Ivy Morgan is convinced life couldn’t get better. She’s happy, in love and since fall is her favorite season she’s having a great time with the shifting weather. All of that changes when her boyfriend’s mother and sister show up out of the blue and cast her life into disarray. Jack Harker has never been happier, and even though he loves his mother and sister he’s not thrilled with their arrival. Things only get worse when Jack’s mother starts making demands, and the biggest one is that Jack cut his time in Shadow Lake short and return to southeastern Michigan. Ivy’s good mood turns sour quickly despite Jack’s insistence that he has no intention of leaving. Despite the upheaval, Ivy does her best to get to know Jack’s family. Things spiral out of control when danger hits town … again. When a local farmer is found dead on his property, Jack and Ivy find themselves embroiled in a dark mystery of epic proportions. The clues go back years and the suspect pool is unnaturally large given the number of workers on the farm. Ivy is going to have her hands full. She has to charm Jack’s mother, find a murderer and keep herself safe. When the end comes, Ivy finds herself saddled with an unlikely ally while Jack is fighting a battle against time to reach the woman he loves before a killer can snuff out their happily ever after.
Ivy and Jack are back and ready to spend their first Thanksgiving together, but things go awry when Jacks mother and sister show up unannounced and cause upsets and then there is a new murder to solve.
What an action packed mystery this one was. Ivy is just pure magic, she is as sweet as she is stubborn so when Jacks control freak of a mother bursts into town determined to move her son back to the city you just know there will be fireworks and not just from the females Jack has some choice words for his Mother as well I just don't think she is listening.
To add to Jacks fun filled life a local farmer is killed with an antique gun and there is more to this murder but can Jack and Brian put the pieces together? Of course they can with Ivy's help of course.
Margaret Harker has had enough, unhappy with Jack and his determination to stay in Shadow Lake, she's decided it's time to bring him home.
Thanksgiving is almost upon them and when Jack refuses to spend the holiday with her Margaret takes herself and Denise, Jack's sister, for a surprise visit.
She manages to alienate everyone within minutes of her unexpected arrival at the diner, by denying any knowledge of Jack's relationship with Ivy.
Ron Macdonald's dead body couldn't really have been found at a more inconvenient time but duty calls and Jack has no choice but to leave Ivy to deal with the two bitter and unhappy women.
Ivy's not happy herself, she's caught up in an emotional whirlwind as Margaret insists that Jack has never mentioned her in any of his weekly calls home.
While the battle rages between Jack and his family though the situation at the farm gets stranger and stranger when holes start appearing all over the farm. Someone shot poor Ron with an antique Colt and neither his brother Wayne nor his heavily pregnant daughter Gilly, her husband Darren or closest friend Lionel seem to have any idea why.
It's supposed to be a time for family but this Thanksgiving is threatening to destroy more than one.. if Ivy's vision is true she's going to need to trust Margaret with her biggest secret to save the day..
This is the best yet.. I laughed out loud several times especially over the turkeys and the Cornish hens..
Thanksgiving is about to be here, and Ivy and Jack are looking forward to spending the holiday together. Jack isn't going to see his mother and sister, but he is looking forward to spending time with Ivy and her family.
That is until Jack's mom and sister pay a surprise visit to him, and start to make things difficult. They weren't expecting him to be with someone like Ivy, and things start to get a little crazy. Add in a strange death a turkey farm and Jack and Ivy have got a lot to deal with.
This book was really good. I enjoyed getting to know more about Jack's family, but I was slightly disappointed with how they acted. Other than that I thought this one was really good, and I enjoyed how close Ivy and Jack are now. It was great to see them together like this, and I look forward to more in this series.
Ivy and Jack have already made their Thanksgiving plans with Ivys family. Everything is going well until Jacks mom and sister come for a surprise visit. They are very unpleasant people who want Jack to go home to detroit, and don't care that he is happy in Shadow Lake and in love with Ivy.. Both the sister and mom are not nice to Ivy at all, and for some reason the fakct that she has pink streaks in her hair is a major thing? Then a body of a farmer is found on his land, he has bee shot twice by and antique gun. Turns out that years ago it was thought that this guy was burying money all over his land. So on top of trying to solve a murder, Jack also has do deal with making his mom realize hes happy where he is, and that he loves Ivy. They mystery in this one was another good one, and I did like how Jack stood up for Ivy, and that Ivy also stood up for herself not letting his family take over and drive a wedge between them
This series is improving over time, and this time we seem to have dispensed with some of the over the top schmaltz which actually makes it all more believable. The mystery is a minor consideration in this book, with character development and family relationships taking top spot. FYI, why does everyone think guns have to be "registered"? That is not the case in most jurisdictions. This is brought up at one point in the story, so unless you clarified that your town had a special circumstance, this comes off like an error in fact. The only federal requirement is a background check if you are purchasing a weapon from a dealer. There is no registration for weapons other than automatics which require a special federal license.
I really think this was the best of the whole series so far. especially after the pretty mediocre last book (where, when he was revealed, I actually had to look back to see who the heck the bad guy was after our very brief meeting with him!)
My only complaint about the last few books is that I REALLY wish the author would look up what intoned means and stop using it as a substitute for said or replied or quipped or retorted or whatever the heck it is she really wants to say. And if she knows what it means and is using meaning that they replied musically, with a particularly tonal quality etc. Then I wish she would explain it to the narrator who reads the dialogue in a monotone and then says so-and-so intoned. It's infuriating and jars me out of the story approx 40 times a book!
This is an entertaining paranormal cozy mystery series. If I’m cast of characters and an entertaining storyline. I mean Morgan is a young woman who owns a nursery/gardening center. She also happens to be a witch even though she doesn’t really car herself one. Her boyfriend is a local police detective in their small town. Her brother owns a lumberyard and her mother and father live across town. Her aunt called herself a witch owns a magic shop in a nearby town. Occasionally Ivy is up getting involved in some of her boyfriend Jack’s cases. She has a knack for seeing things and great intuition. Read on and see what’s happening this time with Ivy and her friends.
Another good story. Ivy meets Jack's mother and sister, and they hate Ivy. Jack's mother wants Jack to move back home and go back to work as a Detroit policeman. It's tense until Ivy stands up for herself and kicks them out on Thanksgiving Day. It goes from bad to worse when a local farmer is murdered. Ivy has a vision and rushes into the thick of things to save a pregnant woman on the farm from being murdered. Jack's mother realizes Jack's happy in Shadow Lake and makes amends with Ivy. Jack asks Ivy's father for his blessing to propose to Ivy. All well that ends well. Hopefully, Jack will propose to Ivy in book 8. This sounds more like a brief synopsis, but it really is a great read.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
I wasn't crazy about this particular book; the series is, frankly, not my favorite by this author (by either pen name) nor is it my least favorite. I like the series well enough, that's about it. This story, though, really bugged. I couldn't follow the plot very well as I kept having to jump ahead. I simply could not read the behavior of Jack's mother without feeling slightly ill. Don't get it. Why would any mother in this century act like that? Made no sense to me. Is there anything intrinsically wrong with the story? Probably not. I just couldn't stand it.
That was definitely my favorite one out of this series. That was after I was irritated by hearing Ivy constantly ask Jack for reassurance. Where the heck did Ivy’s confidence disappear to? All of her second guessing of whether Jack really wanted to be with her or not wore me out and was annoying.
Jack’s mom and sister were acting like complete cows, but Ivy remained gracious and so did Ivy’s family.
Everything else turned out so great and hardened, icy hearts melted by love and acceptance.
Not very much paranormal going on in this series. I really wish the author would make that the focus of this series instead of the over-the-top crappy "romance" and family dynamics. Most of Harper Hart's series are really interesting due to the paranormal part (at least for me) but so gaggy on the so-called romantic stuff. Apparently, the author does not really know what romance is. What's with the eating in bed?? And in this story, Ivy wants to eat pie in the bathtub - wtf? The best part of the "romance" lines are that there are NO sex scenes!
I love the story of Ivy and Jack, they are a joy to read about. I love their relationship and the way it keeps evolving each book. Max is goofy like always and this time, we meet Jacl's mom and sister. There just might be some tension in that story but it all works out in the end. The murder mystery was still as good as the others and the ending is well done.
Ivy and Jack are entertaining characters that have joys, sorrows, trials, and love. Each story adds depth to all the major players. I do enjoy a mystery with an underlying romance. The outcome was dynamic and not what I envisioned. Clever with zing. This story was my favorite of the series so far. I would definitely recommend this author for story lines that have punch, well written strong leads, and great support cast.
I love this 4 star series and would give them all 5 stars but some of Ivy and Jack's banter is plain stupid at times. Ivy gets herself involved in a mother case. She puts herself in danger to save innocent person. Jack's family is mean and selfish. The mystery is hard to solve and the characters are well developed and likeable. I've read all of the series and plan to finish it.
I enjoy reading these romantic mysteries, and this series is one of the most excellent. These are books you can share or recommend to anyone who loves the genre. They are intriguing mysteries, but they are cosy and heartwarming too. The best combination for all ages of mystery lovers. Enjoy!
Thanksgiving is quite the holiday for the Morgan clan. Now Jack’s Mother and Sister have appeared out of the blue to add even more stress! There is no rest for the weary so they say and this situation is only compounded when a murder occurs
It is not a good surprise when Jack’s mother and sister show up unexpectedly and then don’t take kindly to Ivy or her family or Shadow Lake. Because of a murdered farmer, though, Jack doesn’t have time or energy to deal with the situation or his mother’s insistence that he return to Detroit with her.
What an exciting read! I absolutely love these books, but this one has been quite the thrill! A boyfriend's mother and sister show up unexpectedly. A murder and the two, or should I say one previously mentioned woman to win over. Oh boy!!! That was fun. Oh yeah! And a happy shocker at the end.
Jack and Ivy are dealing with more than getting ready for thanksgiving. Jack's mother and sister make a surprise visit. While dealing with Jack's mother who refuses to take no for an answer, they have to solve another murder. Will Jack and Ivy's love be strong enough to keep them together? Read to find out.
This one was little different, more jack and his family in this one.. poor Ivy has to put up with his mother his sister, her family and thanksgiving.. plus another murder and jack is trying to solve that with his family in town being mean to Ivy.. so it’s really a family affair..
An unexpected visit and a dead farmer - what more could one ask for? Intriguing read from beginning to end and through it all Jack and Ivy's love stay strong. Excellent story.
Love Jack and Ivy. However, this book really annoyed me. By now Ivy should have coincidence in her relationship. I found her insecurity to be a bit redundant. Also found the drama with Jack's family a bit boring.
This series gets better with each installment. So much went on it is difficult to know where to start. Basically, picture Ivy meeting Jack's stoic family. What fun this book provided.
When Jack’s mother and sister show up out of the blue, Ivy is a little off her game. Another murder and trying to keep mother dearest from ruining his relationship, keeps Jack on his toes. Awesome read! Enjoy!!!
They want to bring Jack "home" with them to Detroit. They insult Ivy. That doesn't go over well. Oh, and they also solve the murder of a farmer. I love the characters and their interaction, and how romantic Jack and Ivy get. (Sigh)
Fun storyline and great characters this is a have to read series. The author has a good time with the interaction of the characters that helps the reader feel as part of her stories.
Unexpected happenings from cover to cover. Poor Jack how can he deal with his Mom and sister? The ending moved so fast, I barely had a moment for a breath
This is another winner. I loved this and all her different series. I highly recommend all her books and different names and series. I have read over 50 of her books. I even read her old ones again. Diana Romano
I did enjoy this book, having Jacks mother and sister show up was fun. As always I really like the main characters. There is one thing I need to mention, Jack owned a fixer upper he wasn’t renting
I love the characters in this series. It is amazing to watch them grow, and develop. Lily Harper Hart is extremely talented and is one of my favorite authors. I can’t wait to see what happens next.