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kimdavishb's review against another edition
5.0
In addition to having several incredibly delicious recipes, ONCE UPON A GRIND (a Coffeehouse Mystery) was also a delightful read. The play of words in the title sets the fairy-tale theme for Clare Cosi who manages the coffee shop, Village Blend, while her ex-husband, Matt, sources the coffee beans. A weekend long Storybook festival is being held in New York and Clare and Matt are fully involved thanks to Clare’s ex-mother-in-law volunteering them. Matt is conscripted to play the part of a prince which leaves Clare in charge of the Village Blend’s truck to organize a Jack and the Beanstalk theme (coffee beans equals magic beans). As if she doesn’t have her hands full already, her boyfriend, decorated narcotics cop Mike Quinn, asks her to keep an eye on his two kids, Jeremy and Molly, since he’s on his way to a funeral and he doesn’t trust his ex-wife to do so. Clare is happy to help out and finds that the kids’ sitter is none other than the Pink Princess who is paired up with her ex, Prince Matt.
As the festivities progress throughout the day the Pink Princess disappears….along with Mike’s kids. Thanks to some magical coffee beans Matt obtained on his last trip to Ethiopia, Clare has crazy visions after drinking a cup and she ends up finding the children who wandered off to look for their dog deep in the woods of Central Park. After rescuing Jeremy and Molly, she stumbles upon the Pink Princess who is in a deep Sleeping Beauty sleep, hidden in the forest. The doctors can find no antidote and since Matt was the last person to be seen with the Pink Princess and thanks to some of his personal issues in his past, becomes the main suspect. When another princess is murdered Clare realizes she must find the real killer in order to prove Matt’s innocence.
This is the 14th book in the Coffeehouse Mystery series but is quite easy to pick up and read as a stand-alone. I’ve had the pleasure of reading three of the Coffeehouse Mystery books and I’m impressed how the author lets the characters grow as the story progresses with each book. The interaction between Clare and Mike’s ex-wife is realistic and it’s sweet to see the love that Clare has for his children. On top of great characters, Cleo provides enough twists and turns so that it wasn’t easy to figure out the culprit. I look forward to reading many more of her books in the future!
As the festivities progress throughout the day the Pink Princess disappears….along with Mike’s kids. Thanks to some magical coffee beans Matt obtained on his last trip to Ethiopia, Clare has crazy visions after drinking a cup and she ends up finding the children who wandered off to look for their dog deep in the woods of Central Park. After rescuing Jeremy and Molly, she stumbles upon the Pink Princess who is in a deep Sleeping Beauty sleep, hidden in the forest. The doctors can find no antidote and since Matt was the last person to be seen with the Pink Princess and thanks to some of his personal issues in his past, becomes the main suspect. When another princess is murdered Clare realizes she must find the real killer in order to prove Matt’s innocence.
This is the 14th book in the Coffeehouse Mystery series but is quite easy to pick up and read as a stand-alone. I’ve had the pleasure of reading three of the Coffeehouse Mystery books and I’m impressed how the author lets the characters grow as the story progresses with each book. The interaction between Clare and Mike’s ex-wife is realistic and it’s sweet to see the love that Clare has for his children. On top of great characters, Cleo provides enough twists and turns so that it wasn’t easy to figure out the culprit. I look forward to reading many more of her books in the future!
callmecat's review against another edition
3.0
I really liked the ending!! I'm looking forward to what comes next! But even though the beans weren't actually magical, I still felt really creeped out by them. So I wish those weren't in the book. They were the main thing I didn't like about it. But the rest was good.
cstaude's review
5.0
This was my first dip into the coffeehouse mysteries and I thoroughly enjoyed them. Ms. Coyle had produced a plucky sleuth in Clare Cosi and a believable setting in NYC that makes one want to take a trip there to see it in person. I am going to go back to my bookseller this week for another volume from the series.
In addition to being a great read, Ms. Coyle is a foodie and includes recipes in the back of her novel that dovetail with the characters and settings in the novel. I can imagine this being a really fun thing for any book circles reading her novels. Picture good books and good food with good conversation with fellow readers. Sounds about perfect to me.
In addition to being a great read, Ms. Coyle is a foodie and includes recipes in the back of her novel that dovetail with the characters and settings in the novel. I can imagine this being a really fun thing for any book circles reading her novels. Picture good books and good food with good conversation with fellow readers. Sounds about perfect to me.
hopef's review
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
This was definitely committed to the fairy tale theme, which takes it slightly off rhythm from some other books in the series. It was a cute change of pace while still embracing the regular characters.
mfbr233's review
2.0
I enjoyed this novel, however the style seemed different from Coyle's other novels. The fairytale plot was meh and it seemed to take forever for the murder to occur.
simplicitea_'s review
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
2.0
The writing felt really juvenile, even though the subject matter was a lot more geared towards adults. I just didn’t like the clash between the two. Also the plot was kinda convoluted at times.
drlisak's review
5.0
Just the distraction I needed during a stressful week. Fun, a little paranormal (visions), mystery, surprising. and delicious sounding recipes. I enjoyed this. This was my first journey into Coffeehouse Mysteries, but I plan to read more.
lakecake's review
4.0
Even though this books are completely unrealistic, they're still very well written with character development that really draws you in and makes you care about the story, the people, and the mystery until the very end. There are a lot about these books that are pretty scoff-worthy, to be honest, but you don't care about it until AFTER you've finished it, as the plot just keeps moving along and makes you want to find out what happened. The mystery was intricate, just enough new characters were introduced to keep it exciting but not confusing, and the lives of those associated with The Village Blend were moved ahead in ways that made sense and left plenty of room for growth in future stories. So, ok, there's literally no chance that Clare would be able to do half of the things she does in this book if it were real life--it's NOT real life, and that's half the point.
manal_osmally's review
4.0
“There are bright points of light—so many!—between the dark places. This is what’s important. This is where life is.”