rosescottagee's review against another edition
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.5
asanford's review
3.0
Fun and easy to listen to series. Love the hints for ways to use spices. The characters are gradually growing on me but I don’t love the ex-husband hovering and the forced love interest.
susanknights's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
amandajeanne's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
morticia32's review
4.0
I thoroughly enjoyed book one in the series, but book 2 surpassed it, which is always a good thing!
I still love the Seattle setting and the Market. It makes me want to go back to Seattle and spend more time in the Market area, poking around (sadly, after my last visit and fighting with the awful Seattle traffic I swore I'd not go there again, because it would drive me completely around the bend, haha).
The story starts off a bit slowly, and I admit I put it down for a few days in favor of a few audio books so I could knit (I tried knitting and reading once, it didn't work out very well, resulted in multiple dropped stitches and a very frustrated knitter!). But when I picked it back up, it picked right up too, and I read it straight through.
By the way, I love Indian food, so this book made me hungry a lot. Conveniently my husband shares my love of spicy food and took me for a lovely Indian dinner on Valentine's Day (our 25th wedding anniversary this year). This book also made me wish Pepper's shop was real, or that we at least had something similar locally. We have a spice shop in the next town, but I wasn't impressed with either the freshness or the staff.
I can't wait for the nice Spice Shop installment!
I still love the Seattle setting and the Market. It makes me want to go back to Seattle and spend more time in the Market area, poking around (sadly, after my last visit and fighting with the awful Seattle traffic I swore I'd not go there again, because it would drive me completely around the bend, haha).
The story starts off a bit slowly, and I admit I put it down for a few days in favor of a few audio books so I could knit (I tried knitting and reading once, it didn't work out very well, resulted in multiple dropped stitches and a very frustrated knitter!). But when I picked it back up, it picked right up too, and I read it straight through.
By the way, I love Indian food, so this book made me hungry a lot. Conveniently my husband shares my love of spicy food and took me for a lovely Indian dinner on Valentine's Day (our 25th wedding anniversary this year). This book also made me wish Pepper's shop was real, or that we at least had something similar locally. We have a spice shop in the next town, but I wasn't impressed with either the freshness or the staff.
I can't wait for the nice Spice Shop installment!
curlygirl71's review against another edition
emotional
funny
mysterious
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? It's complicated
3.5
persnicketypaul's review against another edition
4.0
I love cozy mysteries because they tend to add a comedic touch and an interesting theme to the standard mystery novel. In "Guilty as Cinnamon," Leslie Budewitz talks a lot about spices with the main character, Pepper, working in a spice shop and getting tangled up in a crime involving ghost peppers that she may have possibly sold to the killer. I enjoyed this book for the most part, especially given that it was the second in a series (of which I haven't read the first). It was easy to get into and enjoy, and you can easily tell that Budewitz' writing is very well-thought-out. In the beginning, the number of characters was overwhelming because I didn't have a good enough grasp of who anyone was yet, so that kept me from really recognizing or understanding individual characters till partway through the book, but I eventually caught up. This book is filled with quirky humor and interesting people/scenarios that made it an enjoyable read. I was a bit skeptical about the criminal investigators' inability to discover a piece of information that Pepper uncovered (to be unnamed for you to discover on your own). At times, Budewitz' usage of sentence fragments threw me off and distracted me, but I can see why she chose to use them, as they make the reading experience more casual and connect the reader more to Pepper and the overall story. "Guilty as Cinnamon" was well worth the read, and I can see myself reading another Spice Shop Mystery in the future!
*I won a free copy of this book through Goodreads First Reads.
*I won a free copy of this book through Goodreads First Reads.
valerielong's review against another edition
4.0
I thoroughly enjoyed this second installment in the Spice Shop series.
The characters in this series are wonderful and I love each of them. I believe them to be well-rounded and yet, so far in the both books in the series, we see development amongst the main charcters, so they're not stagnant.
The plot had lots of twists and turns in it that kept me guessing right up until the end. I didn't have a clue who had actually committed the crime until it was finally revealed. I made a few guesses, but I was completely wrong on all of them, which I like. I don't like it when I can figure out who the villain is half way thru the book and then I have to sit there while the police fumble thru the evidence that seems so obvious to me.
I've never been to Seattle, but I can envision the market place from the descriptions given. I find the setting information to be "just right", enough description given to help me form a blueprint in my head but not too wordy so nothing is left to my imagination.
I will definitely recommend this series to other cozy mystery lovers! :)
The characters in this series are wonderful and I love each of them. I believe them to be well-rounded and yet, so far in the both books in the series, we see development amongst the main charcters, so they're not stagnant.
The plot had lots of twists and turns in it that kept me guessing right up until the end. I didn't have a clue who had actually committed the crime until it was finally revealed. I made a few guesses, but I was completely wrong on all of them, which I like. I don't like it when I can figure out who the villain is half way thru the book and then I have to sit there while the police fumble thru the evidence that seems so obvious to me.
I've never been to Seattle, but I can envision the market place from the descriptions given. I find the setting information to be "just right", enough description given to help me form a blueprint in my head but not too wordy so nothing is left to my imagination.
I will definitely recommend this series to other cozy mystery lovers! :)
angrygreycatreads's review against another edition
4.0
This is book 2 in the Spice Shop Mystery Series by Leslie Budewitz. I love the theme of a spice shop. I use a lot of spices and herbs in my own cooking and enjoy reading about them. In this book, a customer of the spice shop is killed with one of the shop’s products. Pepper’s ex-boyfriend is implicated and calls her for help, which is how she begins looking into the crime. This one includes hidden identities, abused spouses, corruption in the restaurant business, murder and maybe even ghosts to keep the story feeling fresh and exciting. Lots of twists and turns to keep the reader guessing. The Seattle location is well done and feels realistic. I visited Pike Place Market years ago and remember it vividly as having a vibrant “foodie” atmosphere. This comes to life on the pages of the book. Well written cozy with great atmosphere and theme!
krisrid's review against another edition
2.0
This was yet another situation where I loved the first in a cozy series, but with the second the spark did not hold up. I did not finish this and won't be continuing with the series.
For some reason, the main character of Pepper came across in this book as pushy and crabby. It felt like she spent a lot of time feeling sorry for herself, and blaming other people for it. I can't even quite put my finger on it, but I just didn't connect to Pepper in this book the way I did in the first book.
I also missed the spice shop, its lore and info about spices and the whole spice shop vibe that was a big feature for me in the first book. Because the murder took place in a restaurant, and the main suspect was the chef from another restaurant, the locations and focus were much more about the running of, and situations in a restaurant which wasn't as interesting for me. I kept waiting for Pepper to go back to her shop so we could talk about spices instead of bitchy sous-chefs and backstabbing in the restaurants.
It always disappoints me when a cozy series starts off well, but then doesn't maintain its charm for me in subsequent books. On to the next.
For some reason, the main character of Pepper came across in this book as pushy and crabby. It felt like she spent a lot of time feeling sorry for herself, and blaming other people for it. I can't even quite put my finger on it, but I just didn't connect to Pepper in this book the way I did in the first book.
I also missed the spice shop, its lore and info about spices and the whole spice shop vibe that was a big feature for me in the first book. Because the murder took place in a restaurant, and the main suspect was the chef from another restaurant, the locations and focus were much more about the running of, and situations in a restaurant which wasn't as interesting for me. I kept waiting for Pepper to go back to her shop so we could talk about spices instead of bitchy sous-chefs and backstabbing in the restaurants.
It always disappoints me when a cozy series starts off well, but then doesn't maintain its charm for me in subsequent books. On to the next.