has to find a way out of this arrangement. As luck would have it she meets the perfect woman for Quorndon in the form of Miss. Arabella Marlowe – who is just as interested in him as he is in her. She suggests an outing and invites Gerald along. It is clear that Arabella and Quorndon are a perfect match, but Gerald does seem to see that Lucinda is his perfect mate as well.

As the weeks pass and they spend more time together, she knows that she is in love with him, but has no idea what his feelings are or how to find out, but when her mother informs her that she will be announcing her betrothal to Quarndon in a week, she will have to gather up all her courage and ask him or lose the one man she may not be able to live without.

Even when their true feelings are revealed, they will still have to overcome their mother’s disapproval before they can have their HEA.

I thought this was a very sweet story and I loved Lucinda and Gerald – but I will admit that I thought Gerald was dumber than a box of rocks more than once and more than a little dense. He was perfectly charming and I enjoyed his interactions with Lucinda, but it was like he refused to see what was right in front of him – this was not your typical hero denial – he really came across as obtuse and a little slow on the uptake. However, he manages to pull his head out of his butt and realize that Lucinda is the woman he has always wanted before it is too late. I got a kick out of his mother and how well she played him 🙂 This was well written, fast paced, easy to read story with a little bit of steam at the end and not a whole lot of drama. I really enjoyed the book and would be happy to recommend, it is part of the Worthington series, but it could be read as a stand alone with no problems at all.

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that was provided to me by NetGalley and the publisher.*