A.R. Winters

Light hearted cozy mystery. I liked this one, there's been a few hit and misses the last few books but this was good. I love Ian and Nanna. The banter between them all is hilarious. The mystery was interesting but predictable. Enjoyable read.

Typical cozy mystery. In some ways I liked this better than the author's Tiffany Black mysteries, in others less. I liked that the heroine was less ditzy, but she didn't have the amusing supporting cast Tiffany has. That said, I did like Jerry. The mystery was predictable but enjoyable. Easy, lighthearted read. 2 stars.

Thank you to Booksprout for providing this ARC.

I had a big problem with this one. I usually find cozy mysteries charming, but this one just had so much going on.

Seems like a spoof or a common cozy mystery. Everything is over described, all the tropes and common themes are hit, and and everyone is overly excited that our MC is taking on a murder case.

Seriously, you've got a girl running a cafe (though she can't cook), a knitting crew helping her solve murders, and the classic two boyfiends show more (one is a cop of course). There is an obvious favorite boyfriend, too. I don't know about in the other books, but in this one, she really only spent time with one with just brief nods to the other, and everyone was telling her to break up with that one she barely saw.

Also, I am really confused by the whole coffee shop/diner/bakery thing going on. I will admit this is the first in the series I've read so maybe it is explained more in another book, but where is everything? The grill is in front with the staff and the kitchen/bakery is in the back? But then Jonathan is supposed to switch from the grill to the bakery?

Also the cat roaming around in the food/front of house area is a huge violation.

And if this lady can't cook, why is she wasting all her time and money to make food she knows is just going to be tossed? Like she tried to make a whole breakfast bake that was thrown out. How does she have money to do this? And is she paying her staff overtime because of her regularly bailing to solve crimes? Surely her place is making absolutely no money.

All-in-all, this book had potential, but there was just so much going on, and so little actually explained, that it was hard to follow. The actual murder mystery was good, and I like how all of that went, but the personal life was too in depth and not explained enough at the same time. show less

This was another delightful cozy from Ms. Winters. I usually don't read books with witches etc. but this is my year for cozies so I decided to try them. I'm really glad I did. This is very funny and so far the magic is tame so I'm enjoying it. Really like Aria, the main character, and her bridal shop. I like her familiar too..Kiwi's a parrot and can be really snarky! Love it! This time there was an exclusive designer sale scheduled for the shop but a bride winds up dead before the sale could show more start. Aria and her sidekick have to solve the murder to save the shop and the sale (along with the designer). It's quite a ride!! And the ending is totally unexpected! Good job Ms. Winters!
I received a free copy of this book and voluntarily chose to review it. show less