This was a cozy Murder mystery where a psychic helps out the cops.
I wanted to like this. I love mysteries, psychics are fascinating, and I enjoy a light hearted cozy mystery every now and then. However, I found the MC Leda to be super annoying. She seemed helpless, ditzy and over the top (not in a good way).
I almost DNF’d this but decided to skim it. I think I would’ve enjoyed it if it was more about the mystery and less about Leda.

I think I may have found my perfect book. From the first time I saw the cover and read the synopsis of this book I knew instantly that I was going to love it. I am a big "character" reader, and I don't always need to love the characters, but they need to be convincing. In this case, I loved every single character. It's been a while since I have read a book with characters that truly come alive on the pages. Priest does a phenomenal job with the descriptions and these diverse group that I just wanted to be friends with so badly.

The pacing was just how I wanted it to be, and my only critique is that I wish it had been a tiny bit longer. But because it looks like this will continue as a series, the length is not too much of an issue.

My Review:⭐️⭐️.5/ 5 stars

Detectives and sassy psychic sidekicks? Sign me up! The cover art looks so fun! Leda Foley is an old-school, struggling travel agent and psychic (she doesn’t really understand her abilities yet). She uses her clairvoyant abilities mostly during karaoke nights at her local bar, predicting songs that guests would find meaningful. Everything comes to a head when she has a gut feeling about Detective Grady’s plane (whom she booked for) and the plane ends up catching fire. The detective enlists Leda’s help to help with a cold case in case she could potentially, unofficially see something he is missing. Her ulterior motive is a little side cash and possibly finding answers to the death/murder of her fiance.

Leda gives me a bit of Sookie Stackhouse vibes… she is supposed to be a bit of a mess and in a rut. However, I did not find her likeable at all. Her lack of confidence in her own ability made everything less believable. She had no chemistry with Detective Grady and their dialogue was mostly boring. The premise has a lot of promise and since this is the start of the series, I would hope there is much more character development for both, but unfortunately I am not interested to continue the journey with this series.

Thank you to Atria books & Netgalley for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

I have so many good things to say about this book. It is engaging, interesting, unique, and enjoyably funny (not laugh-out-loud funny IMO, but makes heavy situations light). The premise is original; our psychic has a newly-opened travel agency and ends up helping a detective on a case after keeping him from getting on a plane that crashed. She also moonlights as the Klairvoyent Karaoke star at a friend's bar. All of these aspects come together nicely to keep the story interesting and moving along. The ending sets up the possibility of a series and I do hope there are more. Definitely my favorite Cherie Priest book yet.

I also have to say, it made me nostalgic for Seattle, a city I recently moved away from after living there for nine years. I knew all of the neighborhoods and places mentioned and it was exciting to name the place before the book did. Great for those who like a strong sense of place in a book.

I was given a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Another debut winner for me! I enjoyed it so much a little more intense than a cozy but not too intense as a mystery. Amateur sleuth/psychic travel agent . Great characters and twists and turns. I’m looking forward to this series.

From the first chapter, this delightful mystery picked me up and shoved me into the story until I never wanted to put it down! It was sooooo good. Priest has created such a fun, quirky, relatable heroine, despite the fact that the last time I checked I wasn't 99% psychic. I never wanted it to end!

The mystery was fantastic, the banter making me laugh until my stomach hurt from laughing so hard. I'll absolutely be picking up anything else from this author. It was like eating a box of chocolates, without the stomachache and leaving me hyped on sugar.

Highly recommend.

I was intrigued by the title... I wasn't sure if it was thriller , a plain old mystery or a cozy Mystery. It was a little a all and I was not disappointed. Leda and her "followers" are a hoot when they let their hair down but for the most part, it is all business. I can 100% see this as a TV series. WHere every week Led and her crew have a mystery to solve WHILE the running theme is finding out what really happened to her Fiance'. I have never read a Cherie Priest novel before this cover (and title) caught my eye., but I will look forward to her continuing with this style.

Grave Reservations, by author Cherie Priest, is the first installment in the authors The Book Agents series. 32-year-old Leda Foley is a struggling travel agent who runs Foley's Far-Fetched Flights of Fancy in Seattle. Leda's travel agency has a few clients which barely covers her monthly expanses, and she's still struggling with grief over her fiancé’s murder several years ago which remains a cold case. She's also an inconsistent psychic who partakes in klairvoyant karaoke which seems to be her bread and butter.

She sometimes gets flashes of insight after she touches an object which we would call psychometry. But the real deal begins when she saves Detective Grady Merritt from dying in a plane crash by changing his flight plans without his knowledge. A grateful Grady is so impressed, as is his daughter, with Leda that he hires her to help him with a cold case which has been driving him batty. All off the books of course because hiring her would not be in keeping with department procedures.

But once they are in the hotel room where the murder took place, Leda begins to question what role Grady might have had in Tod's murder. It seems several years ago, her fiance Tod Sandoval was murdered and dumped in a river and another woman was later found in the same area. There has been no leads to his case, and Grady's cold case and the death of Leda's fiancé might be intertwined. What better way of seeking answers than putting Leda's talents to work to see if she can push someone into coming forward with the answers to close both cases?

Outside of her flailing travel agency, she hangs out with confidante, and best friend Niki Nelson at local bar called Castaways where Niki’s boyfriend works. She sharpening her clairvoyance skills at the stage by picking up meaningful songs for people to determine their faiths or help to find a meaningful answer about their lives. She is also not willing to forget about Tod and what happened to him even though his family has abandoned her to her own devices.

Inevitably, I liked this book more than I thought I would. At times, the investigation itself became a little messy, and Grady seemed to have an extraordinary amount of time to devote to his case from eighteen months earlier. I liked that Leda isn't perfect. To make sense of things, yes I would definitely equate this story to the Spellman's by Lisa Lutz with a touch of Aurora Teagarden thrown in due to the nature of Leda's abilities. I liked Grady well enough. He doesn't come across as a cocky cop who knows everything and is willing to bend just a enough to let Leda find the answers he needs. I also liked Grady's relationship with his daughter. Shockingly enough that relationship is strong and not antagonistic.

Cherie Priest is known as a writer of horror, steampunk, and science fiction, including the Locus Award-winning novel Boneshaker.

4 stars = Great! Might re-read.

This was a lot of fun - a great mystery with good protagonists and a psychic twist. I really enjoyed the set up for this, the characters, and the mystery. I'll definitely pick up another book in this series! (Language)

What first drew me to this book was the lovely cover, and luckily the story was just as good ! A psychic travel agent by day and klairvoyant karaoke singer by night works with a Seattle PD detective to help solve a cold case, alongside a quirky cast of characters. If you like mysteries and are looking for something light and fun, then I would recommend this book !

⭐⭐⭐⭐

This was such a great start to a new paranormal mystery series! I absolutely loved the dynamic between Leda and Grady and I can't wait to read more in this series.

CW: plane crash, murder

This wasn't your typical murder mystery book. Rather than being dark, and gruesome, and heavy, it was light and fun! Of course a murder is never something to take lightly, but I loved the characters and all their quirks. I think this is take on a murder mystery can be well done if it's executed properly, and this one was. Apparently this is the first in a series and I can't wait to read the rest of it! If you're looking for a lighter murder mystery, I definitely recommend picking this one up! Thank you to NetGalley, Atria Books, and Cherie Priest for an e-ARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

Grave Reservations is a quirky whodunnit in the style of the Harper Connelly Mysteries by Charlaine Harris.

And while the overall experience was mostly enjoyable, there were a few issues preventing me from falling in love with this new series from Cherie Priest.

Firstly, Leda Foley was such an interesting but uneven character.

I loved her quirky nightlife as a clairvoyant karaoke singer and her puzzling psychic visions made this mystery more interactive for readers.

However, her haphazard murder board and the occasional need to show off seemed out of character and made her less likeable as a protagonist.

The mystery itself was also rather disappointing. I often found myself becoming bored with the sometimes tedious repeated scenarios.

And although this cozy-adjacent mystery has more colourful characters than Stars Hollow, none were memorable enough to stick with me, at times making the narrative overly convoluted.

Yet despite the obvious flaws, a return visit to The Booking Agents would not be unwelcome.

A cozy mystery with a psychic twist. I actually really enjoyed that a real cop was more involved in this cozy mystery compared to others I’ve recently read.

I enjoyed the psychic psongstress parts, but wish we had more psychic moments in the investigation. I think that part was really built up but then she didn’t really have that many moments to put her abilities to use.

I also thought it would throw another twist in there at the end, so I felt it ended with a little bit of a letdown. Overall I still enjoyed it though.

I found this to be an enjoyable read, keeping me on my toes throughout. The storyline was written well and flowed seamlessly. I look forward to reading more by this author!

Grave Reservations is a perfect palate cleanser to read after finishing a book that is dark or disturbing. It would also make a great beach read.

The two lead characters most definitely are the new Odd Couple. The star of the novel (and a new book series) is Leda Foley. Leda has opened a one-man shop travel agency, pretty risky in this Internet age. She also happens to be slightly psychic. At the opening, Leda gets a bad feeling about a flight she has booked for a new client and decides to rebook him to an alternate flight. That customer, Grady Merritt, is seriously irritated because he was in a hurry to get back to his daughter in Seattle. However, he has a big change of heart as he watches his original flight careen off the runway!! Grady happens to be a detective with the Seattle PD, and when he gets back to town, he visits Leda to get an explanation.

After learning that Leda is slightly psychic, Grady enlists her to help him out with a cold case that's been plaguing him. Leda agrees to help because she's still grieving the unsolved murder of her fiancé and thinks Grady might help her get to the bottom of that case.. Turns out that they make quite the team and are actually able to help one another as their cases intertwine.

Leda is a fabulous character. My favorite thing about her is that she performs what she calls Klairvoyant Karaoke at her local bar hangout. I loved the idea of "reading" people by holding something they hand her and singing a song that always ends up being meaningful. Her best friend (Niki), Niki's boyfriend, the bar owner, and Grady's daughter are also delightful.

Grave Reservations is a quick, fun read. My thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for providing me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Leda Foley is a travel agent with psychic abilities. When she rebooks a client on a different flight because she has premonitions something bad is going to happen, she’s right. The plane bursts into flames before leaving the runway. Her client, a Seattle police detective, enlists her help in solving a multiple murder. Its decent escape reading and the fact it is set in Seattle with lots of landmarks mentioned helped, but there are other more satisfying mysteries. There are plenty of laughs, though, to lighten the story.

The premise of this book is what really hooked me. Psychic travel agent who inadvertently saves a cop? Sign me up!

It was a decent story, but it was a little more on the cozy side of things than I was expecting. There's nothing wrong with cozy mysteries, but I like knowing what I'm getting into as they aren't always as gripping as other types of mysteries. I enjoyed this one well enough, and I'd be interested to see if it becomes a series (there's certainly room for it to!) but I don't think I'd pick this one up again.

This book was so adorable. Definitely a great option if you want a less serious thriller. It definitely reads more like a YA thriller than anything else due to its light heartedness. Overall enjoyed reading it!

✨ The Title/Cover Draw:
I had heard this book compared to Finlay Donovan is Killing It which I loved!

💜 What I liked:
This book was a lot of fun to read. It looks to be part of a series and I am excited to read the next. Leda is a travel agent but in her spare time does a psychic act at a bar where she chooses songs for the audience based on personal items. She is taken along to help a cop with a murder colde case. It’s just so cute!

😱 What I didn’t like:
There were a couple times in this book where I felt like it was a bit slow, but these are few and far between.

🚦 My face at the end: 🤪

💭 5 Reasons to Read:
1. Klairvoyant Karaoke
2. Cold Case Murder
3. Past Trauma
4. Start of a Series
5. Creative Alcoholic Drinks



🕧 Mini-Summary:
Leda gets impressions, but she isn’t sure it makes any difference. Until one day she saves a cop’s life with her feelings.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Received from Netgalley.

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