Jaine is laugh out loud normal, funny, and always dealing with the next disaster, all the while running into a murder in the course of her bizarre copyrighting gigs. I love the attitude she proclaims on her cat Prozac. ( )

I read about 25% of the book and it was a great read. The character voices her thoughts and it's damn funny to read things. However, I wish the story progressed a little faster. I lost interest after nothing major happened in the first quarter of the book so decided to drop it.

I still rate it 4/5 because I liked the writing style a lot. Maybe I'll try a different book by Laura Levine later on. ( )

It's almost Valentine's Day and the only date on Jaine's horizon appears to be her cat, Prozac. However things start looking up when she's asked to write a brochure for a dating agency, Dates of Joy. However Joy Amoroso is the latest thing from joy, instead she's a cruel woman that is intend on taking money from people and not finding them their true loves, as she promised. Jaine wants to write her brochure, earn her money and get as far away from her as she can. Unfortunately Joy also promises to set Jaine up with someone. However her intended date is the last person Jaine would want to date, a rich, old guy that seems obsessed with her cat. Jaine isn't surprised when Joy drops dead from a poisoned chocolate, as there seems to be a lot of people that wanted her dead - herself included. With Prozac's, her cat, help she will have to untangle this mystery before she ends up behind bars.

I've read all of the mysteries in this series, starting with This Pen For Hire. I like the zany antics of Jaine and her gay shoe-salesman neighbour, Lance, and her kooky parents that live in a retirement village in Florida, and have a addiction to buying unnecessary items on late night tv. Together they make for a fun mystery series and I've been hooked from the start.

I was thrilled to discover that Killing Cupid would be available as an audiobook as I've previously read all the books in this series and I wanted to experience Jaine in audio format. While the narrator, Brittany Pressley, wasn't the voice I had thought of in my mind, from reading the previous eleven novels, I quickly adapted and grew to enjoy her impressions of Jaine, Lance, Prozac and all the oddballs at the dating agency.

The mystery itself was fun. I love discovering that the murder victim wasn't well liked because there is always a great variety of murder suspects. In this case, there was a long line of disgruntled dating customers and even Joy's own Aunt, who she stole the business from. It was certainly difficult trying to figure out who the killer was.

Killing Cupid was another fun, zany instalment in the Jaine Austen mysteries. If you're looking for a mystery series with a lot of laughs, then I suggest trying out these mysteries. They are best read in order, so start with A Pen For Hire. For me, I'm now patiently waiting as I look forward to discovering what Jaine gets up to next and I'm hoping that there might be some romance in store for Jaine too! ( )

I'd read the first few books in this series years ago, when they were first published, but the series fell off my radar. A lot of my cozy book friends have been talking about how much they love Jaine Austen and her cat, Prozac and I've been meaning to pick up another of the books and get reacquainted.

Jaine is a freelance copy writer and is hired on to write profiles for an on-line dating service. The owner Joy, is less than scrupulous and ends up dead at a dating mixer. Jaine is considered one of the suspects so she goes about asking questions and trying to clear her name. Hilarious adventures follow.

While this is a very well-written book, with a solid mystery plot and laugh out loud humour, it didn't actually do it for me. When I read books I like to lose myself in the story, become attached to the characters; I like to feel like I'm a fly on the wall in this little world the author has created. Killing Cupid was absolutely entertaining, but it just wasn't my type of story.

Jaine is likeable, witty, and loaded with self-depracating humour. Her voice is the inner voice of smart-alecks everywhere. After 12 books she's still sworn off relationships, and none of the books I've read in the series include any romance for Jaine. Lance is her so-self-absorbed-it's-almost-endearing neighbour. He's constantly looking for love and always ready to jump into the next relationship.

But the star of the show is Prozac, Jaine's cat. He's got all the best lines in this book. The author plays up his Machiavellian antics and commentary (not real commentary, just what Jaine imagines him saying) for maximum laughs and succeeds.

Finally, while you never meet them, and they don't play any part in the mystery itself, Jaine's parents are main characters throughout the book, via he-said/she-said emails from their retirement community. Pure slapstick comedy, and probably the parts of the book I found the funniest.

The murder plot was nicely done. The murderer was never obvious and the suspects each had legitimate motives. Jaine only had one really TSTL moment that comes to mind, so not too bad for an amateur sleuth. I didn't figure out the murderer until Jaine did, and enjoyed being surprised by the end.

I'm a big believer in reading a series in order, from the beginning, but I was able to pick up this 12th book after years away from the series and jump right in, so I think it works just fine as a stand-alone for those that just want to give the series a try.

I'd recommend this book and series to any reader who is looking for very light-hearted, often slapstick humour with a well-plotted mystery. If you're looking to become invested in a series, this probably isn't the one to try, but if you're looking to be entertained by likeable characters, you're in for some laughs.

(I received this as an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.) ( )

I thought that, in the past, I had underestimated past books by otherwise favorite authors. I also thought that this book would turn out to be very enjoyable, even if the climax would be inferior. But the opposite happened. This book proves that I didn't underscore the underwhelming books in this series. I was dying to read Killing Cupid. The facts must be faced though. It's a weak effort by Laura Levine and it's clearly apparent she was just going through the motions. I'm glad she found a cash cow and I'm sad she no longer has her muse. I will keep on reading her future offerings. I dearly wish she has a good novel inside her. ( )