A Batter of Life and Death (A Bakeshop Mystery, #2) 4.5 STARS
I am so invested in the cast of this series and its only book two.
Community, sweets, family, friendship, reality tv, and murder.
Picture your favorite Hallmark Movie meets The Great British Bake Off but with Murder.
I must warn you… this is a highly addictive and binge worthy series. Be prepared to clear your calendar.
I had the audio version of this book… moving on to book 3!!
Meet Your Baker (A Bakeshop Mystery, #1) 5 STARS
I have had this series on my TBR list for quite some time. Not sure why it took me so long to dive into the Bakeshop series, but now that I am here, I don’t want to leave. When you read book one and immediately decide you are going to binge the entire series, you know you have found something special. Setting and characters mean everything to me. Ashland sounds like the perfect atmosphere. While reading this book, it felt more like visiting with friends rather than reading a book about random characters. I got so wrapped up in the people that I forgot there was a murder to solve.
I have already moved on to book two and I cannot wait to binge this series. Ellie Alexander totally rocked this kick off to her cozy series.
I had the audio version of this book and it was fabulous.
The Diva Spices It Up (A Domestic Diva Mystery, #13) 5-STARS
I have no idea how this phenomenal series continues to get better, but Krista Davis makes it happen. I had binge read this series, books 1-11, and reading each new installment makes me feel like I am reuniting with old friends. I cannot say enough about the core characters of this series. Not only are they extremely well developed but you actually feel like you are a part of their world.
In this installment of the series, Sophie is ready for some R&R until Mars has her hired out as a ghost writer for a cookbook for one of his clients’ wives. In need of a major bathroom renovation, Sophie takes on the job. How hard can it be to write recipes?? This should be a breeze until people around this group begin going missing and dead bodies start popping up. There seems to be many with secrets, the question is, who is willing to kill to keep them buried?
I can never get enough of these books. Once I start them, I devour them, then I am devastated that I have to wait another year for the next one. I strive to be like Sophie in my daily life in the entertaining of family and friends. I adore her friends, Nina, Mars, Bernie, etc.
This is by far my favorite Cozy series and in my top 5 overall. I cannot sing the praises for these books any louder. I recommend them to anyone and everyone, cozy readers or not. If you have never tried audiobooks and don’t know if you would like them, this is the series to do it.
I have a digital copy from NetGalley of this book and the audible version. Hillary Huber, is as phenomenal of a narrator as Krista Davis is a writer.
And now we wait…….
Three Widows and a Corpse 4 STARS
Another great mystery set off by a great cast of characters.
This series begins with Hope Early leaving her magazine editing career, a not so sweet stint on a baking reality show, and a failed marriage, all behind to focus on her Food Blogging career. Little did she know, she was going to become an amateur murder sleuth.
The third installment of The Food Blogger Mysteries starts off with a bang, literally
While competing in the town’s annual scavenger hunt, Hope finds the body of shady real estate developer, Lionel Whitcomb, shot in a parking lot. Lionel had been in the news a lot lately, pending the trial for his unsavory business dealings. Finding him shot isn’t as shocking as the fact that are three women there, claiming to be a Mrs. Whitcomb.
With so many possible murder suspects on the list, despite hunky Chief Ethan asking Hope to please stay out of the case, she finds herself smack in the middle, again.
This installment had a lot of plot twists to throw you way off; however, I pretty much had this one pegged early on. I also enjoy that the recipes for the blog aren’t the only thing heating up for Hope.
I received an advanced digital copy of this novel from NetGalley. I also purchased the audio version of the previous two. The narrator, Callie Beaulieu, is amazing. I highly recommend both.
I also recommend, Murder Wears a Little Black Dress, book one in the Resale Boutique series, by Debra Sennefelder, that was released in January 2019. Book two, Silenced in Sequins, will be released January 7, 2020 and is available for preorder.
Room of Required Reading 