Book Review: The Book of Candlelight
I received this galley in exchange for an honest review.
Author: Ellery Adams
Genre: Mystery
Publisher: Kensington
Publish Date: January 28, 2020
Format: eBook
Series: Secret, Book, and Scone Society
★★★☆☆
This book is perfect for those that like: EMT boyfriends that plan themed dinners, gushy declarations of love, and a saucy, older gentleman who steals the show at every turn.
You might not like this book if you aren’t into: murder, descriptions of hate crimes, or judgy booksellers.
Purchase: Amazon / Barnes & Noble / IndieBound / Audible
From Goodreads:
The rain in Miracle Springs, North Carolina, 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. But 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.
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 . . .
The Book of Candelight is the third installment in the Secret, Book, and Scone Society series by Ellery Adams. The series centers around a woman named Nora Pennington and her newly formed circle of friends, Hester Winthrop, June Dixon, and Estella Sadler. Initially, the foursome was brought together by chance, but over time, they have formed quite the bond with one another as they share their lives, food, relationships, and of course, their secrets. Oh, and they happen to solve a few murders in their downtime.
The mystery in The Book of Candlelight was well-plotted and left me guessing right up until the end, which is what makes a good cozy, right? Usually, yes, however, in this case, regardless of the plot itself, I didn’t find myself drawn to this story as I did the first book. This story felt different from the rest of the series-- a bit disjointed. In the first book, we get a lot of world-building for Miracle Springs and all of its inhabitants. In the second, we learn more about Nora and watch her grow and open up to new possibilities for herself. We even find out a new secret about her, but we learn nothing new from anyone, save Nora, in this latest installment. It felt very stagnant in terms of character growth.
I would also be remiss if I didn’t address certain language choices in these books. In each of these, the author uses coffee to describe June’s skin color. People are not cafe au lait toned. Or any other food choices out there- caramel, espresso, etc. Additionally, there is a character named Danny, but apparently the people of Miracle Springs refer to him as Cherokee Danny. Um, why? Why isn’t he just Danny? As a person of Mexican descent, I would not like it at all if the people of my town referred to me as Half-Mexican Lisa all the time.
I’m not sure that I will continue with the series beyond this book, but I appreciate NetGalley offering me the chance to review it.