The Book of Candlelight

This is only the third book in the series, but I already want it to continue forever. So, it's obvious that I have been highly anticipating this book since I came to know the release date, and have since been stalking Netgalley for the ARC. I was ecstatic when I got approved and I knew I had to read it immediately.

This is the kind of book where I know what I'm going to get and that's exactly why I read it. The writing is fast paced and things keep happening all the time, the mystery is actually pretty interesting and I couldn't guess anything at all, and it has the beautiful setting of Miracle Springs. I've probably mentioned it before on the blog, but the main character's bookstore called Miracle Books is my favorite fictional bookstore ever and I would give anything to just go and spend a whole day there. Whenever I read this series, I always wish it was a real place. The author creates this soothing atmosphere which is full of books, knickknacks, book lovers and just overall friendly people - so it just feels nice to be back in this world. This time around though, the author managed to show a bit more of the gloomy side of the town and how bad weather can wreak havoc on the lives of the people, and I felt that she captured everyone's frustrations very well.

This series has one of my most supportive group of women I've ever met and I loved being back with them. Everyone is dealing with their own problems, which even leads to some tensions between them - but when tragedy strikes, they are always there for each other. Even all the men in the book, including the sheriff and his deputies are wonderful and I just love it that we have an ensemble cast who are so nice to be around with.

There are also a new group of characters introduced, so it's natural that some of them end up being suspects but I thought they were all written very well, with clear motivations and backstories. My favorite though would have to be Sheldon, who becomes this instant grandfatherly figure helping out Nora at the bookstore and advising the others too. The changes that he brought to the Miracle Books window displays felt magical (I'm really trying not to spoil them) and I really hope he becomes a permanent fixture in the series going forward.

To conclude, I just want to say that if you love the cozy mystery genre, you can't miss this series. It has a beautiful small town setting, a wonderful bookstore you'll wish were real, lots of talk about baked goods that'll make you hungry, an amazing group of women and an interesting mystery - and last but not the least, lots and lots of book recommendations. The MC calls herself a bibliotherapist, and this book(series) is exactly that for a cold and gloomy winter day.

Nora Pennington owns a Bookstore/coffee shop. She buys a special piece of pottery for her boyfriend from Danny who winds up dead in the river in the town. She and her friends all try to figure out how he died as they don't think it was an accident due to the torrential rains they have been having. She also befriends Sheldon who is great the customers in her shop. Sheldon is very quirky and fun. Even though this was the third book in the series I still was able to catch up with what was happening in the series. Very fun read.

Like the other books in this series, there is a lot of generosity and work towards healing. There was a little more romance than in others and it was mostly well done. There were lots of mysteries and people with secrets. In the end I understood most of the secrets and mysteries. However, I think I must have missed the big clue because the murderers were a surprise and I couldn't remember seeing much of them before.
This series continues to be full of heart and generally cheering.