This feature is for short reviews, reviews of books in a series where it might feel repetitive, or (as Michelle suggested) books I was too lazy to write a “real” review for. Today’s books I binge read as part of the Can You Read a Series Challenge in November.
Rather than reviewing each book (there are 6, plus a novella!), let me tell you my thoughts about the series.

Published by Kristin Painter on July 1, 2017
Genres: Cozy Mystery, Fantasy
Length: 8 hours 8 minutes
Format: Audiobook
Source: Borrowed
Goodreads

Welcome to Nocturne Falls, the town that celebrates Halloween 365 days a year.
Jayne Frost is a lot of things. Winter elf, Jack Frost’s daughter, Santa Claus’s niece, heir to the Winter Throne and now…private investigator. Sort of.
Needing someone he can trust, her father sends her undercover to Nocturne Falls to find out why employees at the Santa’s Workshop toy store are going missing.
Doing that requires getting to know the town, which leads to interesting encounters with a sexy vampire, an old flame, and an elevator that’s strictly off-limits. The more Jayne finds out, the more questions she has, but the answers lead her deeper into danger.
Will her magic save her? Or will she come up cold?

Published by Kristen Painter on October 18, 2016
Genres: Cozy Mystery, Fantasy
Length: 8 hours 1 minute
Format: Audiobook
Source: Borrowed
Goodreads

Listening Length: 8 hours and 1 minute
Welcome to Nocturne Falls, the town that celebrates Halloween 365 days a year.
Jayne Frost is a lot of things. Winter elf, Jack Frost’s daughter, Santa Claus’s niece, heir to the Winter Throne and now…private investigator. Sort of.
When she buys a sealed box at an estate sale and cat-related circumstances cause that box to be opened, life in Nocturne Falls starts to go haywire. Jayne has no choice but to figure out what she unleashed and how to recapture it.
But Jayne suspects the woman behind the box is hiding something. Something that could cause a town resident serious trouble. Or worse, to lose their life.With the help of her two favorite guys, a sexy vampire and a hot summer elf, and a few new friends, Jayne tackles what feels like an impossible mission. And winds up almost iced herself.

on January 4, 2017
Genres: Cozy Mystery, Fantasy
Length: 7 hours 12 minutes
Format: Audiobook
Source: Borrowed
Goodreads

Listening Length: 7 hours and 12 minutes
Welcome to Nocturne Falls, the town that celebrates Halloween 365 days a year.
Jayne Frost is a lot of things. Winter elf, Jack Frost's daughter, Santa Claus's niece, heir to the Winter Throne and now...private investigator. Sort of.
When the Sandman comes to Santa’s Workshop, the shop Jayne manages, to do his first ever book signing, it’s a major event. He’s kind of a supernatural celebrity and she needs to keep him happy.
All is well until trouble shows up at the party thrown in his honor. Trouble in the form of Luna Nyx, the Mistress of Nightmares and his creepy counterpart. The Sandman’s assistant says Luna is dangerous, and Jayne believes it when her dreams turn dark.
Can Jayne keep the Sandman safe from this gothic goddess? Or will Luna’s threats put them both to sleep for good?

Published by Kristen Painter on November 7, 2017
Genres: Cozy Mystery, Fantasy
Length: 7 hours 11 minutes
Format: Audiobook
Source: Borrowed
Goodreads

Listening Length: 7 hours, 10 minutes
Welcome to Nocturne Falls, the town that celebrates Halloween 365 days a year.
Jayne Frost is a lot of things. Winter elf, Jack Frost’s daughter, Santa Claus’s niece, heir to the Winter Throne and now…private investigator. Sort of.
When Lark Bramble, an old frenemy, shows up in Nocturne Falls, Jayne finds herself reliving the painful past and trying to make responsible decisions that won’t mess up her future. But being an adult proves harder than she thought.
Finally at peace with where things stand between her and Lark, Jayne thinks everything’s cool until a chilling event at the Black and Orange Ball shatters that peace and puts Jayne at odds with the powers that be. She knows she’s on thin ice, but she’s determined to crack the caper.
Can Jayne find a way to right the wrongs she might have caused or will she forever bear the guilt of allowing herself to be snowed again?

Published by Kristen Painter on December 25, 2017
Genres: Cozy Mystery, Fantasy
Length: 1 hour 18 minutes
Format: Audiobook
Source: Borrowed
Goodreads

Listening Length: 1 hour, 18 minutes
Welcome to Nocturne Falls, the town that celebrates Halloween 365 days a year.
Jayne Frost is a lot of things. Winter elf, Jack Frost's daughter, Santa Claus's niece, heir to the Winter Throne and now...private investigator. Sort of.
But none of that matters at the moment, because Jayne is headed back to the North Pole to visit her family, and leaving everyone’s favorite werewolf, Birdie Caruthers, to watch her cat, Spider.
With the heartfelt promise that all will be well, Birdie follows Jayne’s instructions to the letter. Unfortunately, that doesn’t stop Spider from getting into trouble.
It takes the help of a gentlemen friend (and a few others), for Birdie to make things right again. But not before her love life takes a very interesting turn…

on January 17, 2018
Genres: Cozy Mystery, Fantasy
Length: 7 hours 38 minutes
Format: Audiobook
Source: Borrowed
Goodreads

A Nocturne Falls Mystery
Welcome to Nocturne Falls, the town that celebrates Halloween 365 days a year.
Jayne Frost is a lot of things. Winter elf, Jack Frost's daughter, Santa Claus's niece, heir to the Winter Throne and now...private investigator. Sort of.
Christmas is over, the new year has begun, and life is thankfully slowing down for Jayne, giving her more time to chill with her new guy. That is, until Myra Grimshaw’s death reveals the elderly fae had a strange obsession with Jayne’s royal family and an unauthorized collection of exclusive winter elf objects. Including one very questionable snow globe.
Then a whiteout of magical proportions snows the town in and unraveling the mystery of Myra and the objects becomes job number one. Especially when Jayne suspects one of those objects is behind the dangerous creatures now roaming the town’s streets.
Things take a chilling turn when one of Jayne’s dearest friends is kidnapped and rescuing her means cracking the secrets of Myra’s past. But when Jayne discovers blood really is thicker than water, her own life is suddenly on thin ice. Can she save the town and her crown?

on November 5, 2018
Genres: Cozy Mystery, Fantasy
Length: 8 hours 29 minutes
Format: Audiobook
Source: Borrowed
Goodreads

Welcome to Nocturne Falls, the town that celebrates Halloween 365 days a year.
Jayne Frost is a lot of things. Winter elf, Jack Frost's daughter, Santa Claus's niece, heir to the Winter Throne and now...private investigator. Sort of.
Jayne takes Sinclair on a much needed visit to her winter wonderland home, the North Pole. She wants him to see what her royal life is truly like. She knows the protocol and regulations that define her existence as heir to the Winter Throne aren’t for everyone and worries that it will be more than he wants to handle. All seems well until a weird coincidence in a toy contest has some of the citizens of the North Pole giving Sinclair the side-eye. He’s a necromancer, and not everyone is okay with that. Jayne vows to prove his presence and the apparent cheating are unrelated, but digging deeper uncovers all kinds of strange occurrences that only complicate things and make another perfectly clear. Someone doesn’t want Sinclair around. When that someone cracks and takes action, Sinclair is in danger of losing more than his good name. Can Jayne chill the rumors that threaten the royal family and keep Sinclair from being permanently iced?
My Top Thoughts
My series was Jayne Frost – the perfect series for the holidays, since Jayne is a winter elf, daughter of Jack Frost and niece to Santa! I enjoyed this series so much and I THOUGHT it was finished. Turns out a 7th book was just published December 2nd, so I’ll be jumping into that sometime this month I think!
Who I think would like it
If you like Christmas (ahem Michelle) or actually Halloween, since the town of Nocturne Falls it’s like Halloween all the time, then I think you’ll enjoy the setting. If your a fan of magic/paranormal, then you’ll enjoy the characters- the series has elves (Winter and Summer – a neat variation on elf lore), werewolves, vampires, gin, and reapers (and maybe some others I’m forgetting). And if you enjoy a good cozy mystery this is also right up your alley.
There is a bit of love triangle, but unless you’re REALLY against them, I don’t think it would bother you. I never felt that anyone’s heart was really being played with and I feel like it was settled in the perfect way.
The Narration
This series was narrated by Hollis McCarthy and I really enjoyed her narration for the most part. The were a few voices that got a little deeper than I normally like, but they still worked and I got used to them being the character’s voice. Book 7 isn’t out on audio yet and I’m going to wait, because I enjoy the narration and I’m not sure I would love it quite as much in print. I listened at 2x speed.
Berls binge read Jayne Frost in November for her #readaseries challenge and loved them all. Have you read them yet? Perfect for the holidays! Share on X
Oh cool (pun intended)! I was hoping to get your thoughts on these since I knew you were reading the series. I’ve got the first one as a freebie and really look forward to it now.