Reviews

Though her earlier books started to get better, this one was a massive quality drop.

The murder happened way too late into the novel, and everything about this book feels kind of lackluster.

The amount of times Hannah started to correct people was much higher than normal, the amount of coffee they had in this book was frankly absurd.
No, really. Absurd. It was pure filler content without substance. All for wordcount.
4-5 times per chapter, each chapter. There was so much coffee, I could actually claim that the coffee was either a character, or a subplot.

It's almost as if the author didn't know what to write, or want to write this book. Hannah sleeps too little, Hannah has weird dreams, Hannah has even less sleep, she has coffee, she has little sleep again!... Again... again.... aaaa...gain.... yep, coffee... sleep..coffee.. late nights... coffee..
I guess there's some baking going on at her home. Not at the store, why would she? It's not hers.

The plot is very small, and the fluff around it drags on and on. The whole Mike-Norman thing is still ongoing, though, judging by the end, she's finally putting an end to that nonsense, which is good.
Lisa is still the (substitute) owner of Hannah's store, because Hannah is quite literally never doing any work at all. Ever. She even made other people sit tables. Is it your store, or Lisa's, Hannah? I'm starting to have my doubts. Again.

So yes, between 80% drinking coffee, one could claim that there was, in fact, about 20% story going on. You know, the dog whistle trick, that was mentioned only once, so it would most DEFINITELY be used at some point. Just like some location..... Not like that wasn't crystal clear from the moment it was mentioned... noooooo.. not at aaaaall..........

Right, one more thing. If you expect a satisfactory ending, don't expect it. Stop. You're not getting it. It's just like oh, this happens, that happens. Oh, we're not getting any more details, just a dumb dog cake and a meeting with the family. Ok. No reasoning, no resolution. Just, here, that's what happens, bye. The end. Hm... Ok.

alidottie's review against another edition

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3.0

2 and a half stars
I always know what to expect from these cozy mysteries. The 2 and a half stars comes from two facts: I'm tired of Hannah being loved by Norman and Mike and how stagnant that whole part of the story is and also I was so annoyed at Hannah's constant correction of her sisters choice of words. Being the grammar police is a self-appointed job and no one who gives themself this job is liked or appreciated for it. Just drop it, Hannah!

rebekah95's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

mshaposhnikov's review against another edition

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lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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