The Perfect Blend

Jack Tagger used to be a star investigative reporter until he decided to bad mouth his employer in front of the shareholders. Now relegated to writing obituaries, he comes across the death of Jimmy Stomarti (formerly Jimmy Stoma from Jimmy Stoma and the Slut Puppies). While getting some quotes for the obit, he comes across discrepancies that lead him to full on investigating.

Set between Antarctica, Vermont and London, two estranged half-sisters tasked with guarding their family's library of magical books must work together to unravel a deadly secret at the heart of their collection. It's a tale of familial loyalty and betrayal, and the pursuit of magic and power.

Ernie Cunningham is at it again! But this time he is on a train, surrounded by authors, agents and.....murder.

Follow the story of a Dakota family's struggles for survival and the care and responsibility passed down to care for Mother Earth and the seeds she provides.

"Jade hates flying, but since winning the lottery, she can afford to purchase three seats - 2A, 2B, and 2C. But there's turbulence, and she drops the book she's reading. But a handsome gentleman gives her it back." - Goodreads

This is the first book in the Brother Cadfael Chronicles Series and was published in 1977. Brother Cadfael became a monk late in life- after being a soldier during the Crusades and a life of traveling the world, he came to the Shrewsbury Abbey.

The leader of his abbey has decided to acquire the sacred remains of Saint Winefride in Gwyneth, Wales and bring them back to the abbey. Brother Cadfael comes along to translate and isn't so surprised that the quest for bones leads to a murder...

Miss Nan O'Dea enters the Christie's lives and exits with one Mr. Christie....

But before that happens, she will cross paths with Agatha during her mysterious disappearance. All is not as it seems, there is not just a tragic past and a disappearance to solve, there is also.....a murder.

Rosemarie, Ada, Caroline and Kasey together known as RACK have known each other since they were babies. When Kasey returns to their hometown to face something that happened in her past, the four women are together again to take care of things that each have buried and help each other through.

There's an Earl in this story...and like the song says...Earl had to die.

Jake and Ellie decide to open The Chocolate Moose bakeshop on their small island town in Maine. As they are gearing up for baking chocolate cherry cheesecakes for the Coast Guard to auction off, someone in murdered face down in some of their chocolate!

Nobody notices Jenny Dove, so much so that even her family call her the nothing girl. At her lowest point, an imaginary horse name Thomas comes to her rescue and with his help, Jenny begins to see that maybe there is more to her than people think.

The Alice Network weaves World War I and World War II together. A young socialite seeks the help of a former female spy to find a missing person. Along the way they realize their paths are going to cross in a way they hadn't expected.

Summer is coming to a close, and Alex is no longer welcome.

Her boyfriend has sent her to the train station and with nowhere to go, she pretends to be whoever she needs to be to fit in with Long Island's high society.

Christa is part of a tour group heading deep into the snowy expanse of the Rocky Mountains with her boyfriend Kiernan. A bitterly cold snowstorm sweeps the region forcing the small group to take shelter in an abandoned hunting cabin. Despite the uncomfortably claustrophobic quarters and rapidly dropping temperature, Christa believes they'll be safe as they wait out the storm.

She couldn't be more wrong.

There's no such thing as the perfect family...

Ruby May travels to Yorkshire to become the new nurse for Mr. and Mrs. England. Her new position at Hardcastle House leaves her isolated and makes it clear that something is not right with Mrs. England. As she cares for the four children, she also must grapple with her own demons.

It's Christmas Eve at St. Mary's. Max has just been visited by a ghost of Christmas past/present/future all at once and that vision has put an idea in her head. With the help of two companions, they head off on an expedition to bring back some lost historians.

Back to AD 60 in Roman Colchester- will they succeed in the midst of a fierce battle?

Grace Adams is stuck in traffic in the sweltering heat. Her daughter won't speak to her, but she is determined to make things right with the perfect cake. And that is when Grace snaps...

Mika Moon knows she has to hide her magic, but an unexpected message arrives asking her to teach three young witches how to control their magic. What's a young, lonely witch to do?

Erika Johansen takes us on a twisted dark journey to the land of the Sugar Plum Fairy. The Kingdom of Sweets is a tale of Clara and here twin sister Natasha, cursed and destined for some dark magic on Christmas Eve.

Holly Chase is a rich teenager with a bankrupt personality. She is visited by three spirits, but the campaign to save her is a bust. She wakes up as a ghost destined to be part of Project Scrooge. Will being one of the legendary ghosts of A Christmas Carol help save Holly? Only one way to find out!

The Nest is the story of the Plumb siblings, and takes place in New York in the aftermath of 9/11 and the 2008 financial crisis. The siblings all come together when they find out that their joint trust fund- one that they are all counting on for various desperate reasons- has been used to get their oldest brother out of a bad situation of his own creation.

Two women must put aside their animosity to survive a Wyoming prairie winter in the 1870's.

Elizabeth Zott is a chemist in the 1960's who is fired from her job for being unwed and pregnant and eventually becomes a tv icon on her own cooking show.

Shelly and Candy are taking a literary trip to Moonbright, Maine in this 3 for 1 story by authors Donna Kauffman, Allyson Charles and Kate Angell. Who knew there could be magic in cookies? Bellaluna Bakeshop's owner Sofia knows a thing or two about love and finding that just right person. Three different women experience her cookies and love during Halloween in the town of Moonbright, Maine.

Shelly and Candy are featuring two books for the podcast of one- two stories that are both about Grace Sherwood, who was accused of witchcraft back in the early 1700's. The Witch of Pungo is a selection of stories that take place in what is now Virginia Beach, Virginia. Louisa Venable Kyle wrote the stories and included some historical background after each. William Huber wrote a fictionalized version of what could have happened to Grace Sherwood. He includes lots of places in our local history as well as story lines for the many characters of that time.

Hal Westaway is a lonely young tarot card reader who becomes involved in an inheritance with a very dysfunctional family and possible a murder as well.

Four guests come to Hill House to observe and note any unusual happenings. Hill House has a reputation for paranormal activity. Everyone experiences strange things, but only one of them begins to slip from reality.

While doing research for her doctorate, Connie Goodwin discovers a mystery that ties her to not only the Salem Witch trials, but her own family history.

After the death of Holly Gibney's mother due to COVID, Holly accepts a job to help find a mother's missing daughter. As she investigates, she realizes that the missing daughter may be one of a few victims of a serial killer.

Carrie Soto has only known tennis her entire life.  She is a fierce player, known for winning at all costs.  Her determination and focus have not made her popular, and have earned her the nickname Battle-Axe. Five years after her retirement, she is sitting with her father watching  the 1994 US Open.  When Nicki Chan breaks her Grand Slam title,  she decides to come out of retirement to defend her Grand Slam title record. At thirty-seven, she goes back into training with her father to win one more time.

Tabitha Knight recently arrived in Paris to stay and care for her grandfather. Paris is magical and delicious- especially with Julia Child being her neighbor who willingly helps Tabitha learn to cook. A seemingly innocent party leads to murder with Julia's knife being the weapon. Tabitha decides to help with the investigation to clear not only Julia's name but her own.

We love Jodi Taylor's St. Mary's Chronicles! Join our discussion of "Just One Damned Thing After Another" where they "don't do time travel. They research historical events in contemporary time". Everything at St. Mary's seems orderly and perfectly in synch till Max arrives to interview. Is she a jinx or are there other forces involved in this time traveling adventure?

After Serga A. Storms and his sidekick Coleman have been hunkered down in their condo during COVID, Serge comes up with a great way to venture out to all of his beloved Florida haunts. As he is offering road trips to all his fellow condo neighbors, things are brewing up with a reporter, the CIA and adventures in Honduras.

Tim Dorsey has done it again! Another wild ride with Serge and Coleman.

Come join us in Empis as we continue Charlie Reade's journey. We did enjoy connecting the events to the tales that inspired them in King's fantasy realm of Fairy Tale.

Welcome to The Perfect Blend.

Charlie Reade is a 17-year-old who finds himself introduced to a fantasy world and gets entangled in the battle between good and evil.

We decided to divide this story into two episodes. In Part 1, we will cover the first part of the book that introduces us to Charlie and his life up to he turns 17 and meets Mr. Bowditch and Radar.

Stay tuned next week for Part 2!

It's the late 1800’s in a world where magic has existed but has been outlawed. The estranged Eastwood Sisters  find themselves  drawn back to each other in New Salem during the women’s suffrage movement and a growing force for strong labor unions.  Juniper, Agnes and Beatrice discover their powers and their choices lead to a witch's movement and a women’s rebellion.

Welcome to The Perfect Blend.

Anna Kate has returned to Wicklow, Alabama to bury her beloved grandmother, Zee. Zee owned the Blackbird Cafe and her only request is that Anna Kate stay and run the cafe for two months before selling it. Anna Kate is reluctant as she is not used to small town southern life and doesn't want to get involved with her father's family or create friendships that she will not be able to sustain.

As much as she tries to stick to her plans, the blackbirds, the pie and the townspeople all work their magic on her and maybe, just maybe the best laid plans aren't always what's best.

Welcome to The Perfect Blend.

Welcome to The Perfect Blend.

Kate Parker is approaching 40 thinking her life is falling into place, but during her romantic vacation to France it all falls apart. She comes back with no boyfriend and no place to stay. Hurt and humiliated, she gives her boyfriend 2 months to make up his mind and moves in with her mother. Things seem to go from bad to worse until her friend sends her on a mission to get involved. This lands her at the Lauderdale House for Exceptional Ladies. There she meets the formidable, exasperating 97 year old Cecily Finn. Cecily has no patience for the state of Kate's life, but she does offer her a self-help book in the guise of a cookbook.

Welcome to The Perfect Blend.

Katy is reeling from the death of her mother. Carol was not just her mother, but her best friend and she is lost without her. She decides to embark on the mother-daughter trip Carol had planned and is for the first time on her own. While taking in the beauty of Positano, Katy runs into the 30 year old version of her mother. Not sure what is happening, she follows Carol along and gets to see her and Positano as her mother knew and loved it.

Along the way, she finds some shocking truths and has to reconcile them as she comes to grips with her grief and what her life will become without her mom.

Welcome to The Perfect Blend.

Welcome to The Perfect Blend.

The Last Garden in England takes us back in time to the early 1900's, WWII, and back to present day to tell the story of the people and gardens of Highbury House. As Emma works to unravel the secrets and lost stories of the neglected gardens of the present day Highbury House to restore it to its former glory, the story travels back to WWII when the house was requisitioned as a convalescent hospital for wounded soldiers, to 1907 when the garden was designed and built.

Emma Lovett has just been given the opportunity to restore the gardens of Highbury House estate. The very same gardens that were designed in 1907 by Venetia Smith, Emma's hero.

Venetia Smith is an ambitious garden designer working to create the gardens of Highbury House estate. This project will establish her as a female horiculturalist, an unheard of honor in 1907, but both the garden work and the people involved will change her life forever.

Beth Pedley is assigned to a farm near Highbury House during WWII. She works alongside the farmers lending a hand as most of the men have gone off to war. She befriends Stella Adderton- the cook at Highbury House and eventually makes acquantance with the lady of the house, Mrs. Symonds.

All stories are tied together and Emma works to restore the grounds and unravel the secrets left behind.