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kshertz's review against another edition
lighthearted
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
Oh this book is cute. Total culinary cozy mystery. My theory of who did it was wrong as per usual but at least there’s some sexy stuff? But it’s so mild. Mostly it’s about trying to find this killer! Also, it made me want coffee for the entirety of the time I read it so be prepared. A fun light read.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Murder, and Gaslighting
jbrooxd's review against another edition
4.0
[I received a free electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]
4.5 stars = I loved it! Would re-read.
This was fantastic! There are tons of coffee-related tidbits that I found interesting. (I didn't follow a lot of them, but they didn't intrude on the story. And I didn't have to understand all of the intricate details in order to enjoy the book.)
I loved the characters in this, and the solution caught me off guard, which was a nice surprise. My favorite part of this was the way the author created a great mystery that ALSO served to reveal pieces of Sage's backstory. It was a brilliant way to help the reader get to know the character without doing an info dump AND it made the mystery and Sage's sleuthing all the more interesting. I will definitely be sticking with this series!
4.5 stars = I loved it! Would re-read.
This was fantastic! There are tons of coffee-related tidbits that I found interesting. (I didn't follow a lot of them, but they didn't intrude on the story. And I didn't have to understand all of the intricate details in order to enjoy the book.)
I loved the characters in this, and the solution caught me off guard, which was a nice surprise. My favorite part of this was the way the author created a great mystery that ALSO served to reveal pieces of Sage's backstory. It was a brilliant way to help the reader get to know the character without doing an info dump AND it made the mystery and Sage's sleuthing all the more interesting. I will definitely be sticking with this series!
anns_book_chronicles's review against another edition
lighthearted
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
misterushi's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
stacieh's review against another edition
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? It's complicated
4.25
evans7e's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder
undinereads's review against another edition
5.0
Fresh Brewed Murder is the first book in a new culinary mystery series. Set in Portland, featuring coffee culture with an engaging amateur sleuth, Fresh Brewed Murder is an exciting modern cozy.
20-somethings Sage and Harley are opening a coffee cart in the competitive food truck world. Some of the other vendors are jealous that Sage has been given a prime location. Others dislike that she gives away food and drinks to the local homeless people.
One morning, Sage discovers a murdered customer, in front of her cart. Even worse, he was killed with a box cutter from her cart, making her the prime suspect. Now she has to unravel layers of mysteries involving local property development, protesters, her estranged mother's past misdeeds, and complicated family ties.
Such a fun book! Emmeline Duncan brought Portland to life for me. I enjoyed the coffee talk and never felt like it was an info dump or page filler. Sage and Harley felt authentically knowledgeable about coffee- roasting the beans and creating beverages.
She handled homelessness, runaways, and gentrification sensitively.
Sage, with her humor, dating angst, desire to give back, and conflicted feelings about her own past is a well-developed and believable main character. I wanted to hang out with her while drinking one of her coffee creations.
Fresh Brewed Murder is a fast-paced, quick read with a twisty mystery. The book has a great sense of place, conversational style, and an engaging, spirited main character. I can't wait to read more about Sage, her quirky family and friends, and her further coffee business adventures.
20-somethings Sage and Harley are opening a coffee cart in the competitive food truck world. Some of the other vendors are jealous that Sage has been given a prime location. Others dislike that she gives away food and drinks to the local homeless people.
One morning, Sage discovers a murdered customer, in front of her cart. Even worse, he was killed with a box cutter from her cart, making her the prime suspect. Now she has to unravel layers of mysteries involving local property development, protesters, her estranged mother's past misdeeds, and complicated family ties.
Such a fun book! Emmeline Duncan brought Portland to life for me. I enjoyed the coffee talk and never felt like it was an info dump or page filler. Sage and Harley felt authentically knowledgeable about coffee- roasting the beans and creating beverages.
She handled homelessness, runaways, and gentrification sensitively.
Sage, with her humor, dating angst, desire to give back, and conflicted feelings about her own past is a well-developed and believable main character. I wanted to hang out with her while drinking one of her coffee creations.
Fresh Brewed Murder is a fast-paced, quick read with a twisty mystery. The book has a great sense of place, conversational style, and an engaging, spirited main character. I can't wait to read more about Sage, her quirky family and friends, and her further coffee business adventures.
danielles_reads's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
Wow, I can’t think of a more annoying character than Sage Caplin. She is so snarky and judgmental of everyone she meets - every character introduction included some passing judgment on their face or clothing. I am also LIVID that she told the police that Foster was dealing pot, like what the fuck! It’s not relevant to the case at all, and the drug is legal. Who cares that he has anger issues, omg! AND she double downed on it after the police asked her to clarify. What the fuck. I’m also very disgusted she didn’t even think twice about one of the food truck owners (can’t remember which one tbh bc there were SO MANY) who said she only cared because a “real person” died (as opposed to an unhoused person). Fuck. Edit: Listening to that part again, Sage only cares that Emma is lying and not that she said something completely monstrous. Cool. Cool cool cool. A+ main character we got here.
Also the fact that she can’t seem to understand why the other food truck owners would be mad she didn’t say she’s the niece of the lot’s owner???? Especially considering that multiple food cart owners mentioned they wanted to talk to him about their cart and she said nothing??? And thought they were just tricking her or something? Jesus Sage, NOT EVERYTHING IS ABOUT YOU. Everyone she associates with (except one - Manny) is rich and she constantly complains about her three days on the street, as if she understands what unhoused children go through. But of course it’s very convenient for the plot that her brother is a lawyer and her uncle is a bar owner/real estate magnate lol. Oh but the fact that her lawyer brother got mad at her for bringing in a potential suspect (Gabby) and then HE was the one to apologize to HER, even though he had a legit reason to be mad? And she was just like “hm” and didn’t apologize at all. Ugh.
Speaking of rich, the constant references to her time in Bali “volunteering” were infuriating. What kind of volunteering was she doing exactly? What kind of skills does she have to offer people in Bali? Making coffee…? Screw white saviorism. It felt like those kind of rich people who like to drop all the places they’ve been and things they’ve done.
Aaaalso the fact that she kept bugging Gabby about her parents, when the fact that they LIED TO HER HER WHOLE LIFE about her parentage was completely ignored. That’s fucking traumatic! Don’t force her to go back to her “parents”, wtf?? But at the same time there was no mention of the negative sides of the foster care system and homeless charities. You can’t pretend that these groups are the solution and ignore the root problem: capitalism. I could go on but I’ll spare anyone reading this my usual capitalism rant.
There are sooo many characters in this book that I lost track of them. Sage seemed to be suspicious of everyone… except the person who actually ended up being the murderer. It was completely out of nowhere. I think their motive made sense, butMacy monologuing what she did like a cartoon villian didn’t. After doing that she’s definitely not going to have a cart now?? She fucked herself. Also why would she leave a blood-stained piece of evidence IN HER FOOD CART? Fuck.
Oh and the fact that the only way Sage found out anything at all was because random people came up to her cart and confessed their secrets to her. Like ok, that happens in real life lmao. Like Gabby’s adoptive mom just spilling that she lied to Gabby her whole life? Wouldn’t most people be ashamed and not tell a stranger that unprompted????
And the whole part about her mom was pointless and added nothing to the story other than more cartoonishness. I would hope that’s fleshed out more in the later books, but I won’t be reading them.
Lastly, ACAB.
Also the fact that she can’t seem to understand why the other food truck owners would be mad she didn’t say she’s the niece of the lot’s owner???? Especially considering that multiple food cart owners mentioned they wanted to talk to him about their cart and she said nothing??? And thought they were just tricking her or something? Jesus Sage, NOT EVERYTHING IS ABOUT YOU. Everyone she associates with (except one - Manny) is rich and she constantly complains about her three days on the street, as if she understands what unhoused children go through. But of course it’s very convenient for the plot that her brother is a lawyer and her uncle is a bar owner/real estate magnate lol. Oh but the fact that her lawyer brother got mad at her for bringing in a potential suspect (Gabby) and then HE was the one to apologize to HER, even though he had a legit reason to be mad? And she was just like “hm” and didn’t apologize at all. Ugh.
Speaking of rich, the constant references to her time in Bali “volunteering” were infuriating. What kind of volunteering was she doing exactly? What kind of skills does she have to offer people in Bali? Making coffee…? Screw white saviorism. It felt like those kind of rich people who like to drop all the places they’ve been and things they’ve done.
Aaaalso the fact that she kept bugging Gabby about her parents, when the fact that they LIED TO HER HER WHOLE LIFE about her parentage was completely ignored. That’s fucking traumatic! Don’t force her to go back to her “parents”, wtf??
There are sooo many characters in this book that I lost track of them. Sage seemed to be suspicious of everyone… except the person who actually ended up being the murderer. It was completely out of nowhere. I think their motive made sense, but
Oh and the fact that the only way Sage found out anything at all was because random people came up to her cart and confessed their secrets to her. Like ok, that happens in real life lmao. Like Gabby’s adoptive mom just spilling that she lied to Gabby her whole life? Wouldn’t most people be ashamed and not tell a stranger that unprompted????
And the whole part about her mom was pointless and added nothing to the story other than more cartoonishness. I would hope that’s fleshed out more in the later books, but I won’t be reading them.
Lastly, ACAB.