Glazed Murder

Title: Glazed Murder
Author: Jessica Beck
Rating: Four and a Half Guitars

Sizzilin' Summary:
Suzanne Hart is the owner of Donut Hearts, a donut and coffee shop. She cashes her settlement from her divorce with Max, an out-of-work actor, to make her shop in April Springs, North Carolina. But things jump when a common customer, that's also a friend of Suzanne's, is literally dumped on the doorstep... DEAD!
Now Suzanne is a possible next-target, and she's determined to catch the killer before the killer catches her. She gets a mystery that's much more complicated than a donut...

Rockin' Review:
Oh WOW! The mystery starts on the first page... literally! Nice touch there.
Everything was very well done. The story was very good, though it didn't completely claw you in all the time. The mystery was pretty good, and you didn't even really guess who the real suspect was near the end, like the character did, though things made sense when explained. The characters were wonderful, even the characters that were on only for a few pages. And there were recipes at the end of most of the chapters (except for the very last chapter, but there's an index instead). Some of those recipes sounded tasty... and some of the time, they were recipes used in the chapter! Not all the time, but pretty cool.
This is a book for a rockin' read, especially if you want a super-right-away-mystery!

Cat On The Edge

Title: Cat On The Edge
Author: Shirley Rousseau
Rating: Three and a Half Guitars

Sizzilin' Summary:
The shock starts when the cat named Joe Gray discovers that he can understand the human language and speak it. But then he has the bad luck of witnessing a murder... and being seen witnessing it! Joe's on the run, and he soon meets Dulcie, a female cat who can also talk and has seen the murder.
Both for the sake of their owners and themselves, and a certain enchanted woman, the murderer has to be brought to justice, and only the cats can do it...

Rockin' Review:
It wasn't one or the other. I wouldn't suggest the book for mystery purposes. It was a backwards mystery, knowing the crook and figuring out motives, but it wasn't very well-done. I couldn't keep up with it all the time. And the story needs work. Sometimes, the characters knew stuff they shouldn't, and they didn't really explain. And we really never find out why the cats (and Kate) are like they are.
But this was a great book for an fantasy like Redwall, with human-minded animals. And it took place in the "real world", as well! It was good fantasy, though not the best mystery.
This is more of a book for fantasy lovers. It was only about average.

Wicked Weaves

Title: Wicked Weaves
Authors: Joyce and Jim Lavene
Rating: Three Guitars

Sizzilin' Summary:
College student Jessie has been going to the Renaissance Faire during the summer for many years. And since she's studying for he Ph.D., it's also research. This year, she's apprenticed with Mary Shift, a basket weaver master.
But when murder strikes, and Mary the prime suspect, Jessie's going to be looking for the real killer...

Rockin' Review:
Not a good book. It was written pretty decently, but only at an average level. The characters were confusing (or at least their actions at times). The mystery wasn't the greatest either. The best part of the book was learning about Renaissance Faires. That was pretty awesome!
I personally wouldn't suggest this book. I'm so glad it wasn't my first cozy mystery...

Friendly Warning:
Oh, for all young adults and younger (if any) reading this blog, here's a friendly warning. This book has the highest sex level of any cozy I've ever read or heard of. There were never details, but the main character would wake up, and she and the main guy would have done it. So I suggest being used to and okay with James-Bond-Movie-level sex before reading this if you decided to read this.
For all adults reading this... you'll probably be fine, but you can make up your own minds about your comfort zone.

Sleight of Paw

Title: Sleight of Paw
Author: Sofie Kellie
Rating: Four and a Half Guitars

Sizzilin' Summary:
Everyone's prepping for Winterfest in Mayville Heights. This includes the librarian Kathleen. But things start getting bad when Agatha Shepherd, an old woman that have seemed to affected everyone that Kathleen knows, is discovered dead. And it seems to be no accident.
When a dear friend is affected, Kathleen is going to have to call on the help of her two magical cats, Owen and Hercules, to solve the mystery and save her friend...

Rockin' Review:
This was a great book. It wasn't as good or gripping as the first one, but still a work of art. Mrs. Kellie has great potential. The story was well-done, with only a minor flaw or two. The small town was cool, and we meet some new friends, as well get to know the old friends better.
This is a rockin' book! Worth getting!

Sprinkle With Murder

Title: Sprinkle With Murder
Author: Jenn McKinlay
Rating: Four Guitars

Sizzilin' Summary:
Melanie Cooper is finally living out her dream as a cupcake baker with her friend Angie DeLaura. Their big order finally comes in: to cook a big batch of cupcakes for their friend Tate's wedding. Too bad that the bride-to-be, Christie, is a total meanie (and it's not just because she's getting married)!
But when Mel goes to talk to the bride about the cupcake flavors for the wedding, she discovers Christie dead! Mel becomes the prime suspect. She has to find out who really did it, before she ends up in jail, and/or her business goes out business...

Rockin' Review:
Technically, this is supposed to be a cozy mystery. But I'm not sure it's really worth the cozy part... but I'm new to the whole cozy theme, so don't depend on me there.
This book didn't get into the mystery part right away, but when it did, it did! The book was more heavy on the mystery, though it could do with a little work. We didn't really get to the clues until the end. But the main plot was stuck heavily with solving the mystery before everything crashed for Melanie.
It was well-written, and I highly enjoyed it. It didn't do as good a job as the Cats, but this first installment of the Cupcake Bakery Mystery series was still very good. I enjoyed it. It's a book worth getting, especially if you want something more dependent on the mystery!

Curiosity Thrilled The Cat

Title: Curiosity Thrilled The Cat
Author: Sofie Kelly
Rating: Five Guitars

Sizzilin' Summary:
Kathleen is a librarian of Mayville Heights, Minnesota. She moved in only a couple of months ago. She is working on restoring the old library there.
But when she discovers a dead body, she becomes a major suspect in the murder. And to add to this stress, her two adopted cats, Owen and Hercules, are displaying unusual powers. They'll have to help her solve this mystery...
Before things get truly hairy for Kathleen!

Rockin' Review:
AWESOME! This was a totally terrific book! This first book of the Magical Cat Mysteries is definitely a keeper!
This was my first cozy mystery. And it was a wonderful choice! The only true trouble I had was keeping track of who was who (cozies tend to have big crowds all at once), but that was me. I don't do terrific with those (even for my favorite TV series The Transformers gave me trouble keeping track who's who!). But even I started learning who's who.
But the story was extremely well-written, and great! It had the mark of a wonderful book: it made you come back for even more! It wouldn't let you go. You hated it when life forced you to put this book down, and you would find yourself wanting to come back to it only a little bit later. It's like the magnet, and you're the metal.
And it didn't have the Of Blood And Honor problem, where the ending stunk. In fact, the ending had a fun little twist!
DEFINITELY get this book! It's totally rockin'!