Wednesday, May 5, 2021

For Batter or Worse - Cozy Mystery Review

Goodreads:  For Batter or Worse (A Cupcake Bakery Mystery #13) by Jenn McKinlay

Rating: Liked It
Source: Publisher

Description:  Life is sweet and business is booming at the Fairy Tale Cupcakes bakery--and the fact that Mel and Joe are getting married is the icing on the cake. Their reception will be held at the swanky resort where Oz works as the pastry chef. The wedding planning is all fun-fetti and games until Mel and Joe meet the head chef at the resort who has been making Oz's life miserable. When the eccentric chef insults Mel's bakery, Oz gets into a blowout argument with the culinary prima donna.

Things turn extra sour when the chef is murdered, and Oz is the police's main suspect. As the countdown to the wedding day begins, Mel, Joe, and the rest of the Fairy Tale Cupcake crew must sift through clues to catch the real killer and clear Oz's name before their wedding plans are totally battered and baked.

Genre: Mystery - Cozy

Why I Picked This Book:  I enjoy this series and McKinlay is one of my favorite cozy mystery authors.

My Impression:  This was a fun quick read with discussions about cupcakes, weddings, and murder. What's not to like?  Mel and Angie have come a long way since Fairy Tale Cupcakes first opened both personally and professionally.  In this book there's a mix of both as Mel and Joe's wedding is coming up up quickly and former employee Oz gets himself suspected of murder.  And of course, luck with have it that Mel just happens to be on the scene.  

I enjoyed the flow of this book quite a bit.  It's fast paced with characters I enjoy spending time with and a mystery that surprised me a bit.  Mel and Angie aren't as hands on in the bakery as they used to be but I like that that issue is addressed and they even got a bit nostalgic.  I loved seeing the DeLaura brothers en masse as any time that happens there are sure to be hijinks and laughs.  

I don't feel this series in general is quite as strong as her Library Lover's mystery series but this was one that I especially enjoyed.  It was a nice bit of escapism with a wonderful ending.  I'm looking forward to what happens next in the lives of all these characters (and seeing what trouble they get into!).  

Would I Read More of this Series/Author?  Absolutely!  This series and the Library Lover's series are auto-buys for me.

Would I Recommend this Book?  If you enjoy cozy mysteries this series and this author are must tries!

* I received this book in exchange for an honest review.  As always my opinions and impressions are completely my own. *

7 comments:

  1. I have listened to the first few books in this series. I really need to get back to it. This sounds like a fun one!

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  2. Like the cover and the pun on the words.

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  3. I like this author's books in another series. This one looks good too.

    Anne - Books of My Heart

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  4. Okay! This sounds like fun. Cupcakes and murder. Just my cup of tea. There isn't perhaps a cat in there as well?

    Will take a look at the series. I am starting to rock this Cozy genre thing!

    Elza Reads

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  5. Thanks for sharing - it does sound fun!

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  6. Looks yummy! While in the library today I noticed one of Jenn McKinlay's books - Library Lovers but decided to leave it for now because too many other books yet to read but one for the future.

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  7. I have been in the mood for mysteries again so I checked out hardcovers of two K-9 mysteries - Timber Creek K-9 & Mercy Carr. I finished the Timber Creek one in about five hours yesterday. Made me very happy.

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