Sharon Sala does a FANTASTIC job of balancing romance with suspense. This book kept me battling the urge to keep reading or jump ahead to find out who the stalker was! This story was an exciting read that I could not figure out, but in a good way!!!

Bad Seed by Sharon Sala, book five in the Jubilee, Kentucky series, is the last tale of the Popes and Pope Mountain. A mystery that is filled with suspense, love, family and unexpected finds in a small Kentucky mountain town, where tight-laced clans abound, and outsiders are looked upon with suspicion

Brendan Pope, the youngest brother, is the head pastry chef at a hotel in Jubilee. He meets accountant and private investigator Harley Banks who’s there to do an audit of the hotel. She recently wrapped up a huge case that had unexpected findings, angering the mastermind behind the crimes. From the moment Brendan and Harley met the attraction between these two lonely people sizzles as the sparks fly. Harley has no idea that trouble followed her to Jubilee nor does she know that Brendan and the rest of the Pope family will be there to support her in any way that she needs.

Sharon Sala has a gift for entwining multiple characters and storylines while still keeping the main plot the center focus of the book. Somehow she is able to blend and connect all of the characters, provide a back-story and share enough information to know what's going on and where each character is coming from. Ending this series with Brendan's story was an excellent choice since it was a Brendan Pope who founded the town, allowing for this descendent to bring the story full circle. I am so sad to see the end of Jubilee, Kentucky but cannot wait to see what this author writes for us next.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.
# NetGalley #SourceBooks-Casablanca

Brendan Pope is the last Pope brother left on the mountain and despairs of ever finding a woman like his brothers did. Little did he know that she’d appear at his place of work. After finishing a truly challenging investigation case PI/accountant investigator,Harley thinks nothing of the change of pace in the small town of Jubilee, Kentucky, but meeting Brendan, the head pastry chef of the hotel she’s investing, is the cherry on top of her sundae. I received an advanced reader copy of this book from NetGalley and the author for my honest review. All thoughts are my own.

This is book is a perfect blend of soft and sweet romance with suspense and drama that’s blended beautifully with an amazing cast of characters. It is book 5 in the Jubilee/Pope Mountain series and while I’m sad to see the end of this family of brothers (although, hopefully not the end of this town)I’m happy to say that the author makes this book come full circle from book 1 in a spectacular way. And while part of a series you can easily read this book on its own and enjoy it alone, as the author seamlessly blends enough back story information on the other characters so you won’t be lost ( although I highly recommend reading the others too because the series itself is amazing).

I love the fact that both Brendan and Harley have had their own share of difficulties, but still were strong and intelligent in their own right. Neither leads were wimpy or “fake,” and even though it is an instalove romance their relationship is more than just the bedroom (don’t get me wrong, I love a bit of steaminess, but sometimes I’m more in the mood for some substance). The steam factor is quite low but their chemistry is off the charts. And the bit of intrigue involving the investigations adds just the right amount suspense that’s simple to follow but has you invested in the outcome, right up to the end. The supporting characters also are delightful, adding the levity that’s needed after some dark scenarios. I highly recommend this book, 5 stars.

Bad Seed is the 5th and possibly the last romantic suspense novel in Sharon Sala's Jubilee, Kentucky series. I've read 3 out of the 4 preceding novels, and have enjoyed them all, although it did leave me a bit confused as to who was who in this novel, since I've read quite a number of other books in-between reading this one and the the previous novels in this series, but it didn't really detract from my enjoyment of this novel, which gets 5 stars from this reader. However, I do recommend reading the books in this series in the order of their release.

Ms. Sala is masterful at creating towns and settings you find yourself wanting to move to, and that's certainly true of Jubilee, Kentucky, and the long history of that place and the three families who share ownership of Pope Mountain as well as the land that the town of Jubilee encompasses.

However, this novel doesn't open in Jubilee, it opens as the heroine, Harley Banks, a CPA and private investigator,, concentrating on corporate crime, whose home base is an empty apartment in Chicago. She is just wrapping up one case involving human trafficking, and is now being sent on a new assignment to Jubilee, Kentucky. She is an only child, but one tough cookie, especially after growing up in a dysfunctional, wealthy family, who, for the most part, find her career choice disappointing and beneath her, and remind her of that at almost every opportunity.

Harley's latest case entails using her CPA skills at the Serenity Inn, in Jubilee. Its owner wants an audit in preparation for putting the inn on the market, and also wants her to investigate why, since hiring a a new manager to run the inn, while he is recuperating from a health issue, but who suspects, even from a distance, that something smells fishy to him about the way the new manager is doing things, and the fact that the manager's daughter, Justine, is stalking one of his employees, handsome head chef, Brendan Pope.

It's clear from the beginning that Brendan and Harley are almost instantly attracted to one another, but the action in this unputdownable novel really takes off when we discover that whomever Harley helped nail on her previous case, is killing off anyone who helped the investigation, including Harley, which sends Brendan and his brothers and sister, the latter all involved in law enforcement, into protective mode.

From that point on, the suspense and romance quickly heat up, and they are still trying to find "Mr. Big," who was the one behind the human tracking and the one who ordered the hit on Harley--and it certainly kept me guessing. To tell you more would spoil it for you, so I'll just say that this is another stellar read from Ms. Sala, who rarely, if ever, disappoints, and I highly recommend that you add it to your TBRs

I voluntarily read an advance reader copy of this novel. The opinions stated are my own.

Page turner that provided suspense and warmed my heart with family. The good and the bad. I adore this series. I had an inkling of Berlin but not till more than half way through. Bad Seed provides remnants of small towns where people care about each other. Harley is a PI , a corporate shark with accounting. She takes a job in Jubilee. We actually meet Harley in the beginning where a human trafficking group is being taken down, and people rescued. Brendan Pope, our baker, the youngest and the tallest gets the message from his sister in law that Someone will come into his life who needs his help. He needs to be there for her. I really enjoyed all the various facets this touched. Thank you for the advance copy! I freely share my honest thoughts and opinions. #BadSeed #JubileeKentucky #SharonSala #SourcebooksCasablanca #NetGalley

The 5th book in the Jubilee series. I love the characters and the setting. The story was basic and predictable but easy to read. This could be a stand alone but it's much more fun and enjoyable if you read the whole series.

Thank you #netgalley and #sourcebookscasablanca for the eARC.

A final brother finally finds his love on Jubilee, Kentucky. While this is a standalone, I highly recommend reading the others in the series to really see the full picture. Bad seed follows Harley, a private investigator who is independent and headstrong. And Branden Pope, brother #4 and master chef at the local Inn. Harley quickly realizes her previous case has followed her to Pope Mountain and Brandon sets out to project her and his family at all cost. The only downfall to this story was the instalove between Harley and Branden. Personally that’s one my least favorite troupes. Otherwise I absolutely love Sala’s writing and can’t wait to see if she does a second generation, or more stories in Jubilee.

Since I have read all the previous books in this series, I have been eagerly awaiting Brendan Pope's story. While it's not my favorite in the series (that would be the last book, Left Behind. OMGoodness! The feels in that book! My eyes leaked the whole time.), I did enjoy it. The characters, the interesting and many plotlines, even the town of Jubilee and Pope Mountain all work together to make not only this book, but the others in the series fun, emotional, and well worth reading. One I started, I couldn't stop reading until I was done.

I highly recommend this book and the whole series.

Many thanks to Sourcebooks Casablanca and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book. My thoughts and opinions are my own and without bias or favor or expectation.

Bad Seed by Sharon Sala
Jubilee, Kentucky series #5. Romantic suspense. Can be read as a stand-alone but family and couples that are from previous books are secondary characters here. Last in the series.
Harley Banks is a financial wiz and a private investigator. She’s hired by the owner of Serenity Inn to do an audit and find out why complaints are on the rise.
Head pastry chef Brendan Pope falls for Harley the first time they meet. She is strikingly gorgeous, smart and can trade quips with him easily. Plus she loves his cooking.
Harley isn’t lonely anymore with Brendan hanging around. She knows she can take care of herself, but having the Pope family behind her, is a comfort.
The hidden snake from the prior case where she uncovered a human trafficking pipeline, isn’t willing to have Harley destroy his business and walk away. She’s going to pay with her life.

I don’t know how this author continues to raise the bar. Every book is better than the last.
Gripping, engaging, and enticing, with just a touch of humor. This thriller / suspense / family will hold you, riveted, until the very end.

I received a copy of this from NetGalley. I purchased multiple copies to share.
Don’t miss this series. Romantic suspense at its best.

BAD SEED – Sharon Sala
Jubilee, Book 5
Sourcebooks Casablanca
ISBN: 978-1728279114
January 21, 2025
Romantic Suspense

Jubilee, Kentucky – Present Day

Forensic accountant Harley Banks recently completed an assignment auditing a company’s books that turned into something she never expected to find. The operation was a cover for a human trafficking ring. Unfortunately, the big players in the operation were not identified and arrested, but that isn’t Harley’s problem. She gets a call from a hotel owner in Jubilee asking her to come there to discover whether his manager is stealing from his hotel. She agrees, and heads to Kentucky. Shortly after arriving, Harley gets a call and learns from the FBI that an agent and the culprit they had arrested to turn evidence on the case had both been killed. Word on the street is that there is a hitman after Harley. Luckily for her, she has someone to help protect her in Jubilee.

Brendan Pope is the head pastry chef at the hotel’s restaurant and is as protective as the rest of his brothers. He is asked by the hotel owner’s daughter to keep an eye on Harley, and he obliges by giving her his phone number. Of course, there is an instant attraction between them, and he can’t help but give her little dessert treats. After Harley tells him that there is a hitman after her, he sticks closer to her. Thank God his stalker is out of the picture, or he’d be battling trouble from all sides. The more Brenden is around Harley, the deeper he’s falling for her. Can he keep her safe—and convince her there is a future for them?

BAD SEED has several plotlines, but the main one is about keeping Harley safe from being killed by the hitman. Brendan’s stalker is the hotel manager’s daughter but after she is arrested for disorderly conduct and assault, she is whisked out of town. But that isn’t the last we see of her in this book. Readers will also know right from the start that the hotel manager is skimming off the top of the books. We also get to read about the hitman’s path to finally finding Harley. What happens when he does? Meanwhile, the one person who isn’t revealed until later in the book is the head person of the human trafficking operation. I figured it out, but red herrings are left to make readers think. One thing is for certain: the bad people will go down.

In BAD SEED, we meet (again) the Pope family. While this book is part of the Jubilee series about the Pope men, this tale can be read as a standalone. Along with two other families, they own Pope Mountain—and unknown to those outside the family—the town of Jubilee. The four brothers are big and handsome. When Brendan sees Harley for the first time, he is struck by her beauty. She feels the same about him. The brothers pop up here and there in this tale as two of the brothers are in law enforcement. They get lots to do in BAD SEED. Readers get the point of view of numerous characters, which means it hops around a lot. There is also plenty of action to keep readers glued to this tale. I’m probably a late-in-life fan of Sharon Sala but now she is a must-read author for me. She knows how to keep us entertained and provide us with plenty of action and happily ever afters. Harley and Brendan’s story is complicated, but it is one that I highly recommend. Don’t miss BAD SEED.

Patti Fischer
Romance Reviews Today

I really enjoyed this book. It had romance and suspense to it. This is why I love the books that Sharon Sala writes. You never know what to expect. I read this one in a day. It was that good. I'm grateful that netgalley and the publishers let me read this in exchange for an honest review.

Whilst I thought there was definitely a solid storyline there were just too many POVs and too many routes to the end instead of one or maybe two points of view. It just really did not work for me. Too many main characters, too much to think on and just too much to keep in line.

Romantic suspense but make it cozy.

This is the fourth (and possibly final?) book in Sala's Jubilee Kentucky series. The one that centers on the formidable Pope family who own an entire mountain.

In this one we finally get Brandon's romance, the pastry chef and youngest of Shirley Pope's sons. The story starts off with a bang, with our heroine, Harley, who is something of an forensic accountant and PI. She is hired to ferret out financial wrong doings in a company. In this one, she has found that the money being siphoned off of a company leads to a huge sex trafficking ring. Her hard work busts up the ring, but doesn't net the head guy.

But she's done her part and her next job takes her to Jubilee where she is doing an audit of the Serenity Inn, the fancy hotel owned by Rusty's family (whom we met in the first book). This is apropos because this book acts as a full circle of a sort as the sex trafficking ring becomes the main suspense element in the plot, calling back to the very first book in the series.

If you know Sala's work then you know she has multiple POVs happening, little side stories that lead to interesting places. And a narrative that doesn't always lead where you expect. And the romance is quick and decisive and the conflict is typically external. Harley and Brandon team up to head off the danger that is facing her. I admit this is one of the things I like about this author's writing, where the couple are pretty solid most of the book. I also like that people don't act illogically just for purposes of the plot. The people in this book are pretty smart.

The Pope family has a big presence with lots of call back to the previous books. And the epilogue felt very conclude-y. It is why this book feels like the final in the series. If it is it is a great conclusion to a fun and warm series.

Harley Banks, private investigator and CPA, ends up in the small resort town of Jubilee for a job. She meets Brendan Pope, who she was told to contact if she needed anything. There’s an instant attraction, but she doesn’t have time for a small-town romance when her life is in Chicago, and when she discovers a hitman is after her, courtesy of the last job she completed. But Brendan has fallen hard for her and will do anything to help and protect her, along with his large family.

I loved this story and didn’t want it to end! Drama, suspense, intrigue, murder, betrayal, karma, new beginnings, finding a sense of belonging, and more! I figured out who the top criminal was that the FBI was after, but the story was still awesome.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Bad Seed is a romantic suspensive novel written by Sharon Sala. It is the fifth book in the Jubilee, Kentucky series. It was written in third person from the point of view of multiple characters, both primary and secondary in the story.

The stars aligned to bring chef Brendan Pope and private investigator Harley Banks together. The sparks and connection between them was instant, but when danger follows Hailey to the Serenity Inn in Jubilee, KY, will Brendan and his extended family be enough to keep her safe? Read it and find out!

I thought the storyline for this book was very interesting and I like the hero and heroine of the story, however, I disliked Sharon’s style of writing. The multiple viewpoints of each character helped move the plot line forward but this was often done in the same paragraph and it made it frustrating to read at times.

This is a voluntary review of a reader’s advance copy received from Netgalley.

I loved Brendan's story and really hate to see the end of the Popes. I know all the children are real young, but would like to see a second generation. Harley is fierce. She is brought to Jubilee to investigate what is going on at the Serenity Inn. Her and Brendan hit it off right away and when her life is in danger, he steps right up. Harley is fierce and she fits in with the Pope family.

Brendan's story was worth the wait.

I started this one, unbeknownst to me, that it was in the middle of a series and while I got through it alright, I feel like I would have had a stronger connection if I read the first few. With that said, I really did enjoy this one! The characters were well done, the twists were twisty, and the suspense was top notch! I really enjoyed the author's writing style and look forward to more from her.

Oh, my goodness! The level of drama in the first 15% of this book is off the charts. I had a suspicion of who is going to wind up dead, but I was wrong. Sharon Sala writes a wonderful Romantic-Suspense about a great family, the Pope's of Pope Mountain, and an almost mythical town, Jubilee. It is an old school Romantic-Suspense with the emphasis on the Romance, but the Suspense wasn't too bad either. There were several baddies and one whose identity remained hidden until near the end. The issue of sexual harassment is raised and delt with by the gentle giant, Brendan Pope. The characters don't have much depth, and the insta-love was a mite absurd, but it was a change from all the insta-lust plots I've read. Overall, not a bad book, but not a great one either.

Harley Banks, a private investigator and CPA, has a rep as the go to investigator for businesses where there may be illegal goings on afoot. She has just wrapped an investigation that ended up with the dismantling of a sex trafficking ring. She is now off to Jubilee, Kentucky and an audit for Ray Caldwell, owner of the Serentiy Inn.

Brendan Pope is the head pastry chef at the Serenity Inn and has a big problem with the manager's spoiled daughter. In fact, everyone who works there and comes into contact with Justine has a problem with her. Her fascination with him has turned into stalking and then into assault. Lucky for Brendan, she is no longer around when he meets the love of his life, Harley Banks.

But, close on Harley's heels is a not so little problem from her last job. It seems that the head of the human trafficking ring she helped bust eluded capture and is cutting off loose ends and Harley is a loose end. But a little thing like a hit man is no match for true love and he is no match for the very sharp Harley Banks. 3 1/2-Stars

This is a captivating romantic suspense novel that keeps you hooked from start to finish! The small-town setting was so cute and charming. I also really enjoyed the two main characters, Brendan and Harley. They were an insta love connection and their relationship moved very fast. Their instant connection brings a fresh breeze into their lives, but danger lurks as Harley is targeted by a hitman. The blend of romance and suspense is masterfully done, with Sala skillfully building tension while developing a heartfelt romance between Brendan and Harley. Even though this book is almost 500 pages long, the pacing is brisk, which kept me engaged and invested, and it went very fast. While the plot is thrilling, some predictable moments and the ultra insta love slightly distracted from the overall experience. Nevertheless, the strong character development and immersive storytelling made this a joy to read. The author’s balance of suspense and romance ensures readers are always on the edge of their seats.

This novel is perfect for fans of romantic suspense, offering a compelling story of love, courage, and the fight against evil.

This is the 5th and apparently final book in the Jubilee, Kentucky, series. I’m sad to see it end because I’ve become somewhat attached to the characters. In this book Haley is hired to find out if the new manager of the hotel is illegally skimming money from the owners. Her precious case also follows her to Jubilee. There are several mysteries going on in this book at the same time and I often had to stop to think which mystery a particular character belonged to. This book was an easy read while being a gripping story at the same time. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.