Thirty and a Half Excuses: A Rose Gardner Mystery Paperback – October 13, 2015

I enjoyed the first book the best (Twenty-Eight and a Half Wishes ). The author uses a lot of humor in this one, and if you read any of the series you really need to read this one to get a good picture of the town and the people. A lot of good-natured poking fun at this small southern town...the court house scene was absolutely hilarious. The rest of the series are not as humorous, although there is a little humor in those as well.As in all these books, the author would be well served to have them edited. 8 typos in this one. Most are words left out, or places where it look like she did a re-write but did not correct everything...and this seems to be the main problem in the rest of the series also. The problem with this is it slows down your reading because you have to go back and take apart the sentence and figure out which word was left out or added (usually left out). It just interrupts the flow of things and is not professional. After reading reviews I did not buy the short Novella...It was too expensive for a couple of hours reading and after checking reviews I did not think I would miss much. One thing that gets a bit tedious in the other novels is she does a lot of repeating on what happened in previous books...I am sure she did this to make sure someone could pick up any book and still get the gist of what was going on, but JMHO if the author wants to sell the series she should not keep "catching up" the readers who did not read the other books. It gets boring for those who have read the previous books.I did find it a bit disturbing that the character does not catch on to how controlling Joe is given her childhood...it makes the character appear a bit brainless...of course with some of the situations she gets herself in, she appears pretty brainless anyway LOL.Twenty-nine and a half reasons was also good, but clocks in at 13 typos---and tilted spelled titled twice. but still an enjoyable read.Thirty and a half excuses she did much better with editing, only 3 typos...Thirty one and a half reasons had about 14 typos but one was really a problem. The main character finds herself locked in a closet, but the author seems to "forget" she is in the closet and the next page she is on the bed in the bedroom...then a page or so later she is still locked in the closet...Obviously she decided to change the story line a bit (she really had to have her in the closet and you will see why when you read the book) but that is a HUGE Faux Pas...again she really needs to have her books edited.After each book the author leaves you in such a place that you just really want to read the next book, although each book can easily be read on its own as well.What I did not like though was $5 per book. I think that is just a little bit expensive for kindle versions of light reading books of this caliber. None of the books took me more than 2 days to read. For $5 I expect a little more reading time out of a book especially if it is a kindle book which costs so little to distribute...Overall a good series, but if you are not prepared to spend $5 a book on the others in the series then you might not want to read the first (free) one...because you probably are not going to be able to say no to the next books in the series.

Today's review is on Thirty and a Half Excuses by Denise Grover SwankI have read just about all of Swank's books and I can't praise her work much more than I already have. She writes beautifully and with such intensity and grace that if you're not immediately drawn in, or you don't fall helplessly in love with her characters you're not doing it right. But when all is said and done I do have but one complaint.Ms. Swank is so talented that she seems to pop out book after book after book. I can't keep up!! Eeek!!! Just when I think I'm caught up she comes out with another instant Bestseller. And this third installment of the Rose Gardner series is no different. Why or why did I have to fall in love with so many of these imaginary people? Just one of whom is Ms. Rose Gardner.So what do we know about Rose? We know that she has visions that may or may not come true. We know that she's the town pariah to most of the other residents of Henryetta. And we know that she attracts trouble like bees to honey. Thank goodness she has Joe to watch out for her and protect her. Wait, what's that?! Joe's on another undercover operation? Then thank goodness she has Mason Deveraux, III to watch our for her and protect her. (And boy does she need someone to protect her.)Rose and her sister have finally opened the Gardner Sisters Nursery and are off to a great start with their first big job. They've been hired to work on the church grounds of The New Living Hope Revival Church, courtesy of its own Reverend Jonah Pruitt. But when both Joe and Mason caution Rose about working with the Reverend, she's hesitant to follow through. And when he becomes a prime suspect in the murder of two long-time Henryetta residents, well, Rose is also implicated. It's going to be up to Mason to keep her safe.While trying to confirm the Reverends innocence Rose forces a vision in which she sees a women being murdered in Jonah's kitchen. The woman is wearing a white slip dress, a diamond engagement ring, and gets shot in the head. But who is this woman, and will Rose be able to save her in time?As if that's not enough danger and drama for you, Joe and Mason's secret is revealed and a choice must be made. Now that I have finished reading I'll be waiting on pins and needles to find out what the effects of that choice are.Don't write anything else Denise. Just focus on the next Rose Gardner book and I won't fall behind again. *wink, wink*Another book by Swank that is bound to top the charts!5 of 5 starsAvailable at Amazon

10 BIG STARS!!!LOVE, LOVE, LOVE THIS SERIES!!!I was going to write a lengthy review, but have decided against it as so much has already been written about it; and trust me, all those 5 star reviews - they all hit the nail on the head. This is an amazing novel that's part of a brilliant series. In fact, it's even better than books 1 and 2, and I thought they were terrific. I'm a huge fan of Rose. She comes across so real that I just want to reach out and give her a great big hug that she truly needs. I could have used a hug myself last night as I was in tears when I reached the end. I love how much Rose has evolved since book 1. She's gone from a timid, naïve girl to a woman who's confident, determined, and full of more love for those she cares for. (It's too bad a lot of other authors never seem to get around to having their characters grow, not even by book 20.) So if you haven't had the pleasure of reading any novel in this series, or any series for that matter written by Denise Grover Swank, you are truly missing out on some brilliant storytelling, with the most in-depth characters you'll come across. Just start with book 1. Get ready to love Mason, and kick Joe to the curb. And her sister? Don't even get me started with her, only that she needs a good slap upside her head and her ass kicked to the curb. I personally want to beat the living shit out of Joe and throttle Violet. So unless you want me to kick your ass to the curb, READ THIS SERIES! As for me? I anxiously await book 4 and hope that Mason will show Rose what true love is really all about.

It is a well written book with suspense and a love story intertwined. It shows how people with very different personalities and backgrounds can havemajor impacts on each others' lives. However, I prefer books that are written from the point of view of one person. Sometimes reading from different characters' points of views can be confusing. Having said that, I enjoyed the book.

These books are addicting! I am not a reader but have managed to put my OCD tendencies aside and ignore a messy house JUST so I could curl up under a heated blanket and read all day!

Book three does not disappoint the reader. The plot twist and revelations are very entertaining and unsuspected. Plus, as a reader I have grown attached to Rose's quirks and can hardly wait to see what is around the next corner. A pure pleasure to read.

I really like Rose Gardner. She's real and fun and honest and gets into the worst of situations. Great mystery!

Enjoy the Series. Need to keep reading to find out how things work out.