The Year of the Projects: Peach Pies and Alibis + Antiques to Die For

 I do love a good list.  It gives a nice sense of order and focus and I love making lists about the books I want to read.  Last year I focused just on series I was behind on.  The project went great and I caught up on a ton of series but I felt like I was neglecting other books on my shelf and books at my library.  This year I have a few lists going - Series, Library, Clear Off My Shelves, and a random TBR Bingo where I pull books off my Goodreads TBR.  Here are a few of my most recent reads.

Goodreads:  Peach Pies and Alibis (Charmed Pie Shoppe #2) by Ellery Adams

Project: Series

Blurb:  Ella Mae LeFaye's Charmed Pie Shoppe is wildly popular in Havenwood, Georgia--which is not surprising since Ella Mae can lace her baked goods with enchantments. The shop's extraordinary success seems destined to continue when Ella Mae meets an engaged couple who hire her to handle the dessert buffet at their wedding.But Ella Mae has a lot on her plate. She is also searching for the origin of her magical powers--and hoping to determine if the spark of attraction she feels for the handsome Hugh Dylan is authentic or just her new abilities gone awry.

Then Ella Mae discovers a high-standing member of the community dead, and a wedding guest becomes seriously ill at the event she's catering. Now she'll have to use all her sleuthing skills and culinary talents to prove her pies don't contain a killer ingredient . . .

My Thoughts:  This is the second book in the series and while the first book had bits of magic this one leaned hard into the world of magic.  There was a lot of setup of how the magic in this particular world works and the politics and rules of it all.  I wasn't quite expecting that level of world building in a second book in a series - especially not in a cozy mystery.  This slowed down the pace a bit and was a bit more information then I was really looking for.  I did enjoy the mystery and while I don't love all the feuds and detailed rules I do like the author's writing style and will continue the series.  While the focus wasn't on it too much the mystery was an interesting one and I did want to find out what happened.  My Rating: It Was Okay (2.5 Stars)

Goodreads:  Antiques to Die For (Josie Prescott Antiques Mystery #3) by Jane K. Cleland

Project: Series

Blurb:  Since Josie Prescott left a high-paying job in New York to set up shop as an antiques appraiser on the rugged New Hampshire coast, her life has not gone exactly according to plan. In many ways, it’s gone better: She has a booming business, good friends and neighbors, and even a promising romance.
But dead bodies do seem to keep crossing her path. And now her friend Rosalie has been killed just hours after confiding a secret to Josie, leaving a bereaved twelve-year-old sister, Paige, who reminds Josie of herself when her mother died. It turns out that Rosalie had other secrets too: a mysterious treasure she told her sister she was leaving behind—and a secret admirer who now seems to be turning his creepy attention to Josie!

As Josie races to solve the crime while helping Paige and trying to keep her business afloat, Jane K. Cleland brings us an irresistible new blend of coziness, crime, and collectibles.

My Thoughts:  I really enjoyed this book.  Josie gets pulled into the investigation of the death of a friend and finds there was far more to the woman then Josie really knew.  Josie also gets involved with Rosalie's sister, Paige, when she asks Josie for help.  Josie can relate to what the girl is going through after losing her mother at a similar age and it led to several really sweet scenes.  The search for the treasure Rosalie has hinted to Paige about and the search for the killer make for an entertaining well paced mystery that I very much enjoyed.  I do really love antiques so I think this helps my enjoyment of the series as well.  My Rating: Really Liked It (4 Stars)