Finding Fault is a well written romance with a bit of mystery and a great leading couple. The setting with small town Canada is great and the plot is relevant in today's times when it touches on climate chance, shady dealing of big companies and protesting. It was interesting to see how 2 women who seem to be on opposite sides in the beginning end up on the same side yet with opposite views on how to reach their goals.
The dialogue was fun, the plot flowed easily and I had a great time reading this book.

***Thank you Netgalley and Bold Stroke Books for giving me the chance to read and review this book ***

This is a story about geologist Evie O’Halloran and investigator Merritt Shepard. Evie is a professor and an environmental activist. When chemical totes show up in a farm field, Evie and her students go to a corporate meeting of Farmexsal corporation to protest. Merritt is also at this meeting posing as an accountant for Farmexsal.

Evie and Merr have instant chemistry but keep each other at arms length. They each have secrets and regrets from their pasts to withhold and instinctively don’t trust each other.

As Merr continues to investigate, she keeps running to Evie by chance and a little romance starts to build.

I liked the background story which I thought was pretty timely and the side characters were great. Philly (Merr’s RCMP friend) was super funny and pushed Merr to examine her feelings for Evie. This was an easy read with good dialogue between characters and a nice mystery to solve.

ARC received from Net Galley for an honest and voluntary review.

4.5 stars. One of the best books I've read in recent times. A lesbian romance mystery with two complex characters who carry some of their own baggage and between all their sleuthing, also manage to touch upon climate change - what more could we ask for?

Dr. Evie O'Halloran is a tenured geology professor and an environmental activist. Merritt Shephard is an investigator for the Ministry of Environmental resources who, as the blurb gives away, is working undercover at Farmexal, a large fertilizer company. Farmexal is in a soup over their empty fertilizer totes being found dumped in random fields in Saskatchewan and decide to conduct a public meeting after the outcry from the community. The very first chapter starts off with an explosive meeting of Evie and Merritt where their chemistry is off the charts from the get go. It takes off further after the Farmexal meeting even though they are on the opposite sides of the discussion. Merritt does some sleuthing into the missing totes and Evie goes along for the ride. There are some stumbling blocks along the way - Merr's skittishness to being in a relationship, Evie's PTSD, them having differing views on how to save the environment, the age gap (although it's mentioned by the MC, I didn't really feel the age gap in their interaction), the danger associated with the investigation. Through this all, will they get their happy ending?

Here are my personal observations and some of the things I loved about the book:
1. I really like it when the MCs meet in the first chapter of the book. Otherwise I'm turning pages wondering when they'll meet for the first time.
2. The writing was fabulous. The sayings and little quips included were really good. (Like the author's explanation for 'smirk')
3. There were a few moments when the MCs inner monologue was included. That gave an insight into the characters almost like a first person book.
4. It was interesting to read a book set in small-town Canada. Most of my reading experience has been centered around the US (or at most, England and Australia) so this was a refreshing change of location.
5. This is one of the recent books where I've had to Google a few descriptions about the fertilizer and packaging industry. It's a good thing. It meant that I was completely invested in the book.
6. I know some don't like it too much and prefer to imagine the MCs themselves but I personally prefer when the author gives a thorough description of the MCs as in this book.

The only fault I could find is that the mystery could've been a little more mysterious. But this is primarily a romance so that's not a major drawback. I haven't read any other books by this author but I was wondering whether Philly from this story has another book. I read the author statement that she wants to write a book set in every one of Canada's provinces and I look forward to reading every one of them.

This was a good book, that has quite a bit of intrigue and drama throughout. The main characters were mature women looking to save the environment in their own way. Evie is a professor and Merritt works for a company supposedly that manufacturers chemicals for crops, but if used improperly will cause harm to people and the environment. I felt at first that these two women were opposites in what each stood for but as the story went along you could tell that they were on the same side of wanting to save the environment. This was a slow burn relationship with some mystery thrown in. I would definitely recommend this to my friends and family and I look forward to what's next from this author.

This was a fun romantic thriller and I enjoyed it very much. It was an easy fun read. The plot was well developed, and the main characters had great chemistry.


Thank You Bold Strokes Books and NetGalley..

This was an interesting well written book with some intrigue and a few twists and turns. The lead characters, Evie and Merritt, were mature women with hang ups and baggage. But they also had a spark of attraction. Which doesn’t suit Dr Evie O’Halloran because she is a College Professor who teaches about the environment and acts on her teachings. And Merritt Shepherd works for a large chemical company.

The intrigue develops as empty chemical drums start appearing around the local area and Merritt has to confess that she’s an undercover government agent as Dr Evie could be useful. Their burgeoning romance does make things complicated.

The pacing is slow, and the character development beyond the central core isn’t strong but the plotting held my interest and I wanted to know who and why. I’ll look out for other stories by Ms McDonald.

I was given a copy of this book by Netgalley

This meet cute story with a dash of mystery was fun to read. Evie and Merr both have their bagage but are still open to love even though a bit reserved about it.

The mystery component was fun and interesting and it was fun to go on this journey with Merr.

The side characters were a great addition and they were likeable and added to the story.

The only pet peeve I have is the fact that both MC's are a bit set on the age of the other person while both are the same age? I did not get that and it was something I was hoping to be addressed near the end but suddenly they never mentioned it again.

An ARC was provided to me via Netgalley in return of an honest review.

*arc provided by NetGalley*

I really hate to say this, but I found it a struggle to finish this book. I do feel like this was down to the style of writing more than anything. This wasn't as fast paced as I expected and instead of learning about the characters slowly, it was more of an info dump as soon as you met them. The same with any plot point which slowed down the plot continuity. I really wanted to love this book more than I did with the family drama and mystery surrounding the whole story and light-hearted moments, the breaks for information were just a tad too much.

3/5 stars

I’ve been waiting for the next book by Annie McDonald. I totally enjoyed her first two novels, and I wanted to see what province the author would use as her setting for her next story. With Finding Fault, we get to visit the prairies in Saskatchewan. We are also treated to an intriguing thriller with an enemies-to-lovers, age-gap romance.

Dr. Evie O’Halloran is not only a professor of geology at a university in Saskatoon, she is also an environmental activist. She and a group of her students are protesting the activities of some of Saskatchewan’s chemical manufacturers, specifically a company called Farmexal. Evie meets Merritt (Merr) Shepherd who she believes is an employee of Farmexal. Actually Merr is an officer for the Ministry of Environmental Resources, and she’s gone undercover to find out who is stealing toxic chemicals from the plant and contaminating the surrounding farmlands. The two women clash almost immediately, Evie thinks Merr is working for the “enemy” but they can’t deny the attraction they have for each other. Now if they can only find out who the thief is.

Both the romance and the mystery surrounding the stolen chemicals is very interesting. I will admit I figured out who the thief was a while before it was revealed in the story, but their motivation was a surprise to me. I connected quickly with the main and the secondary characters. and became quite interested in some of the secondary folks and their stories. Those secondary tales kept my interest level high in the overall plot. Evie’s back story also added angst to her romance with Merr. The setting, of course, is crucial to the narrative, and the author did an exceptional job incorporating the area into the story.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Finding Fault, and I can’t wait for my next Canadian tale from Annie McDonald.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for an honest review.

It has been entertaining how this book has portrayed two mature women with some of the oddities that mature women acquire over the years. When we are no longer for nonsense, although both Merritt and Evie have quite a past that conditions their behavior. But the two of them face their fears and even their traumas with a pretty good attitude, considering.

Evie is a college professor in her forties who meets Merritt, thirtysomething, through a small accident. The collision and spill of hot chocolate on Evie prompts Merritt to offer both clean towels and spare clothes, all during the football game the two of them are watching at the stadium. So their initial meeting is a bit bumpy. But they meet again later in an environmental protest, Evie being the teacher in charge of the group of university students who are demanding accountability for some illegal dumping from a fertilizer producing company in which Merritt is working.

The question is, what kind of work does Merritt do for that company? She is under cover trying to find out who is causing the alleged spills, she is an official government agent investigating the case, but she cannot reveal her true mission even to Evie so she tells her half-truths. And that has her tormented, since she hates falsehood and lies, due to a traumatic event in her past. On the other hand, Evie distrusts Merritt for reasons also related to her past and also traumatic.

This seems a bit complicated, sometimes it actually has been. It has also been difficult to follow some explanations that tell the areas of Canada related to this story. But this may happen to me in particular, due to my lack of language skills. But the truth is that I've been getting hooked on the story, simple as it may seem at the end and I've loved seeing how the two of them have been getting closer and further away to get closer again. As for the mystery of the missing fertilizer, it has been solved too easily, but it has had its suspense moments. All in all, without being outstanding, it has been a good read.

Merritt Shepard is working on solving a mystery at a chemical manufacturing plant when her job brings her into contact with Evelyn O'Halloran. Evie is a geology professor who also tries her best to make sure local companies are environmentally aware and Merr's company leaves much to be desired after a string of mysterious fertilizer totes have been found on local farms. They can't seem to stop running into each other despite them sitting on opposite sides of the scandal.
This was a fun romantic thriller. I enjoyed the mystery and Merr's attempts to solve it were entertaining. I really liked Robby and Max as side characters as well as Philly and her wife's attempts at cheese making. Both characters had interesting back stories that left them a bit gun shy and along with their physical distance and differing philosophies it almost felt like too much was going on. I liked how everything was resolved, it just felt like some things weren't as detailed as I'd have liked. This was a great read I'd recommend to anyone looking for a little mystery with their romance. I'll definitely be looking forward to reading more from this author.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bold Strokes Books for a copy of this book.

Dr. Evie O'Halloran is a geologist and environment activist, with her sights currently set on chemical manufacturer, Farmexal.

Merritt Shepard is a government investigator currently working undercover in Farmexal.

Their paths cross when they literally bump into each other at a sports game.

This book balances romance with mystery and plenty of family drama, and lighthearted moments with serious issues. I did feel it lacked substance at times though.

Canadian f/f romance with a pinch of investigation
What a brilliant idea to write books about each of Canada‘s provinces and territories. This one is set in Sasketchewan and no, Regina is not a first name but its capital - yeah, first thing I had to look up. I loved the Canadian vibe of the story which reads a mostly like a romance but also includes an investigation into environmental pollution. I love to explore different countries, settings, differences in language and mores in the books I read and Annie McDonalds offers a lots of points of interesting without overdoing it (note to publisher: don‘t exorcise the Canadian too much). The Franco-Canadian background makes itself known by way of delicious French pastry.
I had a good time reading this book - I loved the characters and their development, the subtle understatement and - swoon - uniforms. The two main characters had plenty of chemistry and the epilogue had all the bells and whistles. And there is a cute dog. Though serious topics are included the whole book is positive and a lovely read. I look forward to visit more of Canada via McDonald‘s writing.

Be still my Canadian heart for I have found a new Canadian author to enjoy.

Annie McDonald has set her story in the heart of Saskatchewan’s farmland. A fertilizer company is missing toxic product while farmers are finding their empty fertilizer containers dumped in local fields. Residents and environmental activists are agitating for transparency and resolution while the fertilizer company brings in Merritt Shepherd, an undercover investigator for the government to rectify this situation. Dr Evie O’Halloran, a professor of geology and life long environmental activist struggles with PTSD and her attraction to Merritt, who she believes works for the irresponsible fertilizer company.

Finding Fault is a mystery wrapped in a romance and dipped in an environmental message. The simplistic mystery is more a vehicle for the two main characters to meet and engage than a true whodunnit. The romance between the mature women occurs quickly yet is drawn out to its natural conclusion by miles of issues.

I found the story entertaining and written in an appealing manner. I genuinely look forward to Annie McDonald’s next novel.

I received a free advance review copy from Bold Strokes Books through NetGalley. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I received an ARC copy of this book from the Publisher via Netgalley and voluntarily leaving my review.

Evie and Merritt literally bump into each other at a football game. Evie is Professor and very committed environmentalist. She believes the company that Merr is auditor for is responsible for dumping containers surrounding area. Although Merr cover story is auditor the company she really there to find out if the company the ones doing dumping or is someone trying to make the company looked bad because they don’t believe what their doing is right. Evie and Merr can’t stop thinking about each other and as they grow closer Merr is this close to learning what’s going on. I enjoy this read I like MCs they both love what they do and good at it I like Evie bond with her niece and sister who is going through something and bond Merr has with her brother.

Evie O'Halloran is a tenured professor and committed environmentalist. Merritt Shepherd is working as an auditor for a fertilizer supplier when they meet. Merr is investigating how containers from her corporation are being found abandoned in the surrounding area. The liquid fertilizer could be contaminating the ground or used for terrorist type activities. Either way environmentalists are protesting the company. In the middle of the corporate scandal the two women are drawn to each other.

This is more romance than mystery. I like that Evie and Merr are both older, and successful in their professions. But their pasts are obstacles to a future together. And I love a good dog in any book. Yay Walter. I am intrigued by Merr’s quirks with her food and slow cadence of speech and never thought that got explained like other things in the story. I loved how Canadian this reads. There were a few phrases that were new to me and a couple of words I had to look up a definition.

Overall a nice story. I like the will they, won’t they, but the relationship progresses quickly. And for two people who have avoided commitment for decades the L word comes quickly. The mystery itself isn’t overly exciting. And obviously the story is pro environment with both women on the same side of the issue but coming from different focusses. (3.5 stars)

I was really into this. I thought it was a well balanced kind of mystery/romance read. It was heavier on the romance, but that’s cool with me since that’s what I was expecting. I thought this was well written and well paced. As you’re probably aware, there is a formula associated with romance reads so there is a point of angst that has the main characters reevaluating their potential relationship status. I didn’t mind that at all in this book because it was a different scenario than most. I think the only reason I wouldn’t give this a 5 star is there were points when it felt like too much was explained. By this I mean that of course I’m expecting some context regarding the professions of the characters but there were times when it felt as though additional information was given when it didn’t need to be. Overall, I really liked this. Would definitely recommend giving it a read.

Two women, both environmentalists but with slightly different attitudes towards it. Evie is a professor and Merritt an environmental investigator for the government. Merritt is working undercover to determine who is stealing liquid fertiliser from their company and whether or not the company is illegally dumping their waste containers. Needless to say Evie and Merritt meet and are attracted to each other.
The story was quite good but I felt the ending was a bit of an anti-climax. I was looking for more mayhem. Although probably the storyline was more true to life!

Evie is an ardent environmentalist protesting a corporation with lax oversight that is possibly illegally dumping waste at much risk to the community. Merritt works for that corporation as an auditor or at least that’s what she pretends.
They are on opposite sides of an intensifying public and ecological scandal but their attraction is undeniable.
I really enjoyed watching Evie and Merritt develop a relationship, the flirting, vulnerabilities and family all meshed well and made it feel like a real romance.
The talk of PTSD and handling one’s own “quirks” was addressed with care and didn’t feel like expository set dressing.
A sweet romance that burns hot and makes a Saskatchewan winter just a little warmer.