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3.4 AVERAGE
3.4 AVERAGE
maybe wouldve been more without the fatphobia etc but ...
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This book was so bad and I have no idea what I'm going to tell my mother (a fan of the series) when I talk to her next. The Hallmark series is much better than the original.
I like the Hallmark show! I was looking for a cozy, and I drove my mom to a Joanne Fluke reading a decade or so ago. I went in expecting "cute cozy about a baker who solves mysteries and has a love triangle" but I didn't expect this.
First of all, this editor should have cut half the paragraphs from this book. Everything is way too detailed and verbose, and I truly do not care about what the shoe salesman was wearing or what motions Hannah went through to pour out the cat food. I don't need to know how a random character gossipping at book club is related to another townie. It's too much and it's not relevant to the plot! You'd expect issues with a debut, but apparently Fluke had already published books before, so there is no excuse here.
Secondly, WHY did a cozy have a discovery of sexual assault (which was never mentioned again after that scene) and a domestic abuse subplot? We don't want this, and Hannah's reaction made me hate her.
Third issue is that the audiobook voice actress was completely wrong and made some offensive choices. Doing the old lady voice for characters in their 50s was absurd, and doing an accent for the Native American character was offensive.
And finally, like the other low reviews noted, Hannah sucks as a person? She's "not like other girls." So you're in your late 20s and single, fine. I got sick of her reminding us how ugly she is and that she doesn't know anything about fashion or makeup. We get it, you're not girly. You're not special! She has such a bad attitude about the other characters, and if she hates her town so much, then leave. It's also just weird that her mom is so obsessed with marrying her off when 29 isn't even that old. And I don't think it was that old in 1999 either. The Swensons are way too obsessed with Hannah's single status, and it's annoying.
I assume that fans like the series because they like the idea of a baker who solves crime. I truly don't know how one sits through multiple books of this.
I like the Hallmark show! I was looking for a cozy, and I drove my mom to a Joanne Fluke reading a decade or so ago. I went in expecting "cute cozy about a baker who solves mysteries and has a love triangle" but I didn't expect this.
First of all, this editor should have cut half the paragraphs from this book. Everything is way too detailed and verbose, and I truly do not care about what the shoe salesman was wearing or what motions Hannah went through to pour out the cat food. I don't need to know how a random character gossipping at book club is related to another townie. It's too much and it's not relevant to the plot! You'd expect issues with a debut, but apparently Fluke had already published books before, so there is no excuse here.
Secondly, WHY did a cozy have a discovery of sexual assault (which was never mentioned again after that scene) and a domestic abuse subplot? We don't want this, and Hannah's reaction made me hate her.
Third issue is that the audiobook voice actress was completely wrong and made some offensive choices. Doing the old lady voice for characters in their 50s was absurd, and doing an accent for the Native American character was offensive.
And finally, like the other low reviews noted, Hannah sucks as a person? She's "not like other girls." So you're in your late 20s and single, fine. I got sick of her reminding us how ugly she is and that she doesn't know anything about fashion or makeup. We get it, you're not girly. You're not special! She has such a bad attitude about the other characters, and if she hates her town so much, then leave. It's also just weird that her mom is so obsessed with marrying her off when 29 isn't even that old. And I don't think it was that old in 1999 either. The Swensons are way too obsessed with Hannah's single status, and it's annoying.
I assume that fans like the series because they like the idea of a baker who solves crime. I truly don't know how one sits through multiple books of this.
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
While it took me a while to get into this book and Hannah Swenson, I think it's a sign of its success that I was still inhabiting its world days after finishing it. Light and fluffy but with a smart, female lead who knows her stuff.
8/10
Overall this was a good mystery as far as mystery books go. Gives me lots of Agatha Christie vibes, not for the old english, no, this book is written normally, thank goodness. But for a first mystery book in the series it did a very good job. Or maybe I’m sympathetic because I, too, love baking.
The characters are likable and Fluke does a great job at connecting the pieces together for Hannah and the reader to make the connections plausible for a woman who is simply curious and determined and possibly has watched too much Dateline.
This book sets up the rest of the books for a nice time with placing locals around town, introducing family, etc. The mystery portion was not glaring obvious and you actually wouldn’t be able to guess it from the first few chapters. I liked that there was dead ends. I liked the roundabout way of getting answers with that sweet gossip nature of small towns (I can vouch, I’ve lived in a small town). Did I understand towards the end who committed the murder? Yes, but it wasn’t glaringly obvious and I liked that a lot.
The two gripes that I had is 1. Andrea became likable for no reason. Why introduce her one way to have her act not like that at all with seemingly no reason for sudden character growth? 2. The love triangle. The ending just didn’t make sense at least with one side (you’ll know who…). I wish that it would have been introduced sooner or into a later book.
Still would recommend for any reader and I will for sure sprinkle in the rest of the series into my TBR when I’m a little romanced out and wanting a break from fantasies.
Overall this was a good mystery as far as mystery books go. Gives me lots of Agatha Christie vibes, not for the old english, no, this book is written normally, thank goodness. But for a first mystery book in the series it did a very good job. Or maybe I’m sympathetic because I, too, love baking.
The characters are likable and Fluke does a great job at connecting the pieces together for Hannah and the reader to make the connections plausible for a woman who is simply curious and determined and possibly has watched too much Dateline.
This book sets up the rest of the books for a nice time with placing locals around town, introducing family, etc. The mystery portion was not glaring obvious and you actually wouldn’t be able to guess it from the first few chapters. I liked that there was dead ends. I liked the roundabout way of getting answers with that sweet gossip nature of small towns (I can vouch, I’ve lived in a small town). Did I understand towards the end who committed the murder? Yes, but it wasn’t glaringly obvious and I liked that a lot.
The two gripes that I had is 1. Andrea became likable for no reason. Why introduce her one way to have her act not like that at all with seemingly no reason for sudden character growth? 2. The love triangle. The ending just didn’t make sense at least with one side (you’ll know who…). I wish that it would have been introduced sooner or into a later book.
Still would recommend for any reader and I will for sure sprinkle in the rest of the series into my TBR when I’m a little romanced out and wanting a break from fantasies.
I hated it. I’m now ready to read the whole series. Here we go.
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
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:
No
Read this as a "parent" to approve it for use in a middle school class. It wasn't horrible - just not my preferred style of writing. Lots of details (maybe too many at some times); definitely fits into the cozy mystery genre. If you like Hallmark movies - you'll probably like this book.