For the Love of Writing

This blog is mostly book reviews but there's an overlap between reading and writing so I wanted to share my Substack, For the Love of Writing, launching today!

The monthly newsletter will include my thoughts on things related to reading and writing, and I'll also recommend a book (well, at least one!) per issue, so check it out and subscribe so you don't miss a thing!

The Record Shop Mystery Series by Olivia Blacke

I love finding a new cozy mystery series. Vinyl Resting Place was the January pick for Cozy Mystery Book Club. I love how the choices are always the first book in a series so you don't have to get up to speed with several books to join in on the discussion. Plus I love getting a chance to discover new authors and get invested in a series. My last home run from the book club was the Grilled Cheese mysteries.

Vinyl Resting Place

Was this book written just for me? I mean, records, coffee, and a mystery, yes please. Not to mention the song title puns used for the special brews Juni created in the shop! Speaking of the main character... I loved Juni and her sisters and the mystery of her uncle and all his associates. I thought it was really well done in terms of characters. The mystery itself wasn’t what I was expecting because I thought the reader would get all the clues to try and solve the mystery themselves, and that wasn’t possible (unless I missed something?), but it was still a fun ride with good twists. I definitely want to read more in this series.

A Fatal Groove

I loved the premise of this series but the first book didn’t quite grab me. I’m glad I gave Blacke another chance though, because this book ROCKED. I feel like she hit her stride here, or maybe it’s just because more townspeople were introduced and the story felt more rounded than the first mystery. I think the clues were better in this one too, and while there were plenty of potential suspects, I felt like I got to the resolution along with Juni, which I didn’t get from the first book. Can’t wait for the next! My favorite parts of both the first and second book in this series are definitely the song title/coffee puns - they're SO good.

Rhythm and Clues

The third book was such a satisfying resolution (for now???) to this series. I think I liked the second book best of all, but this one nicely wrapped up that love triangle (a bit late for my tastes but hey) and had a really interesting crime. My favorite part of the second book was seeing more of the community, and this takes that idea and runs with it, showing more of the town and local businesses. I feel like there weren’t enough coffee/music puns, though, which is just one reason I hope Blacke continues this series eventually. Six months in Cedar River isn’t enough!