Honey Roasted by Cleo Coyle

bk 19 in the Coffeehouse Mystery Series

While struggling to find a romantic (and affordable) destination for her upcoming honeymoon, coffeehouse manager Clare Cosi whips up a honey of a drink made from honey-processed coffee. Clare plans to serve her outstanding new Honey-Cinnamon Latte at her spring wedding to her longtime honey, NYPD detective Mike Quinn. The culinary world is also abuzz about the amazing honey that Clare was lucky enough to source for her shop’s new latte. Produced by Madame’s old friend “Queen” Bea Hastings, the rare, prize-winning nectar from Bea’s rooftop hives commands a premium price, and top chefs compete for a chance to use it in their signature seasonal dishes.

One night, a swarm of escaped bees blanket the Village Blend’s chimney, and Clare discovers Bea’s unconscious body after she seemingly fell from her high-rise rooftop-hive setup. The police want to rule it as a tragic accident or possible attempted suicide, but Clare does not believe either theory. Like Madame, she knows this Queen would never abandon her hive. To sort out this mystery, Clare investigates a world of cutthroat chefs, culinary start-ups, and competitive urban beekeepers. But can she uncover the truth without getting stung?

Review

I havent read any other books in this series, but didn’t have any problems following along.. and in fact LOVED it so much that now have to figure out how im going to get my hands on the other 18 books..
I also love the recipes included and have every intention of making them.. I think im going to start with the blondies..

Our mystery starts when Claire is showing her employess some new coffee flavors that she has come up with, and a giant swarm of bees appears in the coffee shop. They end up calling the NYPDs bee keeping unit, (who knew that was a thing?) who comes and takes the bees somewhere where they can be safe in the middle of winter in New York.. When Claire realizes who the bees probably belongs to, she wants to go check on her, and ends up finding her unconsious and her green house completely torn up.. While the police think it was an attempted suicide, Claire knows that isn’t right and decides to invesigate with the help of her ex-husband and his mother.. whom everyone calls Madame.. (can that be my nickname?)

I thought the mystery was quite good, there are lots of twists and turns that keep you wondering which one of the suspects are the true culprit, and in the end I was surprised by who it turned out to be. I also thought that the romance/tension between Mike and Claire was evenly balanced with the mystery portion of the story.. The ending had a whole lot of action, and kept me on the edge of my seat waiting to see what was going to happen next!

I really enjoyed everything about this book, and can’t wait to read more in this series, and by this author!!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All opinions are my own

*Arc Review* Murder at the Beacon Bakeshop by Darci Hannah

releases Feb 23 2021

Synopsis

In the first of a new series, after Lindsey Bakeswell catches her celebrity chef fianc� sizzling in the arms of another woman, Lindsey leaves big city Wall Street for small town Beacon Harbor, Michigan to pursue her own passion as a pastry baker–and gets mixed up in someone’s sweet taste of revenge…

More interested in kneading dough than adding it up, Lindsey’s breakup inspired her to set up the shop she always wanted in a place that always made her happy. She’d spent many childhood summers near this beach community and converting the old run-down lighthouse into a bakery caf� and home offers a perfect fresh start for Lindsey and her devoted Newfoundland dog, Wellington.

But not everyone in town has a sweet tooth. The preservation society won’t have the lighthouse’s history sugar coated by lattes and cakes–and a protest group crashes Lindsey’s Memorial Day opening. Then her ex-fianc� Jeffrey Plank and his girlfriend Mia Wong arrive to trash the place. In the ensuing chaos Mia chokes on a donut and dies.

An autopsy reveals cyanide in Mia’s bloodstream and Lindsey is the police’s prime suspect. To clear her name, she’s going to need to combine ingredients found in the town’s checkered past to uncover the identity of a desperate killer…

My Review:

This the first book I have read by Darci Hannah, and it won’t be my last. I absolutely Loved this cozy mystery, So first thing.. this book takes place in Michigan which is where I live, I love reading books set in Michigan and recognizing all the places in the book. The setting of Beacon was great, and after some googling I have found its a real town in Michigan.. So now Im going to have to go and visit..
Lindsey is a great character, after she caught her fiance cheating she decided to move on with her life and open her own Bakery.. When she arrives at the lighthouse in Beacon that she has bought for the bakery and her home, she realizes she may have slightly been bamboozled as it definitely doesn’t look like it did in the pictures online. It also may have a resident ghost of the lighthouse keeper.. However she is determined and sets about fixing it up..

She meets her new hunky neighbor when her puppy goes for a visit and eats all of the fish he caught.. They had some instant chemistry..
One opening day things get way out of hand when her ex-fiances current girlfriend shows up to ruin Lindseys big day, the town busy body is boycotting the bakery.. and someone ends up dying.. and of course since this is a cozy mystery Lindsey ends up being suspect numero uno.. Now since her bakery is closed down as its a crime sceen, Lindsey her neighbor, and her friend Kennedy start investigating on their own..

I really loved this book,I didn’t want to put it down. I had absolutely no idea who the killer was until it was revealed.. I didn’t suspect this person at all.. This was a great first book in a series, and I will definitely be continuing on with this series.
Also did I forget to mention that there are recipes for donuts at the end of the book? I am so going to try to make them, as the donuts in the story all sound amazing..

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All opinions are my own

*ARC Review* Furbidden Fatality by Deborah Blake

releases Feb 23 2021

Synopsis

A lottery winner uses her good fortune to save a local pet sanctuary, but when a body is discovered on the property, she just might be in the doghouse in this first book in a new, charming cozy mystery series from author Deborah Blake.

Kari Stuart’s life is going nowhere—until she unexpectedly wins the lottery. The twenty-nine-year-old instant multimillionaire is still mulling plans for her winnings when rescuing a bossy black kitten leads her to a semi-abandoned animal shelter. They need the cash—Kari needs a purpose.

But the dilapidated rescue is literally going to the dogs with a pending lawsuit, hard to adopt animals, and too much unwanted attention from the town’s dog warden. When the warden turns up dead outside the shelter’s dog kennels, Kari finds herself up a creek without a pooper-scooper.

With the help of some dedicated volunteers, a cute vet, and a kitten who mysteriously shows up just when she needs it, Kari must prove her innocence all while trying to save a dog on death row. Now she just needs to hope that her string of unexpected luck isn’t about to run out.

My Review:

The first thing I noticed about this book was the adorable cover, then when I read the synopsis I knew I had to request it.. A story about a girl who wins the lottery, and thanks to a stray kitten ends up buying a run down animal shelter.. I mean thats is like my dream if I ever won the lottery.

Of course I wouln’t want to deal with all of the other things that Kara Stuart has had to deal with..A dog warden who wants to take away one of the residents a wonderful dog named Buster, a dead guy on her property, turns out its the same guy she argued with the day before so of course she ends up as suspect number 1.Thank goodness he was not a great guy and lots and lots of people had motive to want him dead.. People vandilizing her shelter not once but multiple times.. a couple cops that don’t seem to want to help, and all this while she is trying to do her best to open up the shelter..
Thank goodness for her friend Suz and the other women that are voluntering and working at the shelter. They are all helping her look for other suspects, and figure out what on earth is going on in this town.

It was easy to fall in love with the characters and all of the animals in the story.. it had a great mystery that I ended up having no idea who the killer was until the end when it was revealed..

I absolutley loved this book, and will definitely be reading more of this series when its released.