Holly Takes You Inside The Mansion
597106
This book is a great behind the scenes look at the inner working of "The Mansion" and the relationships that go on behind the hedges.
4464665
The second trip to William's Ford gives us a deeper understanding of what is hiding in Autumn's past.  We're delving deeper into the magick in William's Ford and dealing with the other major magickal family and the feud that has been brewing for ages.

I love this.  I love Ellen's writing style and I long to visit the manor and hang out with this family.
2195779
Muffin to Fear book 5 in the Merry Muffin Mystery Series by Victoria Hamilton.  Merry and Virgil return from their Honeymoon to unexpected chaos. Pish has agreed to let Haunt Hunt television show come to Wynter Castle to do a paranormal investigation. He hopes they will gone before Merry and Virgil arrive home but no such luck. Virgil is called away on a job almost immediately leaving Merry to deal with another surprise invasion of her home. With cast and crew every where she turns Merry tries to keep herself and her cat Becket in the kitchen where she feels is her safe haven. From almost the beginning you can see there are secrets among the Haunt Hunt crew and more than once tempers flare and have to be put out by the shows producer. Will the show strengthen Wynter Castles reputation for murders? Can the cast and crew finish this investigation without killing one another? Will Merry forgive Pish for once again surprising her with unannounced chaos? Is Wynter Castle really hunted?

Another great book! I was surprised by Merry and Virgils short engagement and marriage, but unlike the surprise Merry has, this was a happy surprise. Merry and Virgil make a great couple. I love Merrys cat Becket, Mrs. Hamilton really paints a true picture of a cat. He is a stubborn but lovable feline and I laughed out loud and grimace at the same time when he presented Merry with her welcome home gift. This book was a little different than the other books in the series with all the paranormal hunters, psychics, mediums, and ghost talk. Even will all the new characters we still manage to see most of our beloved series characters. I can only imagine that this would be how things might been when you have a lot of big personalities and egos working on one television show. I really did dislike several of the characters but the characters were written to be disliked.

I would recommend this book to cozy lovers, and Victoria Hamilton fans. There are some delicious sounding recipes included in the book. True to cozy nature no bad language, no graphic violence or no graphic sex. Well written storyline that keeps you guessing until the end.

I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book, above is my honest opinion.
2420177
This story hooked me quickly. Within a few chapters you feel like you are there with the family living in their inherited huge manor. While they always have the option of leaving and giving up everything you know that they are psychologically trapped. You can feel the tension building within the family and never know of they are going to snap or if they can get things under control.

Then things get weird. I was kinda torn on how I felt about the weirdness in this story and I can see why some of the other reviews were thrown off by the book. Just take my word that things get weird. Cool weird though.

This book caught me off guard a few times and I loved it. Like those WTF moments that leave your jaw hanging and then you know it's time to silence your phone and lock the door because you are not going to stop reading anytime soon.

I highly recommend this book. It's weird, creepy, and worth every minute.
4116234
Holly did it again! Love me some Ferro men! Holly has a way of grabbing your attention and keeping it the while way through. She makes you want more!
2192291
Maddie is thrilled when she inherits her aunts majestic old home. It needs a lot of work, thats true, but Maddie has also inherited enough money to get the old place fixed up. As a child, she loved her time there. At least until the summer she was 16. That summer something terrible happened and Maddie had never returned.until now. With the creepy old willow she nicknames Tentacles sending up roots inside the cellar of the house, things start to take a bizarre turn. Things only get worse as the force that threatened Maddie that long ago summer poises to make her part of the house  forever. Shades of Phyllis Whitney in this delightful Gothic tale
888400
Holly was always the victim in this book.  I don't feel like I got a clear understanding of the Mansion.  I felt like I was reading her dirty diary of complaints about EVERYONE!

I would not recommend.
4250604
Kellie Conley is sorting through her mail trying to ignore bills which keep coming in now that she is out of work as a teacher.  The town has shut down her old school in Malone Springs.  As she scans the envelopes there is one envelope from an attorney.  Opening it she reads that she is requested to be present at the attorney's office for the reading of the will of Old Man Malone, as he has often been called.  He has always been the richest man in Malone Springs.  Kellie is wondering why on earth would she be asked to the reading?  Will there be more trouble coming her way? Yes....and .... no.  Kellie and her best friend Drew are closely bonded to friends Hunter and Taylor, as well as friends Emma and Cole.  Coming home after beer and pizza with them to her home which she inherited from her deceased mom, the house has been broken into and everything scattered around in a mess, but  nothing appears to be missing.  The next day she arrives at the attorney's office where she discovers that she's to inherit the haunted Malone mansion as long as she lives in it. Also, she'll receive a large sum of money, and lastly, she'll have to change her name to Alexis Malone-Conley since Kellie is told she is his only living relative, his granddaughter.  This rivetingstory is well written, excellently edited to allow the reader to move right along to dive into the many mysteries which unfold.  I really enjoyed this story as I do all the stories written by Marianne Spitzer.
3023227
Angels are sometimes fallen and when they mate with a human woman their offspring are dammed. Mia's uncle, Quentin, is one. How will they have a relationship? What is really living in the rose red mansion? When PEEPs agreed to clear the ghosts out a mansion Mike's mother wishes to purchase they have no idea what they are facing. There are much more than ghosts in this house! How will they even survive? This is the 18th book in the exciting Haunted Series. As always the writing is superb, the cast of characters are all here with area new players and the storyline gets even more interesting. Highly recommended.
2937120
I loved this story.  It grabbed me from the start and I couldn't put it down.  I only wish the story had been longer.  I hated for it to end!  I wish they had given some "history" of the house, albeit fictional as it is.  But if you love old, mysterious mansions I think you'll like this one.  Good atmospheric descriptions.  I could almost "smell" the house!
3005834
Melissa led a nomadic existence with her mother, only knowing her father through letters.  After she loses her mother, she inherits the old family home, in the town her father lives in, and decides to renovate and move in, to finally have roots.  Michael is the handyman to help her, and something deeper grows between them.  But is there truth to all the haunted house tales and the stories of tragedy surrounding it?

A pretty good thriller, with touches of paranormal.  It could honestly use another run through a proofreader or editor, but the story is intriguing.  For adult audiences only for explicit scenes.
1830217
I loved this story.
This story is about a young woman named Holly who lives with her father. Holly goes to college but also works a few different jobs just to make ends meet. For one of the jobs she gets hired to clean for Nicholas Blunt, the owner of the Estate.
Nicholas is a 32 year old widower who has shut himself off after the death of his wife in a car accident. Nicholas throws these lavish parties where he normally finds a 'tart' to hook up with.
When Holly and Nicholas meet they feel some type of connection but Holly doesn't plan on being another one of his 'tarts' and Nicholas doesn't know how to deal with the feelings that Holly stirs up.
This story is about how to overcome the damage that life inflicts on a person and the characters are written in a way that you feel their pain and confusion as they try to rise above their pasts.
688767
This book is very well written. The similarities to Alice in Wonderland is clever.  I was a "Girls Next Door" fan & since reading this book, I have gone back and re-watched some of the episodes on YouTube. The book is very credible & really gives Holly's negative side of living in the mansion & being one of Hef's girlfriends. In watching GND after reading the book, I do see that Holly was the one who wanted the American Dream of marriage & children, whereas Bridget & Kendra were enjoying their time while it lasted. While Holly is very detailed with her sex life with Hef, how she was treated, and the rules she had to follow, no one made her stay there. She could have left at any point. Hef is a powerful man who gets what he wants & many women are willing to assist him in this dream. If Holly was so unhappy, why did she stay so long? She obviously got caught up in the money, the fame, and the opportunities. This book is a great read and very interesting. I do believe Hef's rebuttal to Holly writing this book: he made her who she is & now she is looking to get back in the spotlight and make some money. She got my money, and I recommend this book to make even more.
4783456
I thoroughly enjoyed The Trouble With Holly. She is insecure yet determined. She has worked hard to get where she is with help from her aunt. I enjoyed the predicaments she got herself into. I couldn't put it down.
1579369
Holly Miller is spending her first Christmas in Wagtail and it's everything she remembered and more. Her grandma has even set up a German-inspired Christkindl market for vendors to sell their goodies and Christmas decorations. But Holly's happy mood takes a sharp downturn when she finds out that her childhood pal and long time wanna be boyfriend, Holmes Richardson, is bringing his finacee, Norma Jeanne, home--and they'll be staying at Sugar Maple Inn to celebrate their upcoming wedding with her family.

The whole Thackleberry clan, who is Norma Jeanne's family (with the exception of generous-hearted Dale (who makes an awesome Santa Claus) seems like a bunch of poster children for the dysfunctional family. Or they would make a great nighttime soap opera like the ones we saw back in the 80s. Dale Thackleberry owns a dog clothes manufacturing company and likes to give to the less fortunate but most of his family, especially his tightwad current wife, seems to be thinking of only themselves...and money or how to get more wealth and possessions.

When murder strikes the festive season and Aunt Birdie is a prime suspect, Holly of course is going to do whatever it takes to get Officer Dave to find the real killer.

I've read 2 other books in this series and absolutely loved them. I think this one is my favorite so far because it takes place during Christmas time. If Wagtail was a place that could be visited, I would definitely want to visit during the Christmas season!

The mystery was another good one that had lots of great suspects and different possibilities so I didn't guess who it was at all. The characters in the Thackleberry family were a real mixed bag but most of them had one thing in common that they only cared about money and material wealth. Finally at point, they were forced to actually come together as a family and figure out how to work out some company issues.

I thought the part about some of the locals participating in being secret elves was really fun. Holly was one of them and since Holmes was there for Christmas, he insisted on being an elf as well. It was so cool to hear the little kids talking about elf sitings.

One of the side stories involved a couple of children being fostered in town (some of the elf gift recipients) and a local man named Rupert who everyone thought was like a Grinch mainly because he had a giant inflatable Grinch in his yard, but as it turned out, he had a house full of Christmas decorations and at the end, children of his own and was acting like someone who really understood the true giving behind the whole Christmas season. It was heart-warming!

There are some yummy looking recipes in the back of the book for all your 2 footed and 4 footed friends, all based on recipes talked about in the story and tested by the author herself.

I can't wait to see what Krista Davis has in mind for the next book!
3865833
I have loved following Holly over the years. Her life has had a lot of interesting twists and turns and while the media has her pegged as a former playmate, I find her point of view fascinating. She has a great edge to her writing and I loved reading all her behind the scenes stories. I hope her next book lives up to the first two.
4922876
In a cool and clean apartment in a modern high-rise building sits an old-fashioned dollhouse, luxuriously furnished and surrounded by a yard with real moss and a bonsai tree. The house belongs to Madison Blackberry, "a tall-for-her-age, sour-faced girl" who wishes she could live in the warm and cozy house with the dolls. At the same time, the house makes her feel lonely because the family of dolls inside seem happier and closer than her own family. HOUSE OF DOLLS, written by Francesca Lia Block and illustrated by Barbara McClintock, introduces readers to Madison and her beautiful dollhouse, a toy that becomes a symbol for what is happening in her own home and the hope that things can be so much better than they are.

Inside the house live Wildflower, Rockstar and Miss Selene, along with Wildflower's boyfriend Guy and Rockstar's boyfriend B. Friend. Wildflower had belonged to Madison's grandmother, who still made clothes and household items for her and the other dolls. They are dressed in the fanciest dresses imaginable: a lemon-yellow satin dress and a mermaid evening gown, blue feather poncho and a lavender and gold silk kimono dress with butterfly-wing sleeves. Madison is jealous of the attention the dolls receive from Grandmother and disappointed by Rockstar's bookishness (her name is meant to be ironic). She is jealous of Wildflower's relationship with Guy and forces him to go to "war." She is jealous of Rockstar's relationship with B. Friend, and so she fails to rescue him from violence and neglect at the hands of her younger brother. And she is especially upset by Miss Selene, whose loss and emptiness are too much a reflection of her own.

As Madison grows both bored and angrier with her family, she takes it out on the dolls. After Guy and B. Friend are sent away, she takes away all the beautiful clothes and leaves the dolls lying on the floor of the house. When Wildflower finds Miss Selene sitting naked, crying by an empty cradle, she knows something must be done. She pens tiny notes to Grandmother, hoping she can communicate what needs to be done. The first simply reads "dress." Finally Grandmother figures out what Wildflower is trying to tell her, and soon Grandmother, Madison, her family and her dolls are on their way to becoming, by the smallest and simplest (and most meaningful) steps, a whole and happy family.

Block's story is short and powerful. In under 60 pages of text, she describes a girl so sad and needy and her magical and fantastic healing. The tale can be read a number of ways. Are the dolls alive, or is it all in Madison's head? It hardly matters though because readers young and old will be moved by the story. McClintock's black and white illustrations perfectly capture the details of the doll's house, the emotions of Madison and the joy of imagination.

HOUSE OF DOLLS is lovely to read and look at, but it packs a powerful emotional punch. The happiness and security family is meant to give is contrasted with the fear and loneliness of war. When Guy returns to his true love, Wildflower, she asks him what it was like. His answer is a crucial moment in the book: "War is being blinded and locked in a box, unable to see, hear or touch you, my wildflower. War is being reminded that you are completely at the mercy of death at every moment, without the illusion that you are not. Without the distractions that make life worth living." As Madison's family comes together, perhaps realizing that their love for each other is what makes life worth living, they settle into an essential state of peace.