Another good cupcake mystery

I continue to love this series and the smart characters Jen McKinley has created. Can’t wait for the next one!

**3.5 Stars**

**I read this via the Penguin First to Read Program**

I've had my ups and down with this cozy mystery series and I'm happy to say with the latest book that the series seems to getting back on track. The book was well-paced and entertaining to read. The characters are well-developed so if you haven't read any of the previous books, you will be able to get a good sense of their history and the relationships. My only qualm is that I really dislike Tara as she is a very one-dimensional character. Her reasons for disliking Mel to the point that she wants to consistently arrest is ridiculous and shallow and it's not enjoyable to read scenes with her in them. Hopefully, if the author feels like the character needs to be included in future books, she gives her some depth and better characterization. In terms of the mystery, it was intriguing although I do feel like it was solved very abruptly.

All in all, this was a pleasant read for me.

I enjoyed the story on a fundamental level, but that is about it. To be honest, the mystery just wasn’t very compelling to me, but I also was intrigued to find out what happened in the end - so that’s something. Perhaps I would have given this book a three, but I didn’t think it was very well written. The dialogue was stilted and, quite frankly, awkward. The characters hugged so much it made me a bit uncomfortable, and although the characters are supposedly in their thirties they spoke as though they were about 12 years old. As a whole, the book just seemed rushed and unedited.