Something borrowed, something blue, Olivia’s a bridezilla, and Andrew’s pretty scared too… dragging her feet on a proposal, to suddenly running down the aisle.
Olivia doesn’t want to admit that she’s trying to get hitched before her cold feet get the best of her. Instead she leans heavily on her super strict wedding planner, Lacy McBride, to keep her eye on the prize. But when Olivia stumbles upon Lacy dead in the middle of a mock reception table, cake fork in hand, she feels her safety net evaporating.
Now, Olivia must shift her attention from planning the event to solving the crime to clear her name. Not because she’s a suspect, but because of “The Bride’s Curse”—an old jinx that dooms any bride not marrying for love, and their planner! No wedding planner in Lexingburg will work with Olivia until the crime’s origins are clear. However, the deeper she falls into Lacy’s mystery the more Olivia sees that wedding planning can be murder…
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Till Death Do Us Bark
Happy Tails Dog Walking Mysteries, Book #2
Stella St. Claire
5 Stars
Synopsis:
Something borrowed, something blue, Olivia’s a bridezilla, and Andrew’s pretty scared too…
Olivia is on the warpath of wedding planning. She’s ticking off her tasks rapid fire: flowers, food, and fireworks; all are checked off just in time for Andrew to get hit writing a big check of his own. He’s beginning to get suspicious of her motives, since his blushing bride has gone from dragging her feet on a proposal, to suddenly running down the aisle.
Olivia doesn’t want to admit that she’s trying to get hitched before her cold feet get the best of her. Instead she leans heavily on her super strict wedding planner, Lacy McBride, to keep her eye on the prize. But when Olivia stumbles upon Lacy dead in the middle of a mock reception table, cake fork in hand, she feels her safety net evaporating.
Now, Olivia must shift her attention from planning the event to solving the crime to clear her name. Not because she’s a suspect, but because of “The Bride’s Curse”—an old jinx that dooms any bride not marrying for love, and their planner! No wedding planner in Lexingburg will work with Olivia until the crime’s origins are clear. However, the deeper she falls into Lacy’s mystery the more Olivia sees that wedding planning can be murder… (Goodreads)
Review:
The characters are well rounded and well developed. I enjoyed getting to spend time with Olivia, her sister Janelle and her good friend Jackie. The three are very funny together and they come up with some wild ideas. You can tell they really care about each other and are willing to help each other out whenever they can. Andrew, Olivia’s fiance, is still a saint but it looks like he might be reaching his limit. We shall see what happens.
The writing style flows smoothly and the book is a quick and easy read. It defines the characters very clearly by their actions and words. The mystery was well plotted and not an easy one to solve. The book also has a lot of humor and I was smiling and laughing throughout much of the book.
I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a well crafted cozy mystery. I am reading my way through the entire series and I cannot wait to read the next one.
Till Death Do Us Bark is a fun cozy with really well developed characters. I love books that are just a bit different and Stella St. Claire makes her main character, Olivia is wonderfully unique. In the first book of the series we saw where her fear of change and commitment come from but the way she deals with that fear in this book is unusual and a bit humorous but still heart touching. I love how much her fiancé Andrew understands her but I wish that they would communicate more; of course that need to communicate is pretty common in the real world so it is not a weakness in the book. Weddings are among my favorite topic so it was fun to get to spend time with a main character dealing with wedding woes. Naturally her wedding woes aren’t quite like everyone else’s. Not only does she lose her wedding planner, she discovers that this woman that she trusted and counted on wasn’t all that she seemed. Olivia is even more upset and disappointed to see how the town reacts to an old curse that could affect her wedding. This twist provides Olivia a reason to look in to the murder of her wedding planner beyond just curiosity. I appreciate that she has a reason beyond nosiness! Finally good friendships are a must for a great cozy mystery and Olivia has one and a half; she is working to restore that connection with her sister so Janelle only gets half a credit in the friend column. The realities of shifting relationships are another facet of life that Ms. St. Claire so effectively approaches in this book.
I requested and was delight to receive an ARC of the book Till Death Do Us Bark via NetGalley. I always review books that I love and I loved this one. I would have loved it even without the dogs. I will be following the series and look forward to the next book which should be out soon.
This is book two in the series. I have read book one but I think this book could stand on it own. Olivia and Andrew are engaged and starting to plan their wedding. Olivia has a bridezilla complex and Andrew is acting like maybe they shouldn’t follow thru with the wedding. Add a murder and you have an interesting story. Machelle Williams does a nice job of narrating this book. I was gifted this book with the understanding that I would leave an honest review.
The Happy Tails Dog Walking mystery series revolves around easy-going Olivia Rickard, a dog walking business owner. And the zany predicaments that transpire around her madcap, close knit family and friends. In Till Death do Us Bark, book 2, Olivia is becoming both a ‘mature’ adult and…a Bridezilla !!! Olivia’s newest friend and also Her wedding planner is murdered…seems she may not have been a real friend to Anyone. More of a B…..zilla. To Everyone. Andrew may have finally proposed but is He getting cold feet? Will there be a wedding? Is This Murder going to be the undoing of everything? Stella St. Claire has a Talent for writing cozy murder mysteries. The storyline (and, yes, cliffhangers), contagious. Put your feet up and enjoy this continuing giddy, action packed series. Lots of twists, turns, second guessing and great fun !!!