C. J. Daley
Finished with my final (probably) proofread and you know what, I enjoyed my own novel!
It was a pretty intense labor of love, filled with time away, imposter syndrome, loss, and hard work writing other things.
I hope you’ll give it a shot, and I really hope you enjoy my debut full length, a detective horror. Thank you.
https://books2read.com/u/b5Kn0l
Finished with my final (probably) proofread and you know what, I enjoyed my own novel!
It was a pretty intense labor of love, filled with time away, imposter syndrome, loss, and hard work writing other things.
I hope you’ll give it a shot, and I really hope you enjoy my debut full length, a detective horror. Thank you.
https://books2read.com/u/b5Kn0l
After listening to the first two books in this series, (both with great narration) which were included with audible, and really digging just how much Christmas was included in this ‘mystery’ and having a few other reads that didn’t click for me, yes I went ahead and purchased the third book. It was part of audible’s end of year sale though!
Book three sees Holly White happily dating the Bostonian sheriff. Her family’s inn has officially opened, and she is working her hardest to balance her jewelry business as well as managing the site. Things in her life are going exceptionally well. Unfortunately, right around Christmas yet again, there’s another murder. And this time, it happened right outside where she works, with a nutcracker that was just gifted to her, and is covered in her best friend Cookie’s fingerprints.
The novel gives Holly, and the reader, an unbelievable amount of reminders that investigating is NOT her job, but is her boyfriend’s. And how if she would just let him do is job, he wouldn’t have to worry about her not being safe. While again mentioning ‘amateur sleuth’ this is really just a combination of Holly’s incredible nosiness and her desire to prove her friend’s innocence and save her family’s brand new inn. And while she is nosy, it’s worth mentioning that it’s not done in a way that the trait is annoying or negative really.
This mystery was another intriguing one. The author has offered up even more than she did in the previous book, where each gets a little bit more darkness with its violence. It makes for enjoyable reads as the majority of what’s within is sugary and sweet, and then bam, there’s a fully fledged crime here. And speaking of sugary…once again, I must applaud these people, as there is absolutely no real food in their diets. It’s all mentions of pancakes and muffins, cookies and pies, gumdrops and fudge, hot chocolate and whipped cream. Mistletoe, Maine must be the leading insulin using town in all of fictional America.
Can’t wait for book four next holiday season.
After listening to the first two books in this series, (both with great narration) which were included with audible, and really digging just how much Christmas was included in this ‘mystery’ and having a few other reads that didn’t click for me, yes I went ahead and purchased the third book. It was part of audible’s end of year sale though!
Book three sees Holly White happily dating the Bostonian sheriff. Her family’s inn has officially opened, and she is working her hardest to balance her jewelry business as well as managing the site. Things in her life are going exceptionally well. Unfortunately, right around Christmas yet again, there’s another murder. And this time, it happened right outside where she works, with a nutcracker that was just gifted to her, and is covered in her best friend Cookie’s fingerprints.
The novel gives Holly, and the reader, an unbelievable amount of reminders that investigating is NOT her job, but is her boyfriend’s. And how if she would just let him do is job, he wouldn’t have to worry about her not being safe. While again mentioning ‘amateur sleuth’ this is really just a combination of Holly’s incredible nosiness and her desire to prove her friend’s innocence and save her family’s brand new inn. And while she is nosy, it’s worth mentioning that it’s not done in a way that the trait is annoying or negative really.
This mystery was another intriguing one. The author has offered up even more than she did in the previous book, where each gets a little bit more darkness with its violence. It makes for enjoyable reads as the majority of what’s within is sugary and sweet, and then bam, there’s a fully fledged crime here. And speaking of sugary…once again, I must applaud these people, as there is absolutely no real food in their diets. It’s all mentions of pancakes and muffins, cookies and pies, gumdrops and fudge, hot chocolate and whipped cream. Mistletoe, Maine must be the leading insulin using town in all of fictional America.
Can’t wait for book four next holiday season.
Grabbed this for one final Christmas horror. It delivers in an almost urban fantasy way.
When Ada, Tor’s ex wife, shows up at The Black Bookmark—a novelty and collectible bookshop—with something from an estate sale, Tor has no choice but to dive right in. He begins translating a book, and right away, he can tell that this one is different. It’s retelling the tale of Hel and her battle with the dark elf for the underworld. But it’s anything but just a book, and anything but your typical Jul holiday.
It’s hard to do much more than summarize this one without spoiling it, but this was a dark and enjoyable little read. I feel like since the inclusion of Hela in Thor: Ragnarok, things that include this mythology give me a real urban fantasy feel? Which isn’t a bad thing, this just came off as a mixture of UF and horror because of it.
The unleashing, and subsequent retribution, was a take on going after those deemed “guilty” in a way that felt akin to Silent Night, Deadly Night or Krampus. The idea that during the holidays those deemed greedy, those unworthy, have reached the end of your allowance. Have reaped what they’ve sown. And this was a unique and dark way to show that.
The split between husband and wife was a nice addition, for the addition tension in the beginning of the story, however it was a bit too short to really work itself out, although, maybe there’s more…?
I would suggest checking this one out! It works great as a winter read.
Grabbed this for one final Christmas horror. It delivers in an almost urban fantasy way.
When Ada, Tor’s ex wife, shows up at The Black Bookmark—a novelty and collectible bookshop—with something from an estate sale, Tor has no choice but to dive right in. He begins translating a book, and right away, he can tell that this one is different. It’s retelling the tale of Hel and her battle with the dark elf for the underworld. But it’s anything but just a book, and anything but your typical Jul holiday.
It’s hard to do much more than summarize this one without spoiling it, but this was a dark and enjoyable little read. I feel like since the inclusion of Hela in Thor: Ragnarok, things that include this mythology give me a real urban fantasy feel? Which isn’t a bad thing, this just came off as a mixture of UF and horror because of it.
The unleashing, and subsequent retribution, was a take on going after those deemed “guilty” in a way that felt akin to Silent Night, Deadly Night or Krampus. The idea that during the holidays those deemed greedy, those unworthy, have reached the end of your allowance. Have reaped what they’ve sown. And this was a unique and dark way to show that.
The split between husband and wife was a nice addition, for the addition tension in the beginning of the story, however it was a bit too short to really work itself out, although, maybe there’s more…?
I would suggest checking this one out! It works great as a winter read.