kelly_e's review against another edition
lighthearted
mysterious
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? It's complicated
3.75
Title: Homicide and Halo-Halo
Author: Mia P. Manansala
Series: Tita Rosie's Kitchen Mystery #2
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Rating: 3.75
Pub Date: February 8, 2022
T H R E E • W O R D S
Entertaining • Feisty • Delicious
📖 S Y N O P S I S
Things are heating up for Lila Macapagal. Not in her love life, which she insists on keeping nonexistent. Or her professional life, since she can't bring herself to open her new café. No, things are heating up quite literally, since summer, her least favorite season, has just started.
To add to her feelings of sticky unease, Lila's little town of Shady Palms has resurrected the Miss Teen Shady Palms Beauty Pageant, which she won many years ago--a fact that serves as a wedge between Lila and her cousin slash rival, Bernadette. But when the head judge of the pageant is murdered and Bernadette becomes the main suspect, the two must put aside their differences and solve the case--because it looks like one of them might be next.
💭 T H O U G H T S
Cozy mysteries are not a genre I pick up often, but every once in awhile the mood for one hits. I enjoyed Arsenic and Adobo, the first installment in the Tita Rosie's Kitchen Mystery series, so continuing the series seemed the most logical thing to do.
Similar to the first book, this one is packed with smart dialogue, delicious food, a meddling family, and a touch of romance. I appreciated getting to know Lila more - including details about her past and her relationship with her mother, which allowed me to understand her insecurities more. There is a pretty strong mental health aspect to this one as well, and that suited me just fine.
The thing that makes this series stand out for me is the depth. There is so much going on here than the typical whodunit plot line. The second installment delves deep into how the past and our relationships shape our lives. While this is definitely a plus, unfortunately, in this one the mystery took a back seat, and honestly didn't really interest me all that much.
Homicide and Halo-Halo was a nice palette cleanser from my recent more emotional reads. Although the mystery didn't piqued my interest this time around, I do look forward to continuing this series, and seeing what happens next.
📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• readers looking for a cozy with depth
• fans of the Dial A for Aunties series
🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"I wondered at what age you stopped caring what other people thought about you and just spoke your mind."
"You're more than your work... More than whatever contributions you think you're supposed to be making. More than whoever people think you're supposed to be."
Author: Mia P. Manansala
Series: Tita Rosie's Kitchen Mystery #2
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Rating: 3.75
Pub Date: February 8, 2022
T H R E E • W O R D S
Entertaining • Feisty • Delicious
📖 S Y N O P S I S
Things are heating up for Lila Macapagal. Not in her love life, which she insists on keeping nonexistent. Or her professional life, since she can't bring herself to open her new café. No, things are heating up quite literally, since summer, her least favorite season, has just started.
To add to her feelings of sticky unease, Lila's little town of Shady Palms has resurrected the Miss Teen Shady Palms Beauty Pageant, which she won many years ago--a fact that serves as a wedge between Lila and her cousin slash rival, Bernadette. But when the head judge of the pageant is murdered and Bernadette becomes the main suspect, the two must put aside their differences and solve the case--because it looks like one of them might be next.
💭 T H O U G H T S
Cozy mysteries are not a genre I pick up often, but every once in awhile the mood for one hits. I enjoyed Arsenic and Adobo, the first installment in the Tita Rosie's Kitchen Mystery series, so continuing the series seemed the most logical thing to do.
Similar to the first book, this one is packed with smart dialogue, delicious food, a meddling family, and a touch of romance. I appreciated getting to know Lila more - including details about her past and her relationship with her mother, which allowed me to understand her insecurities more. There is a pretty strong mental health aspect to this one as well, and that suited me just fine.
The thing that makes this series stand out for me is the depth. There is so much going on here than the typical whodunit plot line. The second installment delves deep into how the past and our relationships shape our lives. While this is definitely a plus, unfortunately, in this one the mystery took a back seat, and honestly didn't really interest me all that much.
Homicide and Halo-Halo was a nice palette cleanser from my recent more emotional reads. Although the mystery didn't piqued my interest this time around, I do look forward to continuing this series, and seeing what happens next.
📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• readers looking for a cozy with depth
• fans of the Dial A for Aunties series
🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"I wondered at what age you stopped caring what other people thought about you and just spoke your mind."
"You're more than your work... More than whatever contributions you think you're supposed to be making. More than whoever people think you're supposed to be."
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Grief
Moderate: Body shaming, Misogyny, Sexual harassment, Infidelity, Fatphobia, Pregnancy, Sexism, Death, Infertility, Miscarriage, Gaslighting, Death of parent, and Murder
Minor: Gun violence, Suicide, and Injury/Injury detail
PTSD, death of partner, predatory behaviourauudrey's review against another edition
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? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body shaming, Classism, Fatphobia, Murder, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Gun violence, Infidelity, Death of parent, Adult/minor relationship, Grief, and Bullying
bubblegirl858's review
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
medium-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? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Infidelity, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, and Misogyny
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Grief, Death of parent, and Violence
greatexpectations77's review
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
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? Yes
4.0
These books are so much fun, and the food always sounds absolutely divine. I'm also such a sucker for a book with recipes included. Shout out to younger me reading Diane Mott Davidson at age like ??? 14??? What a little weirdo. I will definitely keep reading this series and recommend them for a nice cozy mystery.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness
Moderate: Death, Infidelity, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, and Murder
Minor: Bullying, Alcohol, Adult/minor relationship, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment
genny's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
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? Yes
3.75
Lila was quite annoying for a good part of this book. I know she has trauma, but that doesn't excuse her being overdramatic and selfish...it's a good thing that the other characters call her out, because it'd be unbearable if the narration made her out to be correct all the time. Manansala also tends to over-explain things, like...Lila gave Jae a "Yoda Best Dentist" mug, and the author just HAD to clarify that this was a play on words because Jae was a dentist and a Star Wars fan. We get it. Absolutely no chemistry between Lila and Amir, by the way. I forgot there was supposed to be a love triangle.
The good thing is that the mystery here was much better than the one in the first book! Enough crumbs were sprinkled throughout the story for the reveal to make sense without being too predictable. Despite my criticisms, I genuinely had a fun time and I'm still continuing with the series, if only to support the idea of Filipino-centered mysteries.
The good thing is that the mystery here was much better than the one in the first book! Enough crumbs were sprinkled throughout the story for the reveal to make sense without being too predictable. Despite my criticisms, I genuinely had a fun time and I'm still continuing with the series, if only to support the idea of Filipino-centered mysteries.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Acephobia/Arophobia, Alcohol, Death, Infidelity, and Murder
Minor: Suicide and Car accident
foldingthepage_kayleigh's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
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
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, and Mental illness
Moderate: Gun violence, Body shaming, and Murder
saurahsaurus's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Grief, Murder, Death of parent, Medical content, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Classism, Death, Infidelity, and Misogyny
Minor: Suicide, Infertility, and Body shaming
thebougiebookworm's review
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-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? It's complicated
4.0
I’ll say it — I love cozy mysteries! This series is great for so many reasons; the characters, the dialogue, the pacing, but what I love about this - and what makes it so unique - is all of the vivid descriptions of food. And not just because my inner chubby girl likes to eat! Food is such an important staple in so many cultures and I love getting to see Filipino, Mexican, Korean, and Middle Eastern staples represented in this book!
The plot drives forward pretty quickly, and in true “whodoneit” fashion, everyone is a suspect at one time or another. I love how Manansala uses misdirection to keep you guessing. I’m usually pretty good at figuring these out early on, but I didn’t get it until the last 50 or so pages!
While this is a fun read for the sleuths out there, this book is a bit darker and explores some potentially triggering content, which I feel the author did a good job calling out in her author’s note. Please check these warnings before diving in!
The plot drives forward pretty quickly, and in true “whodoneit” fashion, everyone is a suspect at one time or another. I love how Manansala uses misdirection to keep you guessing. I’m usually pretty good at figuring these out early on, but I didn’t get it until the last 50 or so pages!
While this is a fun read for the sleuths out there, this book is a bit darker and explores some potentially triggering content, which I feel the author did a good job calling out in her author’s note. Please check these warnings before diving in!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Stalking, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, Murder, Suicide, Sexual harassment, and Infidelity
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Medical content, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Pedophilia, and Pregnancy
kimveach's review
emotional
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I enjoyed this even more than the first book, which is often the case with cozy mysteries.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Death of parent, Sexual content, Alcohol, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Classism, Death, Gun violence, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, and Sexual harassment
amandalorianxo's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I appreciated the tiny recaps the author sprinkled here and there because it has been a while since I read the first book in this series. I also liked the content warning that Mia wrote as well because this definitely took on a different tone and vibe compared to the first book. It’s still a cozy mystery but the characters seem to be more comfortable calling out Lila when she is on her bs as well as Lila acknowledging that she isn’t the same person she was during the spring time. It’s summer now and someone is no longer around Shady Palms. Lila & her family find herself in the midst of things again as well as some old and new faces. It was a little bit predictable (to me) at which type of person that committed the crime but as to the actual person, I guessed wrong so that was cool for me. The recipes are still at the back of the book which I loved. I am also glad the characters sort of call out Lila when it came to her love life because even though she owes no one an explanation, it was getting annoying when Amir or Jae were around & she tried to play at then being friends. I also had a feeling that Lila was going to pick a certain someone because the other person seemed to have a weird personality change and conveniently like someone else. Looking forward to book three in October.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abandonment and Infidelity
Minor: Death of parent, Death, and Murder