The Secret of the Jewel Shop

A Blooms, Bones and Stones Cozy Mystery, Book 2

By: Olivia Swift

Narrated by: Becky Boyd

What do lavender, stones, and spirits have in common? You’ll need to listen to this love story within a love story to find out!

Carly - Carly James dream of opening her own jewelry shop is fast becoming a reality. The little shop with its crushed strawberry paintwork springs to life - filled with delightful things. The building’s history intrigues Carly, especially when she senses a spirit presence. Carly is a bit of a free spirit, which is evident by her outrageous clothing and vibrantly colored hair.

Jazz and Evan - Carly’s friends who appear in The Secret of Chestnut Hall, the first book in the Blooms, Bones, and Stones Series, are about to be married. In the meantime, Evan’s brother Dex arrives on the scene. He’s recently been through a rough patch, however is starting fresh and will occupy the other half of Evan’s huge home.

Dex - He agrees to temporarily help Carly out in the store. He’s logical and serious by nature and skeptical about her crystal reading. However, he decides to keep an open mind. Can two opposites really attract or will a schoolboy stalker cause a tragedy?

©2017 Lirios Publishing (P)2019 Lirios Publishing

Good story

I loved the story but the reader was distracting. Every so often the reader would slip into a New Jersey accent when she was reading dialog from the female lead. But the book occurred out west and the lead female character grew up there.

Thoroughly enjoyed

I thoroughly enjoyed this audiobook. It has suspense, humor, romance, friendships and a ghost. The narration was done exceptionally well.

A nice whimsical mystery

In The Secret of the Jewel Shop by Olivia Swift, Carly James has opened a shop to sell the jewelry that she makes. As a sensitive, she notices the scent of lavender in the upstairs of the building that comes and goes and which she ascribes to thejii spirit of someone formerly connected to the building. Her friend Dex, who is in the process of moving to her area, offers to help out during busy times in the shop, but he is a skeptic about her psychic powers until Carly gives him a reading that reveals facts about his life that no one else knows. Soon Carly has made the acquaintance of Emily, the ghost, and she sets out to find out what happened to the woman 100 years earlier.

The Secret of the Jewel Shop is a short, gentle book full of whimsy of fun. It is marketed as a cozy mystery, but there wasn’t much of a mystery to the book, certainly not a contemporary mystery. I did find it hard to believe that Carly is able to help Jazz pull off the perfect wedding in only three weeks, all while studying up Emily’s life and death and running her new shop. Also, in a minor detail, the police investigators are called a detective inspector and chief detective inspector. To the best of my knowledge, those labels are not used in the United States, but I do know they are used in England. However, that’s not a very significant issue and certainly does not get in the way of the fun novel.

Becky Boyd performs the audio edition of the book and does a good job. I did find the accent she uses for Carly to sound a little strange to me, but I don’t recall from the previous book where she is supposed to come from, so perhaps it’s an accurate regional portrayal. I enjoyed Boyd’s bubbly tones as she brings the book to life.

For the most part, I enjoyed The Secret of the Jewel Shop. It is very light- hearted and gentle, with no bad language or sex scenes, so this book would be appropriate for children if you are comfortable having your children read about ghosts and the paranormal. I give the book four stars.

Disclaimer: I received this book for free for review purposes, but that had no influence on the content of my review.

A Sweet Cozy Mystery with a Paranormal Twist

The female protagonist opens an artsy jewelry and gift shop, surrounded by friends. The location is at a historic building, which is inhabited by a friendly ghost. Newly made friends, a developing love interest, and a wedding add to the story. This audio book was sweet and cozy, with a happy ending.

I would recommend this audio book to someone who likes cute, clean stories. The plot is easy to follow. The narrator does a great job with the protagonist's voice, slipping into a girlish New York/Jersey accent for the role. The rest of the narrative is performed without the accent.

Enjoyable read/listen

The Secret of the Jewel Shop (Blooms, Bones and Stones, #2), my second read from author Olivia Swift. A cozy mystery with some paranormal influence. The plot is consistent & clever steadily building to a satisfying. Becky Boyd's narration adds to the enjoyment. “I received a free Audible copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review." The gifting of this book did not affect my opinion of it. I look forward to the next book in this series Almost picture perfect. (RIP Marley January 20, 2014 - July 24, 2018).