Tag: novella

Fiesta Burger Murder – REVIEW

Valerie @ Valerie's Musings8 Comments

3.5 out of 5 stars.

The Fiesta Burger Murder is the first installment in the Burger Bar Mystery series by Rosie A. Point. This book is actually novella length and was a fun read, though I wish it had been longer.

Book Cover: The Fiesta Burger Murder: A Burger Bar Mystery by Rosie A. Point - photo of a burger with barbecue sauce, bacon, onion, lettuce, and tomato on a bun with a jalapeno pepper next to it

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Fast food meal - burger, fries, and drink
©Graphic Garden

Synopsis

Boston Homicide Detective, Christie Watson, wants nothing less than to bury her head in the sand in her hometown, Sleepy Creek, Ohio. Placed on sabbatical for a little ‘over-enthusiasm,’ Chris has to stay out of trouble or risk losing her job for good, and Sleepy Creek, with its clapboard homes and peaceful milieu, seems just the place to do that. But returning to Sleepy Creek means facing the one cold case she’s never solved: her mother’s murder.

The past becomes the least of her worries, however, when a man is murdered in her best friend’s back yard. Griselda, awesome human being all-round and owner of the local Burger Bar – serving scrumptious delights like the Mexican Fiesta Burger – is the prime suspect. To make matters worse, the handsome detective in charge of the case won’t quit asking questions or drop the icy professionalism whenever Chris counters with her own.

Det. Watson can’t let this one slide – sabbatical or not, she won’t let her friend wind up behind bars for a crime she didn’t commit. Equipped with her cop skills, and that thirst for truth, she sets off to solve the murder before it’s too late.

Graphic of silver and red grill utensils - spatulas and skewers

Review

This was a fun read, but I felt it was way too short. At the end, we’re left with more questions than answers, which isn’t generally how I like to end a cozy mystery.

The characters are well-written and complex. I love Griselda. She’s awesome! I’m not sure how I feel about Christie. She’s a little too impulsive for my taste, but I want to see what she’s like in additional books before really making a decision.

The setting descriptions that were included were well done, I just wish there had been more. I can easily visualize Griselda’s house and the Burger Bar, but the rest of the small town, not so much. It would’ve been great to see other things happening in town besides just the murder, giving us more locales to imagine and to put the town together in our minds.

The story line moved along very quickly given the shortness of the book. I was able to follow the story line, so it wasn’t too quick in that regard, I just wish we had gotten more background information on Christie and Griselda, more information about the killer, just more information in general. That’s why I only gave it a 3.5 out of 5 rating. It just needed more.

I’m still looking forward to the second book and hoping that we get more of that missing information then.

Fast food meal - burger, fries, and drink
©Graphic Garden

In His Corner – REVIEW

Valerie @ Valerie's Musings1 Comment

4.5 out of 5 stars

“In His Corner” is a novella (139 pages) from author Vino Arno and I really enjoyed it. This is a steamier romance for those who are sensitive about that, but I wouldn’t necessarily put it in a super-steamy category.

In His Corner by Vina Arno book cover - Beige and Dark brown background with Young man with dark hair standing in a boxer's stance with boxing gloves and sweatpants on but no shirt

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Black and white clipart of a pair of boxing gloves hanging from a nail

Synopsis:

An Emergency Medicine doctor from an upper-class East Coast upbringing meets a boxer who grew up in a working-class neighborhood in San Francisco. Together, the sparks fly, but being from two different backgrounds, it takes a lot of compromises on both sides to make things work between them.

Black and white clipart of a pair of boxing gloves hanging from a nail

Review:

I really enjoyed this story. In fact, the only reason it doesn’t get 5 out of 5 is it was lacking a “wow” factor or a significant emotional hook, which is part of my 5 star criteria. Even without those, it was a still a great story and I enjoyed it thoroughly!

Tommy, our boxer, and Siena, our doctor, are enjoyable characters. They’re surprisingly complex given the short length of the story. They’re perhaps not quite as well-rounded as I would expect in a longer novel, but the amount of complexity and detail that Ms. Arno does provides works well within the short length of the story. I liked them both a lot, though I liked Tommy just a little bit more. Siena’s great, but there are a couple of areas where her reactions to things are a bit more uptight than I expected. I don’t want to give any spoilers away, so that’s all I’m going to say about that!

The settings in this book were well-defined without being too wordy. I could easily visualize the places that Siena and Tommy were in, without being bored with the descriptions. It’s hard to obtain that balance and Ms. Arno does so splendidly. Similarly, the descriptions of clothing and other details were “just right” for me. I can be difficult to please in this area, but Ms. Arno hits that “sweet spot” throughout the whole story.

The story line in the book moved along at a decent pace. Even though it’s a short novel, I didn’t feel as if the story moved along so fast that I couldn’t keep up. Ms. Arno creates a compelling story line that doesn’t bog down nor does it move too fast.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would like to read more from Ms. Arno in the future! Pick it up and enjoy! Stay tuned for an interview with the author!

[I received a free copy of this book from the author/publisher in exchange for my fair and honest review. My review was not influenced by this, nor was I compensated for my review. All opinions and conclusions are my own.]

Black and white clipart of a pair of boxing gloves hanging from a nail