Zara KeaneBesprekingen

Fall back - ****
The pirate captains daughter - ***
Her treasure hunter ex - ***
Among galactic ruins - ****
The devil's set: Jackson - ***
Uncharted - ****
Tainted pearl - ***
The Duke of Ambra - ****
Ultimate escape - ***
Cover me - ***

Olivia and Jonas were an interesting couple who had some major issues (such as a murder investigation) to work through before finding their HEA. A good book with an unexpected twist.

A cute story of opposites attracting

An enjoyable read

Zoe York — FALL QUIET - ****
Anne Marsh — XANDER - ***
Zara Keane — THE NAVY SEAL'S ACCIDENTAL WIFE - ****
Leigh James — ESCORTING THE ASSASSIN - ***
Kat Cantrell — RESCUING HER SEAL - ****
Anna Hackett — UNEXPLORED - ****
Lyn Brittan — THE PROTECTOR OF AMBRA - ****
Sadie Haller — HER WILD DOM - ****
Lydia Rowan — ULTIMATE ENGAGEMENT - ****

Small town reporter, Dee Flanagan lives in the town of Dunleagh in Ireland with her wacky grandmother, Nana. On a morning when she is late for work, as she hurries into town and is caught in a wild windstorm with purple clouds that act like handcuffs, Dee witnesses the shooting of two men; one is her least favorite person, Mr. Chuckles, the clown. The other is a mysterious man dressed in the garb of the Irish War of Independence. Suspicion falls on Dee, but not for long when the unpopular local mayor is also murdered as he is rehearsing for a play being put on in a local theater. Will Dee or her mother end up in jail for murders neither one of them committed or is there something else going on in the town that might lead officials to a different conclusion?
Deadline with Death reminds me of the Stephanie Plum mystery series except that this story takes place in a small town in Ireland rather than New Jersey and is a "cozy mystery." Also there are paranormal elements that are mostly referenced in the descriptions of the women in Dee's family, but I assume they will be discussed in more depth in future books. Deadline with Death is light on action but heavy on characterization and small town atmosphere. I liked many of the quirky characters, especially Nana, but the situations in which these characters do or say something funny seem a little forced. Overall, however, this is a light "cozy mystery" with lots of unique and fun characters.

Insanely fun read!

I instantly felt like I knew this cast of characters. there is tons of humor, heart, and Celtic whimsy throughout this book. the romance is great and not the been there done there kind. sometimes you will laugh out loud...especially at the antics of one especially hyper young pup with a silly name. I can wait for the next installment of this endearing series.

Brilliant as usual

I've been looking forward to Jonas and Olivias story for a while. I love his relationship with his young son Luca who has autism. Favorite characters from previous books are scattered throughout this book. I do so enjoy seeing old friends. There's a great murder mystery....death by garden gnome! Sheer brilliance if you ask me. olivia's hubby has always been a jerk. I've eagerly awaited seeing someone give him his comeuppance. As usual there's love and hijinx throughout the book. Looking for a fun read, then I highly suggest this book and all in this series!!!

This is book 2 in the spin off series of her Ballybeg books. The main female love interest in this book is Muirean from "Love and Shenanigans" which was book 1 of the original series. It isn't a must to read that book first, but it might give you a better understanding of the character and situations in this book. As with her past books, once more this book knocks it out of the park! There's massive intrigue, murder, small town gossip, romance, and fun galore. Twists and turns, and oops did u say I have a baby? Yup, if bad rock star has an infant he knew nothing about and quickly falls in love with. He and Muirean met while he posed as a hitchhiker in Australia when she was licking her wounds from events in book 1 of Ballybeg. As she wasn't a fan of rock and roll, she had no clue who he was. The stars align and they end up in Ballybeg at the same time. Surprise surprise, she also finds out the job she came to town for is actually as his housekeeper. In the midst of getting to know one another and falling for their baby, there's a few pesky murders to solve. This book is a great page Turner. Be prepared to sit down, and next thing you know it's the last chapter. Have fun getting to know these zany and fun characters from Ballybeg. I look forward to many more books in the series to come!!!

As usual our favorite author knocked it out of the park! I received an ARC, but would have left this review regardless. Treasure Hunters, betrayal, love and more abound in this book. It's a thrill a minute. You root for the estranged couple through the whole book. If you want to read a great romantic suspense book, I HIGHLY recommend this one!! An underwater photographer is given the opportunity of a lifetime! She is asked to photograph the sunken ship that her great grandparents had been said to escape from . This book is a spin-off of the popular Ballybeg series. The heroines ex fiance and once again possible love interest is the brother of Sean the cop. Dex is also diving this wreck, but to nab priceless artifacts for his investor. Neither is aware the other was hired. Once aboard the dive sparks begin to fly....as does mystery. What's the real reason for the dive. Who is messing with stuff. Danger and love are in the air. Read on to see what happens. This is the first in a spin off series from Ballybeg. Look forward to book 2 about a rock star .....enjoy the read

Wow! This book is pure twists and turns. Shane (cousin of Lar from book 1) of the Triskelion Team suddenly hooks up with his lost crush Ruthie. Little does he know this tough little scrapper from his past has been hired to look into he and his family. As she slowly works her way into his heart, she's also trying hard to learn his family secrets. Since his jerk of a father and thuggish brothers are in the underbelly of Ireland, one would think there's a lot to discover. Meanwhile Shane's father Frank has him spying on his best friend/cousin Lar. Frank wants to know all there is to know about the event at the Lucky Leprechaun in Boston. Family and friends died that day and people are blaming everyone they can find. Unbeknown to them, a mysterious agency also hired Ruthie to learn about the Leprechaun. What happened that day that has everyone all riled up. Shane has two worthless brothers and a sister he rarely sees thanks to her abusive husband. Ruthie also has a brother who has many problems of his own. In fact it's due to his MASSIVE gambling debts she agrees to help this shadow agency. Her beloved brother is off his meds and bipolar. Factor in the gambling debts and it's one giant mess. Everyone is keeping secrets from everyone else. Some for good reasons, and some not so much. Believe me when I say there is more to be revealed by the end of this book. Not to mention a shocker and adventure or two. Twists and turns, love and hate, intrigue and suspense. ...all rolled up into one amazing book. This series and author in particular NEVER let you down. So put your feet up and dive in for a trip to the seedy underbelly of Ireland. Filled with passion, brotherhood, friendship, lost loves, deception and lots of surprises!

As usual this author hit it out of the park. After discovering her cheating louse of a husband while pulling him over for speeding.... San Francisco Police officer Maggie Doyle divorces his happy butt and goes to Ireland for some rest. Since her ex is a successful lawyer and got off with a slap if the wrist.... Not to mention besmirching her name with her superiors which caused her desk duty. Suffice to say Ireland with her aunt is just what she needed. Or is it? Soon after arriving and helping her aunt at her Movie Theatre Club and Cafe, the town busybody and pariah is found dead on movie night. The lazy local cards is of the opinion it was a heart attack. Our Maggie is not so sure.... Armed with a historical, motley group of characters (a nun, some coffee clutch senior citizens, and a UFO chasing ex pit smoking buddy of hers) she outs her police skills to good use. Sit down and enjoy the many twists and turns. Wow for a small Irish Hamlet there are certainly a ton of secrets and tomfoolery at foot. Between all these interesting characters, one hot new Irish cop come to look into things, and Maggie's determination to find the true culprit. Suffice to say it's a grand time to be had!!

I read the second book in this series and liked it so I went back to look at the whole series but I couldn't get in to this one.
I didn't like Gavin. I am not a fan if a Hero or heroine sleeps with someone then sleeps with another member of their family and he was just so dislikeable.

💍💔💒

It is a good story but the Hero's attitude annoyed me to be honest. The heroine basically had to chase him down. She ignored his calls but he had told an epic lie, despite his 'I omitted the truth, I didn't lie' excuse.

No cheating, HEA and an epilogue.

While I received an ARC of this book, I have made an independent decision to post this review. I think of this book as a Cozy Whodunnit! Ex police officer Maggie goes home to recover from her husbands' cheating - and works in her aunt's coffee shop in a renovated cinema. That's when the plot thickens!

Love and Shenanigans in the first novel is Zara Keane’s Ballybeg series. I picked up the five-novel boxed set ages ago and it’s been on my ereader for almost as long. Zara is someone I’ve known in Romanceland since before she was a published author, but I’ve had no contact with her for the last couple of years since we’re not on the same social media platforms anymore.

This month’s TBR theme is “favorite trope,” which I had a bit of trouble with because I don’t really read by trope. But I do like certain setups and relationships more than others, no question. I like pretty much any form of romance that involves people who already know each other, whether it’s friends to lovers, second chance at love, friends of siblings, etc. And I’m a total sucker for marriage of convenience. I also have a weakness for small-town romance despite all the problems with those and despite the fact that (or perhaps because) I have never lived in anything remotely approaching a small town. I dug around in my TBR, considered and discarded a few possibilities, and then rediscovered Zara’s books on my ereader.

Love and Shenanigans features a heaping helping of tropes I gravitate toward: small-town childhood friends who discover that their supposedly annulled Las Vegas marriage wasn’t annulled after all. And if that isn’t enough, they find out on the eve of the hero’s marriage to the heroine’s cousin. Talk about piling on. But it totally works, because the main couple are down to earth and fun, and also because the writing doesn’t wink at the reader or camp it up. Yes it’s a ridiculous situation but I bought the whole thing (OK, maybe not the drunken marriage itself, but everything else). Keane is Irish and she writes the heck out of an Irish setting without condescending. It reminded me of Ballykissangel in a good way, i.e., less cloying and clichéd. If you step back and think about it then yes there are stereotypes, but they aren’t hitting you over the head.

On to the story. Fiona comes home to Ballybeg to be Maid of Honor at her unpleasant cousin Muireann’s wedding to Gavin. She doesn’t really want to but she wants to please her Aunt Bridie, and it’s her last act before going to Asia and Australia on her sabbatical year from teaching. But then she discovers that her fake marriage to Gavin nine years ago wasn’t as fake as they thought and the fat is in the fire. The fallout at the wedding ceremony results in a hospital visit for Bridie, and Fiona is the only one around who can pick up the slack.

Meanwhile, Gavin is confronting the disastrous consequences of still being married. Muireann is out for blood and so is her powerful real-estate developer father, Bernard. Fiona and Gavin can’t avoid each other because they are next-door neighbors, and they soon find that their long-ago feelings aren’t completely gone.

We meet any number of residents of the town, some of whom will definitely go on to star in future installments of the series. Fiona and Gavin’s relationship develops slowly and believably, and by the end some of the villains of the piece get their comeuppance. I appreciated that Muireann wasn’t totally demonized despite her selfish and vindictive behavior; she isn’t a particularly nice person, but she develops self-awareness over the course of the story and Gavin recognizes that she wasn’t the only one screwing up their relationship.

I believe this was Keane’s first novel, but it doesn’t read like one. I liked the voice enough to go on and read the next installment right away, which was a novella featuring a marriage in jeopardy plot (Love and Blarney). It was more novella-ish, for good and ill, but it was enjoyable, and I’m looking forward to the other three stories in the box set I have.

Part of the Balleybeg series. This installment features Ruairi McCarthy, whom we met in the first novel, and his estranged wife Jayme King. We knew that Ruairi gave up a lucrative and high-status job as a stockbroker in New York to come back and run his family’s pub, but we didn’t know why. At the very end of Love and Shenanigans we discovered, along with the rest of Ballybeg, that Ruairi had not only left his job but also his wife, whom he had married years ago without telling any of his family.

All this comes to light when Jayme shows up in Ballybeg, unannounced and unexpected. She decided to make the journey because the divorce is about to be finalized and she wants to make sure this is really what they both want to do. She wants Ruairi to talk to her face-to-face. Ruairi, as you can imagine, is gobsmacked to see her, and he gets into serious trouble with all the women in his life when his wife, mother, and sisters find out he never told his family in Ireland he was married. For what it’s worth, he didn’t tell Jayme why he suddenly had to return either. So we have the Big Mis and the Big Secrets.

After everyone simmers down, Jayme and Ruairi begin to talk about their marriage and the possibilities for the future. They have refreshingly adult conversations where both parties think about what they might have done differently rather than harping on what the other did. The resolution has to come pretty quickly since it’s a novella, and that truncated aspects of the story I would have liked to see developed better, but other than that everything is well handled.

I particularly appreciated the way Ruairi’s family is depicted. His father is genuinely horrible and abusive and one of his brothers takes after the old man. His mother and siblings aren’t presented as enabling or long-suffering in a stereotypical way, but it’s clear how social and cultural norms can make this kind of situation persist. I also liked seeing his sister Sharon again, whom we met in the first novel and who will be starring in her own installment. She’s a great character.

My one other criticism, aside from issues related to the brevity of the format, is that Jayme’s Big Secret, the reason she didn’t contact Ruairi sooner, was pregnancy-related. I would really like to see a heroine who hides a medical condition from the hero and have it been something Just Medical. The men in our lives care about us even when babies aren’t involved. I want romances that portray that.

Overall, though, I really enjoyed this and am forcing myself not to glom the whole series so I don’t burn out. Thank you Zara Keane for writing fun, authentic-feeling small-town stories set in a place that all too often gets the Finian’s Rainbow treatment.½

Zara Keane is an author that I have not read many books by. That is about to change for me. Love and Mistletoe is a holiday novella that will leave you with a smile on your face. Can't wait to read the rest of this series.

Maggie left the force and her cop parents behind in California after her disastrous divorce and came to stay for a time with her aunt and her business on Whisper Island in Ireland. But you can't take the investigator out of the hurt woman. There are lots of friendly people who know everybody's business, and when a local uptight solicitor is accused of a major theft, Maggie works to help find the real culprit even if it means wearing a leprechaun costume and assisting with costumed dancing chickens! There are plenty of laughs, in this well done cosy mystery as well!

A cozy mystery. Okay.

law-enforcement, PI, situational humor, cosy mystery, Ireland

Maggie the former US cop and current PI and bakery assistant seems to be a magnet for dead bodies. A contemporary skeleton found on an archeology dig, a police Sargeant boyfriend with a hostile ex and an unhappy daughter, a socially inept daughter of a friend, a nerdy assistant, and a bumbling police coworker in charge of investigations form the basics. Not to encourage spoilers, but just picture said overbearing bumbler on scene after unknowingly ingesting hash brownies. Enjoy the red herrings, plot twists and hilarity.

Ireland, cozy mystery, law enforcement, relationships, murder investigation

The marriage is beyond dead, the job is totalled, and depression wants to take over, so Maggie hies off to visit with her aunt in Ireland and cover for her at the tea shop for a day or two followed by time to get it together. But. First problem is that she is expected to bake when she is clueless in a kitchen. Next is the murder of aunt's business rival. Good thing Maggie was a police detective in the states, as the local thinks aunt is a good suspect. There are twists, red herrings, situational and verbal humor filling the pages making this a totally delightful read!

Maggie has just received her private investigators license & acquired her first case. A farmer has hired her to find his favorite ewe that had been missing for 22 years. When she went to interview the only suspect, she stumbles across his dead body. What follows is a perfect combination of mystery & romance. Before the story is over, there is conspiracy, murder, violence & romance. Sergeant Reynolds finally makes his move on Maggie but she isn't sure if it's because of the case or if he truly likes her. A good mystery with a solid plot, well developed characters & light romance. I enjoyed it & I'm sure you will too.

Fantastic book! Moira(Gen) was hurt when a bomb blew up the church she was outside of. She was told it was set by Frank Delaney. She lost her entire family & was whisked into Witness Protection. She became a member of British Intelligence (MI6). On an undercover assignment she met Lar Delaney & they fell in love. At the end of the assignment she was pulled but Lar was told she was dead. Now, she's investigating Lar's uncle & Lar's uncle has hired Lar to kill Moira. The twists & turns of this plot line are brilliant! I was kept enthralled from the beginning. If you love a sexy, romantic suspense (heavy on the suspense), you'll love this book! First read by this author but I'll be reading more.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Wow! Zara Keane introduced me to this set by inviting me to the release party. What an incredible set of stories from gifted writers. The men of the selections are hot, sexy & ripped, total Alpha males. The women were no push overs though. They were called into action to help get their men & themselves out of jams. There was plenty of romance, sex, action & danger.

The Navy Seal's Accidental Wife - JD is a former Navy Seal that had a one night stand with a woman. It sounds typical because she became pregnant & he married her. However, he did have feeling for her, not just responsibility for their situation. However, right after they were married, he went undercover on an op near France & ended up being gone for months. Naomi became impatient with waiting & receiving no word from him. She accepted a job & went to France to work. JD's op blows up in his face & he goes looking for Naomi. Imagine his surprise when he goes to see her & ask for a second chance when he spots his target holding her hands! Zara has managed to fill this novella full of adventure & romance. She manages to hook you right away with JD finding out where his missing wife was & seeing his target with her. Then she leads you through twists & turns with JD & Naomi learning to trust each other again & ends with a master criminal that I never saw coming.

I've read several of the other novellas & you won't be disappointed with any of them. This is truly a set worth every penny!