Three awesome series come together in one explosive book!It turned out hell was a small town in the Scottish Highlands. Oh, sure, the locals called it Invertary, but Agnes Sinclair knew better—the town even had an old woman everyone called Satan. If that wasn’t a sign she was in hell, she didn’t know what was. All Agnes had ever wanted was to get out of Scotland, and now she was stuck there with … now she was stuck there with no escape. And all because of one teeny, tiny incident (he totally deserved it!) that got her blacklisted in the hotel industry. Now, her only career option is managing a hotel owned by a guy who looks like Disco Santa, in a town where everyone marched to their own damn beat. And, as if being trapped in hell wasn’t bad enough, a spate of thefts at the hotel makes the owner call in a member of Benson Security to help her get to the bottom of them. Agnes doesn’t need help. She especially doesn’t need it from a sexy single father whose every breath tempts her to reevaluate what she wants out of life. A man who makes her wonder if Invertary is where she truly belongs.
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This was a the perfect lighthearted wintry/holiday read, tying together several series by the author while at the same time managing to be accessible to a someone who has never read any of the previous books (but you’ll want to after you read it). I haven’t read very many winter themed books this year, but I’m really glad I made time for this one. Where it’s usually the hero who gets to be the grumpy one, in this book, it was Agnes, the heroine who got to have all the attitude and I loved it. Agnes was a strong personality, a bit gruff, a bit antisocial, and not particularly warm initially, but our intrepid hero, Logan, was not at all put off. In fact he was totally attracted by her take-no-prisoners attitude and strength as well as her curves and the competence she displayed in her job as the manager of the small hotel in tiny Invertary, Scotland. Underneath her somewhat prickly outer skin, Agnes was loving and loyal to anyone she considered “hers”.
At first Agnes resists her strong attraction to single dad Logan because she spent years raising her younger sisters and now she doesn’t want to be tied down. She’s also dying to leave cold, icy Scotland for warmer climes. However, Logan, his wonderful family (mom, dad, and 2 young teen kids) as well as the town of Invertary itself eventually worm their way into her heart and she can’t resist. Bringing them together were a few little mysteries connected to the hotel to solve, lots of memorable characters, all in all a great read to end the year. My only niggle was that the romance happened really fast, but that was just a tiny complaint, mainly because I would have liked more time to spend with these characters.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book from Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Take one gorgeous snarky woman, add one sexy ex-cop, his two smart mouthed children, and a host of familiar quirky characters and you have the recipe for a hilarious book that will keep you smiling from beginning to end. If you’re already a fan of JEH, many characters from her other series hilariously drop in to offer up their opinions on a variety of topics: dating, saving the town financially, placating the local crazy woman who’s holding the town hostage with a variety of insane demands, and who’s really stealing the odd things from the hotel are only few of the topics of concern. If you’re not already a fan, this book can be read as a stand-alone and you will probably become a fan. JEH is the master of romantic comedy and quick-witted dialogue is her jam. Can’t Buy Me Love has just enough suspense thrown in to keep you guessing. And discovering the real culprit(s) for each stolen item is a real hoot! If you like a funny, romantic, quick read that will entertain you from beginning to end, this book is for you!
I received an Early review copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review . All thoughts expressed are my own and freely given.
I haven’t read anything by this author before but I liked the premise and the picture on the cover was fun so I thought I’d try it! I’m so glad I did! It was so funny I laughed out loud at times, my partner was asking what I was reading .
Although this is part of a series it can definitely be read as as a standalone . I definitely want to read the others now to find out more about the other characters mentioned.
The attraction between the main character’s was palpable and the banter between them was very witty and entertaining. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and recommend it to anyone who likes humour with their romance .
The perfect blend of funny and sexy! 4.5 stars
Janet Elizabeth Henderson’s Invertary, Scotland bookverse is a wonderful place! This book brings together multiple series and lets us revisit the town, the people, and the culture once again. This book was filled with laugh out loud moments, self-sacrifice, family love & loyalty, and romance. I appreciate the fact that the book is pulling characters from series, and stays true to them all. It also gives us the continued depth of character that we expect – it’s not just a love story racing toward a HEA with the hero and heroine. Their family, friends, coworkers and townsfolk are all involved and interwoven to help tell the tale.
Our heroine Anges has always been strong; the caregiver for her sisters. Their lives have not been easy, but Anges held them together, sometimes through sheer force of will. She’s a hard worker and an introverted Type A personality, working in the hospitality industry in a tiny town after being forced out of her previous position through no fault of her own. She’s excellent at her job, though she does not particularly enjoy it. Things take a wrong turn at her hotel when items begin to go missing. The persnickety hotel owner brings in a security expert to assist her in getting to the bottom of things.
Enter our hero, a single-dad Benson Security operative named Logan. He’s everything that reminds Anges of her troubled past and the difficult path she walked while raising her sisters. She doesn’t want to want him, but their chemistry is undeniable and she soon finds herself rethinking the goals she had set for herself.
This was a fun & lighthearted read that went by in a flash. I was impressed with the way the author joined together various parts of her book worlds, staying true to the characters but also making it possible for someone picking this up as a “first book by a new to me author” to jump right in and not be left feeling lost.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, I received an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review. I’m a fan of this author, so I was excited to read this latest story.
This was a laugh out loud fun book to read. It brings together characters from the Sinclair sisters, Invertary and Benson Security. Agnes Sinclair has always put her dreams aside to help her sisters, when it’s finally her turn to take her career to the next level she is blackballed in the city and lands in a small inn in Invertary thanks to her brother in law.
The romance is fun and believable. Logan is a fantastic hero who doesn’t try to limit Agnes dreams and instead just wants to support her however he can. The interaction with the characters in Invertary had me laughing out loud. It’s my idea of a perfect romantic comedy.
I received a copy of this book and this is my honest review.
Love can make the most miserable place, warm
I adore Janet’s interwoven bookiverse.
The 3rd book in her Sinclair Sisters series and the final of the four sisters, Agnes finds herself in cold, miserable Scotland working as the general manager at the Invertary pub/hotel..
She is determined to succeed at this job because she has the training and knowledge, just not the reputation since she has scruples and wouldn’t sleep with the creepy hotel owner who had her blacklisted in the industry before she even gets her first management job. She is trying to hold on for the year of job experience this will give her. Although, Dougal (the owner) is not making this easy. And a rash of mysterious thefts in the hotel are not helping either. Especially since she feels like Dougal has her at the top of his suspects list. And then he goes and hires Benson Security to investigate, and Logan is brought into do work with her solving the mystery.
Logan who finds her fascinating and irresistible. Who she can’t stop thinking about. Who disrupts her plan to get out of this cold miserable purgatory called Invertary.
Logan who makes her realize maybe Scotland isn’t quite as bad as she thinks. He helps Agnes not just solve the mysterious thefts, but he also helps her rediscover much more.
Witty, hilarious, touching, some steam, and filled with holiday cheer, Agnes & Logan’s story does not disappoint. And you might even find yourself liking Satan a bit after this one is done. I love Invertary and it’s oddball assortment of crazy residents. We get to visit with the Knit or Die ladies, who take Agnes under their wing. The ladies of Invertary & Benson Security. This bookiverse is a wonderful way to spend some time.
I received a review copy. I am voluntarily leaving an honest review.
“Can’t Buy Me Love” by Janet Elizabeth Henderson was a sweet, funny story that combined some of the key elements of a cozy mystery with a romantic comedy to create an enjoyable tale. There were a number of times I laughed out loud while reading, but I think my favorite moment was when main character Agnes dubbed herself a “hotel elf” and likened her job to that of Dobby the house elf. (As a big “Harry Potter” fan, I could absolutely appreciate the similarities between Agnes’s position and Dobby’s!) The investigation into the hotel thefts was also pretty amusing at times, especially as the culprits were revealed.
Agnes and her love interest, Logan, were both very likeable main characters, but I thought their relationship could have been better paced and developed. I am not a big fan of the insta-love trope, and that seemed to be what was going on here as Logan and Agnes jumped right into things without much flirting or build up. It only took about a day for Logan to tell Agnes that he thought they had a “special connection” and that he was willing to take whatever she would give him in terms of a relationship, which felt very rushed to me. They didn’t know each other at all, and while they may have had incredible chemistry, I had a hard time believing in their emotional connection after such a short time. I felt better about their relationship by the end of the book, but I still would have liked to see more emotional development along the way.
Aside from Logan and Agnes, the other characters in this book were a lot of fun. I particularly enjoyed Dougal, Agnes’s boss, Logan’s mother and kids, and Mrs. Andrews, the American hotel guest. The relationship between Agnes and her sisters was also quite lovely. It was clear that they had a very strong bond and that the distance between them hadn’t changed it.
Overall, “Can’t Buy Me Love” was a nice, light read and provided a great distraction from the chaos of holiday preparations going on around me. I would read more books by Ms. Henderson in the future.
*ARC provided by the author/publisher via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are my own.
I voluntarily offered to review this book with no obligations and my opinions are honest!
This was a great book !
Agnes is one of the Sinclair sisters.
She was hired as a hotel manager in Inventary for Angus.
Good luck with that !
The people of inventary are a little cuckoo for cocoa puffs.
But Agnes will persevere and win the town over.
Logan did not know what to make of Agnes.
But soon enough, they were stuck together in closed closets.
Loved the characters + the storytelling !
It has all the ingredients that you need for a great book!
So we are back in invertary and that was what I enjoyed about this book.We meet Agnes who in a tiny Scottish town (invertary) which if you have read any books are silly and funny. we meet a mean security guy who is working for Benson security and that my friends is where it begins..
Rcvd and ARC at no cost to author..(netgalley) Voluntarily reviewed with my own thoughts and opinions
This was such a fun story with a heroine that’s prickly, grumpy and a bit antisocial and a hero who loves that about her.
All of her life, Agnes has carried the load of responsibility for herself and her sisters. Now that she’s finally able to be free, she’s been blacklisted and unable to get the type of job she wants. Instead, she’s stuck in a small Scottish town where it’s always cold, dreary and isolated. Even her attraction to Logan can’t hold her back once her year here is finished.
Logan is instantly attracted to Agnes and her snarky attitude. The more fire she spits at him, the more he falls. But with a bit of maneuvering, he manages to get her to spend some time with him. However, his ex taught him a hard lesson, and he won’t beg her to stay despite his desire to hold on tight and never let her go.
I laughed pretty much throughout this whole book. Agnes was hilarious with all her grumpiness. Usually, that attitude is reserved for the hero. I’ve never read anything where the heroine was broody and growly. Before this book, I would have sworn I would never enjoy such a main female character. But holy heck! I adored Agnes! She was so much fun! Add in the way Logan reacted to her and my enjoyment skyrocketed.
I loved Logan and the way he approached Agnes. The fact that she baffled him at times only endeared him to me more. While he was definitely an alpha hero, he never tried to run roughshod over Agnes. Of course, she would have probably cold-cocked him if he tried.
Together, this couple were just too cute for words. The chemistry between them absolutely sizzles and there is no doubt that they were meant for each other. With a wealth of secondary characters to add to the humor as well as support these characters in their struggle to find their happy ever after, and a bit of a mystery to keep the story moving, this was a well rounded read that stole my heart and made me fall even deeper in love with Scotland.
Highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a rom-com with a unique heroine.
Agnes Sinclair has taken care of her sisters for a long time now she’s a grumpy Scrooge who doesn’t make friends. She hates Scotland, her job and just about everything. Her boss is crazy and dresses funny. Logan works for Benson Security and is called into help catch a thief. He is attracted to Agnes prickly personality and all. This story is light hearted and funny. Just what I needed in this stressful holiday season. There are lots of colorful characters. Just a good quick read just in time for Christmas. I received this Arc from NetGalley for a honest review.