Tag: baking and bakers

REVIEW: A Good Day to Pie by Misha Popp

REVIEW: A Good Day to Pie by Misha Popp

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received a free electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

Summary

Daisy’s primary business is baking pies. But only a special segment of her customers know about “Pies Before Guys.” That’s the mostly-secret baking business where wronged and wounded women can buy a magical pie that will make the man stop his shenanigans. It’s not Daisy’s fault that for some of these trolls the only thing that will stop them is their death.

Daisy is doing a TV bake off with the hopes of winning money to keep funding Pies Before Guys. But she doesn’t expect that one of the contest judges is the man she’s supposed to deliver a magical pie to on the way home. When the judge later dies – without the help of Daisy’s special baked goods – she starts looking for a killer.

Review

Not unlike an excellent pie, an excellent mystery requires the right ingredients at proper amounts, blended together. Murder, Lies, and Deadly Pies was my favorite book of 2022. That’s a lot to live up to. But A Good Day to Pie was up to the task.

I was afraid the baking contest might be a drag for me – I don’t watch baking shows, and I’ve read other books recently with a similar setting. But this really surpassed other examples of the set up. I was riveted by the competition and zipped through every challenge to see what would happen next. And I adored the little community formed by the contestants.

For a long time I worried that the murder would keep Daisy from using her magic, but that worry was unnecessary. Everything was woven into the story, and I was supremely satisfied how it all came together.

This is a distinct and different series that is hitting me in a way I didn’t know I needed. It seems weird to love a series with a protagonist who is essentially a killer. But the way Daisy’s power works means she only provides the pies and magic. The “victims” bring on their own demise by their lack of repentance. That might feel too dark for some readers, but it’s hitting just the right tone for me these days. I’ll be sticking with Daisy and Pies Before Guys for the long haul! (Language)

Rating: ♥♥♥♥½*

*♥♥♥♥½ = I loved it! Would re-read.

REVIEW: Two Parts Sugar, One Part Murder by Valerie Burns

REVIEW: Two Parts Sugar, One Part Murder by Valerie Burns

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received a free electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Kensington in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

Summary

Maddy’s always been a bit pampered and spoiled. But being stood up at the altar has left her feeling determined to build a life she can be proud of, and to stand on her own two feet. And her late great-aunt Octavia gives her a head start.

Octavia left Maddy a house, a bakery, and a dog in her will. Maddy has to stay in Michigan and run the business for a year before she can take full possession. And no matter how many times her father, the Admiral, tells her she can’t do it and should just give up and return home, Maddy wants to make it work.

When someone is murdered in the bakery, Maddy teams up with Octavia’s friends – the Baker Street Irregulars – to find a killer.

Review

This was delightful! I loved the whole cast of characters. These are people I would want as friends. The baked goods at Baby Cakes sound divine. The “voice” for the book is fantastic. The relationship between Maddy and her dad adds a fascinating layer to the story. (I can’t wait for a book where he comes to town!) This is the sort of set up – the community and the characters – that will put a new series on my must-buy list.

The book ended abruptly with a few questions still unanswered. While jarring, my assumption is that those will be picked up in the next book. The mystery here was good, and I’m eager to test my guesses on those remaining threads. I will absolutely be picking up the next book, both to see how things play out, and also to spend more time with these characters.

My only complaint was the use of the expression “deaf, dumb, and blind” twice in my review copy. That phrase has been out of fashion for decades since society determined that using “dumb” for mute was inappropriate.  Hopefully that will be addressed in final edits.

Mystery fans who love endearing animal characters, recipes, and mouth-watering descriptions of baked good in their cozy mysteries should snap this up right away!

Rating: ♥♥♥♥½*

*♥♥♥♥½ = I loved it! Would re-read

REVIEW: Fake It Till You Bake It by Jamie Wesley

REVIEW: Fake It Till You Bake It by Jamie Wesley

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received a free electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and St. Martin’s Griffin in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

Summary

Donovan Dell – pro football player, baker, and part owner of Sugar Blitz, a San Diego cupcake store. The store is Donovan’s dream – and his back up plan for life after football. But sagging sales are putting his dream in jeopardy. So he lets the sassy customer get to him as he tries to defend his store.

Jada Townsend-Matthews – reality TV star, and target of vicious hate after turning down a marriage proposal on the show My One and Only. Jada only goes into Sugar Blitz because her best friend loves their cupcakes. She doesn’t intend to get into a verbal battle with the sexy staff member. Her day only goes downhill from there, ending with a summons to her grandmother’s office to talk about her “future” and lack of direction in life.

In order for Jada to access her trust fund when she turns 26, her grandmother is requiring her to work a consistent job – and she’s convinced one of her football players to hire Jada. Now Donovan and Jada are thrown together again. But when a reporter shows up at Sugar Blitz and pressures Jada on why she turned down the marriage proposal on TV, Jada panics and says it’s because she is in love with Donovan. And the kiss she springs on him goes viral.

Review

This was excellent! If I wasn’t laughing at something out loud, I had a big grin on my face. This was delightful! Fake dating is one of my favorite tropes, so I was already sold with that part of the story. But the slowly thawing animosity between the main characters was perfectly paced and so satisfying. The dual perspective storytelling gives the reader all the insights about the characters’ thoughts and feelings while still letting the action unfold over time. The chemistry between the two main characters was fantastic, too.

I also loved the dynamic with Donovan and his business partners. I had my fingers crossed all the way through that this would turn out to be just the first book in a series focused on those three men. Judging by the end of this, my wish is coming true. Don’t miss this fun, steamy romance! (Language, sex)

Rating: ♥♥♥♥½*

*♥♥♥♥½ = I loved it! Would re-read.

REVIEW: Deadly Delights by Laura Jensen Walker

REVIEW: Deadly Delights by Laura Jensen Walker

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received a free electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

Summary

Lester Morris – aka “Lester the Molester” – is notorious for his lecherous behavior. Sexist comments, inappropriate touching, innuendo and more. In fact, he grabbed Teddie’s butt while he was serving as a judge for the local baking off. She smacked him with her rolling pin and told him off.

So it’s really no surprise that Teddie is the prime suspect, at least to Lester’s widow, when Lester is later found dead. But Lester harassed a LOT of women who were sick of his behavior. Maybe one of them – or a husband or father – finally had enough of Lester’s antics.

Teddie and her friends are determined to clear her name – again. The last murder almost cost her her publishing deal. She’s not willing to risk that again.

Review

This was fun! I enjoy the crew in Lake Potawatomi, and it’s always fun to head back to my childhood home region, even if only in fiction. The mystery here is pretty straightforward, but the solution was twisty. My guess for the culprit was wrong, but I enjoyed watching the full resolution play out.

If you aren’t familiar with Laura Jensen Walker’s work, I highly recommend anything she writes. You can read my review of Murder Most Sweet, the first book in the Bookish Baker Mystery series, here. You can also read my review of the first book in her Faith Chapel Mystery series, Hope, Faith, and a Corpse, here. Be sure to check out her whole backlist, too – I’ve read several of her older books, and I loved them. (TW: sexual harassment)

Rating: ♥♥♥½*

*♥♥♥½ = Good+

 

REVIEW: An Amish Cookie Club Courtship by Sarah Price

REVIEW: An Amish Cookie Club Courtship by Sarah Price

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received an electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Zebra in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

Summary

The “Amish Cookie Club,” a group of four friends who meet regularly to bake and chat, had been meeting for 4 years. It started when Wilma’s twins, Rachel and Ella Mae, had turned 16. She wasn’t ready for her “babies” to grow up and needed the support of her friends. Of course, now that they are almost 20, she is ready for them to find husbands and settle down.

To that end, Wilma volunteers the girls to help her friend Edna with her catering business. Edna’s daughter-in-law usually helps with the authentic Amish meals, served in Edna’s home to Englische guests visiting Shipshewana. But Bethany is pregnant and can’t keep up due to her morning sickness. Edna could use the help. But the twins have a reputation for being disagreeable, and they’ve never held a job for very long. In Wilma’s eyes, Edna’s two unmarried sons make her solution of sending the twins a brilliant one.

Unfortunately for Wilma, Rachel and Ella Mae couldn’t be LESS interested in Jeremiah and Jonas. Jonas is a prankster, always teasing and tormenting. And Jeremiah usually follows along as if he doesn’t have a mind of his own. Whatever their mothers might have in mind, these four young people are going to be a challenge for even the most dedicated matchmakers.

Review

This was a good continuation of this fun series. Edna has NOT learned anything about her meddling and matchmaking. I thought this might be the story where there’s some consequences for that, but it didn’t really materialize in the end.

I enjoyed the change in the twins as they had opportunities to work on their own and have individual, separate identities. But I felt like the book told me that these changes were happening more than showing them through the action of the book. I thought this idea for why the girls bickered, and what could help them grow up, was brilliant. But I didn’t get to enjoy the execution of it like I wanted to.

Jeremiah’s reputation as a follower didn’t really play out in the story either. It’s true he didn’t tell Jonas to knock it off when he teased, but the set up had me expecting a different dynamic between the brothers than what I actually saw in the story.  I enjoyed the hints at Jonas’ depth. I feel like the author did the most work developing his character over the course of the book. Perhaps trying to tell two romances simultaneously didn’t leave the page space to go as deep into the individual character development as I was craving.

Fans of the series will want to pick this up to see the latest story in the series after The Amish Cookie Club and An Amish Cookie Club Christmas (♥♥♥♥½). In addition to the romance, there are some fun, satisfying pieces here about the development of Edna’s business that I enjoyed, too.

Rating: ♥♥♥*

*♥♥♥ = Good/solid/fine

REVIEW: A Sweet Mess by Jayci Lee

REVIEW: A Sweet Mess by Jayci Lee

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received an electronic review copy of this from Netgalley and St. Martin’s Griffin in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

Summary

Comfort Zone, Aubrey’s bakery, is her life. It’s popular with the locals and with out-of-towners who stop in on their way somewhere else or place orders. In fact, the shop is doing well enough that Aubrey is planning an expansion and a move to a new location.

Landon was only in town because of a blown tire. He had been travelling to do a restaurant review before leaving the country for a month for work. Now he has no review, and he’s in this tiny town for the night. He essentially does two things during his short stay – hook up with Aubrey after a couple drinks in her friend’s bar and buy a chocolate cake from a local bakery.

Instead of getting Aubrey’s shop special chocolate cake, her teen sales girl sold Landon a specialty cake for a kid’s birthday party. Landon was NOT a fan. He never met the baker, but he needed a replacement review. He felt he had a duty to warn customers, so he blazed the baker and Comfort Zone. And Aubrey’s business dried up.

Landon doesn’t find out about the cake mix up until it is too late to change anything. Out of guilt and a sense of responsibility, he invites Aubrey to be a guest on a cooking show he’s producing.

No one can know about their personal connection. They’re both professionals. They can keep their distance. But Landon will have to be on set for his job. And they are sharing a villa during the taping.  And their connection is electric whenever they get close to one another. How will this ever work?

Review

This was great! I loved the characters in this. Their predicament was intriguing. Their chemistry was fierce. There’s terrific back-and-forth, will-they-or-won’t-they tension for ages. And I loved the resolution.

Fans of Hallmark movies should check this out. While there’s more heat here than you will find in a Hallmark movie, the layout of the story will feel familiar. It follows similar beats. The fall-apart moment near the end is just what you would expect if you’ve watched as many Hallmark movies as I have. But the characters and the resolution help this stand out from the crowd. I loved how this one wrapped up.

The food descriptions in the book will leave your mouth watering. There’s only one recipe in the book, which is a shame for those who like to try new recipes. Everything in this sounded amazing.

Don’t miss this yummy contemporary romance with excellent characters. The setting is great; the family and friends we get to meet are fantastic as well. I loved the strong women in this book! Be sure to check it out. (Language, sex)

Rating: ♥♥♥♥½