Tag: chocolate

BONUS REVIEW: The Candy Mafia by Lavie Tidhar

BONUS REVIEW: The Candy Mafia by Lavie Tidhar

Posted on by Jaymie

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

Summary

It’s been 3 years since Mayor Thornton banned chocolate and sweets from the town. Three years since the Farnsworth Chocolate Factory closed and the owner disappeared.

Nelle Faulkner is a private detective on summer break. Eddie deMenthe is her latest client, a candy bootlegger looking for someone who can find things. Precious things. Stolen things.

But Nelle’s case only gets more complicated. Someone breaks into her office. The police come to her house. And Eddie goes missing. Something in the secret chocolate trade is rotten. Something beyond just smuggling.

Review

This was fun. The premise was interesting – the candy ban, kids as smugglers. And then the larger secrets and motives that Nelle discovers as she investigates.

I liked Nelle and the other kids she ends up working with. The focus of the book was more on the action than character development. I would have enjoyed more on the characters. There were hints at the toll of the smuggling scheme on the kids; I would have loved to see that explored a lot more. I found that piece fascinating.

The mystery had a few twists – some I predicted and others that surprised me. I think kids will enjoy this story . Mystery fans will get a kick out of trying to solve the case before Nelle.

Like Nelle, I wanted more in the end, but overall the story is fun, and the solution is solid. This could be a fun read-aloud selection or good for use in a book club.

Rating: ♥♥♥½*

*♥♥♥½=Good+

REVIEW: Marshmallow Malice by Amanda Flower

REVIEW: Marshmallow Malice by Amanda Flower

Posted on by Jaymie

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

Summary

Juliet and the Reverend are getting married. Bailey and Aiden – as well as Jethro the pig – are their attendants. The whole community has turned out for the event, both the Amish and the “English.” Bailey’s biggest concern is the wedding cake – a four-tier cake with marshmallow frosting and pink fondant polka-dots. Ohio temperatures in July are not friendly for the decorations.

The real wrinkle in the day, though comes from the woman who stormed in during the middle of the wedding to create a scene for Reverend Brook. But no one could have anticipated that.

It was even less expected when Bailey later found the woman dead.

What was the woman’s connection to Reverend Brook? Why did she crash his wedding and call him a “traitor?” Who was the man Bailey saw her with after the wedding? Could the Reverend have been the one to kill her?

Review

This was great. The mystery was excellent! The pacing was perfect, as was the solution. I was caught completely off guard in the end. I loved that.

The ongoing character development pieces were interesting. I was pretty frustrated with Juliet and Jethro the pig early on. That pig is a menace! And there’s an interesting wrinkle in Aiden and Bailey’s relationship in this book. Bailey shows remarkable restraint in the face of rude condescension and manipulation. There are also developments in Juliet and the Reverend’s relationship in addition to the wedding. On top of all that is the lead up to Bailey’s new TV show (which hasn’t launched yet by the end of the book). The only thing that would have made me happier with this is to get some resolution with the nasty pretzel shop owners. Maybe that is coming in a book soon.

Fans of the Amish Candy Shop Mystery series should not miss this one. The mystery is top notch, and series regulars are in top form. I am also impressed by how well the author incorporated faith pieces into this so naturally. This is not published by a Christian publisher, but the faith pieces in this are supremely well done. I have read Christian novels that haven’t done as nice of a job.

It looks like Amanda Flower has three more books releasing this year – Mums and Mayhem, the next book in her Magic Garden series, releases in August. Its release date was pushed back due to the pandemic. Dead-End Detective, a new mystery from Hallmark Publishing, releases in August as well. Finally, Courting Can Be Killer, the second book in the Amish Matchmaker Mystery series releases in November. The author is even launching another new series in 2021 with the book Farm to Trouble, a Farm to Table Mystery. Flower fans have a lot to look forward to!

Rating: ♥♥♥♥½

REVIEW: Chocolate à la Murder by Kirsten Weiss

REVIEW: Chocolate à la Murder by Kirsten Weiss

Posted on by Jaymie

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

Summary

Wine and Chocolate Days are in full swing, even at Maddie Kosloski’s Paranormal Museum. She has a haunted molinillo for Mexican hot chocolate on display. And she also has a fortune teller coming in to do hot chocolate readings. Local chocolatiers are also providing chocolates for Maddie to sell.

That’s why she was at their shop, Reign, that day. Her delivery was late, so she walked down to pick it up. Finding one of the business partners dead in a pool of melted chocolate was enough to put Maddie off the sweet for years to come.

Maddie’s natural curiosity and local connections means she falls easily back into investigating the crime, but like before, her questions might put her in danger of being the next victim.

Review

This is the fourth Paranormal Museum mystery in the series, but the first book I have read in the line. The overall mystery was pretty typical of the cozy genre. The paranormal pieces for the series aren’t a great fit for me as a reader. The tarot cards and ouija board and such are a step too far for me which led me to rate this lower than I would have otherwise. It’s a matter of personal preference rather than quality of the book.

The characters in the series are interesting. I didn’t get a great feel for Maddie’s best friends. Harper didn’t get a lot of page time, and Adele’s wedding planning woes made her come off a little shrill. I didn’t like her. Maybe if I read other books in this series, I’d have a better feel for her.

In this book, Maddie seems out of step with everyone. This may be something that has been building through the series, and it’s headed toward resolution. But Maddie’s investigations put her at odds with everyone in this book – the cop boyfriend, her mom, her best friends, etc. But investigations seem like one of the few places in her life where Maddie is pretty direct. In her relationships, she sometimes lets stronger personalities bulldoze over her. And in other relationships, she hides from direct questions and conversations. I enjoyed trying to puzzle out this piece of her personality. If not for the occultish elements, I’d read more of these to see how those personality elements play out.

If you enjoy more of the paranormal elements than I do, by all means, check out this series. The mystery was solid and the characters have some intriguing dynamics to dig into!

Rating: ♥♥♥

REVIEW: Criminal Confections by Colette London

REVIEW: Criminal Confections by Colette London

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

Hayden Mundy Moore has been spending a lot of time at Lemaître Chocolates in her role as a consultant. Her work is supposed to be hush-hush. No one wants to admit they need her expertise. So when Christian Lemaître invites Hayden to the resort spa for a chocolatier’s retreat, she goes under the guise of building her business while she wraps up her report and recommendations for Lemaître.

When Hayden’s friend, Adrienne, dies at the retreat, everyone thinks it’s from an accidental overdose. Adrienne was under a lot of pressure at Lemaître. But when someone attacks Hayden when she surprises them during a rifling of her hotel room, Hayden starts to think there’s something more going on at Lemaître.

Corporate takeovers, romantic liaisons, company secrets, and business competitions are plentiful in the local chocolate scene. Is Hayden connected enough to figure out how and why Adrienne died? Or will she become another victim?

Review

This was a solid mystery with some quirky elements. The characters are the source of the quirk. At the start, I wasn’t sure I could read a whole book in Hayden’s voice. She has a unique style and early on her use of repeated metaphors was tiring. But as the story moved on, I got used to Hayden’s style and even got to like her. Her relationship with her “plus-one/bodyguard” and her financial adviser are odd. There are frequent references to history with both that go largely unexplained in this book. I started to wonder if I missed a book in the series.

The mystery was good. The suspects all had their own secrets, agendas, and quirks which made it hard to pin down a lead suspect. I only figured things out a few chapters before Hayden (who actually didn’t put it together even when she was face-to-face with the culprit.).

I’m curious enough to try book 2 in this series. The chocolate theme was fun; that’s what prompted me to try this in the first place. I’m hoping book two will fill in the gaps on a couple of the characters and solidify a strong connection with Hayden.

Rating: ♥♥♥♥

REVIEW: Lethal Licorice AND Premeditated Peppermint by Amanda Flower

REVIEW: Lethal Licorice AND Premeditated Peppermint by Amanda Flower

Posted on by Jaymie

Lethal Licorice – Summary

Weeks after the death of her grandfather, Bailey King is representing him in the Amish Confectionery Competition in their home town of Harvest, Ohio. She’ll be competing with her licorice, taffy, peanut brittle, and fudge. Bailey is hoping to win the fudge contest at least, since chocolate is her forté, but winning the whole contest would be excellent PR for their candy shop, Swissmen Sweets.

Several of the Amish contestants are unhappy that Bailey is in the contest. She isn’t Amish, even though she is following all the same cooking rules as the other contestants. No one is as bitter about Bailey’s entry in the contest as Josephine Weaver. So when Josephine turns up dead, Bailey is a murder suspect again.

But she’s not the only suspect. Josephine’s niece is pushing against the rules of her strict Amish district. She and Josephine may have had words. And then there’s the matter of Josephine’s candy shop – who will inherit her successful business and prime location? And what about her antagonistic shop neighbor? Bailey is determined to dig through the motives of these other suspects, find the real culprit, and clear her name.

Lethal Licorice – Review

This was a great second mystery in this series. You can read my review of book one here. I am enjoying the Amish/English differences and the conflict that arises from them. Bailey and her grandmother are great characters, although the young Amish women around them – Emily, and now Charlotte, are my favorite characters.

The mystery was great. I was guessing all the way to the end. But honestly, I was just as interested in the ins and outs of the Amish community in the story as I was in figuring out the murderer. My only complaint in the whole novel was about the poor lost pig. At one point, Bailey gets a clue about the location of the missing pig – more than 24 hours after he disappeared – but she doesn’t call someone while she deals with murder stuff, or go on her own to check out the clue. While it all works itself out in the end, it was a jarring delay considering the animal was likely without food or water while missing.

Overall, I am loving this series!

Rating: ♥♥♥♥½

 

Premeditated Peppermint – Summary

It’s Christmas in Harvest, Ohio, and Bailey King and her grandmother are preparing an assortment of peppermint treats for the Christmas Market to showcase their store, Swissmen Sweets. The plans for the event are all in place – the live nativity, the parade, and the Amish businesses selling their wares. What is NOT in the plan is Bailey’s New York ex, Eric Sharp, coming to town.

Eric has convinced his television crew to come to Ohio and film an Amish Christmas – including Amish candies from Swissmen Sweets and a romantic reconciliation with Bailey. The fact that Bailey doesn’t want anything to do with Eric’s plan doesn’t seem to be getting through to anyone. But when the show’s executive producer is found murdered, Eric needs Bailey for more than his TV show. He needs her to find the killer before he’s arrested for a crime he didn’t commit.

Premeditated Peppermint – Review

This is such a fun series! The mix of English and Amish characters, many with strong personalities, makes for great interactions. The only down side is the way those strong personalities tend to bulldoze right over Bailey much of the time. Her best friend, Cass, is one of my favorite characters because she puts herself between Bailey and those other characters. Of course, she can be just as guilty of pushing Bailey into all sorts of crazy scenarios. But because she is protective most of the time, her meddling isn’t as frustrating. I would like to see Bailey stand up for herself a little more as the series goes on.

The mystery in this book was solid. There were dueling motives for the murder, and Bailey tackled both with some great sleuthing. There are some interesting developments for the overarching story of the series in this book, too. I’m eager to see where those developments lead for book four – Toxic Toffee – out in the spring of 2019.

Rating: ♥♥♥♥

REVIEW: Fudge and Jury by Ellie Alexander

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

Jules and the gang at Torte are showcase vendors for the Chocolate Festival. And while they are preparing for the event, they are also renovating Torte, installing a new inventory/payment system, and considering an expansion into the property below their store. It’s a LOT for Jules to juggle! But when a fellow festival vendor has an allergic reaction and dies at her booth, Jules will make time to find a killer!

Review

The Bakeshop Mystery series is one of my favorite cozy series right now! I love the relationships with the Torte family. The setting is interesting – and their offerings sound delicious! I never need time to warm up to the story or the characters in these books. It comes immediately and naturally.

The mystery in this one was great. The chocolate festival was a fantastic setting, allowing new players to be introduced – and adding lots of yummy food discussions. I felt a little unsettled at the end of the mystery (this is the reason I didn’t give this a 5 star review) – I kept waiting for a new layer to the solution, but it never came. A couple of the other possible culprits still seemed sketchy to me at the end so I wasn’t 100% on board with the solution. I wanted a bigger, more detailed confession, maybe, but the author went a different way. Maybe it will come back in a future book.

One of the things I love with this series is how the author includes ongoing things with the characters and the business. She does an excellent job of keeping those pieces balanced with the larger story of the mystery for each book. I am already looking forward to book 6, A Crime of Passion Fruit (releasing this summer )

Rating: ♥♥♥♥½

REVIEW: Behind Chocolate Bars by Kathy Aarons

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

A yummy chocolate truffle mystery! Michelle and Erica start sleuthing again when one of Erica’s comic book club teens is accused of murder. Faith or Faelynn or whatever name she went by was all bad news, but there’s no way this kid killed her. Michelle and Erica are determined to track down the truth – but they have their hands full. There’s a Halloween Festival, things going on in their personal lives, and a whole lot of suspects!

Behind Chocolate Bars by Kathy Aarons

Review

I read a mystery not long ago that was fine but flat. There was no spark. No zing. This  book definitely has zing! The setting – a chocolate and books shop – is different and fun. The characters are a believable team. Even the non-mystery portions of the story with family members and boyfriends are completely engaging. I love reading a book that doesn’t take any work to enjoy.

There are a lot of series regulars to keep track of in this book. Add to it the murder suspects. Readers will need to stay focused to keep track of everyone. The mystery was intricate and therefore satisfying. I figured things out a few pages before the main character. I love when I can puzzle it out.

Finally, this series makes me start to fantasize about trips to our local chocolate shop. They don’t get as creative and fancy as the book does, but it doesn’t matter if the treats are exactly the same. You will definitely be craving chocolate by the time you are done reading!

Rating: ♥♥♥♥