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thisbookisbananas's review
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
This was a fun beginning to a cozy mystery series. There are a lot of books that get comped to GBBO. Many are disappointing. Cobblered to Death is not one of those books! It is a good mixture of cozy mystery meets GBBO and any of the Food Network’s Baking Championships. It was fun and full of drama. All in all, it was a great summer read!
theavidreaderandbibliophile's review
3.0
Cobblered to Death by Rosemarie Ross has readers enjoying the Pocono Mountains in May. Courtney Archer is the host of Cooking with the Farmer’s Daughter even though she has never stepped foot on a farm in her life. Courtney is now co-hosting The American Baking Battle on location while filming episodes of her own show. The one thing Courtney wishes is to present her real self to the audience, but her contract precludes her from revealing the truth. She finds it even more challenging working alongside Shannon Collins, host of Southern Comfort Foods, who is so genuine and extends friendship to Courtney. There is drama on the set between the baking contests and problems off screen thanks to contestant Mick who overheard a conversation between Courtney and her producer. Courtney sheds her worries while baking a cheery cobbler in a cast-iron pan for her show the next day. The next morning, she stops to pick it up and finds it on the floor alongside a very dead Mick. With Courtney in the hot seat as the police’s top suspect, she digs in to find the true culprit. Cobblered to Death is the debut of A Courtney Archer Mystery series. Courtney was a mixed bag for me. I liked her, but I also found her frustrating. If you are presenting yourself as a farmer’s daughter on air, would you not visit a farm and do research? I did not understand why the author has Courtney floundering after hosting the show for three years especially when Eric’s family owns a farm. I hope in the next book we get to know more about Courtney besides she likes to carve fruit, from Chicago, and dislikes lying to her viewers. I liked Courtney’s friend and producer, Eric Iverson. I found him friendly and caring. I also enjoyed the blossoming friendship between Courtney and Shannon Collins. Shannon was my favorite character in the story. There is baking galore for those readers who enjoy culinary cozies. I loved the descriptions of the red mixers on the lovely blue countertops (my two favorite colors). The mystery was lacking. It was obvious who would die and who would be blamed. I was easily able to solve this whodunit. There was an absence of suspects and pointed clues. I wanted less of Courtney upset about her situation (not being a farmer’s daughter, the clause in her contract) and a more solid mystery. There are two love interests for Courtney (of course). Cobblered to Death is what I call a light and breezy cozy mystery. Cobblered to Death is a new culinary cozy mystery with a crushing cherry cobbler, an abundance of baking, a complaining contestant, and a carking contract clause.
kimdavishb's review
4.0
COBBLERED TO DEATH by Rosemarie Ross is the first in the new Courtney Archer Mystery series. I love, love, love the cooking show competition premise and Ms. Ross provides fun insight into how baking shows and competitions are planned and filmed. The author’s descriptions of the characters and their antics as they participate in the show seems quite believable and realistic. The scheduling for filming the shows sounds often grueling but the protagonist, Courtney Archer, is a pro at it despite her consuming secret she must hide from the public. When she finds the body of the man who threatened to spill her secret, she becomes a suspect and as a result, tries to find the truth. Her producer, Eric, doesn’t want her to get involved and worries for her safety. His fussing was a bit over the top but as the story unfolds it becomes apparent that there’s more to his feelings than a client relationship. The owner of the security firm working for the show also seems to have an interest in Courtney. I truly hope it doesn’t drag out into a love triangle scenario as the series progresses but in this first book, it’s only hinted at. All in all Ms. Ross has created some fun characters, an awesome location, and while the mystery and investigation were a bit light, I found the book to be an enjoyable and entertaining read.
I was provided an advance copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
I was provided an advance copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
stephshoff88's review against another edition
lighthearted
mysterious
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
3.5
princessbilbo's review
3.0
Man, I was so excited by this one, but I was disappointed by the murderer. I wanted something more, and it felt like a 3-act surprise. Charming, but still lacking.
anns_book_chronicles's review against another edition
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75
dukefn99's review
3.0
I found Cobblered to Death to suffer from the classic first in a new series syndrome. There was a lot of whole building and character introduction, I think the mystery suffered. I had a hard time connecting with Courtney and her attempts to solve the mystery and clear her name. I finished the book, but I'm not sure I'll invest more time in the series. It wasn't bad, it just didn't get drawn into story.
lolasreviews's review
3.0
I received a free copy from the publisher through Netgalley and voluntarily reviewed it.
I liked the set-up for this book with the baking show and I requested this one soon after I spotted it on Netgalley. It's a fun cozy mystery set around a baking competition. However the mystery fell a bit flat and that among with a few other things prevented me from enjoying this one as much as I had hoped.
The mystery started off interesting, with one of the contestants found dead. He is hit upon the head with the main characters cast iron pan and cobbler. Which ofcourse makes the main character one of the suspects and she sets out to clear her name. The rest of the mystery just wasn't as engaging to me. There's two obvious unlikable characters who with their unlikable behavior hit a spot on the suspects list. But most of it was actually guessing. There just weren't many clues to point to the murderer or suspects that got ruled out. And the reveal was just a bit anti-climactic, although there were a few interesting twist along the way, the overall mystery just fell flat to me. While I hadn't predicted who the murderer was, I also wasn't too surprised.
It made sense how the main character got involved, but I thought her actual involvement was still pretty mild. She mostly asks a few questions and researches things online. There aren't many clues she finds in person. And while her producer kept warning her to keep her noose out of it, compared with some other cozy mysteries I thought she didn't put herself in danger too much. Most of the time she was pretty smart about. Asking questions in public places or researching things from the safety from online. Most of the bigger clues and reveals are all kept to the end, which made the earlier part of the story feel a bit slow. I did guess the murderer wrong, but I think there aren't many good clues to figure it out. Even the obvious suspects lack a clear motive. I liked how the detective on the case seemed capable enough and also was friendly enough to the main character.
I did like the food theme and the baking contest focus. I also like how the set-up for book 2 is done at the end of this book. I had mistakenly believed the main character would be one of the contestants, but she is actually the host. So there isn't as much of her actually cooking and baking things as I had hoped. We mostly see the contestants do some baking and descriptions of what they have mad,e but not much of the actual baking. The contest itself also was less interesting as we don't get to know a lot about most contestants, so it's hard to get invested in who does well, who is send home and who wins.
Courtney was a decent main character. I liked how she handled things. Her curiosity into the murder made sense. I also liked how she wanted to come clean to her fans about her not being a farmer's daughter, but I have to admit I didn't really care about the whole drama/ trouble surrounding her not being a farmer's daughter, but having to pretend she did. There wasn't much that made me really like her though, there just wasn't much that really made her stand out somehow.
There are some side characters, but few who are really interesting. It was a bit difficult at the start to remember who was who as there are a lot of characters and not many of them really show a lot of personality of things to distinguish them form one another at first, but as the story progressed this resolved itself when you get to know the characters a bit better.
It was nice to see Courtney struck up a friendship with Shannon, although I didn't really feel like we got to know her much, it was clear these two quickly considered each other friends. Courtney also is pretty close to her producer Eric. And then there is Drake, the owner of the security company. Courtney has an eye on him, but is he interested in her or only because she's a suspect? The other host, judge and the contestants all stay to the background a bit, although there are some interesting scenes of glimpses into their personalities at times.
The setting at the castle for the filming was interesting. It was a bit of a locked room mystery feel as you know someone who was there is the murderer and one of the characters there has done it. It also was nice to get a bit of a feel for the setting and surrounding area. And it was fun to read about a show like this being filmed.
To summarize: this cozy mystery has a fun theme with a cooking/ baking show. I liked the food theme and seeing the show being filmed. The mystery fell a bit flat for me, with there being only a few obvious suspects and very few clues. The biggest clues and reveals all come at the end of the story. I had guessed wrong who the murderer was, but then again with very few clues to go on I just guessed on someone. I liked Courtney well enough, but I never fully cared about her and what she was going through. I liked how she handled most of the investigating in a relatively smart manner. I didn't really care for the whole drama around her not being a farmer's daughter and her having to pretend she is, while actually wanting to reveal her secret. I was a bit surprised at the start of the book that Courtney wasn't a contestant as I had expected, but the host of the show instead, so there was less actual baking she did than I has expected. There is a hint of romance and a few side characters that play a role in the story as well. The castle setting for the filming was interesting and gave the mystery a bit of a locked room vibe. All in all a fun food themed cozy mystery, but it fell a bit flat for me.
I liked the set-up for this book with the baking show and I requested this one soon after I spotted it on Netgalley. It's a fun cozy mystery set around a baking competition. However the mystery fell a bit flat and that among with a few other things prevented me from enjoying this one as much as I had hoped.
The mystery started off interesting, with one of the contestants found dead. He is hit upon the head with the main characters cast iron pan and cobbler. Which ofcourse makes the main character one of the suspects and she sets out to clear her name. The rest of the mystery just wasn't as engaging to me. There's two obvious unlikable characters who with their unlikable behavior hit a spot on the suspects list. But most of it was actually guessing. There just weren't many clues to point to the murderer or suspects that got ruled out. And the reveal was just a bit anti-climactic, although there were a few interesting twist along the way, the overall mystery just fell flat to me. While I hadn't predicted who the murderer was, I also wasn't too surprised.
It made sense how the main character got involved, but I thought her actual involvement was still pretty mild. She mostly asks a few questions and researches things online. There aren't many clues she finds in person. And while her producer kept warning her to keep her noose out of it, compared with some other cozy mysteries I thought she didn't put herself in danger too much. Most of the time she was pretty smart about. Asking questions in public places or researching things from the safety from online. Most of the bigger clues and reveals are all kept to the end, which made the earlier part of the story feel a bit slow. I did guess the murderer wrong, but I think there aren't many good clues to figure it out. Even the obvious suspects lack a clear motive. I liked how the detective on the case seemed capable enough and also was friendly enough to the main character.
I did like the food theme and the baking contest focus. I also like how the set-up for book 2 is done at the end of this book. I had mistakenly believed the main character would be one of the contestants, but she is actually the host. So there isn't as much of her actually cooking and baking things as I had hoped. We mostly see the contestants do some baking and descriptions of what they have mad,e but not much of the actual baking. The contest itself also was less interesting as we don't get to know a lot about most contestants, so it's hard to get invested in who does well, who is send home and who wins.
Courtney was a decent main character. I liked how she handled things. Her curiosity into the murder made sense. I also liked how she wanted to come clean to her fans about her not being a farmer's daughter, but I have to admit I didn't really care about the whole drama/ trouble surrounding her not being a farmer's daughter, but having to pretend she did. There wasn't much that made me really like her though, there just wasn't much that really made her stand out somehow.
There are some side characters, but few who are really interesting. It was a bit difficult at the start to remember who was who as there are a lot of characters and not many of them really show a lot of personality of things to distinguish them form one another at first, but as the story progressed this resolved itself when you get to know the characters a bit better.
It was nice to see Courtney struck up a friendship with Shannon, although I didn't really feel like we got to know her much, it was clear these two quickly considered each other friends. Courtney also is pretty close to her producer Eric. And then there is Drake, the owner of the security company. Courtney has an eye on him, but is he interested in her or only because she's a suspect? The other host, judge and the contestants all stay to the background a bit, although there are some interesting scenes of glimpses into their personalities at times.
The setting at the castle for the filming was interesting. It was a bit of a locked room mystery feel as you know someone who was there is the murderer and one of the characters there has done it. It also was nice to get a bit of a feel for the setting and surrounding area. And it was fun to read about a show like this being filmed.
To summarize: this cozy mystery has a fun theme with a cooking/ baking show. I liked the food theme and seeing the show being filmed. The mystery fell a bit flat for me, with there being only a few obvious suspects and very few clues. The biggest clues and reveals all come at the end of the story. I had guessed wrong who the murderer was, but then again with very few clues to go on I just guessed on someone. I liked Courtney well enough, but I never fully cared about her and what she was going through. I liked how she handled most of the investigating in a relatively smart manner. I didn't really care for the whole drama around her not being a farmer's daughter and her having to pretend she is, while actually wanting to reveal her secret. I was a bit surprised at the start of the book that Courtney wasn't a contestant as I had expected, but the host of the show instead, so there was less actual baking she did than I has expected. There is a hint of romance and a few side characters that play a role in the story as well. The castle setting for the filming was interesting and gave the mystery a bit of a locked room vibe. All in all a fun food themed cozy mystery, but it fell a bit flat for me.