An incredible book with wonderful characters and a beautiful setting. It will keep you guessing until the end.

Unfortunately, this was just not the book for me. I do love a good cozy mystery but I just could not get past the characters as animals. When I envisioned it all in my head it just didn’t make any sense. I know that there are folks out there that will love this book, the quaint characters & darling scenes, but not me.

Another sublime mystery for cozy crime fans, Summers End follows the intrepid Vera Vixen as she ventures out of Shady Hollow with a group of young animals to Summers End, a historic college town brimming with jealousies, tensions, academic disgrace, and a body or two to boot. Deeply enjoyable, the latest installment in duo Juneau Black's Shady Hollow series shows no sign of slowing down or running out of steam, concocting a perfect blend of mystery, friendship, romance, and small town whimsy.

As someone with a background in archaeology, this book felt right up my alley and just loved every minute of it. I loved the dark academia setting and while I absolutely love the town of Shady Hollow, the change in setting felt like a great way to switch things up while still staying true to the coziness found throughout the rest of the series.

The Shady Hollow series is so much fun! The books are cozy murder mysteries and all the characters are woodland creatures. Summers End is the fifth book in the series. Reporter Vera Vixen agrees to chaperone a several days long school trip to Summers End which is a Stonehenge-like archaeological site. Her good friend, Lenore, comes along to help her. On the morning of Summers End when the students are about to enter the sight to witness a special annual phenomenon, the recently murdered corpse of one of the researchers is found inside. What's worse is that Lenore's sister, Ligeia, has been accused of committing the crime. Can Vera and Lenore solve the crime and clear Ligeia's name? This book is a great addition to a delightful series.

Thank you to Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor and NetGalley for a review copy of Summers End.

4..5/5

Love the overall series, while I missed the cozy relationship between Vera and her Orville, but loved the archaeological twist that has her and some of my favorite characters out exploring a ruin!

I don't know how the authors manage to write about the inhabitants of Shady Hollow so well that one is sure that somewhere out there is an area where animals live amongst each other and carry on their lives just as we do, but Summers End by Juneau Black carries on that wonderful story. As the fifth in the series Vera, a vixen reporter goes to an archaeological site with as chaperon to a group of students, where they find a dead Professor who was in charge. There are new characters introduced and the murder to figure out and it is just a fun read.

Coziest of cozy mysteries. I love this series so much I can't wait to get my hands on the next one. If there will be a next one. I really really really hope so. I love to scrunch down in my bed and open up a Shady Hollow Mystery, knowing I will be surrounded by such wonderful characters. I just honestly can't recommend it enough

4 Stars

Yet another fun and mysterious romp through my favorite land of critters. This time we leave Shady Hollow, and head over to Summer’s End, which appears to be a cute village that has its own personal Stonehenge. We have a slight jaunt into dark academia, and the into the dark side of what happens when we find relics from our past. This provided us a bunch of fun, new side characters and I’m excited to see if the world of Shady Hollow gets expanded!

I really enjoyed this one! Seeing Vera outside her Shady Hallow was so fun. I loved the whole history behind the Summers End. The authors really could have blown past that part but I loved that they chose to give us a full break history lesson. All the new side characters were a great edition. Especially the professors and Thena!!! I loved that little vole. It dragged in the middle for just a bit, I wish it would have progressed just a tad faster for it being a shorter book. But otherwise I really have no complaints! Perfect summer cozy murder mystery!

Thank you NetGalley for the eArc! All opinions are my own.

3.5 ⭐️

Let’s be clear, I’ve loved this series and I still like this one but in the context of all of them this one fell a little short. I was a little disappointed.

I loved returning with some of our favorite characters but in a new location! It made everyone a suspect because there were so many new characters. It was interesting having a history of how the animals started to evolve but it dragged a bit at times. Overall this story felt a little less cozy with maybe one too many threads to follow.

Overall still a fun read but not my favorite in the series.

Another fantastic installment in the Shady Hollow series! I love this series so much. Black has created a work of art with these cozy, mysteries, fun stories. Vera Vixen is back and better than ever as she chaperones a school outing to Summers End, mentors a future journalist, and of course, solves a murder case. These books are so immersive and atmospheric- the perfect escape!

This was a very cute and fun continuation of the cast of Shady Hollow. In this installment, we visit Summers End at an archeological site which brings in a new setting and characters for, unsurprisingly, a murder. I thought this book had even more moments than Shady Hollow where there was humor infused into the story, and I'm always glad to see Lefty make a visit!

This series is very much the peak of cozy mystery! Thank you to Vintage books for granting me access to an ARC of Summers End!

I adore this entire series. It is so well written that as I read I find myself forgetting the characters are animals. I recommend this series all the time.

This is my favorite cozy mystery series of all time. Each time I read a new book set in the world of Shady Hollow, the more I love it. Each character has such a unique personality that compliments the story so wonderfully.

One of the things I love is the fact that the authors are not afraid to move away from the town, like other cozy mystery series that I have read. This was such a great addition to the series and it helped to broaden the way that other animals live in other towns.

This series is my go to recommendation to anyone looking to escape reality for a while. Each book that releases, just solidifies that recommendation for me.

3.5 Stars.

🌲 the vibes:
- cozy mystery
- Forrest animal cast
- Book 5 in series

🌲 My thoughts:
When Vera chaperones an annual school field trip to Summers End- an ancient tomb built by an early woodland culture - she’s once again pulled into a murder mystery. Vera and her best friend Lenore have to delve into the dark world of academia and archaeology to determine which creature thought they were clever enough to get away with the perfect murder.

🌲 I liked the new setting BUT I did miss the town of Shady Hollow. I would say the most endearing part of the series is the setting of Shady Hollow- so it did make me miss seeing the locals and the setting. We did still have Vera, Lenore, and even Lefty which I loved to see.

🌲 This has been my least favorite of the series- with it feeling a little bit boring and extra slow at some parts. I fully expect and love a slow cozy plot- so keeping that in mind- this one still felt a bit slow for me.

🌲 I have done audio for previous books in the series and I feel like that really adds so much personality to the characters and highly recommend doing audio. I think I would have enjoyed this one more if it was audio.

🌲 All that to say- if you’ve enjoyed the previous books in the series - I do think you’ll enjoy this one. And I definitely look forward to future books in this series.

Release date: July 9, 2024.

Thank you so much to Juneau Black, NetGalley, Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor | Vintage for the gifted copy.

*note- posted on bookbub, Instagram (on stories 7/10 and permanently saved in my story reviews highlights), goodreads, story graph, Amazon, and barnes and noble. Links provided.

Summers End is the fifth book in the Shady Hollow series. After crime solving reporter Vera Vixen agrees to chaperone the annual field trip to Summers End, an ancient tomb and current archaeological site, remains are found--which is to be expected... except these remains are modern. As Vera works to solve the murder of one of the professors associated with the excavation, she digs up more than she anticipated.

As someone with a background in archaeology, this book felt right up my alley and just loved every minute of it. I loved the dark academia setting and while I absolutely love the town of Shady Hollow, the change in setting felt like a great way to switch things up while still staying true to the coziness found throughout the rest of the series.

Thank you so much to the publisher and to NetGalley for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review. I can't wait to grab a physical copy for my bookshelf!

I love this series and its quirky, comfy vibes. It is refreshing to revisit these well-loved characters and I liked the twist of having the book set in a different location this time.

Yet again this is another great cozy mystery. This series and the characters are written and developed so well I often forget that they are anthropomorphized animals. This mystery was a great turn from the others and in a new area. I loved all of the background to summers end and the history that is detailed about the archaeological site.

This series will forever be on my must buy list as soon as a new one is announced. Perfect cozy mystery that is just what anyone wanting a quick read will love.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Juneau Black for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC for Summers End coming out July 9, 2024. The honest opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I read the first book in this series, so I was excited to receive this one. I definitely need to go back and read the other books. It’s a really cute, cozy series. I love the idea of animals solving cases in their little habitats. It’s fun that Vera and Lenore are solving cases together. I loved the summer vibes. It was a fun book and I loved the mystery. I’ll definitely check out future books by this author.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys cozy animal stories!