3 out of 5 stars.
I would like to thank Random House Publishing Group – Alibi for providing me with a free ARC of this book, via Netgalley, in exchange for an open and honest review.
This book was…. Okay. It had all the right elements to the point of really being a cookie cutter cosy crime from a small town in America. A café to run, a cat, a love interest and a mystery – tick, tick, tick and tick! But I don’t know, there was just something lacking in it all and I simply failed to connect. It felt like the story was just going through the motions of a cosy crime/ mystery and therefore so was I. There was no ‘One more chapter’ mantra, no late night readings. It was just… so so.
To be honest, if I gave half stars, this would probably me more a two and a half than a three… sorry. I feel like such a terrible person saying it and I really do feel it comes down to me having a FTC (Failure to Connect) with this book than it being a poorly written book. Because, as said, it had everything there that makes a great cosy/ mystery… there was just no zap or sizzle for me. Also, the title didn’t really gel with the story. Yes it mentions crepes and it was a pancake house… but after that, no real connection. There was no crepe used in anger, no wrath at the crepe maker, etc. It was a humorous play on words… but maybe fuelled my FTC.
I take on full responsibility for not enjoying the book – let’s get that out there. It was well written, filled with likable characters, a good setting and believable situations. Maybe it was first book jitters? Maybe it was because I’ve recently read some cosy/ mysteries that have blown me away and therefore set the bar too high, I don’t know. But I want to emphasise this was a well written book! The fault was in the reader, not the book nor the author!
Would I recommend this book to others?
Maybe. I mean, it fits all the cosy/ mystery criteria and other lovers of this genre may click with it and want to know what my problem with as they loved it… So I really don’t know. It’s always hard to recommend a book you don’t connect with. I would probably mention it in passing, if the topic arose, but I’d also voice my opinion and… yeah, not exactly a glowing recommendation. I’d much rather stay silent than talk down a good book I just didn’t ‘click’ with.
Would I buy this book for myself?
No, I can’t say I would. Though if I did see other books in the series on Netgalley or at my library I would possibly have a read just to see if I can connect with them better. But I wouldn’t be going out of my way to seek out these books or add them to my wish list.
In summary: I guess you could call this a perfect little cosy crime/ mystery. It ticked all the boxes and seemed to pop out of the cosy crime cookie mould perfectly. But I just didn’t connect and blame myself entirely. The book is well written, but just wasn’t for me.
Until next time,
Janis.
Janis's Journal 