Review: Five-Star Summer by Sarah Morgan

 

Five-Star Summer by Sarah Morgan

Publication Date: May 5th 2026 by MIRA & Harlequin Audio

Pages: 368

Audio Book Length: 10hrs 21mins

Narrator: Henrietta Meire

Source: Publishers

Rating: ★★★★

Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Libro.fm | Audible | Goodreads

My Thoughts:

Evie Hamilton steps in as acting general manager of The Alexandra in Cornwall after the previous manager suffers a heart attack. She basically grew up in the hotel, with her father as concierge, so she’s known the staff since childhood. That history makes it hard for her to enforce change, but without it, the struggling hotel may not survive.

 

Abby Jones, meanwhile, has worked her way through every role in her mother’s hotel group, yet her colleagues still assume she’s only advanced because she’s the boss’s daughter. When her mother sends her undercover to the Cornwall property to find out why the hotel is underperforming, Abby jumps at the chance. Going incognito means the staff will speak freely, but it also means hiding who she is.

 

Evie and Abby click almost instantly. Evie is relieved to finally have support from head office, and Abby is surprised by how quickly she feels welcomed and understood. Still, the secret she’s keeping makes her uneasy.

 

The story unfolds through the perspectives of Evie, Abby, and Abby’s mother, Alexandra, each woman dealing with issues. I loved watching Evie and Abby’s friendship grow as they leaned on each other. Evie needed guidance on managing a staff who still saw her as the concierge’s daughter, and Abby’s fresh approach helped her find her footing. Abby, who’s never had close friends, finds Evie’s warmth and acceptance unexpectedly healing. Alexandra, too, has her own history with the Cornwall hotel and her own reasons for sending Abby there.

 

Each woman also gets their own romance. A nice addition rounding out the story, but it wasn’t the focus.

 

Sarah Morgan excels at writing relatable characters facing realistic problems, making me feel and root for every one of them! Everything comes together in a cozy, uplifting way with low drama and plenty of heart.

 

I alternately read and listened to an audio version and can recommend either. Henrietta Meire’s performance was wonderful! She seamlessly alternated between characters, giving each one a distinct voice and personality.

4 Stars

Book Description:

A joyful, sun‑soaked story of friendship, love, and new beginnings, from USA TODAY bestselling author Sarah Morgan—perfect for fans of Jenny Colgan, Jill Shalvis, and seaside escapes.

Running a five-star Cornish hotel should have been Evie Hamilton’s dream job. But restoring it to its former glory is going to take a miracle. All Evie has is grit, and a hoard of unruly staff who love to speculate about her love life. She needs back-up, and fast.

Enter Abby Jones. Parachuted in by the hotel’s umbrella company for the summer, Abby thinks Evie could be the best friend she never had. But Abby has her own agenda for being in Cornwall. If her real motives are uncovered, their friendship is going to melt away faster than an ice cream in the summer sun.

Yet Abby’s arrival starts a chain reaction. With the help of a charming chef and a gruff pub owner, they begin to embrace their true selves and the bonds that unite them. But it’s not just the hotel’s five-star reputation that needs rebuilding – Evie and Abby will also have to brave tearing down their lives in order to reshape their futures…

Audiobook Review: Paradox by Douglas Preston & Aletheia Preston

 

Paradox (Cash & Colcord #2) by Douglas Preston & Aletheia Preston

Publication Date: April 21st 2026 by Macmillan Audio

Pages: 352

Audio Book Length: 10hrs 55min

Narrator: Stephanie Németh-Parker

Source: Publisher

Rating: ★★★½

Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Libro.fm |  Audible | Goodreads

My Thoughts:

Agent Frankie Cash of the GBI and Sheriff Jim Colcord are pulled into a puzzling case when a reclusive mountain man is found brutally tortured and murdered in his remote Colorado cabin. The ritualistic, religious overtones are disturbing.

 

As they investigate, Frankie and Colcord find themselves battling fanatical protestors, relentless reporters, narrow‑minded clergy, and a dangerous figure hunting for an object worth killing for.

 

Some of the law‑enforcement procedure veers into the unbelievable, but that didn’t stop this from being an action‑packed, entertaining ride. The fun kind of popcorn thriller to plug into when you just want to be entertained!

 

I’ve enjoyed Stephanie Németh‑Parker’s narration before, and she once again delivers. She gives each character a distinct presence with appropriate emotions, elevating the entire experience!

3.5 Stars

Book Decription:

The new powerhouse team of Douglas Preston & Aletheia Preston are joining together to "enter the world" of the New York Times bestselling Extinction.

One of the holiest relics in Christendom, inexplicably defaced…

A paranoid old prospector, ritualistically murdered…

A controversial exobiologist, tortured and dismembered…

When a reclusive man is found dead under grisly circumstances in the Colorado wilderness, CBI Agent Frankie Cash and Eagle County Sheriff Jim Colcord, whom we met in the New York Times bestseller, Extinction, team up again on their most enigmatic and dangerous case yet. Their investigation uncovers a trail of bizarre killings, baffling money transfers, and a fanatical secret society.

And all the while, the resurrected Neanderthals, who vanished into the Colorado mountains, seem to be biding their time for something…spectacular.

Review: Mad Mabel by Sally Hepworth

 

Mad Mabel by Sally Hepworth

Publication Date: April 21st 2026 by St. Martin's Press & Macmillan Audio

Pages: 336

Audio Book Length: 9hrs 20min

Narrators: Hannah Fredericksen & Jenny Seedsman

Source: Publishers

Rating: ★★★★★

Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Libro.fm | Audible | Goodreads

My Thoughts:

I read Mad Mabel several months ago, devoured it in one sitting on a flight, and was absolutely riveted. My re‑read on audio somehow made it even better. The emotions hit harder the second time around. I laughed, I cried, and I raged at the injustices woven through the story. Thankfully, that heaviness is balanced with sharp, perfectly timed humor. Elsie, the gloriously grumpy eighty‑one‑year‑old at the center of it all, had me laughing with her blunt observations, yet her history broke my heart.

 

Elsie Fitzpatrick lives a quiet life tending her roses, gossiping with her best friend Daphne, and tolerating Persephone, the seven‑year‑old neighbor who refuses to leave her alone. But everything changes when Elsie discovers the body of her ninety‑three‑year‑old neighbor. Long‑buried secrets surface, Elsie’s past comes roaring back, and her carefully ordered world is thrown into chaos.

 

Mad Mabel left its mark on me. It’s easily one of my favorite reads of 2026. I’m still thinking about it!

 

I read an e‑copy first and then listened to the audiobook, and I can wholeheartedly recommend either format. Jenny Seedsman voices Elsie in the present, while Hannah Fredericksen brings Mabel’s past to life. Both narrators deliver incredible performances, handling a wide range of ages, genders, and emotional tones with total ease. The audio truly was perfection!

5 Stars

Book Description:

From Sally Hepworth, the New York Times bestselling author of The Soulmate and The Good Sister, comes a twist-filled, darkly funny mystery about the two kinds of people no one ever expects to be murderers: little girls and old ladies.

Meet Mad Mabel.

Elsie Mabel Fitzpatrick is eighty-one years old. She's lived on her idyllic street, Kenny Lane, for sixty years--longer than anyone else. Aside from being a curmudgeon who minds everyone else's business, few would suspect that Elsie has a past that she has worked exceedingly hard at concealing. Because when it comes to murder, no one ever suspects little girls or old ladies. And Elsie Mabel Fitzpatrick, once a little girl and now an old lady, has a strange history of people in her life coming to a foul end.

When a new little girl (talkative, curious, nosy) moves into the neighborhood and stops at nothing to befriend Elsie, her carefully-constructed life threatens to come crashing down as the secrets in Elsie's past start coming to light. Who was "Mad Mabel" fifty years ago? Who is Elsie Fitzpatrick today? And if the past has a habit of repeating itself, who has the most to lose?

Told with Sally Hepworth's twists, humor, charm, and heart, MAD MABEL is novel that weaves past and present together--through the power of justice and redemption, and all the way to its stunning conclusion.

Sunday Post #336

 

The Sunday Post is hosted by Kimberly @ Caffeinated reviewer book blog, and is a post to recap my bookish and non-bookish things from the last week. I'm also linking up to The Sunday Salon hosted by Deb Nance @Readerbuzz.

Happy Sunday!

We had a wonderful time in Mendocino, California! We've been several times but it's the first time since moving four years ago. The drive was really pretty, just a bit over four hours and we listened to an audiobook both ways.

Mendocino coastal walk

Llamas at the inn we stayed at

Gallery Bookshop in downtown Mendocino

Bookshop with a view of the ocean!

Inside bookshop

Skunk Train in Fort Bragg

500 Piece Puzzle completed at the inn: Brilliant Butterflies by Mudpuppy

Puzzle 23 of 2026

500 Piece Puzzle Completed: Amazon with no name??

Puzzle 24 of 2026

1000 Piece Puzzle Completed: Happy Campers by Puzzlefolk

Puzzle 25 of 2026

Read:

Mad Mabel by Sally Hepworth-5 Stars

Paradox by Douglas Preston & Alethia Preston-3.5 Stars

The Eye of the Bedlam Bride (Dungeon Crawler Carl #6) by Matt Dinniman-5 Stars

Blaze Orange by Paul Doiron-4 Stars

Mad Mabel is a re-read by audio and it was even better the second time around! Dungeon Crawler #6 was over 26 hours! I had started it and had to put is aside to get through several review books but restarted on our vacation. I can't wait to start the next one (book 7)! Book 8 comes out in a couple of weeks. 

Received:

I, Spy by L.M. Kemp

Archangel's Eternity by Nalini Singh

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and Berkley!

How was your week?

Giveaway: 3 Romance Books!

 Happy Friday! 

Just got back from the coast yesterday afternoon and thought I'd hop on here and post a giveaway. 

The Wild Magic series by Raquel Vasquez Gilliland

The Giveaway is open to US Residents only. Fill out the form for a chance to win. Good luck!

Entry-Form

Review: Blaze Orange by Paul Doiron

 

Blaze Orange by Paul Doiron

Publication Date: April 28th 2026 by Macmillan Audio

Pages: 58

Audio Book Length: 1hr 7min

Narrator: Henry Leyva

Source: Publisher

Rating: ★★★★

Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Libro.fm |  Audible | Goodreads

My Thoughts:

Kathy Frost has just started her job as a Game Warden in rural Maine, and it’s deer hunting season. She and Charley, the senior Game Warden, are called out to a hunting accident. Apparently, a seasoned deer hunter accidently shot and killed a man, mistaking him for a deer since he was dressed all in brown, but right away Kathy doesn’t think his story rings true.

 

The Mike Bowditch series has fifteen books, but Blaze Orange is a standalone short story before Mike comes onto the job. Instead, this features Mike’s mentor, Charley Stevens.  Charley’s a seemingly folksy man, yet underneath that exterior is a sharp investigator. Kathy is new to the job so is just getting the sense of him as they investigate.

 

I love the Mike Bowditch series! Intriguing and dangerous cases set in the gorgeous and rugged Maine landscape.  

 

Blaze Orange was an interesting case. Seeing Charley help Kathy put things together for herself underlined what a wonderful mentor he was. The 1990s setting was fun. A time when you had to make sure you had change if you needed to make a phone call (phone booths!) because cell phones weren’t widely available, yet.

 

This is a very short story, just a little over an hour. A great way to try out the author and dip your toe into the series!

 

Henry Leyva narrates this story, as well as the rest of the series and I love his Maine accents and performance of the author’s dry humor interspersed throughout.

4 Stars

Book Description:

In “Blaze Orange,” an original short story by bestselling author Paul Doiron, Maine game warden Charley Stevens suspects that a tragic hunting accident is really cold-blooded murder—if only he can prove it.

When a local man is shot dead during deer season in 1990s Maine, all signs point to a heartbreaking mistake, as the victim was dressed head-to-toe in brown, and the shooter is a respected family man known for his gentleness. But as Charley and rookie warden Kathy Frost sift through the quiet tensions of a small community, two details refuse to add up. The victim knew better than to wear neutral colors during deer season. Why wasn’t he dressed in blaze orange? And something that should be at the scene simply isn’t.

To solve the case, Charley must dig into old grudges and buried motives—and Kathy turns to the most unlikely investigator of all.

Review: The Name Game by Beth O'Leary

 

The Name Game by Beth O'Leary

Publication Date: April 7th 2026 by Berkley

Pages: 384

Source: Publisher 

Rating: ★★★★½

Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Libro.fm | Audible | Goodreads

My Thoughts:

Charlie Jones arrives on the remote island of Ormer ready for a fresh start as the new farm store manager. The island is exactly what she needs: quiet, beautiful, and far removed from the life she’s trying to leave behind. But her reset is immediately derailed when another Charlie Jones shows up, insisting he is the one who was offered the job. A simple mix‑up… or something more suspicious?

 

Rosie Nicole, the farm’s owner, decides the only fair solution is a two‑month trial. Whichever Charlie proves to be the better fit will stay on permanently, unless they can boost profits enough to justify hiring both.

 

Both Charlies are desperate for a restart, and the story slowly unravels their pasts through emails, diary entries, and flashbacks. Their relationship begins with prickly tension, but working and living in such close quarters forces them into an uneasy truce that gradually shifts into trust, respect, and eventually a simmering attraction. It’s a slow burn, but I was hooked on every moment of it.

 

I also adored the island regulars, an odd, prickly, and unexpectedly warm group who make Ormer feel like a place you’d want to escape to yourself.

 

As for the name‑swap mystery, I had no idea where it was heading, but I could feel a twist brewing. When the truth finally dropped, I had to pause and process because it genuinely blindsided me in the best way. O’Leary ties it together so cleverly that once everything clicks, it feels both surprising and completely earned. It added a whole new emotional layer to the story, and I loved it!

4.5 Stars

Book Description:

A man and a woman with the same name are looking for a fresh start only to discover they have landed the same job in this charming new romance by bestselling author Beth O’Leary.

Charlie couldn’t be happier to take the job of farm-shop manager on the remote, wild Isle of Ormer. She’s grieving, a little lost, and in desperate need of a fresh start.

Jones has come out of a difficult breakup and is looking forward to some peace away from the noise of his city life. Moving to Ormer couldn’t have come at a better time.

But when Charlie Jones and, ahem, Charlie Jones both turn up at Ormer’s one and only farm shop, claiming to have been offered the role of manager, everyone is baffled. How could this have happened? And just who is the real Charlie Jones?