A magical bookshop with a birch tree growing right in the middle and which had to be watered by magical spring waters was a wondrous sight to imagine. Add to that, the shop knew what the readers wanted and books flew off the shelves to pick the reader. The essence of the shop knew which book would help its caretaker, Violet, to solve the murder. Grandma Daisy, crow Faulkner, and tuxedo cat Emerson completed the coterie
When celebrity author Belinda Perkins was found murdered with a knife sticking down her back and the shop indicating the book The Little Women to Violet, she knew she had to get to the truth and save her friend Lacey from being charged for murder.
My first book by Amanda Flower charmed me completely. I loved the cute little whodunit which kept me twisted with suspects and enamored with the characters. The story had references to the past but nothing which felt confusing. Amanda’s writing kept me engrossed into the story and invested in Violet’s life. I wouldn’t have minded more of the mystery aspect, but that was just my mystery seeking mind nudging me with its niggle.
This bookstore, Charming Books, enchanted me completely, and I wanted nothing more than to find a cozy nook with a cuppa tea and a good book. A magical read.
I received an ARC from NetGalley and publisher Crooked Lane Books, and this is my journey into its pages, straight from the heart!!
All my reviews can be found here
Would you love to stay in such a magical bookstore forever?
Amanda Flower is a three-time Agatha Award-nominated author. She also writes the USA Today bestselling Amish Quilt Shop Mysteries, including Murder, Served Simply and Murder, Simply Stitched, under the name Isabella Alan.
A past heartbreak who will be present at the annual midnight grape-harvest festival, and no magic in the world or incantation powerful enough could get Violet to attend. But Grandma Daisy, an omniscient force all on her own, informs Violet that she’s already arranged for the mystical Charming Books to host celebrity sommelier Belinda Perkins’s book signing at the party. Little do either Waverly women know, the ice wine festival will turn colder still when Violet finds Belinda in the middle of the frozen vineyard—with a grape harvest knife protruding from her chest. Lacey quickly becomes the prime suspect in the sommelier’s murder.
Violet is sure Lacey is innocent, and to keep her friend out of prison, Violet asks for guidance from her magical bookshop. The shop’s ethereal essence points her to Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women, but what have the four March sisters to do with the four Perkins sisters? If she can’t figure it out, Violet, herself, may turn as cold as ice. Violet, Grandma Daisy, Emerson the tuxedo cat, and resident crow Faulkner are back
Publication Date: 12th February 2019
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books
33 Responses
Nice review. The blurb is enticing, too. I’m not sure I’d like to stay in such a bookstore forever, though. Just a visit would be enough.
Hahaha… The bookstore has a house above it which comes from accessing the stairs around the tree.. 😁
That’s a bookstore I would live in!
Oooh I liked it too.. Also it had a cozy apartment above it 😍
The cover is certainly cute.
I agree…. Very cozy 😍💖 thank you ❤️
I’m so glad you liked this book. I’ve been seeing it and wondering if to try it for some time. Thanks for the recommendation. A four stars from you means I should like it 😉
Of course I’d live in a magical bookstore!!! What kind of easy question is that? Lol
Hahaha me too.. Cozy babe.. But it had a lovely living place above it… You go up the stairs which wind around the magical tree
Oh Shalini you’re making me dream of this place. Lol. Sadly it’s been archived on NG already.
I enjoy this book and a magic bookstore would intriguing.
Thank you so much Betty.. I agree
Love this review! I would stay in a bookstore forever if I could.
Aww.. I agree… With coffee and cake.. I am so in mood for both
I love your review Shalini! I wish books would pick me instead of the other way around. Wouldn’t that be great!?
Exactly… They would just know your mood and plop down on your hand
Fun cover. I read the first book a year ago; it was okay. I didn’t quite get the connection between the role of the poetry and the murder. I will try the second installment to see if I’d continue the series.
I checked the previous two boos. They are quite expensive for me..
This book was sweet
This one sounds like a fun and pleasant read – I need those!
You seem to be reading quite a few fun ones
I decided not to read this series, but I am enjoying another series by this author and I think she is quite good.
Oh wow… This was my first venture into her book.. The others are expensive on Amazon
Unless it is a real bargain, I get most of my books as ARC’s.😊
That is great… I wait for price to go down on amazon
I wonder what book would pick me??? Best that I don’t know 😂😂 Great review, Shalini!
Thank you Mackie ❤️ it would depend on your mood, the bookshop gauged moods and likes
Probably something creepy then… 😂
😂😂
My first reaction was “what the…” and then I read your review and it became “I need to read this!”
It was really very cute Meggy… I kind of enjoyed this cozy read
Now this is a book that I think I could read without shivers, Shalini. Maybe even in your midnight to 3 am slot! 😀
Aww Jaya this is a cute book, you would love it 😍
So glad you enjoyed this one Shalini. I think this is my favourite series of hers, but I do enjoy the other ones I read as well.
This was my first book. And I enjoyed it completely ❤️