Title: The Book of Candlelight
My Rating: 4.25
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Author: Ellery Adams
Format: ARC*
Publication Date: January 28, 2020
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The Book of Candlelight Book Blurb
From New York Times bestselling author Ellery Adams, the third installment in her beguiling cozy mystery series featuring librarian-turned-bookseller Nora Pennington who has a penchant for bibliotherapy and solving crimes. While people visit Miracle Springs for healing treatments, it’s Nora who helps them find peace by prescribing the perfect book along with a fresh-baked scone. After all, sometimes the key to happiness, friendship–or solving a murder–can simply be found within the pages of the right book. It’s been a very wet spring in Miracle Springs, North Carolina, and the rain has been relentless–and a flood of trouble is about to be unleashed…
As the owner of Miracle Books, Nora Pennington figures all the wet weather this spring is at least good for business. The local inns are packed with stranded travelers, and among them Nora finds both new customers and a new friend, the sixty-something Sheldon, who starts helping out at the store.
Since a little rain never hurt anyone, Nora rides her bike over to the flea market one sodden day and buys a bowl from Danny, a Cherokee potter. It’ll make a great present for Nora’s EMT boyfriend. But the next day, a little rain turns into a lot of rain, and the Miracle River overflows its banks. Amid the wreckage of a collapsed footbridge, a body lies within the churning water.
Nora and the sheriff both doubt the ruling of accidental drowning, and Nora decides it’s time for the Secret, Book, and Scone Society to spring into action. When another body turns up, it becomes clearer that Danny’s death can’t be blamed on a natural disaster. A crucial clue may lie within the stone walls of the Inn of Mist and Roses: a diary, over a century old and spattered with candle wax, that leads Nora and her friends through a maze of intrigue–and onto the trail of a murderer…
Purchase Links
Amazon | Books-a-Million | Barnes & Noble
The Book of Candlelight REVIEW
As a quick reminder, here is my rating structure:
- 1 star: Did not finish
- 2 Stars: Finished but I do not recommend
- 3 Stars: Liked but could use some improvements
- 4 Stars: Loved this book!
- 5 Stars: Rare. The unput-down-able, binge read obsession.
My star ratings are also based also genre based. I compare all books with books of the same genre. While I would love to believe that my love of books in general transcends all bias, there are genres I prefer over others.
I’m human.
Example: If I read a mystery novel and think it deserves a 5-star rating, then I have compared it to other mystery books, and determined it to be one of my absolute favorites. The unputdownable mystery.
This will hopefully keep me from comparing Outlander, a personal obsession of mine, with the experience of reading The Hate You Give. Both 5 star books for me, but completely and totally different. I couldn’t even try to rate them against each other, so I don’t. Makes my life easier.
My Thoughts…
I’m a big fan of writing real, not perfect, women. Women who have made mistakes and have taken responsibility for them. That are living with their pasts and trying to be better. The key word being living.
They are living a real life with real problems, mistakes, and issues.
Nora is one of these characters. She has a past trauma that shapes the woman she is and the decisions she makes going forward. To start a new life, she opens a book store in a small town and settles in. Of course, nothing can be that easy.
In this particular installment of the series, Nora discovers the body of a new acquaintance. In a twisting and winding story, she finds herself in the middle of his murder mystery along with some other strange goings on. Nothng dull about this small town life.
Nora is a great character because she’s indecisive and unsure but trying with all of her heart to do the right things. There’s a part of this story where she befriends the widow and it’s honestly heart wrenching because Ellery Adams does a fantastic job of describing the dynamics of building a relationship out of such a traumatic event.
Nora wants to help her but they do not know each other almost at all and are connected by this somewhat shared experience. Throw in the complications of trying to get information from the widow while truly befriending her, and things get messy fast.
The pace of the story was perfect and really highlighted the mysterious elements. I had absolutely no problem imagining every event, person, and scene as it was described.
What didn’t work for me…
Even though I love a good flawed hero/heroine, I have to say that Nora left me feeling a little cold at times. It wasn’t always, but sometimes, she didn’t seem emotionally connected to her life and left me without an emotional connection to her life as well. This may be due to her previous trauma, but that’s the feeling I was left with.
Conclusion
The Book of Candelight is a cute and cozy mystery that will satisfy any fan of the genre.
*Special thanks to Ellery Adams, Kensington Books, and TLC Book Tours for providing a copy of The Book of Candlelight in exchange for an honest review.
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