The Maid's Secret

I finished out the Molly the Maid series with The Maid's Secret by Nita Prose on audiobook. The book descriptions says, "Molly Gray’s life is about to change in ways she could never have imagined. As the esteemed Head Maid and Special Events Manager of the Regency Grand Hotel, two good things are just around the corner—a taping of the hit antiquities TV show Hidden Treasures and, even more exciting, her wedding to Juan Manuel. When Molly brings in some old trinkets to be appraised on the show, one item is revealed to be a rare and coveted artifact worth millions. Molly becomes a rags-to-riches sensation, and a media frenzy swirls as she prepares to sell her priceless treasure. Then, on auction day, the treasure suddenly vanishes. and Molly and her friends find themselves at the center of the boldest art heist in recent memory. But the key to this mystery lies in the past, in a long-forgotten diary written by Molly’s Gran. For the first time ever, Molly learns about her grandmother’s secrets: how she was born into a wealthy family and fell head-over-heels in love with a young man her parents deemed below her. As fate would have it, Gran’s greatest love was someone Molly knows quite well."

This was another fun read. I liked learning more about Gran's history and liked the way the story went back and forth from the past to the present. Even though I didn't really like that format in book 2, I felt like it worked really well in this one as more and more information was uncovered throughout the story. Sometimes parts of the story dragged on for me a bit, but the end had me tearing up a couple times. I love how things came together in the end, and it was also fun to see how things from the earlier books totally had meaning in this last book in the series. (How do authors do that??) I do feel like Molly has changed a lot as a character since book 1, like she's not as recognizable in this book in terms of all the things she struggled with in book 1 (like she seems more socially aware now and such), but I don't mind and it seems to just work with regular character growth. Overall, this was an enjoyable series, and I would read more if the author wrote more.

Rating: * * (2/3 = Liked it)

The Mistletoe Mystery

I decided to continue with the Molly the Maid books by Nita Prose with this book #2.5, a novella called The Mistletoe Mystery. The book description reads, "Molly Gray has always loved the holidays. When Molly was a child, her gran went to great lengths to make the season merry and bright, full of cherished traditions. The first few Christmases without Gran were hard on Molly, but this year, her beloved boyfriend and fellow festive spirit, Juan Manuel, is intent on making the season Molly’s mofinst joyful yet. But when a Secret Santa gift exchange at the Regency Grand Hotel raises questions about who Molly can and cannot trust, she dives headfirst into solving her most consequential—and personal—mystery yet. Molly has a bad feeling about things, and she starts to wonder: has she yet again mistaken a frog for a prince?"

This was a pretty quick read and enjoyable again to be with Molly since she's such a likable character and these are such light, clean, fun books. This book was a little silly to me since it really had no mystery since the reader knew what was going on the entire time and just Molly was clueless. I wish there was a little more depth to the book, but it's ok because I'm reading book 3 now and it's got a lot more going on. This was just a novella so I shouldn't expect too much. I'm rating it as "it was okay," but I'm still glad I read it.

Rating: * (1/3 = It was okay)

The Mystery Guest

The Mystery Guest by Nita Prose is the sequel to The Maid, a book I read for book club last month. The book description says, "Molly Gray is not like anyone else. With her flair for cleaning and proper etiquette, she has risen through the ranks of the glorious five-star Regency Grand Hotel to become the esteemed Head Maid. But just as her life reaches a pinnacle state of perfection, her world is turned upside down when J. D. Grimthorpe, the world-renowned mystery author, drops dead—very dead—on the hotel’s tearoom floor. When Detective Stark, Molly’s old foe, investigates the author’s unexpected demise, it becomes clear that this death was murder most foul. Suspects abound, and everyone wants to know: Who killed J. D. Grimthorpe? Was it Lily, the new Maid-in-Training? Or was it Serena, the author’s secretary? Could Mr. Preston, the hotel’s beloved doorman, be hiding something? And is Molly really as innocent as she seems? As the high-profile death threatens the hotel’s pristine reputation, Molly knows she alone holds the key to unlocking the killer’s identity. But that key is buried deep in her past, as long ago, she knew J. D. Grimthorpe. Molly begins to comb her memory for clues, revisiting her childhood and the mysterious Grimthorpe mansion where she and her dearly departed Gran once worked side by side. With the entire hotel under investigation, Molly must solve the mystery posthaste. Because if there’s one thing she knows for sure, it’s that secrets don’t stay buried forever."

This was another fun, light read. I feel like it's kind of rare to find clean adult books, so I just feel like these books are kind of refreshing and fun. I think Molly is a great character, and this book brought back some characters I liked from last time but also some fun new characters. The book did some back and forth (like half the book was her remembering a sequence of events from her childhood), which wasn't always my favorite format, but it totally made the book work to do it like that. I feel like this author is interesting because I always expect the book to end way sooner and then there's just a ton more book left to tie up loose ends and wrap things up. It's just a different style. There was a part toward the end where Molly was asked if she knew what was going on in the hotel, and she just said, "How would I know? I'm just the maid." (When she heavily involved in what was going on.) And I thought that would have been a perfect ending to the book. But then there was like an hour left in the audiobook haha. But I did enjoy getting all the extra stuff that the book cleared up in the rest of the story.

Rating: * * (2/3 = Liked it)

The Maid

I read The Maid: A Novel by Nita Prose for book club and listened to it on audiobook. The book description says, "Molly Gray is not like everyone else. She struggles with social skills and misreads the intentions of others. Her gran used to interpret the world for her, codifying it into simple rules that Molly could live by. Since Gran died a few months ago, twenty-five-year-old Molly has been navigating life’s complexities all by herself. No matter—she throws herself with gusto into her work as a hotel maid. Her unique character, along with her obsessive love of cleaning and proper etiquette, make her an ideal fit for the job. She delights in donning her crisp uniform each morning, stocking her cart with miniature soaps and bottles, and returning guest rooms at the Regency Grand Hotel to a state of perfection. But Molly’s orderly life is upended the day she enters the suite of the infamous and wealthy Charles Black, only to find it in a state of disarray and Mr. Black himself dead in his bed. Before she knows what’s happening, Molly’s unusual demeanor has the police targeting her as their lead suspect. She quickly finds herself caught in a web of deception, one she has no idea how to untangle. Fortunately for Molly, friends she never knew she had unite with her in a search for clues to what really happened to Mr. Black—but will they be able to find the real killer before it’s too late?"

This was SUCH a fun read! I was engaged from the beginning and just loved Molly's character. It was such a fun premise, and it was just a happy, clean read. I enjoyed the book the whole way through until 2 little things at the end that I didn't love plot-wise, but I can't let those take away from the fact that I loved the rest of the book. There were lots of great characters and a happily ever after ending. I saw that the author has 2 more books in the series, and I'd definitely read them.

Rating: * * * (3/3 = Loved it)

The Appeal

I read The Appeal by Janice Hallett for a book club with my mom and her friends. The book description says, "The Fairway Players, a local theatre group, is in the midst of rehearsals when tragedy strikes the family of director Martin Hayward and his wife Helen, the play’s star. Their young granddaughter has been diagnosed with a rare form of cancer, and with an experimental treatment costing a tremendous sum, their castmates rally to raise the money to give her a chance at survival. But not everybody is convinced of the experimental treatment’s efficacy—nor of the good intentions of those involved. As tension grows within the community, things come to a shocking head at the explosive dress rehearsal. The next day, a dead body is found, and soon, an arrest is made. In the run-up to the trial, two young lawyers sift through the material—emails, messages, letters—with a growing suspicion that the killer may be hiding in plain sight. The evidence is all there, between the lines, waiting to be uncovered."

This was an engaging book. I started out on audio, but after only a few minutes, I knew I wouldn't be able to follow it, so I switched to reading the hard copy. That was a great call because it was a unique book with lots of different characters and collections of evidence--email and text conversations between different people. I liked being able to look back at the list of characters at the beginning whenever needed. I still got confused at times, but overall it was a fun story that kept me guessing as to who to trust and what was really going on. The characters were fun to get to know and read into (though I don't know that I really particularly liked any of them), and there were some fun twists and turns. There were some weird things--like the two lawyers who are sifting through all this evidence seem to be told what to look for, like someone else already knows the truth, so why are they even doing it? or how people are sending emails to each other instead of texts, which seems kind of unrealistic. But still a fun and engaging read. (Note: There is a little bit of bad language in the book.)

Rating: * * (2/3 = Liked it)

The Agathas

I read The Agathas by Kathleen Glasgow and Liz Lawson for a book club I'm in with my mom and her friends. The book description says, "Last summer, Alice Ogilvie’s basketball-star boyfriend Steve dumped her. Then she disappeared for five days. She's not talking, so where she went and what happened to her is the biggest mystery in Castle Cove. Or it was, at least. But now, another one of Steve’s girlfriends has vanished: Brooke Donovan, Alice’s ex–best friend. And it doesn’t look like Brooke will be coming back. . . Enter Iris Adams, Alice’s tutor. Iris has her own reasons for wanting to disappear, though unlike Alice, she doesn’t have the money or the means. That could be changed by the hefty reward Brooke’s grandmother is offering to anyone who can share information about her granddaughter’s whereabouts. The police are convinced Steve is the culprit, but Alice isn’t so sure, and with Iris on her side, she just might be able to prove her theory. In order to get the reward and prove Steve’s innocence, they need to figure out who killed Brooke Donovan. And luckily Alice has exactly what they need—the complete works of Agatha Christie. If there’s anyone that can teach the girls how to solve a mystery it’s the master herself. But the town of Castle Cove holds many secrets, and Alice and Iris have no idea how much danger they're about to walk into."

This was such a fun read. I got into it pretty quickly and then just couldn't stop reading! I finished the book really quickly because I was super engaged and really wanted to find out what happened. By the end, it was a can't-put-it-down read. This book kind of gave me the same vibe as the Theodore Boone books I read years ago in that there's a mystery, and young people are the ones solving it better than the police....which is not really always super realistic, but it's fun. :) I really liked the main characters (Alice and Iris) and their stories and personalities, and I didn't find the book too overly predictable. The book did have some language and other content that would make it not ideal for my 13-year-old, but it wasn't terrible. Overall this was a fun read, and I'd probably read book #2.

Rating: * * (2/3 = Liked it)

The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle

I read The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton for my book club with friends at church. The book description says, "Aiden Bishop knows the rules. Evelyn Hardcastle will die every day until he can identify her killer and break the cycle. But every time the day begins again, Aiden wakes up in the body of a different guest at Blackheath Manor. And some of his hosts are more helpful than others."

This was a really unique book. It's one of those books that I probably would have given up on at the beginning if I weren't reading it for book club because I was just kinda confused at the beginning and couldn't quite put things together. (But I think that is kinda the point of the book.) By the end, I was super engaged and had so many questions, which made it a fun book club book. I liked the explanations that came at the end of the book that helped me finally pull things together. I also thought the author was a very talented writer with amazingly-written descriptions throughout the book. I would give more details on that, but it's been a couple months since I read this, so I've forgotten much more than what I've written here.

Rating: * * (2/3 = Liked it)