lolasreviews's review against another edition
4.0
I received a free audible code from the author and voluntarily reviewed this one.
I really enjoyed book 1 in this series and was lucky enough to be able to listen to book 2 as well as these are great in audio. It was so much fun to be back at the baking contest and follow Poppy as shes spends another weekend baking and solving a murder or two.
The author blends the different elements well. These aren't just about the mystery, there is a lot of other things going on as well. It takes some time before the murder takes place and in between solving the mystery there is the baking competition as well. Then there is the paranormal aspect of Poppy learning more about her witchy powers and trying to find out more about her birth parents. It makes for an engaging read with a lot going on.
The mystery in this one didn't hook me as much as the previous one, but it still was an interesting one. Arnold Bentley is murdered when the murderer makes sure he's stung by a swarm of bees and he's highly allergic and doesn't have his epipen by hand and thus he dies. I wasn't really sure who the murderer was and when it was revealed it did make sense, but even so the most important clue was only revealed at the end and without that it would've been more difficult to guess it right. The way the murder got revealed was a bit weird, but I did like the big reveal about how everything had happened.
The baking contest was a fun one again this week, especially the first part of the competition and listening to Poppy's idea for her cake and how she got the fresh ingredients was fun. And hearing what all the other contestants were baking as well. There is some progression about Poppy's witchy powers and I liked seeing her meet the coven as hinted at in the title. There are some minor clues about her heritage, but not as much progress about that in this one.
I like Poppy as a main character, she's caring and I like how she's slowly discovering a bit of her witchy powers and making friends with the other bakers. Now in the second book it was easier to remember who was who from the other bakers and you get a bit of a better feel for all of them. there are also some new side characters, like the ones involved in the mystery as well as the adorable dog Sly.
The narrator does a great job with this series. I liked listening to this book and hearing the different voices for the characters. Sometimes some of the side characters sound a bit alike, but most have their own voice and she also does Hamish' accent and Florence her over the top way of speaking well. I definitely recommend the audio versions of these.
To summarize: This was a great sequel and I enjoyed listening to it. Poppy is back for the second episode of the baking contest, she also has to solve another mystery and discover more about her witchy powers and continues to look into the mystery of who her parents were. The mystery started a bit later in the book as this author often does, but it works here. The way the mystery started didn't fully work for me and it didn't grip me as much as the first one, but it was a solid mystery and I liked the reveal of who was the murderer and how everything happened. I continue to enjoy following Poppy in these books and I liked getting a better feel for the side characters in this one. now that we spend some more time with the big cast of side characters they come alive more and there are some new characters as well like the adorable dog Sly. All in all another great read and I look forward to the next one.
I really enjoyed book 1 in this series and was lucky enough to be able to listen to book 2 as well as these are great in audio. It was so much fun to be back at the baking contest and follow Poppy as shes spends another weekend baking and solving a murder or two.
The author blends the different elements well. These aren't just about the mystery, there is a lot of other things going on as well. It takes some time before the murder takes place and in between solving the mystery there is the baking competition as well. Then there is the paranormal aspect of Poppy learning more about her witchy powers and trying to find out more about her birth parents. It makes for an engaging read with a lot going on.
The mystery in this one didn't hook me as much as the previous one, but it still was an interesting one. Arnold Bentley is murdered when the murderer makes sure he's stung by a swarm of bees and he's highly allergic and doesn't have his epipen by hand and thus he dies. I wasn't really sure who the murderer was and when it was revealed it did make sense, but even so the most important clue was only revealed at the end and without that it would've been more difficult to guess it right. The way the murder got revealed was a bit weird, but I did like the big reveal about how everything had happened.
The baking contest was a fun one again this week, especially the first part of the competition and listening to Poppy's idea for her cake and how she got the fresh ingredients was fun. And hearing what all the other contestants were baking as well. There is some progression about Poppy's witchy powers and I liked seeing her meet the coven as hinted at in the title. There are some minor clues about her heritage, but not as much progress about that in this one.
I like Poppy as a main character, she's caring and I like how she's slowly discovering a bit of her witchy powers and making friends with the other bakers. Now in the second book it was easier to remember who was who from the other bakers and you get a bit of a better feel for all of them. there are also some new side characters, like the ones involved in the mystery as well as the adorable dog Sly.
The narrator does a great job with this series. I liked listening to this book and hearing the different voices for the characters. Sometimes some of the side characters sound a bit alike, but most have their own voice and she also does Hamish' accent and Florence her over the top way of speaking well. I definitely recommend the audio versions of these.
To summarize: This was a great sequel and I enjoyed listening to it. Poppy is back for the second episode of the baking contest, she also has to solve another mystery and discover more about her witchy powers and continues to look into the mystery of who her parents were. The mystery started a bit later in the book as this author often does, but it works here. The way the mystery started didn't fully work for me and it didn't grip me as much as the first one, but it was a solid mystery and I liked the reveal of who was the murderer and how everything happened. I continue to enjoy following Poppy in these books and I liked getting a better feel for the side characters in this one. now that we spend some more time with the big cast of side characters they come alive more and there are some new characters as well like the adorable dog Sly. All in all another great read and I look forward to the next one.
roadtripreader's review against another edition
3.0
Book 2 in the series is as lopsided as that crooked sponge Pierre made in Season 1 of the Great Canadian Bake Baking Show I mean that showstopper was a cake, it was baked, it was crooked but it just wasn't wow. And Julian the Builder-Baker was hella likeable. This is much the same case with this book. The characters of note are "almost" in every way. Almost intriguing, almost curious, Almost fantastic. Now, the book is not great and it's not good. It's that inbetween- satisfactory and nice.
So I've realized that I'm not a fan of modern day poesic witches and their spells that sound like bad poetry. It's giving " The power of three will set you free" Charmed Halliwell Sister vibes (no shade to the original series). I rolled my eyes when Elspeth Peach was reciting her cutsie protection spell.
Listen to this and tell me you don't want to cackle:
Earth, Fire, Water, all three
Elements Astral, I summon Thee
By the moon's light
On this special night
I call to thee to givr us your might
By the power of three
I conjure thee
To protect our sweet Poppy
And all that surrounds she
So I will, So mote it be
So I will, so mote it be
C'mon this is the stuff the little dweebs and dwebettes would practice as kids pretending to be witches. At least Wingardium Leviosa sounds like an exotic spell.
Now I prefer witches like you know THE WITCH staring Ana Taylor Joy. No poetry, no ryhming just the right amount of devil-speech or heck any of the old "Witch languages" in Europe and equally petrifying.
And yet; I still want it to be cozy. Is that too much to ask?
For now, this earns a 3.5 at best. I did like it, just didn't love it.
So I've realized that I'm not a fan of modern day poesic witches and their spells that sound like bad poetry. It's giving " The power of three will set you free" Charmed Halliwell Sister vibes (no shade to the original series). I rolled my eyes when Elspeth Peach was reciting her cutsie protection spell.
Listen to this and tell me you don't want to cackle:
Earth, Fire, Water, all three
Elements Astral, I summon Thee
By the moon's light
On this special night
I call to thee to givr us your might
By the power of three
I conjure thee
To protect our sweet Poppy
And all that surrounds she
So I will, So mote it be
So I will, so mote it be
C'mon this is the stuff the little dweebs and dwebettes would practice as kids pretending to be witches. At least Wingardium Leviosa sounds like an exotic spell.
Now I prefer witches like you know THE WITCH staring Ana Taylor Joy. No poetry, no ryhming just the right amount of devil-speech or heck any of the old "Witch languages" in Europe and equally petrifying.
And yet; I still want it to be cozy. Is that too much to ask?
For now, this earns a 3.5 at best. I did like it, just didn't love it.
mrsj_readsbooks's review against another edition
3.0
Another great baking cozy mystery with a bit of witch thrown in
nicola_june's review against another edition
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
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
3.0
emsisfab's review against another edition
adventurous
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
jessicaparkesreads's review
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0