By Nadia Bozak
** Publication Date 25 August 2026 **
​4 stars


Single mothers never have it easy. Kids often think the grass in greener in the other parent’s household. Single moms are frayed from trying to keep it all together. Work, kids, life. In this mom’s life, it all simply became too much.


Kate Smith is in her 40s, a single mom to Ray, 12, and Lucky, 3. Great kids, tired mom. When their a/c goes out in the heat of the summer, it just becomes too much for Kate to bear. While she’s been working at a child care center, playing her music for the kids, she’s still barely getting by. She has a sometime babysitter, so that she can go on runs to expel the pent up energy and anger that seems to constantly be her companion. At nights she sits on her porch with a cold beer and her trusty guitar and plays music until late into the night.


Once upon a time she was Kat, part of the band The Toy Boats. They were on the verge of stardom, on a European tour, opening for big names, when Kat finds out she’s pregnant. By her bandmate. Her sister Danny had recently joined the band, and the beautiful Dannette is upstaging Kat. While the pregnancy continues, and Kat’s rage toward her sister grows, Kat is sent home to Canada. She is no longer needed or wanted. She gives birth and life goes on. The band goes on without her. And here she is now in her 40s.


One morning everything goes wrong. Lucky is hiding somewhere when it’s time to get in the car. Ray is mad at whatever, because Ray is on the verge of teen hood and that’s how boys are. Kate turns her back for just a minute and suddenly her car is gone with Lucky in it. With this turn of events, Kate’s life spirals out of control. The question for Kate is, will she ever be able to reign it back in.


I really loved Kate. I think any mother can relate to never enough sleep and being on the verge of a breakdown far too often. Even though Kate did make this mess of her life, she tries her best with her kids. Even though the flat where they live is falling down around them, Kate tries to make it a home. Even though she never intended to work in childcare, she really loves the kids. It only takes one bad decision to send life spiraling sometimes, and in this, Kate just needs time to see it for what it is. 


Fret shows us that it is never too late to turn your life around. To be a better person for yourself, your kids, and the world in general. That it’s never too late to pursue what gives you joy. I really did enjoy this story. 

By Mai Mochizuki
** Publication Date 25 August 2026 **
​4 stars




The Full Moon Coffee Shop only appears occasionally, and only to those who need it. This was my third book in the series, and I loved it as much as the others. There is something very spiritual and uplifting about these books, even if the subject is sometimes hard.


As with the previous two, the stories are linked through the cats who run the shop, and the characters who visit. In this installment, it is Neptune who will be the guide for the visitors. This is Neptune’s first foray into the books. As the ruler of the sea, Neptune can be thought of as harsh, but we see them in a different light. Neptune rules dreams and creativity. In this, Saturn and Neptune are each side of a scale — Saturn rules human’s common sense, and Neptune rules their hearts or passions.


Fujiko and Wataru become the best of friends while in middle school. Fujiko is fearless and strong, while Wataru is shy and bullied. Again, the balance of the scales. This leads to an unusual friendship. As they grow, they stay close, but as friendships sometimes do, they drift.


Satsuki is a young woman who is an actor. She started with a minor role in a movie written by the great Futakigusa. His books are beloved. After that role, she continues to become more prominent. She lives in Tokyo and has not been home for many years. Now she is making the trip with her fiancé to see her mother. 


As always the cats of the Coffee Shop have plans for all of these people. They guide and encourage the humans to be better. To follow their hearts. To understand the universe and themselves. I will leave it to the readers to find out what happens with these people by reading the book.


I do so enjoy these novels. They introduce elements of the universe and astrology that many of us never delve into. They share wisdom. I leave these novels with a profound sense of peace. They are not novels that are read once, they are novels to be treasured and kept on one’s bookshelf (physical or virtual.) At any time that is needed, they can be revisited. 


Books such as this, I will gladly recommend. While they might not appeal to all, we can all take something from them. 

By Poppy Alexander
** Publication Date 18 August 2026 **
​4 stars


This is my second trip through Portneath. First time around, Jules was making her way back to Portneath to save a bookshop in the last installment. This time Petra is escaping a horrible mistake made in the publishing world. Caplethorme Books is still the hub for these novels.


Spoiler alert: if you haven’t read Battle of the Bookshops, you may not want to read further. 


Petra makes a social media blunder and finds herself being sent away from London for a little reflection time. Jules and Roman are taking an extended honeymoon and need someone to take care of Caplethorne while they’re away. Petra’s boss thinks this is the perfect place for Petra to collect herself and decided what’s next in her journey. She’s a literary agent who can’t seem to make right with her clients or the rest of the publishing group. So, reluctantly, Petra agrees to it.


When she arrives in Portneath, she has a rather inauspicious jump off the train, thinking she’s missed her stop. She’s assisted by a scruffy man, whom she assumes is a tramp. Turns out he is not a tramp, but someone that Petra might want to know better. As Petra settles in to both the bookshop and life in Portneath, she starts to regain some of the confidence that was lost in London. Petra also learns who that mystery tramp is in the course of becoming very good friends.


As always, Poppy Alexander’s books are charming. I’d move to Portneath myself if it were an option. This book is full of fun, drama, romance. The characters from book one are mostly present. Petra has some serious soul searching, which Alexander writes with depth and beauty. While the last book had nods to Romeo and Juliet, this one actually discusses Shakespeare’s The Tempest, with Petra filling in for Miranda. 


These novels aren’t Shakespeare, but they’re not meant to be. They are fun, quick reads that will transport you to a seaside Devon town full of love. That’s what books should do. 

A Marigold Cottages Mystery
By Jo Nichols
** Publication Date 18 August 2026 **
​4 stars




Marigold Cottages is the place I wish I could have lived. A courtyard with cottages surrounding it. A wonderful but crazy landlady. A group of residents who truly care for one another. It’s a community.


This time around, Ocean is dating CJ. CJ is a young woman who is the house manager for a very wealthy, former music executive. His wife detests CJ. Most likely jealousy, because Frank treats CJ like his own child. Nothing more, nothing less. They are just the best of friends. CJ keeps Frank’s life in order and makes sure he’s happy. 


Sophie has taken on a new position at the theatre where she works. She is now the head of development, otherwise known as fundraising. Ocean was able to procure from CJ an invite to Frank’s house for a small party, so that Sophie could rub elbows with some of the more wealthy residents of Santa Barbara. 


Only the party doesn’t go as planned. Suddenly the Marigold Cottages residents find themselves in the midst of another murder mystery. Hopefully this time they will actually pin the murder on the correct person.


Definitely read book one before book two. I can’t stress that enough. While this book does give a bit of a look back to the first, you won’t really understand the wackiness of a mismatched group of cottage residents trying to solve a murder without having read the first book. That being said, definitely read it! You cannot help but love these people. While they are not above bending the truth a bit to serve the greater good, their hearts are completely in the right places. 


Jo Nichols is apparently a husband/wife writing team who churn out fabulous cozy mysteries. While the premise of these books is utterly far-fetched, they are completely enjoyable and fun. Some of us don’t read for realism, we read for escape, and this book satisfies that. I simply cannot wait for the next installment.


Pick up book number one and you’ll be ready for number two before you know it.

Annie Gore #2
By Archer Sullivan
** Publication Date 11 August 2026 **
​4 stars




Annie Gore is quite the plucky young woman. Former Air Force special investigation, now private investigator, Annie gets the strange cases. She’s like a dog with a bone, just won’t let it go until she figures it out.


In this second installment, she’s being called to a small town in Kentucky. A woman’s father has died. A father she hasn’t seen since she was a young child when her mother fled with Katie to another place. Now this father is gone, and Katie needs closure. He was buried within a day and no autopsy was performed. Is there something hinky going on? Or was this just a case of wanting to get it over with.


Annie arrives in this small town, where Katie’s father was revered by all. A snake wielding preacher. Not fire and brimstone, he was actually more sedate, but he did wield the snakes. As Annie begins her investigation, it sounds all normal. But as the day goes on, Annie finds more and more unsettling things about this death and burial. This town is hiding a lot of secrets. Annie intends to uncover them.


The Annie Gore novels are set in Appalachia. Annie herself was raised in small town Kentucky and still lives in Louisville. The stories are steeped in folklore and legend. Captivating for this person who was raised in a big city. Sullivan pretty much points the finger at everyone, and the twists tend to come fast and furious. There are always characters from the towns that Annie visits that are memorable. The books keep me riveted because I want to solve the mystery. The first was fascinating, and this follow up does not disappoint. I finished it in just about a day.


Definitely recommend. Not a cozy mystery, but a good one.