A Very Marisol Christmas (Christmas Central, #7) by Caroline Mickelson

A Very Marisol Christmas by Caroline Mickelson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A charming Christmas treat!

With his beloved wife gone, Marisol Jimenez’s grandfather, Timoteo, decides to fulfill his lifelong dream of living by the ocean, so he signs a ten-year-lease at a brand new senior living facility in Galveston, Texas. His selected apartment, Number 5, has a beautiful view of the Gulf of Mexico, and Marisol has the movers place her grandfather’s favorite chair and the one that had belonged to her grandmother, in the best spot in the apartment to enjoy the magnificent view.

Everything is perfect, well, until the wealthy and equally aged Olivia Grayson and her attorney, the single and handsome Declan Shaw, show up to claim the same apartment. Olivia, with no family left and no close friends, had also signed a ten-year-lease on apartment 5, sold her mansion and extraneous possessions, and had no intention of living anywhere else. As the leases were both signed on the same day and the management company is clueless as to who signed first, neither party is willing to compromise and accept a different apartment. So Olivia moves into the second bedroom, hoping to force Timoteo out eventually. To protect and support their respective senior citizen, Marisol and Declan both decide to camp out on couches in the apartment’s living area until a resolution is reached. Unfortunately, as it’s only nine days until Christmas, that resolution is not going to be happening any time soon.

What the couples do not know is that the temporary leasing agent that had double leased the apartment is none other than one of Santa’s elves, Rapz, who was trying to develop an off-season side hustle as a matchmaker. But fearing Rapz’s double leasing ploy isn’t having the desired effect of getting the two couples together, Santa sends him and a fellow elf named Jolly back down to Texas to clean up the mess.

A Very Marisol Christmas is the 7th entry in the holiday-themed Christmas Central series by author Caroline Mickelson. It is a fun and charming story that won’t disappoint when the time comes for a happily ever after in more ways than one. I recommend this book to romance readers looking for a quick and happy holiday pick-me-up.

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advanced Readers Copy from Hidden Gems Books.

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Casket Cache (Spencer Funeral Home Niagara Cozy Mystery, #1) by Janice J. Richardson

Casket Cache by Janice J. Richardson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

When Jennifer Spencer’s beloved uncle, Bill, passes away, he bequeaths his funeral home business to her and her twin sister, Anne. Anne is a journalist, but Jennifer had taken after her uncle and earned her mortuary license and takes over the family business with Anne as a silent partner. The business is successful and steady, and soon after Jennifer takes over and moves into the apartment above, the funeral home is burglarized. When the police investigate, they find no one there, and nothing is missing. However, while the police are watching, Jennifer discovers a large amount of cash hidden in one of the caskets and suddenly finds herself under suspicion of some unknown criminal activity. While someone continues to get inside the funeral home, Jennifer juggles business and tries to discover where the money came from and who is breaking in to look for it.

Casket Cache is the first book in the Spencer Funeral Home Cozy Mystery series by Janice J. Richardson. Richardson, a veteran funeral director herself, gives us a fascinating look behind the scenes of the funeral industry as well as an engaging mystery to boot. I enjoyed the various characters, and Jennifer is especially personable and caring. In fact, the entire staff Jennifer inherits or recruits seem like very nice people, people you could really depend on during your time of need. The setting in the Niagara region of Canada is great, and I liked hearing about the area. With the undoubted opportunities for stories arising from the funeral business and the characters all beginning to settle in at Spencer’s, I look forward to many more books in the series.

I recommend CASKET CACHE to cozy mystery readers and readers that might like a peek inside the funeral business.


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