Marriage and Murder

de Penny Reid (2021)

Résumé : Cletus Byron Winston wishes to marry Jennifer Anne Donner-Sylvester (aka The Banana Cake Queen) posthaste! He’s spent the last year wanting nothing more than for the celebrations to be brief, libations flowing, and BYOB (bring your own blueberries). His future mother-in-law has other plans, plans his intended has been willing to indulge, much to Cletus’s chagrin. Therefore, so must he. To a point. But truth be told, he wouldn’t mind if the meddlesome matriarch disappeared, at least until the nuptials are over.

On the night of Cletus and Jenn’s long-awaited engagement party, just when the surly schemer is of a mind to take matters into his own hands, a shocking event upends everyone’s best laid plans and sends the small hamlet of Green Valley into complete disarray. The final months leading up to Cletus and Jenn’s matrimonial bliss are plagued with chaos and uncertainty. Will Cletus and Jenn finally make it to the altar? Or will murder and mayhem derail their happily-ever-after ? And most importantly, who done it ?

"Marriage and Murder" est le 2e tome des cosy mystery, avec Cletus et Jenn.

L'histoire se passe presque 1 an après le premier livre (Engagement and Espionnage), le mariage de nos héros arrive à grand pas, mais tout d'abord Cletus doit survivre au dîner de répétition où presque toute la population de Green Valley a été conviée. Tout semble bien se passé jusqu'à l'apparition soudaine du père de Jennifer et de sa copine, alcoolisé. Après une provocation maitrisée, il est escorté dehors, la fête peut reprendre mais coup de théâtre : des coup de feux retentissent dehors, un mort est trouvé dans une voiture, des gens s'enfuient... et Diane Donner, la maman de Jennifer a disparu !

Lorsqu'on apprend qui est mort, Diane est présentée comme suspecte principale : elle est réapparut le lendemain matin, mais son alibi n'est pas terrible. Cependant Cletus et Jenn sont convaincu qu'elle n'est pas la coupable et vont tout faire pour trouver le ou les vrais coupable(s), tout en finalisant les derniers détails du mariage ^^

L'intrigue autour du meurtre est rudement bien menée, Penny nous amène d'un côté plus de l'autre, nous faisant parfois douter sur qui est suspect ou pas. Petit à petit nos futurs mariés apprennent ce qui s'est passé cette nuit, limite minute par minute, le suspense est bien dosé et ne monte pas trop vite en intensité.

Outre le côté cosy mystery, le gros point fort du roman (tout comme le tome 1) sont toutes les scènes qui nous replongent dans les vies de toute la fratrie Winston. On a le droit à de très belles discussions entre Cletus et quelqu'uns des autres ;) (même que ça ma donnez la larmichette parfois xD)

"Marriage and Murder" is the 2nd book of the cozy mystery, with Cletus and Jenn.

The story takes place almost 1 year after the book 1 (Engagement and Espionage), the marriage of our heroes is approaching fast, but first of all Cletus must survive the rehearsal dinner where almost the entire population of Green Valley has been invited. Everything seems to be going well until the sudden appearance of Jennifer's father, drunk and his girlfriend. After an almost successful provocation, he is escorted outside, the party can resume but there's a dramatic turn of event : gunshots sound outside, a dead man is found in a car, people are seen fleeing... and Diane Donner, Jennifer's mother has disappeared !

When we learn who is dead, Diane is presented as the main suspect : she reappeared the next morning, but her alibi is not that great. However Cletus and Jenn are convinced that she isn't the culprit and will do everything to find the real one(s), while finalizing the details of their marriage ^^

The plot around the murder is rudely well written, Penny takes us from one side to the other, sometimes making us doubt who is suspect or not. Little by little, our future bride and groom learn what happened that night, nearly minute by minute, the suspense is well balanced and does not rise too quickly in intensity.

Besides the cozy mystery side of the story, the big highlight of the novel (like volume 1) are all the scenes that take us back to the lives of all the Winston siblings. We have some very nice discussions between Cletus and some of the others ;) (even some that gave me close to tearfulness sometimes xD)

 

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Dewey Belong Together

de Ann Whynot (2021) - Smartypants Romance.

Résumé : Librarian Maxine Peters lives her life behind the scenes. By day, she's a buttoned-up cataloguing whiz in the basement of the Green Valley Public Library. By night, she's secretly dominating in an online role playing game as the legendary Maximus_Damage. Her in-game persona has the skills to back up the hype. But every hero has an enemy; every saga,a villain. And by her own invitation, Maximus’ arch nemesis, Wrath, has just landed in Green Valley.

Jonathan Owen is not at all who Maxine expects when she meets Wrath face to face. Eager to leave the past in the game, Jonathan takes this golden opportunity to win Maxine's heart. There's just one wrench in that plan: he may have, on a few occasions, acted like a bit of a jerk online. And to his puzzlement, she has taken their fun rivalry to the level of epic dislike.

When Jonathan and Maxine are unexpectedly alone for a weekend, secrets are revealed that make love hard and hatred even harder. Jonathan quickly learns fighting his own demons will take more than one elite gamer. And Maxine, who is busy rebooting her life in Green Valley, might not be up to the task.

When real life starts to override the game, can Maxine and Jonathan find a way to make it work ? Or will it be game over for this player versus player adventure ?


gros coup de coeur pour cette romance de geek *_* les deux héros vont très bien ensemble, l'histoire est bien écrite, les personnages secondaires sont supers, les challenges à relever cohérents avec les histoires personnelles de chacun.

J'ai bien aimé le contexte de l'histoire : des geek qui ne se connaissent qu'en virtuel décident de se rencontrer en réel (même si je ne suis pas une accros aux jeux vidéos, on peut se reconnaitre quel que soit son mode de geekage ^^). Un malheureux concours de circonstances fait que Maxine ne va accueillir finalement qu'une seule personne au lieu d'un petit groupe, et cette personne c'est Jonathan aka Wrath, son arch nemésis dans le jeu, le seul du groupe qu'elle peut pas encadrer tellement il la saoule xD. Mais Maxine a caché pendant 10 ans qu'elle était une "elle" alors que son avatar dans le jeu est un mec, et que tous les joueurs n'en ont aucune idée, et encore moins Wrath...

Jonathan a une idée bien précise en tête en venant à Green Valley : rencontrer pour de vrai Maximus_Damage, le joueur à qui il vaut une admiration sans limite, mais également un amour inconditionné. Pour lui c'est l'occasion de déclarer enfin ses sentiments... quelle n'est donc pas sa surprise en découvrant que Maximus est une femme, et qu'elle le déteste xD. Jonathan va en faire sa mission de conquérir sa guerrière, car homme ou femme il s'en fou, c'est la personne qui compte pour lui.

L'ambiance général du livre est très décomplexée, il y a beaucoup d'humour, beaucoup de références geek, et de la répartie dans les dialogues. Mais on y trouve quand même de la gravité avec les vies personnelles de Maxine et Jonathan. Maxine a été agressée et s'est coupée de vie sociale, elle a peu d'amis en vrai, elle ne sort pas, s'occupe de sa mère agoraphobe et le jeu vidéo est son exutoire ; Jonathan, lui souffre de bipolarité et doit faire attention à son traitement, il s'occupe également de sa mère dépressive et de ses soeurs, son meilleur ami et le seul qui connait sa maladie.

La balance est très bien fait entre le gros délire geek et les soucis de la vie réelle, la romance n'est pas too much et on est pas dans un "l'amûûr sauve tout". J'ai passé un bon moment avec ce bouquin, lu en 2 jours !

This geek romance is a favorite *_* the two heroes are good together, the story is well written, the secondary characters are great, the challenges met are consistent with each characer's personal stories.

I really liked the context of the story : geek people who only know each other in virtual reality decide to meet in real life (even if I'm not a video games player, we can recognize our geek self regardless of our geek means ^^). An unfortunate combination of circumstances means that Maxine will welcome only one person instead of a small group, and this person is Jonathan aka Wrath, her arch nemesis in the game, the only one in the group that she can not put up with as he annoys her so much xD. But Maxine has been hiding for 10 years that she was a "she" when her avatar in the game is a guy, all players have no idea, let alone Wrath...

Jonathan has a very specific idea in mind when he comes to Green Valley : to meet Maximus_Damage, the player to whom he has a limitless admiration, but also an unconditional love. For him this is the opportunity to finally declare his feelings... what a surprise it is to discover that Maximus is a woman, and that she hates him xD. Jonathan will make it his mission to conquer his warrior queen, he doesn't care if is she's a man or woman, it is the person who matters to him.

The general atmosphere of the book is very uninhibited, there is a lot of humor, a lot of geek references, and repartee in the dialogues. But there is still some seriousness with the personal lives of Maxine and Jonathan. Maxine has been assaulted and cut herself off from social life, she has few real friends, she does not go out, takes care of her agoraphobic mother and the video game is her outlet ; Jonathan, suffers from bipolar disorder and must be careful with his treatment, he also takes care of his depressed mother and his sisters, his best friend is the only one who knows his illness.

The balance is very well made between the big geek delirium and the worries of real life, the romance is not too much and we are not in a "love saves everything" storyline. I had a good time with this book, read in 2 days !

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Steal My Magnolia

de Karla Sorensen (2021) - SmartyPants Romance

Résumé : Life lesson from Grady Buchanan: If you're going to fall in love with the untouchable girl in town, don't hire her as your only employee. Even after he bungled the interview with Magnolia MacIntyre, he knew better than to hire her. The list of why it's a bad idea is a long one. Her father could ruin his fledgling business. She is completely overqualified. And he’s attracted to her. What does Grady do? He offers her the job.

Magnolia knew better than to take it. Normally, she'd make the safe choice, and working for Grady is anything but. He's new in town--and entirely too charming. Her dad will be furious. She hates the outdoors and working for an outdoor adventure company is not exactly the right fit. What does she do? She says yes on the spot.

Grady and Magnolia will have to prove to everyone in their life that they're not crazy. And prove to each other that the list of why it's a bad idea should be tossed out the window. For these two opposites, sometimes doing the wrong thing is exactly right.


Je suis restée un peu sur ma faim avec ce roman, j'ai trouvé qu'il était très mal équilibré entre la phase de séduction et le moment où le couple est formé. En gros, le bouquin se termine sur le moment où ils passent enfin aux choses sérieuses, on a un chapitre et un épilogue qui nous montrent Magnolia et Grady ensemble...

L'histoire est pas mauvaise, mais c'est beaucoup trop long. Ils ont beaux être choupi-chou les deux là, passé un stade on n'attend plus qu'ils se jettent l'un sur l'autre xD .

J'aurais voulu avoir plus de scènes de couple, où Grady va passer du temps avec les parents de Magnolia, des moments avec la soeur de Grady, Grace, et son copain Tucker (l'ex de Magnolia) (on peut pas dire qu'il n'y avait pas du contenu à creuser sur cet arc narratif).

Le livre se termine sur un avant-goût de ce que sera le tome de Hunter, le Buchanan qui a fuit Green Valley et sa malédiction. ça promet !

I was a little unsatisfied with this book, I think it wasn' very well balanced between the seduction's phase and the moment when the couple is formed. Basically, the book ends with when they finally get together, we have a chapter and an epilogue that show us Magnolia and Grady as a couple...

The story isn't bad, but it's way too long. They may be the cutest people, after a time, all we want is for them to throw themselves on each other xD.

I would have liked to have had more couple scenes, where Grady is spending time with Magnolia's parents, scenes with Grady's sister, Grace, and her boyfriend Tucker (Magnolia's ex) (we can't say that there wasn't content to dig into this story arc).

The book ends with a taste of what will be Hunter's book, the Buchanan who run away from Green Valley and his curse. Sounds intruiging !

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