Reviews with content warning for Death - Blackmail and Bibingka

All of these authors books are really good. I think the first one is still my favorite but you really can’t go wrong. It’s super interesting as a mystery book. I never really can guess the twist. I love these characters and love following them on their journey. I specifically love the dogs in this one. I love their café as well. I always wish there was wrote more romance or really any romance at all but can’t have everything. If you love food and you love drinks and you love mystery books this is the book for you.

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lindsloveslit's review against another edition

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lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

3.25

QOTD: What's your favorite way to read a book? Inside or outside? Couch or bed? Morning or night? Paperback, hardcover, of ebook?

Blackmail and Babingka is the third book in Tita Rosies six book series. 📚 It was equal parts cozy and messy, and PERFECT for reading in bed, snuggled under big heavy blankets with my fur babies. 🐶🫶🏽🐶 Ebooks through the library are generally my preference, but this was a paperback book; which I regretted because more than ANYTHING, this book made reference to so much delicious Filipino food. 😋👏🏽I just wanted to snack/eat THE ENTIRE TIME. (I ended up getting mandu dipping sauce and tteokbokki on the pages because I couldn't help myself 🙄🫣).

Overall, it was fast paced and predictable, with one specific twist that was unexpected! IMO the food and the main characters were a 10/10 and the highlights of the book. But the new, supporting characters were a 3/10. There were way too many of them, and because there were so many of them we didn't get much character development.

Have y'all read this series? If so, do you plan on reading the next three books, too?!

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thereaderfriend's review against another edition

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lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

I loved the story bc I loved the characters but the mystery wasn't so much a mystery bc the big reveal was what I was expecting from the beginning :/ did really enjoy it tho! Also liked the focus on how greed and jealousy are powerful and dangerous motivators. Gonna buy this series and read the rest of it!

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kirstym25's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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spcandybars's review against another edition

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adventurous lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I think if you enjoyed the first two books enough to look into more, you can rest assured knowing you’ll enjoy this third installment. I wouldn’t say it’s as strong as the second book when it comes to how the new characters were introduced and the framing of their involvement with Lila and co but it was still a relaxing and fast read.

There were a few moments of dialogue that felt cringe because of some really forced slang usage but nothing that should be unexpected after the other books. I do want to hear less rehashing of previous books from Lila so the books feel like they stand on their own a bit more but it’s not too extreme - just a bit distracting within the narrative. The way everyone was brought in this story felt very abrupt (Lila stating “long lost cousin” to begin his background dump was hilarious to me) and forced compared to HAHH but I think that’s probably a genre specifically quality of cozies - characters inserted specific to the episodic plot. You can’t kill everyone in town so you’ve got to start pulling them from other places.

This is my first cozy series and I feel like I’ve finally got the hang of them. This is honestly a series I could see extending forever and that’s pretty fun.

Perfect for reading slumps if you already love this family and the most diverse small town in the Midwest.

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