What do you get when you cross a cursed bookshop, three hot fictional men, and a punk rock heroine nursing a broken heart?After being fired from her fashion internship in New York City, Mina Wilde decides it’s time to reevaluate her life. She returns to the quaint English village where she grew up to take a job at the local bookshop, hoping that being surrounded by great literature will help her … great literature will help her heal from a devastating blow.
But Mina soon discovers her life is stranger than fiction – a mysterious curse on the bookshop brings fictional characters to life in lust-worthy bodies. Mina finds herself babysitting Poe’s raven, making hot dogs for Heathcliff, and getting IT help from James Moriarty, all while trying not to fall for the three broken men who should only exist within her imagination.
When Mina’s ex-best friend shows up dead with a knife in her back, she’s the chief suspect. She’ll have to solve the murder if she wants to clear her name. Will her fictional boyfriends be able to keep her out of prison?
The Nevermore Bookshop Mysteries are what you get when all your book boyfriends come to life. Join a brooding antihero, a master criminal, a cheeky raven, and a heroine with a big heart (and an even bigger book collection) in this brand new steamy reverse harem paranormal mystery series by USA Today bestselling author Steffanie Holmes.
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Holmes is one amazing writer!! I fell in love from page with our down on her luck MC that is hoping to score a job at Nevermore bookstore. After one wonky interview she scored the job which will change her life forever as the story unfolds. I was totally riveted as it all played and I loved the idea for the male characters. With so much fun stuff in this one I cannot wait for book two!! A total must read!! I loved it so I give it 5/5 stars.
As an author and mom I don’t get a lot of time to read anymore, but I’ve had my eye on this series for a while now. Well I finally got a chance to dig in and I’m so glad I did! I’m already on book 3 and I have to say these might be some of my favorite men. Heathcliff, James Moriarty, and Quoth are swoon worthy all in their own right and it makes me remember how much I loved all these stories growing up.
Mina is a great FMC and I love how realistic her struggle is to deal with all of these men, the crazy murder, and her own personal medical issues going on. I can’t wait to read more from this series and author.
The murders in the books reminds me a lot of Murder She Wrote that I grew up watching old episodes of with my mom and that was just another appealing aspect of the story.
So if you love classic literary characters, fun and quirky murder investigations, and delightful characters then give this series a try!
Awesome first book in this series.. Loved it! Addictive characters and mystery..
A Dead and Stormy Night (Nevermore Bookshop Mysteries Book 1) Kindle Edition
by Steffanie Holmes (Author)
I borrowed this book via the Kindle Unlimited program and am choosing to leave a fair and honest review.
Steffanie Holmes has a marvelous talent, She can take all of the conventions of a particular genre and work them into brilliant modern stories. She did this fabulously with her Lovecraftian high school bully series Miskatonic Prep and her latest series Manderly Academy pulls in the modern Gothic stories, particularly those of Daphne DuMaurier.
Here, Ms. Holmes manages to bring two, well, three heroes out of mystery and Gothic stories. Heathcliff, before he loses Cathy and his mind. Poe’s Raven is a raven who also is a man, but a hero none the less, as long as you don’t quote the poem. And James Moriarty, the pebble in Sherlock Holmes’s shoe.
The characters, particularly the out-of-books ones, are complex, intelligent and tap-dead-center takes on their literary personas – Heathcliff is a cranky misanthrope, Moriarty is truly a criminal mastermind and has spent his time in the real world building a fortune, and Quoth is confused as he changes, sometimes uncontrollably, from human to raven, never quite believing he is real.
The mystery revolves around our heroine, Mina and her recent life. Due to a friend’s loose lips, she loses her dream of being a fashion designer. She returns home and stumbles into working at the Never More bookstore. Her former loose lipped friend ends up dead in the store, which kicks off the investigation.
I loved the characters, I adored Ms. Holmes crafting of the world. The world is so familiar but just that much different.
The story reaches into the heart of any reader that has Book Boyfriends!
100 stars wouldn’t be enough but
5 stars out of 5
https://www.amazon.com/Stormy-Night-Nevermore-Bookshop-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B07MVLVWMD
4.5 stars
This is a great start to a series! Steffanie Holmes is a new author for me and I look forward to continuing this series and exploring her other ones as well.
I really enjoyed this book. I love the concept of characters from books coming to life and residing in this bookshop. The murder mystery was done well overall, and the continuing mystery of the shop itself is intriguing. I am definitely going to continue with this series.
About the reverse harem aspect; I love a steamy book so I personally had no issues with that at all. I will say that part of me does wish this was just a series about the mystery of the bookshop, the characters that come to life and Mina dealing with her impending blindness. This is a book/series that I would love to recommend to a few friends but can’t/won’t because said friends really would be put off by the RH scenes. That being said I will again state I really enjoyed this book and will be starting the second one immediately.
Loved this series – Nevermore Bookshop. The bookshop dragged me in and this reverse harem is the first I’ve read in this genre and I loved it! Great writing and fun adventures.
A wonderful beginning to a new series. Murder, romance, and wit—a perfect trio for a weekend read.
The book blurb lays out the story quite nicely. There’s not a lot of sex in this book but there is plenty of sexual tension between Mina and the men. Steffanie Holmes has a colorful writing style which brings the story vividly to life. The idea to bring three literary characters out of their books and into the “real” world is delightful, original and clever. A Dead and Stormy Night has a bit of everything, humor, sex, danger, and a murder mystery. The magical mystery of the library and how Heathcliff, Morrie, and Quoth came to be plucked from their respective stories is a mystery than continues on into the next book which I am looking forward to reading. I enjoyed this book very much.
I am voluntarily reviewing an advance reader copy of this book.
Loved the book setting and the characters are great. The storyline flowed, and the reverse harem aspect made me not want to put the book down! I didn’t, and read this enjoyable book in one gulp!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
A DEAD AND STORMY NIGHT by Steffanie Holmes is the fist book in the Nebermore Bookshop Mysters Series. This is the story of Wilhelmina ‘Mina’ Wilde. Mina lost her job thanks to her suppose to be best friend. Coming back home she finds a job working at a bookstore. This book store holds a mystery that is starting to unravel. Great start to a very excting story. Can’t wait to read the next book.
This intriguing book was well written with a plot that flowed seamlessly throughout the entire book and characters that were written with great detail and depth which kept me totally glued to my kindle until the very end!
This is a fantastic book. It builds from Mina’s childhood experience of the Nevermore Bookstore being a safe haven for her to the adult Mina returning from New York City in need of the same. Mina had finished college and won a prestigious fashion internship with a top designer. All she had wanted since she was eleven was to be a fashion designer. Just when it looked like all her dreams would come true, she found out she had a rare eye condition that would limit her vision up to total blindness over time. She re-discovered her safe place at Nevermore Books and found much more. The author has created a mix of historical literary references, companionship, attraction, and magic in a delightful blend. I totally enjoyed this book more than many others I have read lately. I can’t wait for the sequel to be published.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
She has been fired from her job so she goes home where she gets a job in a bookshop. It is cursed and three characters appear from three books who will help her. Her ex best friend ends up dead with a knife in her back. She is accused. Will she prove she did not do it? See if she can
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Oh my, my entire being is already overwhelmed with a bookhangover. I can’t wait until the next book comes out. I loved this book and I licked the screen so now the guys are totally mine. Yummy!
Mina deserver some happiness after devastating news and unexpected betrayal. Bring in three hot and complicated guys and you have a fabulous book.
I highly recommend this book and I’ll definitely check out the authors other books.
This author always delivers gripping suspense, fantastic chemistry and well developed characters that are interesting and engaging. The characters are developed and easy to like. The plot was interesting and not one I have come across before. The book is really well written with great main and supporting characters. The book is packed with chemistry, suspense, hot-headed individuals and fantastic surprises! This Author did another fantastic job with this book and I would highly recommend this to all.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Mina receives devastating news and is betrayed by her best friend. She goes back home and ends up with a job at Nevermore Bookshop. The crazy trio of gorgeous men all hold a secret. Absolutely fantastic story and I cannot wait to read the next one in this awesome series. What did really annoy me though was the author using a line in place of proper nouns for some places and people. Not a fan of this method of writing at all. But it was still a five-star read for me.
Very enjoyable read!
This is a murder mystery with romantic elements not the other way around. This is a fun read, while predictable, at least for me.
This did start a bit slow for me, but not long after I was socked in by the story.
I received an advanced copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving an unbiased , honest review.
Entertaining British Mystery!
Unique and intriguing story of murder set in a mysterious gothic bookshop in a small English town. The bookshop’s magical powers brought three literary characters to life who help Mina solve the case. The quirky characters add a fun love interest for the spunky heroine while facing her greatest challenges. As a lover of Sherlock Holmes it’s engaging to see James Moriarty in a different light. I look forward to reading more about Heathcliff, Raven/Quoth and the secrets of the magical bookshop. A good start to this series. Enjoy!
I received an advance copy and am happy to leave my honest review.
Wilhelmina Wilde read the ad for an assistant position in the 4-story tall Nevermore Bookshop, surprisingly one of the largest secondhand bookshops in England. She had spent many hours of her childhood there. Now reading the ad, a normal person would walk away from it without question – but Mina needed a job and she loved books. What could go wrong?
Mina had attended New York’s infamous Fashion Institute, and when she graduated, she got a year internship with her favorite designer. At about that same time, she also noticed a blur in the corner of her eye, making her trip down stairs and knock things over, and she had pounding headaches day and night. Her good friend Ashley took the opportunity to betray her, telling the boss who promptly let her go… which is why she had to come home. She went to the bookshop for the strangest interview she had ever had. As she decided it was hopeless, she got up to leave, only to be told to be there by 8:30 or the raven in the shop would get her first paycheck!
Going home, Mina finds her mom moving machines into the living room. It’s her latest get-rich scheme, selling these things that vibrate the pounds off will make them big money, she says. Then she tells Mina that Ashley has come to England for a visit! Mina cannot tolerate this horrible news – but Ashley hates to read and would never come inside a bookshop, so maybe it will be okay.
Arriving on time for her first day at work, the bookshop was locked. When she knocked, neighbors poked their heads out the windows and complained of the noise. But finally the door opened – not by Mr. Earnshaw, her boss, but by a handsome man who introduced himself as James Moriarty. Then the man deduced that she grew up in this village, had just come back from America, New York in fact, and answered the ad. She was amazed! Even Mr. Earnshaw didn’t know all of that information. And when she then learned her boss’ name was Heathcliff, from Wuthering Heights, she couldn’t believe it! And Poe’s raven, who turned out to be a shapeshifter – he was also a flatmate of theirs! But when her boss finally tells her about a curse that brought them all out of the pages of books, she was stunned. Worse yet, Ashley shows up and is murdered. Of course Mina, her ex-friend with a reason to hate her, is accused of killing her. Can she and her friends track down the real murderer? And when did Mina start thinking of them as “her boys”???
I really enjoyed this story! It was quite different from just about everything else I’ve read. It was funny, and I loved the interaction of the characters. I definitely recommend this book because it’s unusual and has a good story line. I would so love to have my favorite characters come to life! What an adventure!
(Suggestion to the author: please drop the underscores throughout the story – they are distracting and irritating; and they do not accomplish what you intended.)
The idea of book heroes coming life out of the pages of their stories immediately had my attention. I’m not sure if these are the heroes I would have chosen, but they give rise to some fantastically funny moments. Being the first book in a new series, there was a lot of background to cover, so it starts kind of slowly. And I have to admit, I didn’t enjoy the use of “__” to replace specific names. I know that the author chose it as a cute, tongue-in-cheek affectation to mirror an older literary style, but it stopped being cute to me in fairly short order and just became irritating. However, I’m charmed by Mina’s heroes and fascinated to know more about the bookshop.
I received a complimentary copy of this book through Booksprout.