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staat527's review
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Once through a chapter or two it picked up and was easy to follow and keep pace with. Just enough humor and flirtatious moments to keep it light, but definitely not any hard romance. It's 100% a cozy small town mystery like scooby doo almost.
Moderate: Blood, Murder, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Bullying, Eating disorder, and Fatphobia
roksyreads's review against another edition
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
I really enjoyed this book. As someone who hasn't read many mysteries, let alone 'cozy' ones, this was a great story to read as a proper introduction to the genre. All the characters were well-rounded, the story and mystery were intriguing, and just enough clues were dropped that, whilst I had inklings as to the resolution, I still got to enjoy the 'Ah ha!' moment at the big reveal.
~
I do want to add advise a minor CW for this book for diet talk and weight fixation.
Whilst Maddie certainly doesn't seem to restrict herself and appears to eat intuitively, she repeatedly talks about weight gain, needing to lose weight, and the need to start a diet. Obviously, being a first person narrative, this is part of developing her as a character, but I have to ask why it was deemed so necessary to focus on this aspect when it does nothing to advance the story or the character, especially when her anxiety and insecurities are well established through other thoughts and interactions. As someone who has had an eating disorder and is still on the road to recovery, this kind of talk is very, very difficult to read. I have worked for many years to view my body in a neutral way and to appreciate it as is. It's hard enough not to engage in negative self-talk in my head - reading first person narration that features this sort of negative self-talk in most chapters was challenging. I tried not to let it have an impact on my enjoyment of the story, because I genuinely adore Maddie as a character; unfortunately, it did, which is why my rating was 4☆ (I really liked it) instead of 5☆ (I loved it).
~
I do want to add advise a minor CW for this book for diet talk and weight fixation.
Minor: Body shaming, Eating disorder, and Fatphobia
lily_peach's review
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
A fun, witchy romance with a good mystery thrown in.
A great example of a cosy murder mystery. The author is very good at giving just enough information to keep the reader interested each chapter without giving the game away too quickly.
My only qualm was the fact that the MFC has a slightly unhealthy relationship with her body, and frequently references needing to lose weight. I think this is done to make her seem more relatable (as she canonically gorgeous) but mostly it just made me a little uncomfortable.
A great example of a cosy murder mystery. The author is very good at giving just enough information to keep the reader interested each chapter without giving the game away too quickly.
My only qualm was the fact that the MFC has a slightly unhealthy relationship with her body, and frequently references needing to lose weight. I think this is done to make her seem more relatable (as she canonically gorgeous) but mostly it just made me a little uncomfortable.
Graphic: Death, Fatphobia, Terminal illness, Violence, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Vomit, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail