The Cakes of Monte Cristo:A Piece of Cake Mystery #6- Jacklyn Brady

 

In the fresh new Piece of Cake Mystery from the national bestselling author of Rebel Without a Cake, a pastry chef becomes embroiled in a suspicious death as a mysterious curse casts a pall over an annual New Orleans ball.

Rita Lucero, co-owner of New Orleans’s Zydeco Cakes, is thrilled to be catering an annual ball held at the Monte Cristo Hotel. Designing the high-end desserts is her priority—until she stumbles upon a mystery long-buried at her shop. It’s an ornate ruby necklace, hidden underneath her staircase and rumored to be cursed.

After the gem’s appraiser suddenly drops dead and Rita herself is targeted by a menacing stranger, she’s no longer laughing at local superstition. Now with five cakes on order and an investigation into the necklace’s past revealing layers of unsettling clues, Rita has reason to keep looking over her shoulder while she’s frosting. Because any way you slice it, the next victim of the legendary curse could be her.

My Take:

I love this series. It is so much fun. Plus the recipes are divine. I hope there are a lot more books to come. 

Booked for Trouble:Lighthouse Library Mystery #2-Eva Gates

 

The author of By Book or By Crook returns to the Outer Banks and the Lighthouse Library, where Lucy Richardson must shed light on a shocking murder…

Lucy has finally found her bliss as a librarian and resident of the Bodie Island Lighthouse. She loves walking on the beach, passing her evenings with the local book club, bonding with the library cat, Charles, and enjoying the attention of not one, but TWO eligible men. But then her socialite mother, Suzanne, unexpectedly drops in, determined to move Lucy back to Boston—and reunite her with her ex-fiancé.

To make matters worse, Suzanne picks a very public fight at the local hotel with her former classmate Karen Kivas. So, when Karen turns up dead outside the library the next morning, Suzanne is immediately at the top of the suspect list. Now Lucy must hunt down a dangerous killer—before the authorities throw the book at her poor mother…

My Take: 

This book was a lot of fun. I think that this series has the chops to go a very long way. The characters are fantastic and the mystery is top notch.  

Dragon Soul:Black Dragons #3-Katie MacAllister

 

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Katie MacAlister continues her riotously funny and super steamy paranormal series with DRAGON SOUL. A foe to all of dragonkind, an alchemist known as the Dragon Breaker is about to undergo the transformation of a lifetime. But his love for a beautiful woman may change him even more . . . More in this series:
DRAGON FALL
DRAGON STORM

My Take:

I loved everything about this book. How can you do wrong with Dragons. The characters were engaging and the story was wonderful. 

The Study of Seduction: Sinful Suitors #2-Sabrina Jeffries

 

A marriage of convenience ignites into a passionate love affair in the hotly anticipated second novel in New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Sabrina Jeffries’s addictive Sinful Suitors series!

When Edwin Barlow, the Earl of Blakeborough, agrees to help his best friend’s impetuous ward, Lady Clarissa Lindsey, in her time of need, he knows he’s in for trouble. He’s been hunting for someone to wed, and she’ll just get in the way. Although captivated by the whip-smart, free-spirited beauty, he fears she’d be all wrong as a wife ... if she would even take such a gruff cynic for her husband. Too bad he wants nothing more than to have her for his own.

Clarissa has no intention of marrying anyone—not Edwin, whom she’s sure would be an overbearing husband, and certainly not the powerful French diplomat stalking her. But when matters escalate with the diplomat, she chooses Edwin’s gallant offer of a marriage between friends in hopes that it will deter her stalker. She expects nothing more than an amiable union, but their increasingly tempestuous kisses prove more than she bargained for. When her stalker’s vow to expose the lovers’ deepest secrets threatens to destroy their blossoming attraction, will their tenuous bond withstand public ruin, or will Edwin lose all that’s important to him to protect his bride?

My Take:

I cannot get enough of books from Sabrina Jeffries. Each time I read one I feel like I'm be taken back in time. I love the characters and the romance is fantastic. I hope to see many more Sinful Suitors. 

For Cheddar or Worse: A Cheese Shop Mystery #7-Avery Aames

 

In the new Cheese Shop Mystery from the Agatha Award-winning author of As Gouda as Dead , an extra-sharp tongued cheese critic is cut down during a summer cheese festival.

It’s time for the annual Cheese Festival in Providence, Ohio, and Charlotte Bessette’s cheese shop is packed with homemade specialties. Meanwhile, her friend Erin is prepping her dairy farm and inn for cheese makers, marketers, journalists, and one surprise guest—Lara Berry, pretentious cheese whiz, pompous bestselling author, and pungent critic whose extra sharp tongue can crumble a reputation.

Even though any love for Lara by her friends curdled long ago, Charlotte is surprised when the foodie is smothered to death in her room at Erin’s inn. Accusations start flying, but the one laying blame on Erin strikes Charlotte as a crock. Now, to clear her friend’s name, Charlotte has to sift through Lara’s ex-lovers, former business partners, and unforgiving enemies to find a killer before Lara’s past casts a tainted pall on the festival’s future.

RECIPES INCLUDED

My Take:

I admit it, I cried at the end of this book. I am so sad that this is the last book in this series. Avery Aames aka Daryl Wood Gerber is such a great writer and this series has been a favorite of mine. I am very sad to Charlotte go. As always, Charlotte and co. get pulled into another murder to solve. This one surprised me in the best way possible. The killer was someone that I least expected and that is what I love about this type of book. Plus, the ending was PERFECTION. I hope to read many more books to come from this wonderful author. 

To Brew or Not to Brew: Brewing Trouble #1-Joyce Tremel

 

An all-new mystery series set in a Pittsburgh craft brew pub, featuring a brewmaster with a head for sleuthing.

The Allegheny Brew House is a dream come true for Maxine “Max” O’Hara, who went all the way to Germany for her brewmaster certification, and is now preparing to open her own craft brew pub in a newly revitalized section of Pittsburgh. But before she can start pouring stouts and lagers to thirsty throngs, there’s trouble on tap. Suspicious acts of sabotage culminate in Max finding her assistant brewmaster and chef Kurt Schmidt strangled in one of the vats.

Between rescuing a stray gray tabby she names Hops and considering a handsome ex-hockey player as her new chef, Max doesn’t have a lot of time to solve a murder. But with a homicide detective for a dad, she comes to criminal investigation naturally. And if someone is desperate enough to kill to stop her from opening, Max needs to act fast—before her brand-new brew biz totally tanks...

INCLUDES RECIPES

It is rare that I find a new author with a brand new series that I love so much. This book was amazing. I was hooked from the beginning to the end. Now part of this may because of my love of Pittsburgh, I admit, but I believe that this book is the beginning of a lot of great things to come. The characters were engaging and the story was perfect. I thought that I knew who the bad guy/girl was and I was wrong. That is something that I love about a cozy mystery. Keep it up. I hope there are many, many more tales to come.