Can't Wait Wednesday: Who Moved My Goat Cheese? (A Farm-to-Fork Mystery) by Lynn Cahoon

Can't Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings that spotlights and discusses the books we're excited about that we've yet to read. Generally, they're books that are yet to be released. It's based on Waiting on Wednesday, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

This week I'm featuring Who Moved My Goat Cheese? (A Farm-to-Fork Mystery) by Lynn Cahoon releasing March 6, 2018.

About the Book

Angie Turner hopes her new farm-to-table restaurant can be a fresh start in her old hometown in rural Idaho. But when a goat dairy farmer is murdered, Angie must turn the tables on a bleating black sheep . . .

With three weeks until opening night for their restaurant, the County Seat, Angie and her best friend and business partner Felicia are scrambling to line up local vendors—from the farmer's market to the goat dairy farm of Old Man Moss. Fortunately, the cantankerous Moss takes a shine to Angie, as does his kid goat Precious. So when Angie hears the bloodcurdling news of foul play at the dairy farm, she jumps in to mind the man's livestock and help solve the murder. One thing's for sure, there's no whey Angie's going to let some killer get her goat . . .

Why I Need It

I LOVE goats! I have several and they're so mischievous and fun to be around. So, since there's a goat on the cover and goats inside the book, of course I have to read it!  Plus, I love cozy mysteries set on farms.

What book are you eagerly anticipating? Leave a comment below and let me know.

Book Beginnings + Friday 56: Bones to Pick (A Brie Hooker Mystery Book 1) by Linda Lovely

Book Beginnings is a weekly meme hosted by Rose City Reader that asks you to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you're reading. Friday 56 is hosted by Freda's Voice and asks you to grab a book (any book), turn to page 56 or 56% in your ereader and share a non-spoilery sentence or two.

This week I'm featuring Bones to Pick (A Brie Hooker Mystery Book 1) by Linda Lovely.

Book Beginning

Hello, I'm Brie, and I'm a vegan.

It sounds like I'm introducing myself at a Vegetarians Anonymous meeting. But, trust me, there aren't enough vegetarians in Ardon County, South Carolina, to make a circle much less hold a meeting.

Friday 56

I parked in front of Eva's cabin and received the usual greeting from Braden and Jim, two of the Udderly dogs who lazed near the cabin when they were off goat-guarding duties.

About the Book

Living on a farm with four hundred goats and a cantankerous carnivore isn’t among vegan chef Brie Hooker’s list of lifetime ambitions. But she can’t walk away from her Aunt Eva, who needs help operating her dairy.

Once she calls her aunt’s goat farm home, grisly discoveries offer ample inducements for Brie to employ her entire vocabulary of cheese-and-meat curses. The troubles begin when the farm’s pot-bellied pig unearths the skull of Eva’s husband, who disappeared years back. The sheriff, kin to the deceased, sets out to pin the murder on Eva. He doesn’t reckon on Brie’s resolve to prove her aunt’s innocence. Death threats, ruinous pedicures, psychic shenanigans, and biker bar fisticuffs won’t stop Brie from unmasking the killer, even when romantic befuddlement throws her a curve.

What have you been reading lately? Leave a comment below and let me know.

Review: Hometown Girl by Courtney Walsh

About the Book

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Courtney Walsh returns with a hopeful and emotional new book about seizing second chances, finding yourself, and forging your own path.

Beth Whitaker isn’t supposed to be a small-town girl. She’s always dreamed of leaving Willow Grove, Illinois, for the big city, but she feels trapped, struggling to make up for a mistake that’s haunted her for years. Just when Beth is finally ready to break free, her sister impulsively buys a beloved but run-down farm on the outskirts of town, and she begs Beth to help with the restoration. Reluctantly, Beth agrees to help—and puts her own dreams on hold once again.

Drew Barlow hasn’t been back to Fairwind Farm since he was a boy, and he’s spent all these years trying to outrun the pain of a past he thought he buried long ago. When he learns that the owner has passed away, his heart knows it’s finally time to do the right thing. Returning to Willow Grove, Drew revisits the old farm, where he attempts to piece together his memories and the puzzle of the crime he witnessed so long ago.

Both on a journey to find peace, Beth and Drew are surprised when they begin to experience a restoration of their own. But when long-buried secrets break through the soil and the truth unfurls, will it threaten their budding relationship—and the very future of the farm?

Amazon / Goodreads

My Review

Four Stars

I love books that feature small towns. I also love books that showcase life on the farm. So when you combine the two, it's sure to be a winner for me and Hometown Girl was just that. It was a charming and heartwarming romance that I really enjoyed.

Beth Whitaker's life hasn't gone the way she'd hoped it would. She had a series of major disappointments that shattered her confidence and left her with somewhat of a defeatist attitude. She's a pragmatic perfectionist who's constantly trying to prove herself and feels like she has the weight of the world on her shoulders. Drew Barlow has a lot of guilt over something that happened twenty years ago. He's back at Fairwind Farm hoping to find closure. I really liked both of these characters. I could relate to Beth in a lot of ways. Drew intrigued me and I really felt for him. The constant pressure that was put on him as a little kid was so wrong. It was great watching them grow and learn to trust each other.

The element of faith was strong and woven seamlessly throughout. There was also a mystery aspect that I didn't expect, but really enjoyed. I did get a bit frustrated with all the secret keeping. There were times I wanted to scream at the characters to just tell each other the truth and stop hiding things from each other.

All in all, this story was a joy to read. I'm really hoping this is the start of a series because I'd love to visit Willow Grove again and read more about Beth's siblings. This was my first time reading anything by Courtney Walsh, but it definitely won't be the last!

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts and comments are my honest opinion.

Favorite Quotes

“I feel like I'm living with a bird in a cage. You've got wings, my darling daughter. Use them.”

“I'm saying if you do what you were made to do, then you'll find the peace you've been looking for. You can't work for it, you know. You just have to rest in it.”

You can find author Courtney Walsh online at her website, on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest.

Book Beginnings + Friday 56: Hometown Girl by Courtney Walsh

Book Beginnings is a weekly meme hosted by Rose City Reader that asks you to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you're reading. Friday 56 is hosted by Freda's Voice and asks you to grab a book (any book), turn to page 56 or 56% in your ereader and share a non-spoilery sentence or two.

This week I'm featuring Hometown Girl by Courtney Walsh. I just finished this small-town contemporary romance and really enjoyed it. I'll have my review up for it on Monday, so be sure to come back and check it out. 

Book Beginning

Beth Whitaker hated flowers.

Friday 56 (56% on my Kindle)

She'd been striving to prove that she was more than Jed Whitaker's daughter since the day she'd graduated from college. She'd known she'd never accomplish everything she was meant to if she wasn't able to make these people take her seriously.

About the Book

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Courtney Walsh returns with a hopeful and emotional new book about seizing second chances, finding yourself, and forging your own path.

Beth Whitaker isn’t supposed to be a small-town girl. She’s always dreamed of leaving Willow Grove, Illinois, for the big city, but she feels trapped, struggling to make up for a mistake that’s haunted her for years. Just when Beth is finally ready to break free, her sister impulsively buys a beloved but run-down farm on the outskirts of town, and she begs Beth to help with the restoration. Reluctantly, Beth agrees to help—and puts her own dreams on hold once again.

Drew Barlow hasn’t been back to Fairwind Farm since he was a boy, and he’s spent all these years trying to outrun the pain of a past he thought he buried long ago. When he learns that the owner has passed away, his heart knows it’s finally time to do the right thing. Returning to Willow Grove, Drew revisits the old farm, where he attempts to piece together his memories and the puzzle of the crime he witnessed so long ago.

Both on a journey to find peace, Beth and Drew are surprised when they begin to experience a restoration of their own. But when long-buried secrets break through the soil and the truth unfurls, will it threaten their budding relationship—and the very future of the farm? 

What have you been reading lately? Leave a comment below and let me know.

Waiting On Wednesday/Can't Wait Wednesday: Bones To Pick (A Brie Hooker Mystery Book 1) by Linda Lovely

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine that highlights upcoming eagerly anticipated releases.

Can't Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings that spotlights and discusses the books we're excited about that we've yet to read. Generally, they're books that are yet to be released.

This week I'm featuring Bones To Pick (A Brie Hooker Mystery Book 1) by Linda Lovely releasing October 24.

About the Book

Living on a farm with four hundred goats and a cantankerous carnivore isn’t among vegan chef Brie Hooker’s list of lifetime ambitions. But she can’t walk away from her Aunt Eva, who needs help operating her dairy.

Once she calls her aunt’s goat farm home, grisly discoveries offer ample inducements for Brie to employ her entire vocabulary of cheese-and-meat curses. The troubles begin when the farm’s pot-bellied pig unearths the skull of Eva’s husband, who disappeared years back. The sheriff, kin to the deceased, sets out to pin the murder on Eva. He doesn’t reckon on Brie’s resolve to prove her aunt’s innocence. Death threats, ruinous pedicures, psychic shenanigans, and biker bar fisticuffs won’t stop Brie from unmasking the killer, even when romantic befuddlement throws her a curve.

Why I Need It

I love a good and funny cozy mystery and Bones to Pick sounds hilarious!

What book are you eagerly anticipating? Leave a comment below and let me know.

Killer Jam (A Dewberry Farm Mystery #1) by Karen MacInerney

Summary:

When Houston reporter Lucy Resnick cashes in her retirement to buy her grandmother’s farm in Buttercup, Texas, she’s looking forward to a simple life as a homesteader. But Lucy has barely finished putting up her first batch of Killer Dewberry Jam when an oil exploration truck rolls up to the farm and announces plans to replace her broccoli patch with an oil derrick. Two days later, Nettie Kocurek, the woman who ordered the drilling, turns up dead at the Founders’ Day Festival with a bratwurst skewer through her heart and one of Lucy’s jam jars beside her…and the sheriff fingers Lucy as the prime suspect.

Horrified, Lucy begins to talk to Nettie’s neighbors, but the more she gets to know the townspeople, the more she realizes she’s not the only one who had a beef with Nettie. Can she clear her name, or will her dream life turn into a nightmare?

• Amazon
• Goodreads

My Review:

Four Stars

Lucy Resnick goes from big city reporter to small town homesteader when she buys her grandparents old farm. Her lifelong dream hits a snag, though, when she finds out that the woman she bought the house from, Nettie Kocurek, kept the mineral rights and plans to set up an oil rig right in the middle of Lucy's farm. Things get even worse when Nettie's found murdered just a couple days later, making Lucy the prime suspect.

Buttercup was a charming small town, but like most small towns, news travels fast, gossip faster, everybody knows everybody else, and newcomers are looked at with suspicion. And since Lucy's the newest resident of Buttercup, she's automatically prime suspect number one when Nettie's killed, even though there were many, many people who had their own motives to off the loathsome old lady.

I loved the animals in this book; Blossom the cow formerly know as #82, what a mischievous one she is, lol, and Chuck the adorable apricot poodle who reminds me of one of my dogs.

I really enjoyed this cozy mystery. It kept me guessing about who the culprit was. I thought I knew who did it, but I wasn't 100 percent sure because there were so many viable suspects. I also really liked getting a peek into Lucy's new homesteading way of life. There were times, though, when things were repeated quite often, even right after it was first mentioned, which got kinda annoying. Other than that, I loved Killer Jam and am looking forward to reading the next book in this series, Fatal Frost.

Books in this series:

• Killer Jam (A Dewberry Farm Mystery #1)
• Fatal Frost (A Dewberry Farm Mystery #2)

To learn more about this author, visit her website here.