Live and Let Chai by Bree Baker

 Hello Friends :)

I hope you're all doing well, and I want to thank you all for joining me for another book review here on The Preppy Book Princess.

If you've been reading my blog for awhile, then you probably know that I love cozy mysteries. However, I've been struggling lately within this genre to find ones that are actually clean. I remember back in the day when more of these titles were clean than not, but however that's not really the case anymore.

That's why I really enjoy Julie Anne Lindsey's books, and I recently had the chance to read the first book in a series that she writes under one of her pen names, Bree Baker. Her content is still pretty clean, while still being a really great mystery, and today I'm excited to share this review with you all.

Live and Let Chai by Bree Baker:

Source: Libby App

Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press

Publication Date: July 10th, 2018

Genre: Adult Fiction/Cozy Mystery

Series: Seaside Café Mystery

Synopsis:

The first book in a delightful new beachside cozy mystery series!

Trouble is brewing in Everly's new café. Can she bag the culprit?

Life hasn't been so sweet for Everly Swan over the past couple of years, but now that she is back in her seaside hometown and the proud owner of a little iced tea shop and café right on the beach, things are finally starting to look up--until a curmudgeonly customer turns up dead on the boardwalk. With one of her hallmark glass tea jars lying right next to him and an autopsy that reports poison in his system, it doesn't look good for Everly or her brand new business.

As the townspeople of Charm, formerly so welcoming and homey, turn their back on Everly, she fights to dig up clues about who could have had it in for the former town councilman. With a maddeningly handsome detective discouraging her from uncovering leads and a series of anonymous attacks on Everly and her business, it will take everything she's got to keep this mystery from boiling over.

(synopsis from goodreads)

My Review:

I really enjoyed this first title in Bree Baker's Seaside Café Mystery series, and I actually had a hard time putting it down once I started it.

My favorite cozy mysteries are the ones that have a really well developed setting, and this one definitely does. Everly Swan returns home to her hometown of Charm, North Caroline and buys a beautiful historic home to open an iced tea café. Charm is full of whimsical tourist spots, lots of locals who can't seem to mind their own business, buckets of history, and gorgeous beaches. It's the perfect setting for this adorable new cozy mystery series, and sets the perfect backdrop for the murder mystery that unfolds when Everly is suspected of being responsible for the death of a crabby town councilman.

As Everly tries to piece together who is actually responsible for committing this horrible crime, she soon finds herself in danger and the target of a dastardly evil mastermind. Full of twists and turns, a mystery whose reveal completely blew me away, and a eccentric cast of characters, Live and Let Chai is definitely a new favorite cozy mystery for me. I really enjoyed Everly's unique family history, her beautiful relationship with her aunts, the introduction of Maggie the cat, and all the yummy recipes that are included at the end. I also always appreciate that this author chooses to keep her cozy mysteries still clean and cozy, which hasn't been my experience with a lot of cozy mysteries lately.

The only thing I'd have to mention as a slight negative is that if you've read any of the other cozy mystery series this author has written under other names, you'll start to notice the trend that the detective sent to investigate the murder always seems to become to love interest. The relationship definitely didn't bother me, and I think Everly and Grady will be cute together, but I would like to see her branch out and use a different love interest in one of her series at some point.

Final Rating: 4/5.

This author continues to be one of my all time favorite cozy mystery authors, and I definitely recommend checking this one out. 

Thanks so much for reading guys! Have a great rest of your day :)

This is not a sponsored post. All thoughts and opinions are my own. The photo does not belong to me, and all rights to the respective owner.