Reviews with content warning for Rape - The Golden Spoon

I had such a good time with this book, and I'm really excited to read more by this author. Love this ferda girlies. Would read a whole set of these baking mysteries.

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hmetwade's review

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mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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oceanelle's review

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lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

This was a breezy, quick read, but I couldn’t help feeling that everything I love about Bake-Off was tarnished by a distinctly American cynicism and lack of genuine human connection (which, incidentally, has always been why I don’t think the show would work in the US, but I digress).

The pacing was too fast and I would’ve liked more time to get emotionally invested in the characters; the characters were flat yet their professed development and connections happened suddenly and without reason, making it feel like there were things happening off the page that the reader didn’t get to see. It seems like the author tried to weave in some darker themes—

alcoholism, depression, sexual assault survivorship, anxiety blackouts, foster care, the murder of a parent, grooming, etc.

—but all of the representations of these experiences were clichéd, one-dimensional, and too neatly “resolved.”

As for the mystery, some of the twists and turns were satisfyingly surprising, but for the most part, I felt let down. In short, comparing the book to Only Murders in the Building and Knives Out is a stretch and a half; this was neither cozy nor clever enough to compare.

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one_more_chapter96's review against another edition

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funny mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Fun murder mystery with cozy vibes from the setting but several dark twists that kept unfolding. I liked the different characterisations and they all stood out in their own right, some of the surprises I didn’t anticipate and while others I did it was still satisfying being proven right for those along the way. The ending was interesting & there were some deep topics covered (sexual assault, murder, foster system, mental health) but overall it was fun being mixed in with the baking competition setting.

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leenzreadz's review against another edition

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mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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