Reviews

Burning Hope by Wendy Roberts

caitkom's review

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5.0

I am a huge fan of Wendy Roberts other series and was absolutely tickled to see that she had a new series. This one did not disappoint. I could not put this book down, and read it in 2 days.! I wish I could give it 10 stars instead of 5. The only negative I have is that we have to wait for the next one! I absolutely love how the author integrates Red's psychic abilities in the story.. I am eager to see how her abilities grow.

Red is an onion, with many layers and years of trauma and disappointment. She has been on her own for the last couple years, and struggles with trusting or relying on anyone. She travels around Washington in her van, "Bubbles," aptly named for the neon bubble decals on the outside. She works odd jobs to make some money, but never stays anywhere for very long. She stops in Hope Harbor, and meets Penny, the owner of the local dollarama store, where she works for a couple weeks, trying to save up some money to get a new battery and fridge for Bubbles. She stops by the store on her day off to make some coffee and finds the body of Murray, one of her coworkers, and one of the most unliked men in town. As an out of towner, she becomes the most likely suspect and a piriah in town.

I enjoyed meeting the characters of Hope Harbor, and did not see the ending coming! That you to NetGalley for an ARC of this book. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

annarella's review

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4.0

3.5* upped to 4
I think there's a lot of potential and I liked the mystery, the paranormal side, and the setting.
Red is a complex character: damaged, with a lot of baggage, and always detached even if there're some glimpse of the person behind the mask.
The romance felt a bit stilted but I enjoyed it.
The mystery is full of twists and kept me guessing.
I hope this is the start of a series as I would like to learn more about Red and read about what will happeng.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

saschadarlington's review

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4.0

Red Hooper is the new woman in town for just as long as it takes her to earn enough money to get a new battery and fridge for her van. Unfortunately, as her current luck would have it, she stumbles upon the body of a work colleague in the stockroom of the dollar store where she works. The townspeople and the ever-annoyed town marshal seem to believe she’s the murderer, after all it couldn’t be one of them, could it? As the story unfolds, Red’s older sister, Brandy, who claims to now be sober and clean, reenters her life and helps Red to understand a “talent” the women in the family have passed along to new generations—psychic abilities. Can Red harness her ability before she becomes a convenient victim for the town’s witch-hunt.

I’m not usually a fan of cozy mysteries because they can sometimes be a little on the eye-rolling side if the author is not careful. By adding a paranormal aspect that raises interest, Wendy Roberts has written an engrossing story with plenty of twists and a mystery that keeps the reader guessing.

I quite liked Red. She’s a different kind of character, an introvert who doesn’t want to interact with a lot of people. She prefers the company of the woods. She’s reserved but friendly enough and far too trusting. Perhaps because of her brain surgery, which set her back on many fronts, she comes across as younger than her age.

Some ideas were introduced in the story that were never quite fully imagined but the mystery itself and culprit made sense.

For animal lovers, there’s a bundle-of-fluff kitten, Muffin, who Red adopts and steals the story with her antics.

For romance lovers, there’s a budding romance between Red and hardware store owner, Noah, but he appears in one of her visions as someone she cannot altogether trust. So we’re never quite sure if we should be rooting for them or not.

All in all, Burning Hope is a satisfying cozy paranormal mystery and I look forward to reading more about Red in the future.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
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