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karen_the_baroness's review against another edition
5.0
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy from the Great Escapes Book Tours. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Death by Association Paula Darnell is a different cozy, and it's excellent. This story takes place in Center City, Iowa in a subdivision formed around a golf course which their own HOA. The main character, Laurel McMillian, is a thirty-eight-year-old widower who moved here with her cousin Tracey away from Seattle. Her love interest is, Lieutenant Wesson is a forty-four-year-old divorcee with one kid in medical school that is there investigating the murderer of the HOA president.
Our sleuth is a still young woman who is doing quite well for herself after losing her husband. Laurel has made a great living off of doing DIY projects online and then writing books about them as well. She is currently living in the HOA subdivision and is teaching classes with her DIY projects while thinking of her next book that she wants to write for her DIY Diva Brand.
What I like about her is that she didn't set out initially to look into this death; it just happened as the story progressed. Another thing that I liked about her is that she is very close to her family and wants to do them proud. The last thing that I like about her is that yes she is crafty, but she can't cook or bake. She also can't tell when a man is interested in her. That right there kind of reminds me of me.
Our love interest is our cop of course. He is Lieutenant Wesson, who likes to go by Wes, is a pretty interesting character, and he is partnered with another detective by the name of Smith. Except she is grouchy and not very pleasant while Wes is nice. Wes is a great guy, and he is bringing Laurel out of her dating funk. He also likes dogs especially Laurel's dog named, Bear.
Death by Association by Paula Darnell is a great book. These characters are all great, and I can't wait to read more about them in the next book. Laurel though is going to be testing Wes's patience a lot I have a feeling. I am giving this book a five-star rating and recommending it to all cozy mystery lovers. There are also the DIY projects she mentions throughout the book at the end along with some recipes.
March 11 – Readeropolis – SPOTLIGHT
March 12 – CelticLady’s Reviews – RECIPE POST
March 13 – Lisa Ks Book Reviews – REVIEW, AUTHOR INTERVIEW
March 13 – Babs Book Bistro – SPOTLIGHT
March 14 – The Pulp and Mystery Shelf – GUEST POST
March 15 – Brooke Blogs – SPOTLIGHT
March 16 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – SPOTLIGHT
March 17 – Devilishly Delicious Book Reviews – REVIEW
March 18 – Books Direct – GUEST POST
March 19 – Sneaky the Library Cat’s Blog – CHARACTER INTERVIEW
March 20 – Baroness’ Book Trove – REVIEW
March 21 – A Wytch’s Book Review Blog – REVIEW
March 22 – My Reading Journeys – REVIEW
March 23 – MJB Reviewers – REVIEW, AUTHOR INTERVIEW
March 24 – Cozy Up With Kathy – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
March 24 – Laura’s Interests – GUEST POST
March 24 – I’m Into Books – SPOTLIGHT
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Prize: (1) Paperback Copy - Death by Association: A DIY Diva Mystery by Paula Darnell - (U.S. Only)
Can Laurel find the killer and bring peace back to her neighborhood?
Death by Association Paula Darnell is a different cozy, and it's excellent. This story takes place in Center City, Iowa in a subdivision formed around a golf course which their own HOA. The main character, Laurel McMillian, is a thirty-eight-year-old widower who moved here with her cousin Tracey away from Seattle. Her love interest is, Lieutenant Wesson is a forty-four-year-old divorcee with one kid in medical school that is there investigating the murderer of the HOA president.
Sleuth
Our sleuth is a still young woman who is doing quite well for herself after losing her husband. Laurel has made a great living off of doing DIY projects online and then writing books about them as well. She is currently living in the HOA subdivision and is teaching classes with her DIY projects while thinking of her next book that she wants to write for her DIY Diva Brand.
What I like about her is that she didn't set out initially to look into this death; it just happened as the story progressed. Another thing that I liked about her is that she is very close to her family and wants to do them proud. The last thing that I like about her is that yes she is crafty, but she can't cook or bake. She also can't tell when a man is interested in her. That right there kind of reminds me of me.
Love Interest
Our love interest is our cop of course. He is Lieutenant Wesson, who likes to go by Wes, is a pretty interesting character, and he is partnered with another detective by the name of Smith. Except she is grouchy and not very pleasant while Wes is nice. Wes is a great guy, and he is bringing Laurel out of her dating funk. He also likes dogs especially Laurel's dog named, Bear.
Five Stars
Death by Association by Paula Darnell is a great book. These characters are all great, and I can't wait to read more about them in the next book. Laurel though is going to be testing Wes's patience a lot I have a feeling. I am giving this book a five-star rating and recommending it to all cozy mystery lovers. There are also the DIY projects she mentions throughout the book at the end along with some recipes.
Tour Schedule
March 11 – Readeropolis – SPOTLIGHT
March 12 – CelticLady’s Reviews – RECIPE POST
March 13 – Lisa Ks Book Reviews – REVIEW, AUTHOR INTERVIEW
March 13 – Babs Book Bistro – SPOTLIGHT
March 14 – The Pulp and Mystery Shelf – GUEST POST
March 15 – Brooke Blogs – SPOTLIGHT
March 16 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – SPOTLIGHT
March 17 – Devilishly Delicious Book Reviews – REVIEW
March 18 – Books Direct – GUEST POST
March 19 – Sneaky the Library Cat’s Blog – CHARACTER INTERVIEW
March 20 – Baroness’ Book Trove – REVIEW
March 21 – A Wytch’s Book Review Blog – REVIEW
March 22 – My Reading Journeys – REVIEW
March 23 – MJB Reviewers – REVIEW, AUTHOR INTERVIEW
March 24 – Cozy Up With Kathy – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
March 24 – Laura’s Interests – GUEST POST
March 24 – I’m Into Books – SPOTLIGHT
Have you signed up to be a Tour Host? Click Here Find Details and Sign Up Today!
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Prize: (1) Paperback Copy - Death by Association: A DIY Diva Mystery by Paula Darnell - (U.S. Only)
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Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of (1) Paperback Copy - Death by Association: A DIY Diva Mystery by Paula Darnell - (U.S. Only).
Until the next time,
Happy Reading!
This review was originally posted on Baroness' Book Trove
nikkis_endless_bookshelf's review
4.0
There were several aspects of this cozy mystery novel that I really enjoyed.
I love to read cozy mysteries with a theme that I do not know much about. This series starter is one that I could read and learn new things. This is the first book in the DIY series. I liked that the main character was a do it yourself-er and she seemed very creative and intuitive.
The culprit in this cozy started out hitting a personal nerve for Laurel, when they target a close friend. I feel as if Laurel was determined to find the killer because of this. Even though the next victim was no so like-able, she didn’t try to stop searching for the culprit.
I really enjoyed the setting and story line of the novel. It was easy to follow and made me want to read more of Laurel’s story.
I definitely want to read more of this series.
I love to read cozy mysteries with a theme that I do not know much about. This series starter is one that I could read and learn new things. This is the first book in the DIY series. I liked that the main character was a do it yourself-er and she seemed very creative and intuitive.
The culprit in this cozy started out hitting a personal nerve for Laurel, when they target a close friend. I feel as if Laurel was determined to find the killer because of this. Even though the next victim was no so like-able, she didn’t try to stop searching for the culprit.
I really enjoyed the setting and story line of the novel. It was easy to follow and made me want to read more of Laurel’s story.
I definitely want to read more of this series.
theatricalreader's review
4.0
Death by Association is a story of Laurel McMillan, who is deemed the DIY Diva and her trying to continue her life after the death of her husband.
One day she is walking her dog around her gated community and finds one of the guards knocked unconscious and her gun missing. What ensues afterwards is her trying to figure out whodunnit as more mysterious events happens in her community.
One of the first things that drew me in was the description of Laurel: she is called DIY Diva and has already made a pretty good career of writing a DIY book. As someone who loves to watch DIY videos, I knew I had to read this and it did not disappoint.
I enjoyed reading Laurel and her interactions with the other characters and I am always a sucker for a cozy mystery with a pet.
I was entertained the whole time while reading. I had my suspects on who was the culprit but there were times where I had to stop and rethink what I thought was true. In the end, the person who did it was someone that I had suspected but I wasn’t one hundred percent sure that they did it.
This was the debut novel of Paula Darnell and I really enjoyed it. There were some parts that I didn’t like as much, like all the HOA mentions, but that’s just me trying to avoid any and all topics on adulthood. I would definitely pick up another book by Darnell in the future.
I received a free copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
One day she is walking her dog around her gated community and finds one of the guards knocked unconscious and her gun missing. What ensues afterwards is her trying to figure out whodunnit as more mysterious events happens in her community.
One of the first things that drew me in was the description of Laurel: she is called DIY Diva and has already made a pretty good career of writing a DIY book. As someone who loves to watch DIY videos, I knew I had to read this and it did not disappoint.
I enjoyed reading Laurel and her interactions with the other characters and I am always a sucker for a cozy mystery with a pet.
I was entertained the whole time while reading. I had my suspects on who was the culprit but there were times where I had to stop and rethink what I thought was true. In the end, the person who did it was someone that I had suspected but I wasn’t one hundred percent sure that they did it.
This was the debut novel of Paula Darnell and I really enjoyed it. There were some parts that I didn’t like as much, like all the HOA mentions, but that’s just me trying to avoid any and all topics on adulthood. I would definitely pick up another book by Darnell in the future.
I received a free copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
littlefawn's review against another edition
2.0
*I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.*
I didn't read the description before agreeing to review this book, all I knew was that it was a mystery romance. I honestly thought it was a choose your own ending book.
I tried to get into it, to really enjoy it, but I just couldn't. It was slow in parts and I found myself skipping around. I couldn't connect with the MC and found a majority of the other characters "fishy."
The mystery aspect was decent. Enough there I supposed to keep me wanting to read *or skim through) to see what happens.
I loved the dog treat recipes at the end, cannot wait to bake them for my dog.
I didn't read the description before agreeing to review this book, all I knew was that it was a mystery romance. I honestly thought it was a choose your own ending book.
I tried to get into it, to really enjoy it, but I just couldn't. It was slow in parts and I found myself skipping around. I couldn't connect with the MC and found a majority of the other characters "fishy."
The mystery aspect was decent. Enough there I supposed to keep me wanting to read *or skim through) to see what happens.
I loved the dog treat recipes at the end, cannot wait to bake them for my dog.