This is a charming cozy mystery a la Agatha Christie and Sherlock Holmes but with a f/f marriage in trouble romance subplot and I greatly enjoyed it.

The writing is brilliant as usual and had me engaged throughout the whole story. The murder mystery investigation is so over-the-top and charming and hilarious and I loved it. The marriage in trouble was my favourite part though. I found it to be very touching and real and I loved seeing two people who in a long-term relationship dealing some serious issues that have come up in their relationship. They love each but it does not automatically fix things between them. There are a lot of honest talks and confessions and apologies to be made but the support and the care are there and I am hopeful that Liza and Hanna will find their way back to each other.

The story is full of clever nods to staples in the detective novel genre - a group of strangers are snowed in (at Easter, mind you!) with no wifi/telephone connection, a slew of murders, a criminal mastermind, a femme fatale, a meddlesome amateur detective. It's ridiculous but also a lot of fun to read.

I highly recommend it if you like gorgeous writing telling a story that explores a romantic relationship in trouble while solving a classic murder mystery in the mean time.

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Title: To Have and to Hoax 

Author:  Martha Waters

Date of publication: 7 Apr 2020

Genre / Themes: Historical Romance / Marriage in trouble / Romcom

Author's links: Website / Twitter / Instagram / Goodreads

My rating: 4 Stars

Five years ago, Lady Violet Grey and Lord James Audley met, fell in love, and got married. Four years ago, they had a fight to end all fights, and have barely spoken since.

Their once-passionate love match has been reduced to one of cold, detached politeness. But when Violet receives a letter that James has been thrown from his horse and rendered unconscious at their country estate, she races to be by his side—only to discover him alive and well at a tavern, and completely unaware of her concern. She’s outraged. He’s confused. And the distance between them has never been more apparent.

Wanting to teach her estranged husband a lesson, Violet decides to feign an illness of her own. James quickly sees through it, but he decides to play along in an ever-escalating game of manipulation, featuring actors masquerading as doctors, threats of Swiss sanitariums, faux mistresses—and a lot of flirtation between a husband and wife who might not hate each other as much as they thought. Will the two be able to overcome four years of hurt or will they continue to deny the spark between them?

This is a delightful historical romcom, a solid debut by Martha Waters. It's a marriage in trouble plot and the MCs have been estranged for four! years after they had a fight. There is a also ridiculous game of pretend she starts as a way to make him show his feelings for her. It is not something that should work for me on paper but in reality, it was great fun, whimsical and light-hearted but also going deep into issues of family, marriage, intimacy. 

The writing is engaging and clever, the humour worked great for me and overall the story felt rich and very atmospheric. 

The main conflict in the story, a massive row that left Violet and Audley barely speaking to each other for four! years, could have been easily resolved with an honest conversation. It felt like they have wasted four years over nothing, and all their friends agree with me but at the same time it didn't bother me as much as I expected because of them never being in denial about their feelings and then when their game of pretend began they quickly saw through it and went on pretending while admitting their feelings to themselves (and each other eventually).

Audley is the uptight, highly determined and focused, a white knight in shining armour kind of herop (my catnip basically) who is madly in love with his wife but he is really incapable to talk about his feelings, admitting he made the wrong assumption was very difficult for him. Violet is flirty and frivolous, smart and curious and energetic and absolutely loved her. 

They have a turbulent relationship, they have to work on being more open, more trusting, need to find a way to be together but I can see they both want it and ready to put in the effort, so I can see them work as a couple in the long term and that is what got me over their stubbornness and stupidity to cling to their anger for four! years.

I love their tight circles of close friends and can't wait to read more books in the series featuring them. 

I would recommend this book with the caveat that the main conflict is based on a misunderstanding that could have been easily resolved if the MCs just talked to each other. 

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Vanilla Clouds by Roe Horvat

Fluffy m/m contemporary set in Sweden. I love Roe's writing and the strong European feels of his stories. This one was sweeter, less intense and agnsty than his previous books and while I liked it OK, I missed the depth of feeling and intensity that I have come to associate with his books. Online relationship turning into an offline romance was at the heart of this book and I liked the premise a lot, a variation of friends to lovers. I found the ways the guys finally met in real life really disturbing. It felt stalkerish and I had a hard time forgiving one of them for misleading and outright lying to the other. I did believe they had genuine feelings for one another but felt that way he approach the situation was wrong. Things worked out for them in the end and their HEA feels true but I couldn't quite overcome the discomfort these couple of scenes caused me. 3 stars

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Surprise Baby, Second Chance by Therese Beharrie

This is a marriage in trouble romance, closed door sex scenes, my first by this author. I love seeing established couples overcoming issues and making things between them work in the long run. This was a very emotionally intense read, very character focused. I had to take a break before finishing it and it was all worth it. It's own voices anxiety rep, there is panic attack happening on page as well two grown up people dealing with the problems in their relationship, facing past trauma head-on. There is a lot of honest and difficult talk in this romance and could very much relate to the idea that you can love someone with all your heart and still find it difficult to share your deepest fears. Well worth a read! Reminds me a lot of Snow-kissed by Laura Florand which is the most heart-breaking romance I've ever read. 3.5 stars

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Last week I also finished Dr. Strange Beard by Penny Reid (out on July 30) and I loved it so, so much. It's one of my favorite in the series. I will be reviewing in depth next week. 

Currently reading A Duke by Default by Alyssa Cole (Out on July 31) and it's so much fun. I haven't read the previous book (yet) but this works pretty well as standalone and I will probably start A Princess in Theory right after I finish this one. 

Author: Laura Florand
Date of publication: 1 Sept 2013
Genre: Romance / Novella  /Angst

Author's links:Website / Twitter / Facebook / Goodreads
Purchase links: Amazon / B&N / Kobo / iBooks