Paul Magrs

Brenda has had a long and eventful life, and she has come to Whitby to run a B&B and enjoy some peace and quiet. She and her best friend Effie like nothing better than going out for tea and keeping their eyes open for mysterious goings on in town. And what with satanic beauty salons, roving psychic investigators and the frankly terrifying owner of the Christmas Hotel there's plenty to watch. But the oddest thing in Whitby may well be Brenda herself. With her terrible scars, her strange lack of a surname and the fact that she takes two different shoe sizes, Brenda should know that people as, well, unique as she is just aren't destined for a quiet life.

Never the Bride

Natasha Musa

I liked the idea of the book, the supernatural mysteries that are happening in Whitby involving classic characters that are now re-defined such as Mrs. Clause and Dracula, witches and martians etc. But the book fell short for me. The plot was slow to reveal. I got sick trying to figure out who Brenda really was and what exactly she was hiding from her past. The mysteries felt disconnected somehow and towards the end, a new mystery emerged and ended what I felt was quite abruptly. Overall, the book provides a light read but the characters and the mystery surrounding Brenda and Effie were not exciting enough for me. I actually have the second book, Something Borrowed. Don't think I'll bother reading it.

Sarah Escorsa

I thought this was an okay read but it didn't live up to what I was expecting I'm afraid (especially as far as the characters are concerned). I think what bothered me most is that there is a series of different mysteries within the book and each feels like a short story. It seems that the author wrote several "adventures" for his characters but failed to come up with the connecting thread which would have made the story a whole. The different parts of this story might make some sense when you read the rest of the series but I'm afraid I don't even feel like giving it a try...

Never the Bride

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