Book Review: Death of a Tom Turkey (Hayley Powell Food and Cocktails Mystery, #18) by Lee Hollis

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Death of a Tom Turkey (Hayley Powell Food and Cocktails Mystery, #18)  by Lee Hollis  opens with Tom Farley and his neighbors in a snit because he's the last holdout to sell his house to a property developer who wants to build a resort. When Tom is shot at a pre-Thanksgiving community gathering and hospitalized, Hayley Powell puts her amateur sleuthing skills to good use. Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Publishers for providing me with an Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) of this cozy mystery. I received a copy of this book for free in exchange of my honest opinion and review of the story. I loved the fact that this latest installment of the Hayley Powell Food and Cocktails Mystery  series had a theme around the Thanksgiving holiday and included live turkeys in the plot. It was good to visit some familiar characters. Since this is the eighteenth installment in the series, Lee Hollis didn't go into much detail of the background of those reoccurring characters; however, she...
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Book Review: The Villa by Rachel Hawkins

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NetGalley ARC Book Review of The Villa by Rachel Hawkins
The Villa by Rachel Hawkins is about the friendship between Emily and Chess.  Friends since elementary school, their friendship has become strained now that they're in their thirties.  When a trip to Italy is suggested by Chess, Emily leaps at the chance to get away and work on their relationship.  However, the villa they rent has a dark past.

I'd like to thank NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the digital review copy of The Villa by Rachel Hawkins.  I haven't read any of the author's works before, but I have heard glowing reviews of her novels.  I was ecstatic when I was approved to receive a copy of Hawkins' latest novel in exchange for my honest review.

Told from two different perspectives and times, The Villa by Rachel Hawkins was an interesting read with things that I loved and disliked.  I loved the two different storylines told in the present by Emily and in the past by Mari.  However, there were times I had trouble switching back and forth between the storylines, but that was on me and not the author.  Both timelines were great, but I think I enjoyed the one set in the present the best.

There were twists and turns galore, and I didn't see the ending coming.  I won't give it away, but there was one thing that happened in the past that caused something to happen in the present.  I hated that it happened, but then a twist came in to play that caused me to have an "Oh . . . my . . . god" moment.  You'll have to read the book for yourself to see exactly what I'm talking about.

Like most books, there are likable and unlikable characters.  With a few of the unlikable characters, I do understand that their history made them who they were, but I still didn't care for them.  The characters that I did like were the two main characters.

Five out of five stars is what I gave The Villa by Rachel Hawkins.  I'll definitely read the authors other books.

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