Review: Fudge and Jury

The fifth Bakeshop Mystery
By Ellie Alexander
Available now from St. Martin's
Review copy

Ashland, Oregon is a small town that's built up a Shakespearean tourist industry, as well as an annual chocolate festival. As the co-owner of Torte, Ashland's resident bakeshop, Jules is cooking on all burners. She's considering expanding the business, and using the festival as a chance to renovate her current storefront. She's also got a couple of guys vying for her attention, but she's not ready to move on from her estranged husband.

When Evan Rowe, the infamously mean owner of Confections Couture, dies of an allergic reaction during the festival, everyone suspects foul play. The desserts he was served were supposedly nut free. Jules would be interested in the case just to clear her own name, but her friend Lance pushes her to become even more involved in probing for answers. As is the case in many mysteries where the victim is a real jerk, there's a plurality of suspects.

I haven't read the previous four Bakeshop Mysteries, but I was able to dive right into this tale. There is some exposition at the beginning about Jules' business and husband which helped me understand the basics of the setting, although it made me think Jules' husband would actually show up in the story. The series has a fairly standard cozy mystery set up, which made stepping into the series in the middle still feel familiar.

What I found stood out about FUDGE & JURY is the importance of Jules' career. Her professional development often overtook the murder mystery as the most important part of the book. I don't think that's a bad thing, since there's a new murder per book but investment in Jules is what will keep readers coming back. I know I'm thinking about checking out the previous four books from the library. I find that most cozy mysteries are centered around hobbies, or people starting new careers, so it was unusual to read one about a woman who is excelling in her field and finding increasing success.

I thought the cast was likeable. The array of romantic options seemed like a bit much, although Ellie Alexander sold the scene where Jules turns one of her suitors down. I felt for the guy and appreciated how maturely Jules handled the situation, by making her feelings clear but being compassionate. That's always a rough situation.

The details of the various confections are lush and mouth-watering. I know I wanted some chocolate pasta of my own! (And I greatly enjoyed Jules' defense of cocoa-powder based brownies. This Smitten Kitchen recipe proves they don't have to be grainy.) The solution to the mystery surprised me, and will certainly make me more careful about serving one of my favorite sauces to guests. The denouement happened quickly, since FUDGE & JURY does focus on so much more than the mystery, but I found the clever solution satisfying.

I have one copy to give away. US only, 13 and up.

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Review: The Bitch is Back

Older, Wiser, and (Getting) Happier
Sequel to The Bitch in the House
Edited by Cathi Hanauer
Available now from William Morrow (HarperCollins)
Review copy

THE BITCH IS BACK is a collection of twenty-six essays by women in their forties, fifties, and sixties. Many of those women first contributed essays to THE BITCH IN THE HOUSE back in 2002, although some of the contributors are new.

I have not read THE BITCH IN THE HOUSE, but was still attracted to THE BITCH IS BACK due to the promise of stories about real, older women. When there is a repeat contributor, her essay is prefaced by a short explanation of her previous essay and how the two connect. I don't feel that I was missing context, but I do want to read THE BITCH IN THE HOUSE, which is noted multiple times to be the angrier of the two anthologies.

There is no overarching theme to the essays, although they're roughly arranged into four groups (midlife crisis, sex, rocky marriages, starting over). Each one is a personal essay that tackles what the author wants to say about her life and her choices. The contributors all have strong voices, although some of them have stories we've heard before.

Part of the reason there is no overarching theme is because editor Cathi Hanauer solicited  stories from a range of women. Jennifer Finney Boylan is a transgender woman, who writes about maintaining her relationship with her wife through her transition. Kathy Thomas is poor, her life of hard blue collar work a sharp contrast to some of the more privileged contributors. Veronica Chambers is black Latina, and writes about how her relationship with religion isn't traditional but still conflicts with her husband's atheism.

What I appreciate about this anthology is that it not only shows how many ways there are to be a woman, but that life continues. Most of these women have been through terrible things, including divorce, sexual abuse, domestic abuse, but they're still living and breathing and doing.

I wouldn't read all of THE BITCH IS BACK at once, because the essays can get monotonous. But it is nice to dole out these women's stories, because they've been through interesting times.

Review: The Quick (and giveaway!)

By Lauren Owen
Available June 17 from Random House
Review copy

The cover of THE QUICK is ridiculously boring: sepia-toned man leaning on the edge, most of the cover taken up by a table.  But I was quite intrigued by the blurb, which promised both magic and terror.  I'm glad I paid little attention to the cover, because I thoroughly enjoyed THE QUICK.

The action begins when siblings James and Charlotte Norbury are children, just long enough to establish their relationship.  James is sensitive; Charlotte is practically his mother.  The time then jumps to James deciding to leave Oxford and go to London to be a writer.  That's where he meets and lets rooms with Christopher Paige, the black sheep of an aristocratic family.  The opening quarter of the book is all about getting to know James and Christopher, as well as the social strictures that govern their lives in Victorian England.  Then something very bad happens to them.

Unfortunately, the book doesn't quite kick into gear at that point.  THE QUICK delves into several of the characters' points of view, and unfortunately the next one is a lengthy section of exposition that I don't think added that much to the story.   THE QUICK does blend genre and literary fiction, so I can see these passages being of use to literary fans, perhaps.  I've seen it called a Gothic horror story, but I think that's inaccurate.  Once the fantastical enters the story, the book instantly tells the reader what happened.  But it is nice to go in with the exact details of the genre shift from historical fiction to historical fantasy being a surprise.

I liked the plurality of characters.  They represent many different factions, and even the ones on the same side come at things in a different manner.  I thoroughly enjoyed that almost all of them were driven by love.  It's a strong motivation, and one that can lead to a desire for revenge just as much as compassion.  It also enforces the need for that mundane first quarter, to show why James and Charlotte would never just go into hiding.

I think THE QUICK will appeal to someone looking for story where early Anne Rice meets Oscar Wilde.  Not the best comparison, but the best I can come up with.  It has wonderfully drawn characters, bursts of action, and a human villain who might be more terrifying than the inhuman ones.

Giveaway courtesy of TLC Book Tours. Limited to US only; must be 13 years of age or older.
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Review: Be With Me

Wait for You, Book 2
By J. Lynn (Jennifer L. Armentrout)
Available now from William Morrow (HarperCollins)
Review copy

Jennifer L. Armentrout has had major success and I've been meaning to read her forever.  (I've even bought the first couple of Lux novels.)  I just . . . haven't done it.  So when I got the chance to review her New Adult novel BE WITH ME, I jumped on it.

BE WITH ME is the story of Teresa Hamilton and Jase Winstead.  Tess had her life planned - she was going to be a professional dancer.  In fact, she was accepted to the Joffrey School of Ballet on a scholarship.  An injury has left her unable to dance until she recovers, so she's now at college as a backup.  She's frustrated and worried that this might end up being her life, if she injures herself again.  Jase is her brother's best friend, good looking and good with the ladies.  He also never called Tess back after they kissed at a party, and it's awkward now that they're back in each other's orbit.

I thought BE WITH ME was a cute romance, albeit one that went on a bit too long.  The last second relationship hurdle made me roll my eyes; I would've preferred more of Tess and Jase being together and working out the details of their relationship instead of pointless drama to finish out the book.  I didn't like that BE WITH ME wasn't all about them.  Tess escaped an abusive relationship when she was a teenager and thinks that her roommate is in a bad situation.  However, she doesn't know how to approach her and help.  But, clearly she can't just let it happen.

I know New Adult has a reputation for being steamy.  There are sex scenes in BE WITH ME, but they aren't over the top and they don't take over the book.  I felt like there was less sex than a Harlequin Presents, for example.  Mostly, it was just a contemporary romance that happened to be set at a college.  I enjoyed that.  (And I definitely enjoyed that it was clearly a college, not a vaguely disguised high school.)

I'm sure that J. Lynn/Jennifer L. Armentrout's fans will enjoy BE WITH ME.  It certainly didn't scare me off of reading more of her books.  It was a pleasant way to spend a Saturday morning.