Complex friendships, convoluted romance issues, two twisty murder investigations, humorous situations, and more. Armed with a brand new PI license, Juliet finds herself embroiled in murders while her mentor/friend/partner is away. This is in addition to her more than full time job as coffee shop manager. The publisher's blurb gives hints and there is no need for spoilers here.
If you like a side order of murders with your romance novel, you will be ecstatic over this one.
Thanks to NetGalley for making this ARC available.

Another cozy mystery that got my hooked by the 5th page. Love the characters and outcome of the book.

Funny, clever, and leaves you guessing till the very end! I love comedy mysteries because it's nice to have a good laugh or be entertained while I'm trying to solve the mysteries in the book. With Brew or Die there are actually two mysteries to be solved and both had very surprise endings!
The book is incredibly clever with its descriptions and one minute I think I've guessed it then suddenly, BAM! it turns out to be something different.
There's a bit of romance along the way and some heartbreaking moments but you will not be disappointed with this delightful crime/mystery book.

Brew or Die by Caroline Fardig – Not My Cup of Tea

As a mystery lover, I was excited to read a mystery by an author, Caroline Fardig, who new to me. After reading the description of her new book, Brew or Die, I decided to give it a try.

One of the descriptions, by USA Today, for this mystery is a “cozy mystery” which is defined as a crime fiction in which sex and violence are downplayed and it takes place in a small community.

If Brew or Die lined up with that description, I probably would have liked it. Unfortunately, it was a lot different than I expected.

So, what’s not to like about Brew or Die? The story opens with character Juliet Langley at work in the local coffeehouse, Java Jive. The reader is introduced to a cast of characters that are in Jules life, including her current boyfriend, Stafford, who is a police officer, longtime friend Pete and her old boyfriend Ryder. At first I thought this book would be clean.

But beginning on pages 12 & 13, started a trend of vulgarity which continued on throughout the book. Profanity was used well over one-hundred times, perhaps much more. It was to the point of distraction. I don’t understand why authors resort to the use of profanity.

If I had picked up this book to read on my own, at the beginning of the profanity, I would have put it down and not finished it. But because I agreed to read it for a review, I read the entire book and couldn’t wait to be done with it.

In addition to the excessive use of profanity, Juliet (Jules) seemed to be attracted to any male that had a pulse. Thus, sexual immorality also included in the book.

Based on the profanity (used excessively), casual sexual and sexual immorality, I do not recommend this book. Brew or Die by Caroline Fardig was a big disappointment and not my cup of tea.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the opportunity to read Brew or Die in exchange for an honest review. I was under no obligation to give a favorable review.

A thoroughly enjoyable mystery, hard to put down! This is the only book I have read in the series, but now I must read the previous books. Juliet is a delightful character who just got her Private Investigator's license. She is quickly caught up in more than one case while still working at the coffee house run by her best friend Pete. Juliet now has a new boyfriend, John, but she keeps running into her ex-boyfriend, Ryder. A really fun mystery with some romance too! The ending left me wondering what comes next for Juliet!

Juliet now has her private eye badge. She's official and can't wait to get her first case. Her partner sends her out to get pictures of a husband and his young girlfriend. What she ends up taping is an encounter between the two lovers where the husband gets stabbed. When the cops show up, he says she stabbed him!

Alibi and Net Galley allowed me to read this book for review (thank you). It will be published April 25th.

Luckily she has the video she taped so she can prove she was not involved except in trying to save the man's life.

If Juliet doesn't have enough problems with her job, Pete, and her employees, her lost love shows up. She refuses to even talk to him. After all, she's dating a tame cop, she doesn't need him in her life. He broke her heart.

Then one of her employee's fiance dies. They say it was an overdose. He says she's clean. Pete and Juliet decide to go undercover to find out more. Not only that, the tame case she was working on turns deadly and she hears her cop she dates being part of an illegal activity.

The mysteries are good, it's exciting and busy, and Juliet comes out OK despite herself. Now if she could just settle her love life. She broke up with the straight cop, decided she did love the one that has returned and now he's dating someone else. I just want to shake her. She's got life down but she doesn't have romance down. The good news is that she's singing again.

am a huge fan of this series and I was truly excited when Juliet received her PI License.
The story itself fell a bit short for me. There wasn't as much humor or crazy antics as the other books but I still enjoyed the story behind it.

I voluntarily read an ARC of this book provided by the publisher and NetGalley

I liked this better than book 3. Some of it played out the way nearly the way I expected, which was good. I felt like it needed to go the way it did. So the ending was good and I really hope that good personal trajectory continues with Juliet. Hopefully this is creating a network of people that Juliet can go to for help with cases and not just a string of past boyfriends. So hopefully book 3 and book 4 are building characters and back stories and then I can look back on these books and see how smart the author was to build it this way.

Because if not, I can not keep reading all this romantic drama. I want to read a cozy mystery and not a romance novel. This book pushes some of those boundaries for me. So as I was reading, this drove me nuts. A large portion of the novel was a slog but in the end, it was worth it.

My only other complaint is the odd way these books seem to connect to other cozy series. There is a series I know whose main character is Josie Prescott, which is the name of Shane's fiancee. That could just be a complete coincidence, but I wondered. Also the fact that Juliet is a red headed barista with strong connection to the man from her past and a cop boyfriend is oddly similar to another cozy series I have read. Maybe these are Easter eggs or nods to other interesting cozies. I just don't know how to take that.

Brew or Die: A Java Jive Mystery
Cozy Mystery
Caroline Fardig

Juliet Langley is officially a licensed private investigator, and her past successes spur he to take more challenging cases. Pete Bennett, her best friend, and boss at the Java Jive isn’t 100% on board with her new PI license. He isn’t worried that he might be losing a BFF or a great manager, he worry’s she will find herself hurt or worse while sticking her nose in places people don’t think she should be. But when baristas, Shane, asks Juliet to look into the death of his fiancée, Pete encourages her to get involved.

Shane suspects that his fiancée’s her party-planning colleagues are up to their ears in criminal activity and will do anything to keep it quiet, even murder. Juliet and Pete go undercover at a wedding showcase, where she discovers that wedding gowns and tuxedos are an excellent cover for drug deals and murder.

--
Juliet is a great investigator, many times she is ahead of the police. When her friend and fellow PI, Maya asks her to join her team, Juliet jumps at the chance. Maya has faith in Juliet and doesn’t hesitate to throw her in at the deep end, or interfering in her love life. Her British resolve and outlook on life allow Juliet to excel at her new career. However, while Maya is away all hell breaks loose, and she finds herself not only trying to find a murderer, she is handed an embezzlement case, her first solo investigation. Nothing goes right, and before long she finds herself deeply involved with several criminals and her former boyfriend Ryder Hamilton, a man she never wanted to see again.

Pete isn’t happy when Ryder reappears in Juliet’s life. Pete makes certain that Juliet knows how he feels about the situation but nothing is as it seems and Juliet finds that she cannot confide in her best friend. Even in the midsts of his own grief, Pete cares enough about Juliet’s emotions and well being to be worried and concerned while at the same time wanting to be involved in her investigations but not understanding why she is allowing Ryder to be involved in her life again.

The new addition to this series is a wonderful mystery filled with twists and turns that will keep the reader turning the pages. Caroline Fardig is a talented writer with a quick wit, creativeness and a grasp on what will entertain. This is a fast paced read, is very well written with developed characters and a wonderful setting. The plot is truly interesting and will keep the reader on their toes. The surprise ending will leave the reader feeling either angry or filled with hope. This story is a fun read.

As always Caroline Fardig has done it again! The gang is back together again! Love reading this series!!

By far my favorite in the series. Juliet now has her PI License and ready to work. Things are looking up for her. Then she is asked to investigate a murder that lets her to cross paths with her hunky ex-boyfriend Ryder. Will Juliet be able to uncover what really happened and make it out in one piece.
Fun and entertains situations that Juliet and Pete get themselves in. There was a part my heart broke for Juliet. Can't tell you about you because you need to pick up the book and read it!

Brew or Die: A Java Jive Mystery by Caroline Fardig is the 4th book in the Java Jive Cozy Mystery Series.

If you are looking for a light mystery, lots of humor and a crazy love triangle, then you will definitely enjoy this book! Brew or Die is a light, fun read with a crazy cast of characters that I really grew to love. I can't wait to see what happens in the next book.

*ARC provided by NetGalley for an honest review.

I said it with book three, this series just keeps getting better.

It is even more true with book four, Brew or Die. Juliet has made some major mistakes in her past, some have almost cost her her life but she has grown quite a bit and learned even more. In book four she has finally decided to get her license to become a private investigator. These leads to some great conversations with the other lead characters, which just makes it that much more fun but really it shows that Juliet has grown. I was starting to wonder how she could just come upon yet another corpse! This transition makes perfect sense.

At the end of book three, I had some questions. Sadly, they are all answered in this book. I say sadly because it did not work out how I wanted things to! There's a lot of men in Juliet's life and I can see why she is so confuzzled, but come on girl! I loved the entire plot, right up to the end.

This one is also chock full of all kinds of mystery! Instead of just taking on one case, Juliet now has a job and is trying to prove that she can do it. There are more characters, some from the other books and some not. There are a LOT of new characters and this slowed things down for me a bit. The plot is better but there was so much going on. It all makes sense but at one point I was asking Juliet just how much trouble can she really get into. It was nearly at the ridiculous point but not quite enough to stop me from reading. I'm invested in these characters now so I wanted to know what was going to happen, but had this been the first book I think I would have been put off.

That said, this was phenomenal. A bit too much going on at the end for my taste. There is a LOT of drama and it's not just coming from the divas Juliet has to work with. The ending did crush me a little though. When does the next book come out!?

In short: Almost more than I could handle this time but I love the characters enough to stick with it.

4.5/5

This is book 4 in the series, but the first I have read, and apparently unlike the other books, this one takes place mostly OUTSIDE of the coffee house, whereas the others happened inside it. As Juliet is working her new career as a PI, that makes sense, but one wonders if it means the coffee house part of the series is ending...This is a quick read, think chick lit mystery, with plenty of romance- both old and new, friendship and humor. Juliet is a bit scatterbrained to me, and I;m not sure if I'll go back and read the rest of the series, as I tend to like my leads more 'focused', but it would be a good read if you need something for Spring Break vacation, for on the plane, or on the beach!

Caroline Fardig wraps you in the warm love story and mysterious men.
This is a book to be read at the beach or a rainy day.
I truly enjoyed it.

This is a nice little cozy series with Juliet finally getting her PI license. Pete thinks she will still run the coffee shop for him but she's not so sure. She must work with her ex, Ryder who is the police detective assigned to the murder she's investigating. Set in Nashville this series is a good mystery with a likable lady who gets herself in and out of trouble with the help of her friends.

3 stars to Caroline Fardig's Brew or Die: A Java Jive Mystery, the fourth book in her "Java Jive" mystery series. When I first began reading this book, it reminded me of either Sue Grafton's "Kinsey Millhone Alphabet" series or Janet Evanovich's "Stephanie Plum" series, given they are about independent PIs or bail bonds women... and then when this book covered running a coffee shot, I thought of all the food related cozies. By the end, I struggled a little bit as it didn't quite fit into either type of series, but grew on me more as I went along. That said...




Cause I wasn't quite sure I had enough to be able to keep up with some of the character's perkiness! Truth be told, I think I may have been a victim of that disease we all suffer from occasionally "OuttaOrderRead." I rarely contract it, but on occasion, I'm weak, and it happens. It did because NetGalley offered it as an easy request, and I am new to NetGalley, and I had to increase my %... so I caused it all myself. When I went back to read the summaries of Books 1 thru 3, I thought... "oh, these sound good." End result: Read this series in order, I suspect it may be better than I am thinking.

Story
Juliet and Pete are best friends and they run a coffee cafe in Nashville. They are probably in love but keep dating other people. Pete's previous girlfriend was killed and he's now dating someone who was impacted by her murder (happened in last book, not sure). Juliet was dating a detective who worked on the last murder case, but he left her (unknown reasons again) and she's now dating another cop (who seems a bit boring). Juliet's also just gotten her PI license and is working for Maya on "lighter" cases to get her situated in the biz. Two plots in this book (all for the price of one):

1. Shane works for Pete. His girlfriend was just found dead of an overdose at her desk at work, where she was a party planner for a well-known paparazzi family. He begs Juliet to prove she was murdered, and Pete wants to help. As she investigates, Juliet realizes that Shane's girlfriend, Josie, had a bit of an unknown past; however, she also was caught up in a bizarre land of parties where the hosts bring in Hollywood-type entertainment, drugs and lots of booze. Juliet and Pete get close to Josie's colleagues, quickly learning everyone stabbed each other in the back. But which one was after Josie?

2. Juliet gets her first PI case from Maya: to help Gentry figure out what his partner is doing in their shared warehouse business, as suddenly there is an influx of cash and a lot of confusing deliveries. Juliet goes undercover with Maya as the cleaning staff and infiltrates the organization from the inside out. When Maya has to visit her sister who just had a baby, she asks Ryder, the detective who hurt Juliet in the last book, to help watch over Juliet. Ryder and Juliet are forced to spend time together, re-living their old relationship and sparks fly again, despite that Juliet's now with the new boring cop. When Juliet realizes it is drugs being smuggled in the warehouse organization, and finds her new boss at the warehouse dead from some weird powder, her two cases collide.

How do drugs cross both cases? Who is the supplier and who is really buying them? Which new friends should she trust? You gotta read to figure that out! :)

Strengths
The setting for this series works. You've got a good way Juliet can connect with her clients and cases, given she works at a PI firm, is a musician, runs a coffee shop and has a close relationship with the local police.

Juliet's a cool character. She's funny, has some substance, a good head on her shoulders and has an analytical mind. Pete's a nice guy, too, and I'm curious if something will ever occur between them.

The plot of both primary mysteries was interesting and held my attention. It was mid-level complexity, which meant I had to work a little to think about who could be the culprits; however, it was an easy read that didn't require me to stop and think well into overtime about all the options.

Suggestions
While I like the approach of having two big mysteries, it brought in such a large cast of characters, it was hard to keep track of who was important. Each story line had 12 to 15 suspects or supporting characters, plus the various romances going on... at some point, there were 40 people to keep track of and when the stories collided, I was a little frustrated. If the series sticks with 2 primary cases in each book, the suspect list needs to be a little smaller in each one.

Parts were a little too perky and too romance-driven. Parts were just silly. It was like eating too much candy at some point.

Final Thoughts
If you want to try this series, start with Book 1 -- even tho I haven't read it yet. It'll make more sense from the beginning, and then you can decide if you like the characters to stick with it. The more I read it, the better it got (going from 2.5 to a 3ish rating). I put it down 2 or 3 times the first few days and barely squeaked out 50% over those few days (rare, but slow for me). But then the last night, I buckled down and finished the last 50% in one sitting... I mean bedding. I was laying in bed. Do you call that bedding? Eh... I think I'm done here.

Another fun can't put down book from Caroline Fardig. Juliet is now a PI and still getting into those dangerous circumstances that she seems always to get out of. I love the Java Jive mysteries as they are fun, make you laugh, but keep you interested from beginning to end. Great characters return to another great mystery. I am hooked on Java Jive!
I received an ARC from NetGallery.

Juliet Langely is back to her old antics. She finally has become a PI but still manages to get herself into trouble and straight into police business. We follow along with her as she is doing one of her PI cases and ends up getting together work wise with her ex boyfriend Ryder. Of course we see her best friend/boss Pete Bennett get into the shenanigans with Juliet even though he was not happy about her being a PI. He was only happy to get her involved when it involved one of their employees. They do look like they are finally going to get there relationship past just the friend stage but it does not seem to work out for them yet.
I did not guess some of what happened so that was a pleasant surprise. I liked this book. I will read the rest of the series and I can not wait for it to come out.
The ending kind of made me really sad after all the good that happened so it left me feeling down. It was a little bit slower than the previous books in the series.
I received this book free to read from netgalley in exchange for an honest review. The opinions in this review are 100% my own.

I enjoyed this brief excursion from my life today. I read this delightful book in, an hour or so. Just really such a pleasure and humorous book. Perfect balance of humor, and plot was very well laid out. Enjoyed the go between with the ex, This is a new author to me and I will be certainlying looking forward to more of her work.