very cute book!

Though i did not read it during the Christmas period, i could feel that festive vibe throughout :)

A very cozy Christmas story, which you should definitely try reading anytime in the month of December! :)


Also, very nice cover!! ;)

I love the premise of the book but had a difficult time getting through it. The characters and dialogue seemed incongruous while at the same time needlessly eccentric. The story felt slow and convoluted. Normally I find cozies (particularly holiday ones) beautiful, light treats and this one felt ponderous - like someone put a pound of sugar into a meatloaf..

Trite, badly written and boring. This is what you get when an American tries to do 'English cozy crime' with a twist of Murder She Wrote, without understanding either. Sorry.

You can find this review and all of my others over at www.readbookrepeat.wordpress.com

A cosy murder mystery set around Christmas which makes it even more cosy.

Christmas Village is everything that it sounds like. And as it gets nearer to Christmas, the town becomes a beehive of activity. People flock to the village because somehow, everything Christmassy is just better in Christmas Village, right down to the snow feeling fluffier. As the festival season gets underway, a troupe of circus performers are in town and staying at Rose's cottage, they are part of the festival and looking forward to it. That is until their manager Barnaby Snipes is found murdered at the back of Rose's Plum Cottage, on a hill, with no footprints in the snow and no clues to give anyone leads as to whodunit. The local crazy man is shouting about it being the legendary Glokenvogal, while the rest of the town has all eyes on the rest of the performers. Things like this don't happen in Christmas Village, so the town is thrown into turmoil. In order to put things right, Maribel Claus and Rose Willoughby join forces to get to the bottom of it. Who murdered Barnaby? Why? And how on Earth did they get him on top of that hill without leaving any clues at all?

I have to admit, I am a downright sucker for a good mystery, there's something about them just gets me excited. In the last 12 months, I've taken a strong liking to cosy mysteries as well, there's just something about them that makes me all warm inside, probably why they're given the name cosy mystery in the first place. I also have to admit that I was a little disappointed in this one. I originally requested it around Christmas and was super excited to read it, something about reading it in the season it's written in just gets me happy, but due to me having a problem with requesting too many books, as well as buying too many books, I haven't been able to get to it until now.

I found the setting fun, but I also found the majority of the characters to come across very fuddy duddy. I guess too politically correct for me would be an accurate description. This is the thing that is stuck in my mind the most after finishing this book, the townsfolk. While lovely, it was frowned upon to make even the slightest joke that was less than PC, which irked me a bit. It could just have been the expected response from the age bracket I assumed most of the characters in the town to be in, which I guess fits.

The mystery itself was interesting and well done, though I had figured out the murderer and how Barnaby had been killed and placed on top of the hill by roughly half way through, which was a bit annoying. At first I had no idea, but then a character sees another character doing something and everything just clicked. The only thing that was a surprise was the revelation of what's in the box at the end, though I had already worked out the other twist of the story as well once the murderer was officially revealed.

The characters were likeable enough, but there was nothing outstanding about them, besides Maribel's ferrets, I found that to be a cute addition. The sheriff was a standard police type character who believed that they were the well of knowledge when it comes to crime and murder, even though in reality he was generally the last to work something out.

I found myself skimming the last chapter and most of the epilogue, I'm not sure if it's because I was so close to the end and wanted to finish it before I went to sleep, if I just found the stuff after the big reveal to be a bit pointless for me in regards to the story itself, or if it was a combination of both. I had a bit of trouble with the pacing of the story throughout the whole thing, sometimes it was super interesting, and moving great, then most of the time it was characters rehashing stuff and making pointless small talk that felt like an attempt to flesh out the word count of the book itself. I found myself sitting there going "Come on! Get to the point already!"

All in all, it was an okay story in a beautiful setting, I'm sad that I didn't love it as much as I'd hoped I would, but I enjoyed it okay in the end. If you're a fan of cosy mysteries with a soft spot for Christmas, I'd definitely say to give this one a go.

This was a perfect christmas mystery! I enjoy a good mystery, & thought Mrs Claus added to it. Thanks for the arc

I like the idea of this book. Interesting setting, characters and premise. Unfortunately I don't like the way it was written. There is far too much telling rather than showing. I really struggled to get through the Welcome. Things improved when I got to chapter 1. I thought once things had been 'set up' it would get going. Unfortunately not. Even when the first death was discovered, there was a lot of telling through dialogue info dumps. No action. It was difficult to connect with. A good draft that needs to be edited & rewritten before being published. Too late. I hope the author keeps working on Improving their craft because they have promise they just need to fine tune the execution.

Slay Bells is a fun little cozy holiday mystery. It's predictable but still entertaining and unfolds with a bit of mystery. Perfect for the holidays when you don't have a lot of time because this is a fast light read. It's a charming story that cozy mystery fans will adore. Thanks to NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

This book is such a sweet, entertaining, cosy Christmas mystery! It's really the kind of book you want to read on your couch holding a cup of hot chocolate looking at the snow outside. It's a light, easy-to-read story, full of colourful characters. Pay attention while you read! You'll be given all the pieces to solve the mystery way before the solution is explained!

Slay Bells had all the makings of a Hallmark movie with a quaint village, quirky characters and it's holiday atmosphere. A quick and easy read, the author's writing style is engaging to readers and filled with lots of suspense.

What I enjoyed about Slay Bells:
- The diverse and interesting cast of characters. Magicians and psychics make up some of this unusual, but unique cast of characters. Plus "Mrs. Claus" is the lead sleuth on the case which is pretty cool!
- The folklore.
- The humor.
- The small town setting. The setting was right out of a Hallmark movie and sort of reminded me of Whoville. The whole town is alive with the Christmas spirit.
- The crime. There was so many different suspects and with the addition of a town legend that it feels like the author is challenging the reader to go on and figure out who committed the crime.

Slay Bells is quite the holiday tale and was my favorite read of Christmas 2018. A perfect cozy for Christmas, T.C. Wescott was a new to me author, but is now one that I can't wait to read more from.

Who doesn't love a high drama mystery to solve during the holidays. It's up to Maribel to discover who is trying to ruin the holidays. Very entertaining.

Christmas should be a merry time in the village called Christmas but instead, they are dealing with a murderer who had already taken two lives. Imagine that, and to back it up they had very inept law enforcers mainly in the form of the sheriff and his deputy. So it was up to Mirabel to put her deductive and intuitive skills to work, to unmask the villain, all this drama brought about a Christmas miracle with the eccentric and reclusive Doctor reconnecting with his community. A wonderful entertaining and intriguing read.

It is a great mystery book set in Christmas Village, where the Sheriff with the help of Mrs. Claus will have to solve a mystery. You can only guess but it is not who you think. Nice cozy mystery.
Thank you Netgalley for this delightful story.

What’s it About? A circus troupe are staying at the Plum Cottage B and B in Christmas Village....it's all festive and lovely until the entertainers start dying, one by one...

What I liked It's cute, and festive - it's set in Christmas Village for crying out loud and it had that Agatha Raisin feel about it which is always a good thing. It's a quick and easy read, which was what I wanted and mostly it was a nice enough story. Everybody loves a good Christmas mystery am I right?

What I liked Less Honestly for at least a third of it I was bored - it was so predictable and the writer was very much about the telling not the showing and somehow I just couldn't get into it, which was a shame because it had a lot of promise.

SLAY BELLS
(A Christmas Village Mystery: #1)
Written by T.C. Wescott
2018; Books Go Social (273 pages)
Genre: series, holiday, christmas, small town, cozy mystery, mystery

(Review Not on Blog)

RATING: 1 STAR (DNF @ 40%)

It took me DAYS/HOURS to get to 40%. I kept reading the first two chapters over again as I had no clue what was going on as nothing happens. Then someone is dead and I am still confused with all the chatter and characters. I had to put it down before I said "humbug" out loud.

***I received an eARC from NETGALLEY***

This story was almost too cute for words. Mrs. Clause is a dazzling detective and just days away from the Mister's big day. Helping her friend Rose to determine which of her B&B guest carnie workers is a murderer. The story has an old world feel the characters are using cell phones to text. The plot was good and I did not guess who the killer was but I was able to noodle out how the first victim ended up on the undisturbed, snow covered hill.

First in a series.

My rating: 1 out of 5 stars, did not finish.

Sadly, I found this book to be boring and bland, despite the author throwing in as many "zany" characters as they could. There was the stereotypical villain of the piece, an absolutely loathsome person, who of course ends up murdered. The list of suspects was long, but I figured out who the murderer was almost immediately,

Miss Marple meet the happy hamlet of Christmas Village where a murder will mar the tranquillity and joy with which the townsfolk carry out their daily activities.
Okay so this isn’t a Miss Marple story but it sure gives off the same charming vibe, right down to the cute sketches of key scenes!
I found the mystery satisfactorily done. It wasn’t too hard to figure out the culprit but the motive and means kept me guessing.
The characters are delicious. Miss Marple... I mean Mrs. Claus is too cute for words as is her friend Rose. The other secondary characters add funny moments and create a unique community.

Sheriff Fell stepped forward to speak. “Sound? It’s not a sound theory at all! You have a man climbing a tree with one hand while carrying a person in the other.”
“Tarzan did it all the time,” was the mayor’s response.

The language is actually a bit dated, so much so that I was surprised at times when modern conveniences such as cell phones and text message explosions were mentioned! I think this adds a tremendous amount of charm to the story, however, and I really enjoyed it.
Sometimes the cutesy descriptions, while great for creating a festive atmosphere, are a bit excessive and I found myself skimming a little.
Perhaps my biggest disappointment with this one is the big reveal. I found it to be unnecessarily drawn out. Thankfully the charm continues at full tilt to make up for it all. I look forward to returning to this hamlet to read more Christmasy mysteries.

Overall I give this story 4/5 stars and recommend it to anyone looking for a Christmas Cozy.

SLAY BELLS is the first book in the Christmas Village Mystery series. It is yet to be seen if they will need to be read in the order of release, though this one stands on its own with no cliffhanger.

The story is a wonderful cozy mystery with a Christmas theme. Christmas Village is a peculiar little town that embraces everything to do with the Yule season and will use any excuse for a fair or town celebration.

My favorite character is Rose’s best friend Maribel Claus. Her husband is very busy and will not be available until after Christmas Eve is over. He is working with his helpers in the workshop. Hmmm, I wonder what he could be working on that is so important? It never is said!

I love the humor, the characters, the well-plotted mystery, and the setting. I must admit that I did figure out the who long before the end, but the how had me stumped until just a chapter or two before the reveal. I like that. The clues were provided, and it could be figured out. I didn’t feel cheated as so often in other books some clue is held back that you can’t possibly know the answer until the final page.

I look forward to returning to Christmas Village!

Note: While I received this book as a gifted ARC via NetGalley, my opinions are my own and are given freely.

This was a great start to a new series. I loved playing the sleuth! Thanks to BooksGoSocial and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review.

This was my first cozy mystery read. I will warn you right now, I am apparently not a cozy mystery genre fan. I found this book to be too cheesy at times and lacked some substance for me. However, I can look past what makes a cozy mystery a cozy mystery and provide an honest review about the overall writing.

Despite all the cheesiness, I was hooked in to this book. The premise is a troupe of performers stay at Plum Cottage while they perform nightly during the Christmas Festival in Christmas Village. There are a lot of characters introduced in the beginning, to the point where it’s overwhelming, and are quite eccentric. Mrs. Claus helps her friend who owns Plum Cottage and suddenly one of the troupe members is murdered.

What intrigued me was how the murder happened and who did it. I could not forecast how exactly the murder happened nor could I figure out who did it (until much later in the book). A second murder also occurs which is also as equally puzzling as the first; this is why I kept reading.

The premise of the murders was so mind boggling that I ignore the cheesiness of the book just to figure out how they were committed. Mrs. Claus has a lot to do with solving the murders, which is something that is a bit bizarre. And yes, there are references to her husband who is very busy this time of year, along with her pet ferrets, coincidentally named after famous reindeer. I would have preferred a more realistic storyline instead of a happier, light one, but, to each their own.

I will say I was shocked with how both murders were committed. I was not surprised at who did it, the author alludes to who did it as the book progresses. However, those murders! I really could not figure out in my head how they were committed and just wow. The first body is found in the snow with no footprints around it. I will say that how the murder occurred is revealed at the very end and blew my mind. The second murder is crazy in its own right as well. If not for the uniqueness of these murders, I doubt I would have kept reading.

Overall, I would rate this book 3.5 stars (which ultimately rounds up to 4 stars on Goodreads and Amazon). I would recommend this book if you’re into a puzzling murder case around Christmas time and can look past an overly cheesy barrage of characters and storyline. If you know you do not like cozy mysteries, don’t pick this book up. If you are curious, go ahead and try it, just know that I warned you.