Tag: Ellie Alexander

REVIEW: Till Death Do Us Tart by Ellie Alexander

REVIEW: Till Death Do Us Tart by Ellie Alexander

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received an electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and St. Martin’s Paperbacks in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

Summary

It’s wedding time in Ashland, Oregon. When Juliet’s mom and the Professor were struggling to find a venue for the wedding, Juliet and the crew at Torte and most of the town decided to throw a surprise wedding at Uva, the vineyard in which Juliet and her estranged husband, Carlos, had invested.

Speaking of Carlos, he’s coming to town for the wedding and bringing his son, Ramiro, along. Carlos’ secrets about the boy were what caused the rift in his marriage to Juliet. Meeting Ramiro will be the first step in trying to repair their relationship.

And if a secret wedding and a new step-son weren’t enough for Juliet to juggle, she is also right in the middle of renovations at her bake shop, Torte. Juliet has her hands full.

Then her friend Lance drops his bombshell. He thinks his brother might be plotting to kill their father to finagle getting all of his money. Lance wants Juliet to help him keep an eye on his brother and his cronies. When Lance’s father dies, their investigation becomes a hunt for a killer.

Review

Book eight in the Bakeshop Mystery series by Ellie Alexander. As a mystery, this was a bit disappointing for me. I felt like the mystery was only maybe a third of the book. There was a lot of time devoted to the other things going on in Ashland and between the various characters. Thankfully, I really enjoyed those other story elements so this was still an enjoyable read for me.

I love Juliet and the crew at Torte. The relationships, interplay, and growth of the store are part of what I love about this series. The food descriptions always leave me hungry. I’d love to visit a shop like Torte.

If I was looking for an intricate murder mystery to dig into, this would have fallen flat for me. The first part was mostly supposition and theories. The second part was when the traditional mystery really kicked in and that was about halfway through the book. The fact that I care about the characters and the relationships in this series redeemed the reading experience for me. But someone with less connection to the characters might be disappointed with this one. I love when an author does a great job of balancing character development with a strong, central mystery. This did not fit that description for me.

Rating: ♥♥♥♥

REVIEW: Another One Bites the Crust by Ellie Alexander

REVIEW: Another One Bites the Crust by Ellie Alexander

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

Book 7 in the Bakeshop Mystery series. Jules, her mom and the Professor are back from their cruise. The renovations at Torte are in full swing. And the new season of The Shakespeare Festival is kicking off with Antony and Cleopatra. Unfortunately, the star has become a problem. His ego is out of control. He even refuses to use his real name and insists on being called “Antony.” Lance, the artistic director, is convinced “Antony” is causing trouble for him with the Board of Directors, too. It’s made Lance a man on the edge.

When Lance stumbles across Antony’s dead body, the evidence says Antony finally pushed Lance over that edge to murder. Juliet knows Lance would never do that. He might be a drama king, but he would never kill someone. The Professor recuses himself from working the case because of his friendship with Lance. The detective who gets the case is by-the-book and has no feel for the town or people of Ashland. Juliet is going to have to start sleuthing again if Lance is going to have a chance to enjoy the new season at the theater.

Review

Jules and the gang at Torte are some of my favorite characters in fiction. It’s so easy to fall back into a rhythm with them every time I read a new book in the series. The dynamics between the characters are fun, and the renovations at Torte have the potential to set up some great stories in the future.

The mystery in this one didn’t click for me. Lance felt like the most logical suspect all the way through the book. I never got a good sense of other suspects with strong motives. The solution was almost as big a surprise to Jules as it was to me.

The characters are so delightful (well, Lance started to get on my nerves) that it offset my disappointment with the mystery. There are some fun tidbits and possible hints of things to come in future books. The very end was especially fun. I’m looking forward to seeing how those pieces play out in the next book. Till Death Do Us Tart releases in August of 2018; the cover is gorgeous!

Thanks to the author, Ellie Alexander, for the Advanced Reader Copy of this book to review. I won it on a social media contest she hosted.

Rating: ♥♥♥♥

REVIEW: A Crime of Passion Fruit by Ellie Alexander

REVIEW: A Crime of Passion Fruit by Ellie Alexander

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

The cruise ship Amour of the Seas is in desperate need of a temporary pastry chef to get them through until their new hire can arrive. Carlos, back on the ship after his time in Ashland, asks Juliet to step in. The cruise offers her double pay, and Carlos arranges for her mom and the Professor to join the cruise for free. Four glorious days at sea. What could go wrong?

Being back on the ship helps Juliet gain new insights into her marriage, her cooking and her dreams for the future. It also puts her in place to discover a dead body. Even through she’s been away for awhile, Juliet’s knowledge of the ship and crew could help the captain and the Professor figure out who the dead woman is and what happened to her. While Juliet is hunting for a murderer and trying to survive a storm at sea, her friends in Ashland are trying to keep things going at Torte in the midst of a quarrelsome neighbor, a shake up with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival leadership, and major renovations at Torte. There’s never a dull moment in the latest addition to the Bakeshop mystery series.

Review

I really enjoyed this new addition to one of my favorite cozy series. While I missed the usual Torte crew, I liked the change of setting for this book. It added to the ongoing story line of Juliet and Carlos while also shaking up the food, the characters, and the location of the action. And it was all great.

I thoroughly enjoy the core characters of this series. There’s great camaraderie at Torte. And a great balance between the ongoing relationships in Ashland and the new details in each book for the mystery at hand. Good mystery in this one. With an unknown victim (“Jane Dough”), the motive and suspect portions didn’t evolve until later in the book once we knew more about the victim.

Personally, I am “Team Tommy,” and ready for Juliet and Carlos to sort out their relationship. I am looking forward to Another One Bites the Crust (winter 2017/2018) to see what happens next with the Ashland crew and see if the author will finally resolve the Carlos situation.

Rating: ♥♥♥♥

REVIEW: Fudge and Jury by Ellie Alexander

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

Jules and the gang at Torte are showcase vendors for the Chocolate Festival. And while they are preparing for the event, they are also renovating Torte, installing a new inventory/payment system, and considering an expansion into the property below their store. It’s a LOT for Jules to juggle! But when a fellow festival vendor has an allergic reaction and dies at her booth, Jules will make time to find a killer!

Review

The Bakeshop Mystery series is one of my favorite cozy series right now! I love the relationships with the Torte family. The setting is interesting – and their offerings sound delicious! I never need time to warm up to the story or the characters in these books. It comes immediately and naturally.

The mystery in this one was great. The chocolate festival was a fantastic setting, allowing new players to be introduced – and adding lots of yummy food discussions. I felt a little unsettled at the end of the mystery (this is the reason I didn’t give this a 5 star review) – I kept waiting for a new layer to the solution, but it never came. A couple of the other possible culprits still seemed sketchy to me at the end so I wasn’t 100% on board with the solution. I wanted a bigger, more detailed confession, maybe, but the author went a different way. Maybe it will come back in a future book.

One of the things I love with this series is how the author includes ongoing things with the characters and the business. She does an excellent job of keeping those pieces balanced with the larger story of the mystery for each book. I am already looking forward to book 6, A Crime of Passion Fruit (releasing this summer )

Rating: ♥♥♥♥½