The Shady Hollow series is so much fun! The books are cozy murder mysteries and all the characters are woodland creatures. Summers End is the fifth book in the series. Reporter Vera Vixen agrees to chaperone a several days long school trip to Summers End which is a Stonehenge-like archaeological site. Her good friend, Lenore, comes along to help her. On the morning of Summers End when the students are about to enter the sight to witness a special annual phenomenon, the recently murdered corpse of one of the researchers is found inside. What's worse is that Lenore's sister, Ligeia, has been accused of committing the crime. Can Vera and Lenore solve the crime and clear Ligeia's name? This book is a great addition to a delightful series.

Thank you to Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor and NetGalley for a review copy of Summers End.

4..5/5

Love the overall series, while I missed the cozy relationship between Vera and her Orville, but loved the archaeological twist that has her and some of my favorite characters out exploring a ruin!

I don't know how the authors manage to write about the inhabitants of Shady Hollow so well that one is sure that somewhere out there is an area where animals live amongst each other and carry on their lives just as we do, but Summers End by Juneau Black carries on that wonderful story. As the fifth in the series Vera, a vixen reporter goes to an archaeological site with as chaperon to a group of students, where they find a dead Professor who was in charge. There are new characters introduced and the murder to figure out and it is just a fun read.

Coziest of cozy mysteries. I love this series so much I can't wait to get my hands on the next one. If there will be a next one. I really really really hope so. I love to scrunch down in my bed and open up a Shady Hollow Mystery, knowing I will be surrounded by such wonderful characters. I just honestly can't recommend it enough

4 Stars

Yet another fun and mysterious romp through my favorite land of critters. This time we leave Shady Hollow, and head over to Summer’s End, which appears to be a cute village that has its own personal Stonehenge. We have a slight jaunt into dark academia, and the into the dark side of what happens when we find relics from our past. This provided us a bunch of fun, new side characters and I’m excited to see if the world of Shady Hollow gets expanded!

I really enjoyed this one! Seeing Vera outside her Shady Hallow was so fun. I loved the whole history behind the Summers End. The authors really could have blown past that part but I loved that they chose to give us a full break history lesson. All the new side characters were a great edition. Especially the professors and Thena!!! I loved that little vole. It dragged in the middle for just a bit, I wish it would have progressed just a tad faster for it being a shorter book. But otherwise I really have no complaints! Perfect summer cozy murder mystery!

Thank you NetGalley for the eArc! All opinions are my own.

3.5 ⭐️

Let’s be clear, I’ve loved this series and I still like this one but in the context of all of them this one fell a little short. I was a little disappointed.

I loved returning with some of our favorite characters but in a new location! It made everyone a suspect because there were so many new characters. It was interesting having a history of how the animals started to evolve but it dragged a bit at times. Overall this story felt a little less cozy with maybe one too many threads to follow.

Overall still a fun read but not my favorite in the series.

Another fantastic installment in the Shady Hollow series! I love this series so much. Black has created a work of art with these cozy, mysteries, fun stories. Vera Vixen is back and better than ever as she chaperones a school outing to Summers End, mentors a future journalist, and of course, solves a murder case. These books are so immersive and atmospheric- the perfect escape!

This was a very cute and fun continuation of the cast of Shady Hollow. In this installment, we visit Summers End at an archeological site which brings in a new setting and characters for, unsurprisingly, a murder. I thought this book had even more moments than Shady Hollow where there was humor infused into the story, and I'm always glad to see Lefty make a visit!

This series is very much the peak of cozy mystery! Thank you to Vintage books for granting me access to an ARC of Summers End!

I adore this entire series. It is so well written that as I read I find myself forgetting the characters are animals. I recommend this series all the time.

This is my favorite cozy mystery series of all time. Each time I read a new book set in the world of Shady Hollow, the more I love it. Each character has such a unique personality that compliments the story so wonderfully.

One of the things I love is the fact that the authors are not afraid to move away from the town, like other cozy mystery series that I have read. This was such a great addition to the series and it helped to broaden the way that other animals live in other towns.

This series is my go to recommendation to anyone looking to escape reality for a while. Each book that releases, just solidifies that recommendation for me.

3.5 Stars.

🌲 the vibes:
- cozy mystery
- Forrest animal cast
- Book 5 in series

🌲 My thoughts:
When Vera chaperones an annual school field trip to Summers End- an ancient tomb built by an early woodland culture - she’s once again pulled into a murder mystery. Vera and her best friend Lenore have to delve into the dark world of academia and archaeology to determine which creature thought they were clever enough to get away with the perfect murder.

🌲 I liked the new setting BUT I did miss the town of Shady Hollow. I would say the most endearing part of the series is the setting of Shady Hollow- so it did make me miss seeing the locals and the setting. We did still have Vera, Lenore, and even Lefty which I loved to see.

🌲 This has been my least favorite of the series- with it feeling a little bit boring and extra slow at some parts. I fully expect and love a slow cozy plot- so keeping that in mind- this one still felt a bit slow for me.

🌲 I have done audio for previous books in the series and I feel like that really adds so much personality to the characters and highly recommend doing audio. I think I would have enjoyed this one more if it was audio.

🌲 All that to say- if you’ve enjoyed the previous books in the series - I do think you’ll enjoy this one. And I definitely look forward to future books in this series.

Release date: July 9, 2024.

Thank you so much to Juneau Black, NetGalley, Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor | Vintage for the gifted copy.

*note- posted on bookbub, Instagram (on stories 7/10 and permanently saved in my story reviews highlights), goodreads, story graph, Amazon, and barnes and noble. Links provided.

Summers End is the fifth book in the Shady Hollow series. After crime solving reporter Vera Vixen agrees to chaperone the annual field trip to Summers End, an ancient tomb and current archaeological site, remains are found--which is to be expected... except these remains are modern. As Vera works to solve the murder of one of the professors associated with the excavation, she digs up more than she anticipated.

As someone with a background in archaeology, this book felt right up my alley and just loved every minute of it. I loved the dark academia setting and while I absolutely love the town of Shady Hollow, the change in setting felt like a great way to switch things up while still staying true to the coziness found throughout the rest of the series.

Thank you so much to the publisher and to NetGalley for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review. I can't wait to grab a physical copy for my bookshelf!

I love this series and its quirky, comfy vibes. It is refreshing to revisit these well-loved characters and I liked the twist of having the book set in a different location this time.

Yet again this is another great cozy mystery. This series and the characters are written and developed so well I often forget that they are anthropomorphized animals. This mystery was a great turn from the others and in a new area. I loved all of the background to summers end and the history that is detailed about the archaeological site.

This series will forever be on my must buy list as soon as a new one is announced. Perfect cozy mystery that is just what anyone wanting a quick read will love.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Juneau Black for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC for Summers End coming out July 9, 2024. The honest opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I read the first book in this series, so I was excited to receive this one. I definitely need to go back and read the other books. It’s a really cute, cozy series. I love the idea of animals solving cases in their little habitats. It’s fun that Vera and Lenore are solving cases together. I loved the summer vibes. It was a fun book and I loved the mystery. I’ll definitely check out future books by this author.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys cozy animal stories!

I read the first three books in this series and thoroughly loved them. Then, for some reason, I thought the series was three and done. Imagine my horror when I discovered this, the FIFTH book. So, I duly went back and played catchup with the ones I had missed, which turned out to be two in-betweenie shorts as well as Twilight Falls. That done, I was then ready to crack on with this book.
And oh boy had I missed the wonderful characters I met way back when in Shady Hollow. I'm going to assume that you are already familiar with the delightful cast of characters that are contained herein - their anthropomorphic nature - and are comfortable with all that. Me I think it's genius! How the author matches the traits and characteristics of each animal species with the characters and their positions, or jobs, in the books. Wonderful!
Anyway, this, the fifth book sees reporter Vera Vixen playing chaperone to a bunch of school kids from Shady Hollow who are attending the annual field trip to Summers End, a mystical place where, on the last day of summer, the sun rise hits an ancient tomb in just the right place for a spectacular sight... Although, this time the sight wasn't as expected...
I loved this book, as I have loved all the ones before it. I love the characters, the stories, the style of writing, the whole shebang. And the humour! I remember in my review for book one where I likened the series to Wind in the Willows crossed with Agatha Raisin and I stand by that comparison still. The main story contained herein was also well plotted and, although I did guess early, that in no way compromised my overall enjoyment of the book.
Still kicking myself with dropping the ball with this series, but happy now I have all caught up again, and I will definitely be keeping my eyes open for book 6.
My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

Thank you to Net Galley for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.
3/10

I've read all but one of the Shady Hollow mysteries at this point, and I'd honestly say that this is my favorite one. I was hesitant about the characters being taken out of Shady Hollow and was worried I would miss some of the classic characters. But, I think a change of scenery and the introduction of some new faces was actually pretty nice.

This was the first of the Shady Hollow mysteries where I was genuinely surprised by the killer. I didn't even suspect this creature for the majority of the book. I think the introduction of so many new characters with potential motives, especially all the professors, helped me really get into the mystery. I couldn't settle on one character who I thought was the killer for long.

I always find that Shady Hollow Mysteries have some very slow paced scenes, which is to be expected with a cozy mystery. But I thought this book had fewer slow scenes than the others in the series, which I appreciated. I did still find a fair amount of redundancy and overexplanation in plot points and clues to be a bit frustrating at times.

Also, one random thing that I couldn't quite get past was the ages of the students in Vera's school group. They're supposed to be in high school, but treated like/act like kindergarteners pretty much the whole time. Oh well, woodland creatures probably don't mature at the same rate as humans.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. I always end up coming back to read the next one, even when I tell myself I'm done, which has to count for something. It's unique, adorable, and much less creepy than a human murder mystery (which I appreciate). P.S., you can totally read this (or any of the Shady Hollow Mysteries really) as a standalone.

This is the 5th Shady Hollow mystery and it did not disappoint!!

These books are the epitome of cozy mysteries! I love reading them if I’m feeling a bit down, or if I just need a fun mystery to get lost in! I want to live in Shady Hollow! lol

Summers End was a bit darker and more complicated than the other books, but in a good way! I thought I had it all figured out but there were a few twists that I didn’t see coming!

I think my only criticism would be that there were a lot of characters to keep track of, but the authors do include a list of characters at the beginning, so that was very helpful!

All in all, I absolutely adore the new setting, the characters, and the writing! I always learn new words when I read these books 😂

I highly recommend Summers End and the entire Shady Hollow series if you love whimsical writing, and cozy mysteries! And if you haven’t read any of the books yet, I suggest reading them in publication order ✨

Summers End will be available on July 9th! Thank you to Vintage Anchor Books and NetGalley for this advanced copy!

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Random house for the Arc of “Summers End”.
I was so excited to see the Juneau Black duo adding another installment of the cozy mystery Shady Hollow series. I will be the first to admit that when I started the series last year I found it a bit strange but I could not deny the great mystery writing that has carried throughout all of the books. I have come to love the animal characters and each of their quirks. Especially the lead fox herself, Vera Vixen. This fifth book steps out of Shady Hollow and into Summershill for the action. Vera Vixen accompanies students on a trip to see an archaeological site when tragedy strikes. She must work together with company new and old to solve the murder of a professor. She must tread lightly to not overstep while also doing what she does best- solve murders and leave no stone untouched. The reader can expect many twist and turns leading to an unexpected ending. A great read, They’ve done it again!