I think this was my favourite out of the series. I wasn’t sure how I felt about Astrid at the start but I soon fell in love with her. I loved seeing the platonic love with her friends and her slowly mending her relationship with her sister whilst learning to stand up for herself. I adored Jordans family as well. The banter with Jordan was fun and they make such a cute couple. The interior design and seeing the place come together was a fun element. As with the other books, there are so many great characters with such sweet friendships. 

Starting to question if Tessa Bailey is the author me. The Ballinger sisters sucked me in but I haven’t enjoyed any of her other books. This was supposed to be a fun quick christmassy read. It was quick but it lacked the christmas vibes. It claims to be a she’s grumpy he’s sunshine but Stella wasn’t grumpy, just deeply insecure and adjusting to life outside of prison. He self proclaims as sunshine except for in the bedroom. Even the smut was kinda cringey. I wasn’t a fan of Aiden and the fact that he kept repeating that he hired Stella because he wanted to see her again and not because she was talented. And then the words “I matching robes love you” were uttered and I cringed so hard I pulled a muscle. As it’s a novella there isn’t much development of the characters and the plot is lacking. 

I normally hate the surprise pregnancy trope but Elsie Silver managed to suck me in. I think this is my favourite from the Chestnut Springs series. Theo is freaking adorable but Winter grew on me more than I thought she would. I loved seeing her rediscover herself and accept the love of her sister as well as her found family. There is so much character growth. As with all Elsie Silvers books the spice is great, there are so many lovable characters and the cowboys are swoon worthy and the romance is sweet.  

This is a dark read with a moral dilemma for the reader to debate. Do these heinous people deserve a second chance at life? Are they just getting what they deserve and who gets to decide what justice is? 

 

There are a lot of characters and I couldn’t keep track of who was who but once I gave up it didn’t really matter. I did also struggle with whose POV we were getting. Both the murders and the previously committed crimes are gory with graphic descriptions so definitely one to avoid if you’re squeamish. 

 

I found this an interesting twist on my usual crime thriller because there wasn’t really a single likeable character. There’s no one to root for. I was sucked into who the leak was and how many names would be leaked before they were found. The reveal made sense looking back but I hadn’t guessed. Very different from the Helen Grace series but a gritty read. 

This is Miriam’s second book and from other reviews her first is better which I will definitely be reading soon. This was an entertaining read. It’s full of swearing and bodily functions and made me lough out loud in places. It is a bit repetitive and some of the chapters kind of went off on a tangent about things that weren’t particularly interesting to me. If you love Miriam though it is still a great insight into her brain and it’s funny. 

This book was more enjoyable than the second one. There was more going on to keep me interested. The chapters from the past in this book are from Sophia’s POV and what led her to become a nun. Her story was heartbreaking but not enough to make me forgive her for her terrible actions. Everything is spelled out to you so the killer reveal wasn’t a surprise and the ending felt a bit anticlimactic. I definitely think that with some good editing, this trilogy could have been cut down into one book. It’s over 1000 pages on one case with very few twists and a lot of repetition. 

I received a copy of the ebook via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review