I was given a free e-copy of this novel by Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I have not read anything by Victoria Gilbert before, and this is the second of her Booklovers B&B Mysteries series.

Charlotte Reed is the owner of Chapters Bed and Breakfast in Beaufort, North Carolina. She agrees to host a famous author, who is trying to also relax, and three of her "super" fans while the author is on a book tour. However, things go awry when the president of the author's fan club is found dead from blunt force trauma. Now Charlotte and her neighbor Ellen have to find a killer before the author and her successful book series wind up in the cross hairs.

Many stories have the main plot with a smaller subplot. I tend to enjoy stories more when the subplot flows smoothly with the main plot, and isn't overwhelming. However, the smaller plot in this novel did not flow with the main plot. Overall, the spies and their history were an unnecessary distraction. The main murder plot itself was great. There are tons of reasons that don't make sense when people complete murder. It's interesting that this one hasn't been used before.

I would have liked more from the main characters. More interaction with the town, and more involvement with the book club. There was also the vague mention of the rooms in Chapters each being a different genre theme.

Overall I rate this 3 out of 5 stars, with loads of potential for future books.

in this story Charlotte is hosting an author and some of her fans. her neighbor Ellen has a visitor but is he who they say he is. lots of mystery. then one of the fans is killed but by who? this is a well written story , the romance author says she wants to write other types of book but does she , then they find out that there was a ghost writer and then the guy in charge of her tours is quitting . what new info does Charlotte find out about her aunt that passed? if you like mystery and intrigue you will want to read the book i was given a copy by netgalley but this is an honest review

This was a cozy mystery set at a B&B where an author was visiting to meet some of her fans, but one of them had sinister intentions. But, with more than one spy available, can Charlotte Reed find the truth before bodies start to fall?
The characters were intriguing, and the plot was good. The romantic undercurrent was interesting. The problem with the plot was that the main clue was not shown until the end of the book, which frustrated me because I always try to figure out whodunnit. Also, the pace of the writing was a little slow because there seemed to be an abundance of dialogue. Otherwise, I liked it, and want to read the next one. I received an advanced reader's copy from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

This is a cosy murder mystery and is the second in the series. I hadnt read the first but it didn't matter as they do allude to the previous book quite a bit, especially the past about the character and her ex love life which might be annoying if you had read the previous book.

I didnt think it needed the spy element and they went a bit overboard on it.

Overall I'd give 3 stars.

I think I've read all of Gilbert's mysteries and I think this one was my favorite so far. This book involved a famous writer visiting Chapters. Charlotte puts on a retreat of sorts where the author, Amanda, does an event, attended by several fan club members as well as many locals. Unfortunately one of the fan club members ends up dead and it's up to Charlotte, Ellen, and Ellen's "cousin" Gavin, to solve the mystery.

The previous book in the series didn't really have anything to do with books and even the theme of the B & B was downplayed, which I found disappointing. In this book, all these things come to the forefront and the entire story revolves around books and the author who visits. There are a lot of possible killers and they all have pretty strong motives so narrowing down the suspect list was a complicated feat.

There's also an interesting side story involving Ellen's and Charlotte's Aunt Isabella's previous careers as spies. Though we don't necessarily learn much of anything new about their clandestine activities, there are definitely new developments that I think (hope) will result in some interesting things happening in the next few books. I wasn't completely sold on the series after book 1 but this book sold me!

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.

A good clever murder mystery in a small town. I thought the story was great! Clever names for the B&B and the book store. Nice steady pace to the story. Police are part of the story so there isn't the idea of beating the police to the answer that is so often a part of cozy mysteries. The author is nice but a bit quiet. She needs a break from the book tour. Her publicist is not likable. Charlotte makes a good main character. She is likable, personable, calm and steady. Ellen and Gavin added interest. I liked their background story. I totally enjoyed the book.

A very captivating story with plenty going on. As a new reader by this author, I was introduced to the plot and felt I knew all the characters involved. This story had me guessing as soon as the murder happened and was I ever wrong.
I was definitely not disappointed with this author. She wrote a well planned story to keep you guessing and wanted you to keep reading to the end.

Amanda Nobel is a bestselling author of romantic fantasy series turned into a hit TV series. She has scheduled a stop of her book tour at Chapters, a B&B in Beaufort, North Carolina that is run by Charlotte Reed. Amanda is also staying at the B&B along with Tony, a manager from her publisher and three winners of a contest for her fans. One of them, Lisette is the head of the Amanda Nobel fan club. Molly, another guest, is known to Damien from high school as a woman with a bad temper. The third guest is Harper.
There are a lot of undercurrents before and during the author event. Charlotte overhears Tony and Lisette having a heated argument that set off alarm bells in her head. Harper and Molly tell Charlotte about a division in their fan club over fan fiction published by Lisette that others claim she plagiarized. They also mention that Lisette has an ex-husband that has been stalking her. During the author event, a local historical challenges Amanda on the lack of historical accuracy in her books and is supported by another local writer. And Charlotte spots Lisette’s ex-husband. Other motives arise as well but I’m avoiding potential spoilers.
And so, when Lisette’s body is found dead in the harbor the next morning, there are plenty of suspects to weed through. And Charlotte and her elderly neighbor Ellen are ready, especially when the local police detective asks Charlotte to be her ears at the B&B because she was impressed with her assistance in a prior murder mystery.
There’s also a subplot (maybe more of an additional plot) with a man who is staying with Ellen, who is introduced as Ellen’s cousin’s son. This appears related to the first book in the series and history related to Charlotte’s Aunt Isabella career in espionage. I hadn’t read the first book but I think there’s enough backstory provided in this one. But it detracted from the main mystery and I’m not sure why it was added unless to add a future romantic interest for Charlotte.
So, bottom line, I enjoyed the book. Feel the spy related portion was not necessary and it would have been better spent giving more insight into Charlotte and the other characters. But I do look forward to a potential future relationship/partnership with Charlotte and Gavin in future books.

I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this cozy mystery. Although I had not read the first in the series I didn’t feel a lag in the story. Great amount of interesting characters and I loved the setting. I will definitely be going back and reading the first and the next in this series. Thanks to NetGalley for the privilege to read and review this book.

I loved the aesthetic in this book. How wonderful would it be to attend a bed and breakfast with fellow book lovers? Setting matters a ton in cozies, and this one has a fun and compelling one. Plus, plenty of intriguing twists that I'm still thinking about.

A Booklovers B&B Mystery #2

Chapters Bed and Breakfast in Beaufort, North Carolina is owned by a former teacher, Charlotte Reed. The lovely old home is a draw for those who love to read and attend her special events with authors.

The author in question really wants nothing but some downtime but has agreed to a tea and a few small functions with a few of her fans who won a contest to meet her.

But when they all arrive Charlotte’s senses are tingling. Something isn’t quite right. And when the president of the fan club turns up dead in the harbor from a blow to the head, Charlotte and her spy neighbor Ellen work to find out who in Charlotte’s inn is a killer.

The first book in this series was good. This one had a lot of talking and the addition of Ellen and her ‘cousin’, took away a lot from Charlotte I thought. Plus, there was way too much softening of voices. I don’t plan on giving up on the series, but this one didn’t hold my attention.

NetGalley Review/ June 8, 2021, Crooked Lane Books



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Happy Holidays To You All

Tana French, the wonderful author of the Dublin Murder books, recently said she is reading a lot of Agatha Christie these days, because she likes to know that the bad guys will be caught and all will be right with the world by the end of the book. This is how felt about Reserved for Murder. (Not that I'm comparing it to the great Queen of Crime, very few come close) but you kind of know that by the end of the book all will be well with minimal blood spilt.

But that's about it. Overall, this was a bit of a dud for me, I didn't like most of the characters, I felt they really needed a lot of work, and the spy thing just didn't fly. I don't know if it would have helped to read the first book in the series, they make mention of it often, but can't really see how it would matter.

The premise is wonderful and should be the perfect idea for murder, even for a cosy murder - a bookish guesthouse, it's own library, on the sea, an attic, plus a shady past... Unfortunately, it wasn't quite pulled off in the way I envision it could have been. But for a light diversion, it wasn't bad.

Thanks to NetGalley, Victoria Gilbert and Crooked Lane for my ARC.

Here is the link to the review: https://m4elevate.com/book-review-reserved-for-murder/

Here is the review:
I received an ARC of Reserved for Murder by Netgalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions and interpretations are solely my own. #netgalley #reservedformurder

When I saw this book was available for review, I jumped at the chance to do just that. An author visit, a time-travel romance author no less — a bed and breakfast and a literary theme! It was all I’d love to read about all in one book. I’d read other reviews of the author, Victoria Gilbert’s, first book, Booked for Death and noticed that several reviewers mentioned the main character and owner of the B&B was not a sympathetic character and I have to agree.


Charlotte never seemed to be happy about running the Inn. She also seemed to disparage the visiting author’s book but grudgingly read it.

I did enjoy the plagarism subplot as well as the whodunit aspect. I tried to solve the crime along with Charlotte and her neighbor Ellen and Ellen’s “cousin” Gavin. I am not certain if the murder (I don’t want to give away who it was) having essentially a monologue as to why the murder was committed was a “cheat” or not. Charlotte was certainly gathering clues and spending time eavesdropping on guests, but I am not certain she actively solved the murder. I realize that not all main characters in cozy mysteries do solve the crime on their own so that is not a fault in the book.

Charlotte reciting clues back to the photo of her deceased husband seemed to drag out the book. I don’t know whether that moved the book along at all or if it was just the author’s way of disseminating the clues to the reader.

I also wondered, even though Charlotte helped solve the murder in the first book, whether the police chief would truly ask a civilian to get involved and share clues with the department. I would think a police chief would find a civilian to be meddling in the solving of the crime if he or she were gathering clues.

The subplot of Charlotte’s deceased aunt having been a super spy/secret agent seemed out of place in a cozy. I realize books need subplots, but I feel like this one was so far afield that I wasn’t engaged in that part of the book.

As a rating of one star to five stars I would give this book a solid three stars. There were portions I truly enjoyed, but I found it so hard to connect to Charlotte and I felt she spent a lot of time eavesdropping.

Review by Robbi Hess

Whilst this is the 2nd book in the series, it is the first time I’ve read anything written by this Author. Despite not reading the first book, it was easy enough to pick up the back story of the characters and place that they lived in.

This story had the makings of a great mystery, a quaint and quirky inn, interesting characters, a delightful small town with history, ex spies and enough characters with plausible motives. The story itself had a good premise that a famous Author is visiting on a special book tour and holding a private event at Chapters the B and B, when one of her fans are murdered. It was readable, good world building and characters established for the rest of the series and good for an airport read.

Thank you to the Author, Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for the complimentary digital ARC. I am voluntarily reviewing an e-arc and all the opinions expressed in this review are unbiased and my own.

Reserved for murder is the second book in the Book lovers B&B mystery series. We check in with Charlotte at Chapters B&B where on a hot July weekend, a visit by one of the biggest names in romantic fantasy attracts throngs of admirers to the quaint coastal village. Then the president of the reclusive writer's fan club is found dead in the harbor by the Beaufort docks. It is up to Charlotte Reed, her neighbor Ellen, and Ellen's trusty Yorkshire terrier to sniff out the killer.

I enjoyed this book just as much as I enjoyed the first. I do recommend starting with the first book before you read this one. The characters are enjoyable and very likable. I also enjoyed the storyline. I felt like this book was a little slower than the first but still good.

Checked in for another author visit at Chapters B&B, but things go awry when an attendee gets snuffed out leaving Charlotte wondering if she was once again sleeping with a murderer under her roof! The characters are rich in personality and well developed to add flavor to a well thought our plot wrought with potential suspects. This cozy mystery will keep you entertained for hours as you gleefully devour the pages to see who did it and what is in store for the characters! I absolutely must put this series on my must read list to be sure not to miss future books that come out!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. Another fun Cozy mystery book. Definitely recommend

A solid second installment in this series, I enjoyed it. This one was a bit slower than the first one in the series, and I would have liked more from Ellen - her involvement and career exposé was interesting in the first and I think the author could have played more on that aspect.

I was excited for this book by the synopsis, but I felt that it fell flat. The characters did not make me feel anything. I found myself bored about half way through the book and really just was ready for it to be over. This is not a book I will remember reading.

Through NetGalley, I received a free copy of RESERVED FOR MURDER (Book 2 of A Book Lover’s B&B Murder Mysteries) by Victoria Gilbert in exchange for an honest review. In Beaufort, North Carolina, Charlotte Reed continues to offer special book-related events at Chapters Bed and Breakfast. This time, one of the most successful romantic adventure authors his hosting some of her fans at the B&B on the eve of her newest book tour, which will commence with a book signing at the local bookstore. When one of the fans from the B&B is found dead in the harbor, local law enforcement asks Charlotte and her retired intelligence operative neighbor Ellen to assist them in gathering information on the guests. With all of her guests and some of the locals under suspicion, Charlotte and Ellen will have to work hard to keep their investigation innocuous. Meanwhile, Ellen is hosting a man claiming to be her relative, but the man seems to have an unnatural interest in Charlotte and her house.

I liked this book and the first one in the series, as well. I recommend this book and series to fans of cozy mysteries featuring murder, seaside towns, books, B&Bs, and espionage.

#ReservedforMurder #NetGalley