First Day Back At Work Surprises...

Today was my first day back at work, it was made a little easier by two surprise packages I got in the mail!

I was so excited to find that author Vicki Vass sent me book 6 in the Antique Hunters Mystery series, I came home tonight and got the first chapter in before dinner, I look forward to continuing it after this post!

The second package was from a wonderful friend named Lin who put together a feel better package for me, complete with a witchy bag, (love love love it!) some tea, candies and a very cool tea infuser, and a thin note book that I think is just the coolest design for a mystery lover/ writer.  I felt very well taken care of today and encouraged on a very long first day back.
Thank you all for your well wishes and support, for joining me here for a cup of tea and cozy mystery. I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com

Dark Corner By Vicki Vass...

One of the most extraordinary things about life is how chance encounters lead to unimaginable adventures. Not so many years back I was introduced to the most amazing of authors, Vicki Vass, through my friend Lisa Kelley. I devoured books that Vicki wrote like potato chips and came to have admire and be inspired by her writing. I reached out to her through social media and an amazing thing happened. Somehow, the books I had come to love, I ended up a character in. This is one of the coolest things that has ever happened to me.
Book two in the Witch Cat Mystery Series arrived early in December and was the most exciting paranormal reads of 2018. I love the premise of this series,  the story line, the setting and of course the characters! Lending my name and my familiar to the story, gave me an unbelievable sense of excitement in a book that gave me hours of joy and mystery. We lose ourselves in books but we find ourselves there also...

I hope to be as "badass" as my character is in Dark Corner, and I hope it is not my last time in this amazing series. If you love witches, if you love cats, if you love magic, adventure and hope. This is a series you need to pick up and read. Vicki Vass is truly talented and magical in every way!

Evil has awoken in Asheville, North Carolina, and Terra Rowan must prepare the Ladies of the Biltmore Society for battle. With her familiar, Pixel, a crooked leg fluffy orange cat, and her apprentice Abigail Oakhaven, a stubborn teenage girl with a bloodline dating back to the beginning of time, she begins their journey. The witch hunters have come to the Appalachian Mountains in search of the last witch of Salem. The magic of the mountains can no longer protect her and her coven. She must travel to the one place on earth that holds the secret to save mankind – Dark Corner.Combining elements from different cultures, Appalachian folklore, Celtic legends, Native American mysticism, Dark Corner continues its new witch mythology while staying true to the realm of cozy mystery. Terra Rowan is a witch trapped between worlds and lost in time.

Thank you for joining me for a cup of tea and a cozy mystery review. I would love to hear from you so please leave  me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com

Five Amigos Fall-O-ween Fun Week 5

Only one more day until Halloween and today is our last of the Fall-O-ween series.

Today Karen K and I have our final picks and we are fighting about today's post! (thought we both picked the same book to share, I will let Karen K take the lead on this one) Karen K and I both loved Vicki Vass' book Bloodline!

"An absolutely breathtaking, riveting book. I read it in one sitting as I could not put it down. The story connects with modern day and the Salem Witch Trials. Friendships, family, twists and turns. Buckle up and enjoy the journey!"

Fleeing from the witch trials in Salem, Terra Rowan finds herself in modern day Asheville, North Carolina. A dark spirit from the past hunts the last witch of Salem. With the help of the ladies of the Biltmore Society, Asheville aristocrats with untapped powers and a crooked-legged fat orange cat named Pixel, Terra must discover the secret within the forest to preserve the bloodline. Combining elements from different cultures, Appalachian folklore, Celtic legends, Native American mysticism, Bloodline creates a new witch mythology while staying true to the realm of cozy mystery. Terra Rowan is a witch trapped between worlds and lost in time.

and now my two cents via video....

In the spirit of our Double Double I also share another book I loved this one by Heather Blake called Ghost of a Potion.  This is a fun book, great relationships and mystery as well as funny! A good balance of dark and light for a paranormal cozy and I bought the three books in the series and would read them again, over and over again easily!

In the latest from the bestselling author of One Potion in the Grave, it's Halloween in Hitching Post, Alabama, and potion shop owner Carly Bell Hartwell has an especially spooky customer to handle... With all the ghosts that haunt her at this time of year, Carly doesn't exactly rush to celebrate Halloween. Even a costume ball organized by her boyfriend Dylan's mother, Patricia Davis Jackson, holds little allure. But to please Dylan, who wants peace between the two women, Carly reluctantly agrees to go. Gossip around town is that architect Haywood Dodd plans to make a big announcement at the party. But before he can address the crowd, he's found dead with Patricia standing over him, holding the murder weapon. Anxious to clear Patricia's name and perhaps broker a truce with her, Carly would love to use her snooping skills to find the real killer. Only she has bigger problems to deal with--ghosts are flocking to her for help, including a very persistent Haywood Dodd...

Click here to visit Sheryl and see what she has dug up for you today on Booth Talks Books!

See what treat Mary has for you over at MJBreviewers blog by clicking here.

and popover to see what Lisa has cooked up for you today over at Lisa K's Book Reviews by clicking here. 

Don't worry about missing us Five Amigos next week we have a whole new series of Holiday Themed Cozy Picks to share with all of you...
Thank you for joining us for this series and we would all like to hear from you so please leave us comments on our pages even just to say Hello! Happy Halloween from Karen K and I!
Thank you for joining us for a cup of tea and Fall-O-ween Fun!

On My Table and In My Cup October 14th- 21st

Things that I would never have believed possible this week happened. Good things, not so great things and amazing things. First off my TBR pile is almost as long as I am tall and I am thankful to Karen K for helping me get my TBR list in order and well I have misplaced it this morning but some of the books shown above are a fraction of what is one it. #blessedlystressed.

I hosted a cooking class fundraiser for my oldest son's choir on Saturday night. He is going to Europe over Spring Break and 20 lovely ladies came, learned out to make a lovely Greek meal and we raised $275 towards the cost of the trip.
I am very grateful to these ladies for helping us with the cost of the trip. The Epicure spices and cookware used was fun and very healthy, also pretty yummy too! Who knew I could cook a whole chicken in 15 mins!

A delightful surprise this week to find that Vicki Vass has released her latest in the Antique Hunters series and that she put my name and quote on the front cover! That was such a thrill! Great book and series a must read!

I have a review up tomorrow of book three in the Maddie Hatter series, Timely Taffeta is a great adventure mystery, while technically it is a YA book, I feel it is timeless and delightful!

M.K. Graff's British suspense mystery The Golden Hour was an exciting read as well, could see this one as a mini series for sure!

Sunday I shared my review of The Plot is Murder, you simply must get this book. So good and I want you to read it so we can chat about it!

 Thursday night I hosted the release day event for Secrets and Pies for author Jenny Kales and it was such a blast! Thank you to all of you who came!

Thank you also to author Joyce Tremel for stopping by for tea and chatting about her latest book A Room With A Brew.

Also arrived this week is author Lynn Cahoon's book Of Murder and Men this series is one I have been enthralled with since book one and I am so excited to have this on my list to read!

In my cup this week I have had largely my Vanilla Black tea from Murchie's, quite a few water bottles this week too, and some wonderful Mulled Apple Cider I made from my Epicure party. Spices and hot apple juice, not only smelled great but was tasty too!

I am just finishing up A Fatal Collection and will have that review for you early next week.
Thank you for joining me for a cup of tea and a cozy mystery week in review. I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com

Dressed to Kill by Vicki Vass

A few weeks ago I was sent Dressed to Kill by Vicki Vass, to read and read it I did. Book 5 in the Antique Hunters Mystery Series was outstanding! I could not put it down. If you are not yet into this series you are missing a great one.  Vicki Vass is one of my most favorite authors and the character relationships are truly special in her books. I especially love the Antique Hunters Mystery for the relationship between best friends and  the antique hunting duo of  Anne and CC! There is more than just great relationships in this series, there are also an amazing events and adventures based on true historical events and pieces of history that tie perfectly into the story, the mystery and the fun! 

This is a great series and I am honored to have found my name and quote on the front cover! Dressed to Kill is out now and you can find it on Amazon by clicking here. 

In 1865, Elizabeth Keckley, Mary Todd Lincoln’s dressmaker, conspired to change the course of the Civil War. Crossing lines between North and South, the band of conspirators wove a plan that remained undiscovered for more than 150 years until Antique Hunter Anne Hillstrom finds one of Keckley’s gowns. She and fellow Antique Hunter CC Muller unravel the mystery that has left a trail of dead bodies, leading to the doorstep of their antique store, Great-Aunt Sybil’s Attic. Dressed to Kill is the fifth book in the Antique Hunters Mystery Series. Rooted in history, the series reimagines real-life events blurring the line between fact and fiction. With a passion for shopping and antiques, Vicki Vass turned in her reporter's notebook to chronicle the adventures of Anne and CC, two antique hunters who use their skills to solve a murder case. 

Thank you for joining me for a cup of tea and a cozy mystery review I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com

Three Amigos Summer Reading Club Week 8 Yard sales/Tag sales/Thrift Stores

Week 8 of 11 wow Summer is going so fast! Summer would not be summer without that clandestined tradition of  the summer yard sale, tag sale, incredible find! This week my selection is Vicki Vass' Murder For Sale, (this used to be titled Murder by the Spoonful) and is the first in a series I am a big fan of called the Antique Hunters Mystery Series. I love the new cover so much and when I read this book for the first time I thought WOW! I enjoyed it so much! You can read that original review by clicking here.

Two friends, both with wonderful and helpful pets, love interests that made sense and I hope stick around. Mysteries that made you want to not put the book down and a story that flowed seamlessly between the two main characters in each chapter. I was very impressed and delighted with this book and I hope you will be too.

Anne Hillstrom is hunting antiques, a diet that works and her Great Aunt Sybil's killer. This book tells the story of Anne and CC, two estate sale bloggers and antique hunters, who get more than they bargain for when they discover a killer who is hunting the antique hunter

You can find it on Amazon by clicking here. 

Learn more about  this series by clicking here for Vicki Vass' Website 

The entire series is fantastic. Let's see what my Amigos have picked for you today...

Click here for Mary's Pick

Click here for Lisa's selection!

Thank you so much for joining me today, I would love to hear from you and so would my Amigos so please leave me a comment below and them each one on their blogs! We would love to know what you think and what you are reading.
I appreciate you stopping by for a cup of tea and a THree Amigos Summer Reading Club selection. I would love to hear from you so please consider leaving me a comment below or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com

Three Amigos Summer Reading Club Week 7 Paranormal/Ghost Stories

Week 7 and another favorite theme of mine, this one is Paranormal or Ghost Cozy. This was a hard one for me to chose from so many wonderful paranormal series I read, however my decision was made much easier by the fact that the book I have chosen called Bloodline by Vicki Vass was so exceptional and my desire to have the whole cozy community read it. 

There is so much to love about this first in what I hope will be a long running series. Bloodline is Book 1 in the A Witch Cat Mystery Series. I could not put this book down, I read it in one sitting, not wanting to miss any part of the action. Fabulous concept, story, backstory, characters and heart. This is a book as a paranormal cozy mystery lover I was beyond excited about. The cover is fantastic and the mystery is divine. Main character Terra Rowan is unlike any main character you have ever read. Vicki Vass did an exceptional job with this one and threw some wonderful surprises in the book that felt like they were just for me!

I know my cat Squirrel and I were honored to get a special mug along with a copy of Bloodline for review...

If you need me I may just be between the pages sipping my tea at the Leaf and Page....

You can find Bloodline on Amazon by clicking here.

Find it here on The Book Depository with free shipping by clicking here. 

Now let's see what my Amigos have come up with this week....

Click here to see Mary's Pick 

Click here to see Lisa's selection....

Thank you for joining me here for a cup of tea and a Three Amigos Summer Reading Club selection. I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com

On My Table and In My Cup June 3rd-10th

Saturday morning and I am reading my way through Carol Novis' Long In The Sleuth. Love this book so far can not wait to share with you more in my review.  I have had another crazy week, not just the normal crazy but the crazy where you have 4 firemen trying to get a 2 year old out of the bathroom because the door strike jammed when she slammed it, when the puppy stole her monkey.... Man my life is truly funny sometimes in hindsight that is.  I am now walking without crutches and while my ankle is very sore and swollen by the end of the day it is now mostly managed.

I have started something new and I have now got a Youtube Channel I hope that you will subscribe to! I have two videos currently posted and am working on some channel art hoping to have you stop over and subscribe! I hope this becomes a fun and easy way to share my love of books I have read and books I am reading with you in a short and personal way.

 I also got quite a bit of reading done this week and was thrilled to share quite a few reviews this week. Murder at the Lighthouse by Frances Evesham was a delightful British Cozy mystery read this week and should still be a free book at time of publishing, you may want to pick this one up too!

While still on crutches I managed to hobble over to a little French Cafe near by and enjoy a Rosemary Savory Scone,  some Marco Polo Tea and read a few chapters of Kylie Logan's French Fried before the school called and I had to pick up my son who had a fever.  Good news is I had just taken my last bite and my last sip of this very delicious tea and was fortified for the afternoon that followed.

Such a divine treat to get an advanced reading copy of Lorna Barrett's A Just Clause. when I read the last line I was so thrilled and sad at the same time knowing I would have to wait just that much longer to read the next one. Advanced reading copies can be a double edged sword!

Such a treat this one is out next Tuesday and should be on your TBR pile for sure!

Monday morning our visitors from Japan went back home. It was an adventure having 5 boys in the house this weekend and fun playing tourist in our own town. I can not wait to do this again next year. I hope that we have made long lasting friendships and that we can build on it for many years to come. The school gave us a beautiful box containing some sugar cookies perfect reminder of the sweet boys we got to spend the weekend with and it pairs beautifully with my tea. Special thanks to Jack and Janie my dear friends for the beautiful "Welcome to the Ankle Club" flowers they gave me after my accident with my ankle. Mine is not broken but Janie's is, for all the pain in endured she suffered 100% worse, we are forever Left Ankle Twins!

I can not thank you enough for joining me for a cup of tea and a cozy mystery week in review. I hope you like some of the new changes I have made with the addition of the  Youtube Channel and the Fancy Friday Finds. I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com

On My Table and In My Cup May 13th-20th

On my table this week I had the great honor of having Bloodline by Vicki Vass on my table.  This is a new Paranormal Cozy Mystery with a lovely dedication and I was honored and thrilled to find that Vicki Vass had included my name in her book. This story is one that loved and was thrilled with the story, mystery and dedication. I loved this book so much I wish I could purchase it for you all!

I am currently reading through Angie Fox's book Sweet Tea and Spirits it is a very intriguing mystery.

I also shared a review of  a great resource boom by Laura Temest Zakroff , this series is by Llewellyn.

It has been very much a paranormal cozy mystery weeks with Bailey Cattrell's Nightshade for Warning, loved the idea of this cozy and can not wait to read another!

Putting up the tea tent felt like a huge victory this weekend, thankful that my dad and niece were able to help put up and partake in the first "tea"

This has been a truly wonderful week for me, the books, the company and the tea tent have brought so much joy to each day.
Thank you for joining me here for a cup of tea and a cozy mystery week in review. I look forward to sharing more with you again tomorrow.  I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com