Completed 2013 Reading Challenges

Saturday, June 13, 2026

Review: Criminally Cocoa by Amanda Flower

 



About the Book


Genre
Cozy Mystery

Format
E-ARC

Publisher
Kensington

Release Date
February 26, 2019

Synopsis from Goodreads:

A taste for trouble . . .  As if being in New York City for Easter isn’t exciting enough, Charlotte Weaver has another reason to be thrilled. She’s helping her cousin, Bailey, on the set of her first cable TV show, Bailey’s Amish Sweets. Bailey will even be re-creating the delectable hand-woven chocolate Easter baskets she once crafted for the city’s world-famous JP Chocolates. But once things start rolling, Charlotte starts to notice odd things happening—things that seem intended to make Bailey look bad . . .With Bailey feeling extra nervous about being on camera, Charlotte decides to keep her suspicion of sabotage to herself. But she knows that among Bailey’s fans at the Gourmet Television network lurks a dangerously jealous rival. Now Charlotte will have to find out who that person is—before sour grapes turns one of the sweetest times of the year fatally bitter . . .

My Review

Charlotte Weaver heads to New York with her cousin, Bailey.  Baily is about to star in her first TV show called Bailey’s Amish Sweets. She will be showcasing chocolate treats and her first job is creating Easter baskets.

However, once filming begins, a series of strange incidents start happening. Charlotte immediately realizes that someone is sabotaging her cousin’s show and she intends to find out who is behind it.

This is a fun novella. It comes between books #3 and #4. The only book I’ve read in this series is #3.  My plan is to go back and read them all, but for now I really enjoyed the novella. It’s a quick mystery which can be read in one sitting.

I liked the characters, storyline and setting. I’ll definitely be back for more. I’m only sorry I didn’t read this one sooner.



For reading challenges:

Cruisin’ thru the Cozies Reading Challenge 2026
NetGalley & Edelweiss Reading Challenge 2026


Disclosure: I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review.  All opinions expressed are my own.


1 comment:

  1. I read a bunch of the novellas in this series at the end of the year to get my total up and this was a surprise hit for me. I really enjoyed getting Charlotte's POV.

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