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Series Sunday: The Best Man

(The Best Man #1) 

Series Sunday is a bookish meme hosted by Literary Marie. I encourage all of my fellow book bloggers and bookhearts to play along.

• Read an installment of a series.
• Share your review/recommendation below.
• Include the title, author and series name.

"Women want assurances. Not maybes." ~ pg. 386

My Series Sunday pick is The Best Man: Unfinished Business, the first book in the trilogy by Malcolm D. Lee with Jayne Allen. Beloved characters from the hit movies and television series, The Best Man, reunite in book form! Unfinished Business focuses on Harper, Jordan and Robyn as they establish lives away from the past and start a new era of awakening and love.

Recently divorced Harper is working on a movie while fighting a creative block and feeling like the seventh wheel. Jordan escaped the corporate world to heal and figure out life away from the city but still feels the magnetic pull to Harper. Lastly, Robyn has found peace in Ghana with a new man and restaurant. But the change is too much for Mia, her daughter with Harper, which tests a few relationships already on shaky ground.

The Best Man: Unfinished Business has its share of drama. It focuses on three characters so it is not too busy with multiple points of view. Yet I was fighting the urge to not skim. I was totally uninterested in the storyline of one of the main characters. It was only the hope of one plot element that kept me reading to the end. Otherwise, I would have DNF'ed and felt okay with leaving The Best Man business unfinished.

"It's just the beginning." ~ pg. 356

Despite the cliffhanger, I am undecided whether I will continue the trilogy. Maybe because I am used to enjoying these characters on-screen that it did not translate well to novel form. I did not feel as engaged. Here's this group of friends that I've known for umpteen years and look forward to their story progressing along. When I first heard of The Best Man coming to print, I was super excited for the opportunity to read it early. But much like the characters feeling like something is missing [in their lives], something is missing in the book too. It just doesn't hit the same.

I could be on this island alone with my opinion. Therefore, I suggest Bookhearts try reading the first of this trilogy if you are a fan of The Best Man movies and miniseries. This extended chapter could be worth your time.

Happy Pub Day, Malcolm D. Lee and Jayne Allen! The Best Man: Unfinished Business is now available.

Disclaimer: An advance copy was received directly from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions are my own and would be the same if I spent my hard-earned coins. ~LiteraryMarie

Title: The Best Man: Unfinished Business
Author: Malcolm D. Lee with Jayne Allen
Published: July 2025
Pages: 489
Edition: Galley
Genre: Romance
Rating: 🖤 🖤 🖤

First Lines Friday

First Lines Friday is a bookish meme hosted by Literary Marie. I encourage all of my fellow book bloggers and bookhearts to play along.

• Grab your current read(s).
• Share the first line(s).
• Include the title and author.

"Darkness suits me."

~ Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt

Please visit www.patreon.com/sistahspeak if you are interested in joining the Sistahs Be Readin' Book Club. ~Sistah LM

Series Sunday: Memory Man

(Amos Decker #1) 

Series Sunday is a bookish meme hosted by Literary Marie. I encourage all of my fellow book bloggers and bookhearts to play along.

• Read an installment of a series.
• Share your review/recommendation below.
• Include the title, author and series name.

"And you can say all you want about the world being unfair and people rising above the atrocities done to them, but everyone is different. Some are hard as steel, but some are fragile, and you never know which one you're going to get." ~ 88%

My Series Sunday pick is Memory Man, the first book in the Amos Decker series by David Baldacci. Yes, the great Baldacci! This series has been around forever and a day, yet I am just now reading the debut thanks to it being chosen as our Sistahs Be Readin' June selection.

The Memory Man starts with the most tragic emotional scene. Amos returns home from work as a detective and finds his wife, daughter and brother-in-law murdered. Because of a medical condition, he remembers every detail of their violent deaths in a paralyzing shade of blue. You see, Amos has hyperthymesia, which means he never forgets anything. It is very rare. Essentially having a DVR of every moment of your life that you can recall. He counts in color, sees time as pictures in his head and associates color with people or objects. A collision rewired his brain. (You'll have to read the book for more details on that.)

"Small observations can lead to large breakthroughs." ~ 21%

This triple murder collapses Amos' world. He leaves the police force, forecloses on his home, lives in a Walmart parking lot then motel taking piecemeal jobs as a private investigator. Fast forward one year later and a strange man confesses to the triple homicide. Who is this guy? What is the motive? At the same time, Amos is asked to join the investigation of a local school shooting. Both cases bring back memories he would rather forget.

Amos is such a complex moody man. While Memory Man has so many details and background information about this main character, there is still so much to learn about him. His temperament, the collision that rewired his brain decades ago and the man he is today, working tirelessly in investigations to bring justice. He is a character I will not forget and look forward to catching up on the series.

I won't give too much away. Just know that Baldacci was in his element creating this character. He was also ahead of his time and progressively thinking with the smallest of the details. Hard to believe it was published over ten years ago. It is not too late to pick it up and start reading like the Sistahs and members of the SBR Book Club! I highly recommend the Amos Decker series with one tip: be sure to start with Memory Man. Thank us later!

Please visit www.patreon.com/sistahspeak if you are interested in joining the Sistahs Be Readin' Book Club. ~Sistah LM

Title: Memory Man

Author: David Baldacci

Published: April 2015

Pages: 593

Edition: eBook

Genre: Mystery

Rating: 🖤 🖤 🖤 🖤 🖤

First Lines Friday

First Lines Friday is a bookish meme hosted by Literary Marie. I encourage all of my fellow book bloggers and bookhearts to play along.

• Grab your current read(s).
• Share the first line(s).
• Include the title and author.

"If you're as honest and fair as you can be, not only in business but in life, things will work out. I hope that people remember me not just as a good businesswoman but as a great friend—and a heck of a lot of fun."

~ We Might Just Make It After All by Elyce Arons

Strawberry's Sweet Surprise

"Picking fruit and flowers is like gathering a big bouquet of sunshine, she said." ~ pg. 5

Strawberry's Sweet Surprise is a cute new scratch-and-sniff board book. Introduce your little ones to my favorite classic kid character, Strawberry Shortcake. In this cheerful world, you will find a short tale of colorful kindness and sweet scents! Strawberry Shortcake and friends explore the garden of sweet fruits and friendly flowers with a berry special surprise. 

Oh, what a nostalgic treat it was to read this Tommy Nelson board book. I read the digital ARC edition so missed out on the full experience. However, I will purchase the physical board book when it releases in November for my 3-year-old niece. It will be great bonding time reading it together!

Strawberry's Sweet Surprise is a great addition to the library of parents, grandparents, aunts, daycare and montessori teachers for readers under four years old. Your literary little one(s) will love the multisensory experience that promotes word recognition, fruit identification, color association and art. The illustration is top tier!

Happy Early Pub Day, Strawberry Shortcake! Strawberry's Sweet Surprise will be available Tuesday, November 4.

Disclaimer: An advance copy was received directly from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions are my own and would be the same if I spent my hard-earned coins. ~LiteraryMarie

Title: Strawberry's Sweet Surprise
Author: Strawberry Shortcake
Published: November 2025
Pages: 14
Edition: Galley
Genre: Children's Fiction
Rating: 🖤 🖤 🖤 🖤 🖤

Series Sunday: Icing on the Murder

(Baker Street #4) 

Series Sunday is a bookish meme hosted by Literary Marie. I encourage all of my fellow book bloggers and bookhearts to play along.

• Read an installment of a series.
• Share your review/recommendation below.
• Include the title, author and series name.

My Series Sunday pick is Icing on the Murder, the fourth book in the Baker Street mystery series by Valerie Burns. Social media influencer turned bakery owner Maddy Montgomery is still in New Bison, Michigan, with her inherited 250-pound English mastiff, Baby. She's also marrying the handsome veterinarian named Michael. Perfect timing since the country's biggest bridal expo has come to town.

Maddy secured a spot to showcase wedding cakes and entered a bridal reality competition with the world-renowned wedding planner Serafina. This opportunity would be great for social media content, bakery business and her #DreamWedding. Until Serafina is impaled by one of Baby Cakes' skewers. EEK! Maid of Honor Sheriff April Johnson rounds up suspects at the expo along with Maddy and her great-aunt's friends, the Baker Street Irregulars, to unveil the killer.

"I didn't fall in love with a plastic fork kind of girl." ~ 6%

Icing on the Murder has all the fun elements of a cozy mystery: recipes for the foodies, characters of color, smallish town and a big 'ole adorable dog. It can be read as a standalone but I recommend starting from the beginning of the series to get a gist of all the characters. 

When I think cozy mystery, I think Valerie Burns. Just like A Cup of Flour, A Pinch of Death, this story had me guessing on the right track. Easy mystery but fun to read. Recommended for Bookhearts looking for a quick, light as a murder can be story this summer. Nibble on baked goods, cuddle with your pet in the sunshine and settle in for a good read.

Happy Early Pub Day, Valerie Burns! Icing on the Murder will be available on July 29.

Disclaimer: An advance copy was received directly from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions are my own and would be the same if I spent my hard-earned coins. ~LiteraryMarie

Title: Icing on the Murder

Author: Valerie Burns

Published: July 2025

Pages: 211

Edition: Galley

Genre: Cozy Mystery

Rating: 🖤 🖤 🖤