Book Review: The Last Carolina Summer by Karen White

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The Last Carolina Summer by Karen White is the story about Phoebe Manigault returning home to Mt. Pleasant, a suburb of Charleston, South Carolina, to help her sister with their ailing mother. When past memories resurface, Phoebe is thrown back into some childhood turmoil. I requested an Advanced Readers Copy ARC of The Last Carolina Summer from NetGalley, and I was ecstatic when the provided me with a copy for free in exchange for my honest review. So, a big thank you goes out to them! When I began reading this story, I just happened to be vacationing in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina. I loved hearing about the different places, including streets and a bridge called the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge, which I had to cross to get into Mt. Pleasant as well as Isle of Palms. It's always nice to be able to visualize the places and author writes about. With that being said, I'm not a fan of traveling over bridges, and one of the scenes of The Last Carolina Summer mentions a car going off ...
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Book Review: Murder By The Seashore (California Bookshop Mystery, #1) by Samara Yew

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Murder by the Seashore (California Bookshop Mystery, #1) by Samara Yew takes place in Oceanside, California.
Murder by the Seashore (California Bookshop Mystery, #1) by Samara Yew takes place in Oceanside, California.  It opens with Scarlett Gardner having a hard day at work because everything has gone wrong.  She partly blames Connor, her ex-boyfriend, because he dumped her and took off to greener pastures for a start up company when they were supposed to be running the bookstore she opened together.  Taking a walk on the nearby beach, Scarlett stumbles over a dead body, which turns out to be that of Lorelei Knight . . . the last customer who frequented her store the night before.  Now, Scarlett is the prime suspect and needs to clear her name.

First and foremost, I'd like to thank NetGalley for the Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) of Murder by the Seashore (California Bookshop Mystery, #1) by Samara Yew.  When I read the synopsis of this book, it sounded like it was right up my alley.  I received a copy of this cozy mystery for free in exchange for my honest review.

The beginning of the story started off a bit slow, but it quickly picked up pace.  I found myself falling in love with most of the characters . . . and the storyline, of course.  The few characters I didn't care for were Connor, Detective Maxwell, Autumn, and Martin.  However, Martin did redeem himself a bit later in the book.  You'll have to read the book to find out how!

There were plenty of twists and red herrings.  My first suspect was Evelyn Maxwell, who happened to be married to Police Detective Maxwell and work for Scarlett.  She acted very strange in my opinion.  Other people I suspected were Connor, Autumn, and Lucia.  I was glad to see that the person I finally decided upon as the culprit was in fact the murderer.  However, I never did figure out the connection between Lorelei and Scarlett.

I enjoyed this cozy mystery quite a bit because it's well written and held my attention.  I can't wait to find out what happens next in this series.  Four out of five stars is what I gave Murder by the Seashore (California Bookshop Mystery, #1) by Samara Yew.

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