Let's have a little of that piano music in our Romance this fine morning--child prodigies all grown up, hockey players, jazz pianists...

 

1. When Venus Fell by Deborah Smith 

2. Girl on a Diamond Pedestal by Maisey Yates 

3. Miss Seton's Sonata by Meredith Bond 

4. Blank Slate by Heather Justesen 

5. The Orchid House  by Lucinda Riley

6. A Passion for Pleasure by Nina Rowan

7. Your Wicked Ways  by Eloisa James

8. The Shy Bride by Lucy Monroe 

9. Empty Net  by Toni Aleo

10. The First Crush Is the Deepest by Nina Harrington 

 

Did I miss your favorite? Let me know!

 

Remember, you can always request a list. : )

 

To vote of the best piano player in Romance, go to my Goodreads list: Keys: Piano in Romance. 

I am pretty sure Tess suffers from "Jessica Fletcher Syndrome", cause she can't go anywhere without finding a dead body. Seriously, every event she attends!

This is a very entertaining and engaging series, despite reality issues. If you can suspend disbelief you will really enjoy the whole thing! I love Tess and her quirky gang of curious troublemakers. The family feel of this whole series.

The love triangle is going to annoy me, I hate when they have to choose between two great guys!! I read too many naughty romances where they never have to choose, yeah for erotic romances!!

The mystery this time is another stretch but not totally unreal. I do wish the people would stop acting like the police are incompetent or not doing their job. The detective is totally on the ball, he just doesn't get the small talk/gossip like Tess. People always want murders solved in a matter of days, these things take time.

I listened to the audiobook narrated by Pamela Almand, who is terrific. She has a great pace that really helps the story move along. I love Lenny's tough guy accent, it really sells him. The women's voices are very similar but have enough of a change that you can tell who is speaking when the dialogue ping pongs back and forth. I really hope the series stays with Ms Almand, as she has a great feel for the characters and story movement!

This series is a not so guilty pleasure, I love the atmosphere of the mall town full of busybodies! I don't mind the recipes throughout but thought they would better serve folks if they were put at the end of the book. This way if a reader wanted to try one they did not have to go through the entire audio to locate the one they wanted. Not everybody is hip to the bookmark button on Audible.

Disclosure - I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts, opinions and ratings are my own.

I really growing to enjoy this series. Tess is spunky and sweet at the same time. There are things in the series that are more than a touch unbelievable. Sure I always ask my baker look into murders, she is totally qualified. Yup, suspend reality a touch for this book.

I love the potential love triangle. Sean is all young player, loads of charisma, a real bad boy any gal might want to reform. Jack is the steady single dad, a little bossy but definitely husband material. Tess is going to have some serious decisions to make as this series continues.

Love the addition of her friend Lenny, he is a perfect sidekick to balance out her BFF Honey. They are all irrepressible and running head long into trouble.

The poor detective takes tons of flack, he is not only having to do his job but also look out for Tess and company. He is far from incompetent, he does very well considering the challenges he faces. I will give it that Tess can do things he can not, ie gossip and trespass.

The mystery was not a huge surprise, plenty of clues lead up to this conclusion. It was not obvious from the start, it progressed nicely and came together near the end. Very satisfying.

The small town family feel of the whole series is great. I love the whole dynamic all the characters share.

I listened to the audiobook narrated by Pamela Almand, she has a great feel for the lead character. The whole book comes from Tess' POV, so her voice is most prominent. Ms Almand has a terrific flair adding just enough snark to the voice at the perfect moments. She has a great pace that keeps the book moving along steadily throughout the action. I love that little rasp she has in her voice, it's a super appealing tone.

I am eager to see what happens next in this series. There is just something so endearing about the characters, it makes me overlook flaws in the overall plot.

Disclosure - I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts, opinions and ratings are my own.

I really enjoy cozy mysteries, the cooking genre is a touch different than my norm. There were things I really liked and things I was not so keen on.

I generally liked the lead character Tess, she is spunky and upbeat and way to curious for her own good! Perfect for a cozy mystery. She is mostly joined by her BFF Honey, another sassy gal! I loved this pairing because it really helped give a sounding board for the progress of the case.

The overall mystery was intriguing, some parts were super obvious but it did surprise me in the end. I really thought I knew who the murderer was, turns out I was way off base! I really enjoyed the end, unfortunately it took a stretch to get past the beginning. The whole premise of why Tess thought she would be a suspect was beyond unreal. She met the chick for like five minutes and exchanged a handful of sentences. Whatever, it was silly but not so far as to turn me off the book.

Terrific supporting cast. I count at least three romantic prospects in the mix. Definitely things to watch in the future of the series. Loved her friends Honey and Lenny, always great to have a hacker on hand! Sean is a delicious player and Jack has hunky Alpha written all over him! I also enjoyed the interactions with the detective.

I listened to the audiobooks narrated by Pamela Almand, who is terrific. She has a great pace in the read that really keeps the story moving. There is the perfect touch of sass in her voice to really compliments the lead character and feel of the story. The other voices were consistent throughout the read. The men could have been a touch deeper, but were distinct and easy to discern who was speaking. I adore the energy she adds to the read!

The other thing that was a touch disconcerting were the recipes throughout the book. I would have liked it better if they all lined up with chapter/section breaks. I do not cook and was not so into them, it would have been nice to skip that option. I also thought the addition of the recipes meant the story need not have to contain as many cooking details when the character was having conversations. I distracted from the important details in my opinion.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. It took time to get past the issues in the beginning of the book. Thankfully things even out and the story becomes more real. I am eager to see where the series is headed and what is in store next for plucky Tess!

Disclosure - I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts, opinions and ratings are my own.

The Switch (Blank Slate) - Heather Juste... Amazon Freebie 11/9/2012