I did not realize this is the second book in a series. If I had read the first book, I believe I would have enjoyed this more. I enjoyed the setting and the actual mystery. I suggest reading the first book before this one. Thank you NetGalley!

A popular author is hosting a week-long retreat for herself and three fans at Chapters. While the author is doing for her Romance series, murder seems to be the theme of the week when one of the three fans who are spending the week with her is murdered. Charlotte and her neighbor Ellen are on the case and it turns out Ellen’s cousin has plans of his own as well.

With a slew of suspects, the ladies have their hands full trying to narrow it down to who had motive, means and opportunity. Slowly and surely they work their way through the suspects and come up empty handed. Will Charlotte be able to keep her suspicions from her guests or will she get too close and become the killer’s next target to silence her?

The second book in this series is just as good as the first…maybe even a shade better since I know the regular cast of characters. This is also the second series I have read from the author and both are fabulous. A true bibliophile with a series set in a literary themed Inn and the other set in a library, you can’t go wrong with either series from this talented author.

This is a quick read set in an interesting location. Although character driven,
there is somewhat intriguing about the murder and how that is solved. I read this for Netgalley review. Loved reading about the B and B.

I missed the first book in this series and feeling like I missed out on some background which made it hard to keep it all straight. Enjoyed the book theme though.

This is book two in the Book Lover's B&B Mystery series and what a welcome back to the Chapters Bed and Breakfast. A great cozy mystery! Thankful for NetGalley for allowing me to read this novel.

cozy mystery, murder investigation, Bed and Breakfast, widow, amateur sleuth, friendship, family dynamics, small business, small town, North Carolina, author, fans, retired spies****
The murder mystery centers on an author's book signing at the B&B and one fan's appropriation of things. The other mystery relates to past espionage by both Charlotte's deceased aunt and her current neighbor. The sleuthing on both counts was pretty good as was the character development, but something present in the first book was pretty underdeveloped in this one. Wish I could explain better, but I'm hoping that the third book will be the charm.
I request and received a free ebook from Crooked Lane Books via NetGalley.

A perfectly cozy mystery. I prefer my cozies to have a book theme, and a murder during a special author event is perfect. My only negative was the amount of times a murder that happened last summer was mentioned. But, the author would like to sell books; I get it.

I think the premise and the plot of the book were quite intriguing, but overall it fell flat for me. Much of the story was moved along via dialog, and I think it would have benefited from some more world building.

I read the first book in the series, and it wasn’t great but I thought the series had potential. Unfortunately this second installment falls completely flat for me.

I do like this Victoria Gilbert however this book didn't get my attention. There were do many characters introduced at the beginning and they seemed to get lost. I figured out the killer pretty quickly and then skipped ahead.

When three fans of a bestselling author win a vacation to meet her it should be the trip of a lifetime. The fans arrive at Chapters Bed and Breakfast with the innkeeper, Charlotte Reed, The best selling romance author, Amanda, is hoping for some time to relax. But when one of the fans is killed it's anything but a relaxing vacation. It's up to Charlotte and her ex-spy neighbor Ellen to untangle the plot before any more blood is shed at Chapters.

This was an interesting concept but I found the book to be a little hard to read. It was packed full of unnecessary detail which bogged down the pace and had me skipping me ahead. There were numerous storylines throughout, making it difficult to focus on the one thing the book is supposed to be about.

Charlotte's neighbor, Ellen, is a semi-retired federal agent, and when a man shows up claiming to be her cousin Charlotte gets suspicious. It turns out that the man is in fact another federal agent who is looking into an old case involving Charlotte's great aunt and Ellen. This could have been a book all by itself and muddied the waters of the original plot.. Nothing actually required this character and he could be removed without changing the main story, making him a distraction more than anything else.

It also takes a long time to get between suspenseful events. This book could be easier to read if the subplots were thinned out and the level suspense increased. Right now it''s just a mediocre book that didn't leave me feeling satisfied at the end.

One redeeming point is the twist at the end, in which the fan that seemed to be the most dedicated turns out to be the murderer. I definitely didn't see that coming. With some editing, this has the potential to be a great read.

Book 2 in series.
Setting a B&B called Chapters
Rooms have literary themes
Charlotte's aunt left her the Victorian home. She has author weekend with three fans. One fan gets killed.
Enjoyed revisiting characters.
Fun cozy mystery
Interesting characters