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: Bridal Shower Murder (Lucy Stone, #31) by Leslie Meier

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NetGalley ARC Book Review of Bridal Shower Murder (Lucy Stone, #31) by Leslie Meier
Bridal Shower Murder (Lucy Stone, #31) by Leslie Meier opens with Lucy Stone rushing home to clean house for Zoe who is bringing home her boyfriend Chad. While there, Zoe and Chad announce their engagement but want to keep it a secret for a bit.  When a nosy busybody named Janice gets the best of Lucy, the mother of the bride blurts out Zoe's secret. Chaos ensues with a murder and an overdose.

NetGalley, thank you for approving me to receive an Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) of Bridal Shower Murder.  I've come to love Leslie Meier's Lucy Stone cozy mystery series and know that I will automatically read any book in this series without reading the synopsis.

I have to say that this was one of the best stories in the series for multiple reasons. The first reason is that Lucy's husband isn't quite so sexist, which is refreshing for a change. I dislike it when he acts like a caveman who expects Lucy to be a housewife and wait on him hand and foot. What really surprised me was how he reacted to Sara's news. I didn't expect him to be so accepting based on his attitude in previous books. On the other hand, I didn't expect Lucy to be so blindsided by the news and have trouble accepting it. I suspected this about Sara for a few books now and don't understand how a mother can be so oblivious to this, especially when the rest of the town and her other children knew.

Additionally, I couldn't stand Chad's parents. His mother is a despicable, overbearing woman who is super fake and spoiled on top of it all. I wouldn't have let her take over the way she did. Chad's father is a piece of work to put it mildly, and I wanted to tell him off.  I wouldn't have put up with his comments or attitude.

With this series, it's a given that there will be a murder to solve, but what I didn't expect was another death to happen. For most of the book, I suspected one character to be the killer and was surprised when that character was ruled out. However, I quickly figured out who the killer was after that.

I loved all the different controversies and drama because it actually gave the story more depth and realism. It also really brought to life that there are still injustices in the world that need to be righted and that there are still bigots everywhere, no matter where you live.

Five out of five stars is what I gave Bridal Shower Murder (Lucy Stone, #31) by Leslie Meier. I can't wait for the next installment!
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