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.

2,5 stars

This was very average and VERY predictable, but it was sweet enough, and I absolutely adore the bookish b&b.*

Charlotte is endearing, but also a bit annoying. (Not that I’d be any different) but she comes off as kind of nosy, and playing at being smart. The love interest does make me happy though 🙂

The main thing that bothered me about this book was the fact that it was SO VERY PREDICTABLE. I knew what was going to happen ages before it actually did. And the smart people were surprised when they discovered these things I’d already put together. It was really irritating to be honest.

I guess I don’t really have a ton to say about this book. Generally just a classic cozy mystery with your typical retired spy with a mysterious past. Except the mystery part really wasn’t that good. And the spy part was more unrealistic than normal.

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

I enjoyed this book. It's got a lot going on with it. The mystery is interesting, with all the characters. I was definitely surprised by who the killer was. I really liked the characters and their interactions. #ReservedforMurder #NetGalley

Good enough to finish, but unmemorable. The same problems I mentioned in my review of the first book continue here. Unengaging characters and the use of over the top, as in strange, elements. A new, probably re-occurring, character gets introduced and the reason for him being there is really implausible and he doesn't add much. Charlotte's helping the police the way she does is off the charts, though a bit acceptable in a mystery, yet they don't seem to do anything but mop up.

I'm going to call it a wrap on this series.

I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

I received an ARC of this book through Net Galley. The opinions expressed are my own.

The premise and the setting for the novel are good, Unfortunately, the story just drags. There are far too many irrelevant details that make the book longer than it needs to be. For example, there's a descriptive scene in which the main character, Charlotte, decides that she needs more flowers to brighten up a room. The author goes into detail about the table, the vase, the cutting of the flowers for no reason. There's no connection to the plot.

On top of that, former schoolteacher and Beaufort, NC resident Charlotte refers to the Intracoastal waterway as the Intercoastal. To me, that's just sloppy.

I had high hopes for this book- a book-themed B&B, an author's retreat, a fun coastal town, murder, nosy neighbors... It had the all of the elements to make a great cozy mystery. Unfortunately, the story fell flat for me.

The author writes books similar to the Outlander series, and our protagonist Charlotte, along with several of her book club members, mention several times that they don't care for romance novels. It's always said in a way that feels a bit snooty and judgemental, as though romance is beneath their standards.

The mystery was a mess to me with too many side characters as suspects but not enough motives to go around. I was confused about why a guest (Molly) went home but came back for events, the B&B staff acted like they were up to something (I expected Charlotte to catch them kissing or something), and the most involved backstory out of anyone is for Ophelia, who is a minor character.

I would like to know more about Charlotte's past, her interests as a person (send her on dates! Give her hobbies!), and less information about so many side characters. Those are the things that make the protagonist in any cozy mystery series interesting enough for me to pick up their future books.

Thanks to netgalley for the ARC of this book.

This book was written well, the story line was a little scattered for me, though. There are a lot of characters, and honestly, I pretty much knew who did it, so I ignored some minor characters story lines.

As far as cozy mysteries go, Victoria Gilbert is one of my favorite author and I love the idea of a Bookish Bed and Breakfast. Looking forward to the next installment.

Per quanto mi riguarda, nell'ambito dei Cozy Mystery Victoria Gilbert é una delle mie autrici preferite e l'idea di un Bed and Breakfast letterario mi piace molto. Non vedo l'ora di leggere il prossimo libro.

THANKS NETGALLEY FOR THE PREVIEW!

From the synopsis of Reserved For Murder, I was really excited to start reading it! A BnB, and bookstore sounds like the perfect setting for a mystery!! One problem I had with this book is that the story was dominantly the characters speaking. There needed to be more 'showing'. Everything was being explained and I found it frustrating because the I can-along with every other reader, can read between the lines and understand what is happening without having to be told every step of the way. I also found the sub-plot with the spies was not needed. It definitely was interesting, but did not fit into the book. Overall, I think this book had a great story/plot but it was not executed properly.

Thank you to Netgalley for an eARC of Reserved For Murder!

This is the second Book Lover's B&B Mystery. I read and enjoyed the first. The second was just as enjoyable and can stand alone as well. A well written mystery with a little espionage thrown in.

This was an enjoyable read. I haven't read book #1 in the series, but this book stands alone just fine. Charlotte's a relatable character, and I love the book world that this takes place in. Charlotte does a couple of unbelievably dumb/risky things, which always annoys me. Other that that, it's a nice way to escape the real world for a few hours.

Review copy provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.