I found this to be a fun, light read and a good start to a new series. I really enjoyed our main character, Julia. She seemed very well-rounded, complex, and even grew a bit of a spine in this book, which is good because while I, myself, am not the greatest at standing up for myself, I like the heroines in the books I read to be strong.

While she did take some risks in this book, they were thought out and not just off-the-cuff, who cares about the risk, moments. Also a good thing because I really hate heroes or heroines who are "too stupid to live" and are reckless with their sleuthing.

The setting seemed nice. I will admit to being slightly confused at first. I missed the little detail that we were in Minnesota. Michigan (where I live) also has a Grand Marais and it's also on the shore of Lake Superior. However, it's nowhere near Thunder Bay like the one in Minnesota so when I read that people were passing through on their way to Thunder Bay, I knew I'd missed something. I like the town and the store. For the most part I was able to imagine the settings. A tiny bit more detail would've been nice, but I'd rather an author err on the side of too little detail rather than too much.

The plot line was well-written and moved along at a decent pace. I did have some idea of the villain fairly early in the book, but the rest of the story kept me intrigued, so it didn't really spoil it to know so early.

All in all, it was a fun read and I'd recommend it to cozy mystery lovers. I'm looking forward to the next one in the series! ( )

I found this to be a fun, light read and a good start to a new series. I really enjoyed our main character, Julia. She seemed very well-rounded, complex, and even grew a bit of a spine in this book, which is good because while I, myself, am not the greatest at standing up for myself, I like the heroines in the books I read to be strong.

While she did take some risks in this book, they were thought out and not just off-the-cuff, who cares about the risk, moments. Also a good thing because I really hate heroes or heroines who are "too stupid to live" and are reckless with their sleuthing.

The setting seemed nice. I will admit to being slightly confused at first. I missed the little detail that we were in Minnesota. Michigan (where I live) also has a Grand Marais and it's also on the shore of Lake Superior. However, it's nowhere near Thunder Bay like the one in Minnesota so when I read that people were passing through on their way to Thunder Bay, I knew I'd missed something. I like the town and the store. For the most part I was able to imagine the settings. A tiny bit more detail would've been nice, but I'd rather an author err on the side of too little detail rather than too much.

The plot line was well-written and moved along at a decent pace. I did have some idea of the villain fairly early in the book, but the rest of the story kept me intrigued, so it didn't really spoil it to know so early.

All in all, it was a fun read and I'd recommend it to cozy mystery lovers. I'm looking forward to the next one in the series! ( )

Broken Promises by Anne Willow
Story starts out with Julia and she runs her aunts antique treasure shop now that she's dead. MN love hearing of the lake and the surrounding areas where there are festivals...
Lucy works for her part time and knows her job. Emily her friend, has had problems with her spouse and he ends up dead one morning.
Julia is questioned as her prints are on the letter opener....Julia follows clues as she discovers them and hopes she won't get caught. Julia is now the suspect as another is now dead.
Missing keys explain a few things but who has access to them now?
Like hearing about the details of Julia and her aunt and their similarities that not all know about.
Fun read for me and can't wait to read more from this author.
Amazing who did the killings and why, didn't see it coming!
Author bio included and links to connect to the author are included.
Very easy to follow along, characters and the story.
I received this review copy from the author and this is my honest opinion. ( )