It was good, but not great. Liked but not loved. There are a lot of cozies in this theme setting already , so nothing about it really stood out from all the rest. Story was well written and the characters fascinating and so was the story itself. Would read it a again? No. That's because nothing really made me go oh, over this book

No Charm Intended is the second installment of the Cora Crafts series by Mollie Cox Bryan. This series is a light, easy read, perfect for a rainy day. While this book may be read as a stand alone, you will feel more comfortable with the characters and surroundings if you read them in order. I really enjoy these books, and the atmosphere of the craft retreats they revolve around. There are always new people to meet, and interesting things to learn. While it's not difficult to figure out "who done it", the writing is good enough to keep you engaged until the end.
The only bad thing about this series is that there really is no Cora Chevalier or Kildare House to visit. I'd love to attend a retreat there. Looking forward to the next in the series. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher.

No Charm Intended really lives up to its name. With the gamer bashing and ableist nonsense about depressed people it was really hard to finish it. It just goes to show, even people who should know better often don't.

It was alright at first. I was intrigued when the game angle got introduced . Maybe they'd have a fellow crafter who games and get all intrigued and make fanart craft stuff. Nope. Instead, I got a bunch of older women who don't get it, didn't try to get it, find it all delusional and scary. *eyeroll*

That part I was willing to huff about and get over. it. Then it turns out the missing girl has depression. And then the bullshit started. Jane FLIPS out and says she'd never let the girl watch her daughter if she'd known and Cora jumps in with "remember our neighbor that went bonkers and killed people?"

One reasonable person tried telling them that "that's not how depression works" but it was weak and she gave up quickly. Did I mention said person is a lawyer? FFS.

The climax is a mess and isn't described well enough at all. The app and the dude and the amusement isn't really explained. And honestly, a sketchy looking smelling guy in this tourist town? They'd have picked him up and run him off in a heartbeat.

I am so, so disappointed and won't be continuing the series. I can't look at these characters the same way. What jerks.

Great cozy mystery. Felt some serious nostalgia here in this story. Hope more is coming soon!

No Charm Intended
Having learned many lessons from their first retreat, the crafty ladies are back to work with clay and a new batch of retreat guests.  Having become friendlier with the townsfolk, Jane often uses Gracie Wyke, local nanny/law student to watch over her daughter while working a retreat class.  Gracie's boyfriend Paul shows up on their doorstep distraught over the disappearance of Gracie who seems to have disappeared down the yellow brick road and is no longer in Indigo Gap.  Paul insists that Gracie would never run off and leave him even though the authorities insist there are not clues. It's up to Cora to balance it all while keeping her anxiety at a low and her energy up high as she charms her way through this latest mystery.

This is the second in the crafting series and was a light cozy read. I have no talent whatsoever for any kind of crafting as I'm all thumbs. However, I did enjoy the mystery and the relationship between Cora, Jane and Ruby. The idea of a crafting retreat was something I had never heard of but the location sounded like someplace I would like to visit. Just don't expect me to create anything crafty. I would, however, enjoy joining these ladies in solving their next mystery.

No Charm Intended is the second book in Mollie Cox Bryan’s Cora Crafts Mystery series, a series I have adored since picking up the first book. I knew instantly that this series was going to be a hit, and boy was I right. Mollie Cox Bryan has created a world of crafting fantasticness wrapped up in a cozy mystery! I want to join one of Cora and Jane's crafting retreats and if anyone knows of one like this in Montana, sign me up, although, no murder please. I instantly loved the characters in the book and in this book we see them grow and develop even more. The mysteries in both books have been full of twists and turns and kept me guessing right till the end. I know I can't wait to get back to Indigo Gap and see what Cora and Jane are crafting up next! The next book in the series, Macrame Murder, is set to be released on August 29th!

I would like to thank Kensington Books for inviting me to review this book for them; I obtained it as a free electronic ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an open and honest review.

Okay, from my score you might guess I didn’t exactly enjoy this book and I really really want to apologise to Ms Cox Bryan here and now as I don’t want her to think my review is all mean and nasty. As what I’m about to say is meant as constructive criticism and not some bitchy attack or spiteful meanness. If you don’t agree with what I’m about to say, please remember the magical mantra: “Pfffft, what would SHE know!”

We good? ;-)

So… I am going to state again that the copy of the book I read was an ARC and that I was invited by Kensington to read it… I did not go out of my way to seek it down and pick on it. In fact, when I initially saw it in Netgalley I skipped past as I wasn’t too sure how I’d go as I’d read the first book, felt it had some jitters and issues I was willing to put down to first book in the series stage fright and try again. I mean, I simply love the setting, the house, the concept of craft retreats. If this was real and in my area I would be there every other day… if it wasn’t for all the murders. ;-)

And I am also going to blame the fact it was an ARC on a lot of the flaws I found… ARCs are not the finished product; they are going to contain clangers. And I will also state here and now that it is my firm belief that these clangers were all sorted out before the finished book was published… Well, it is my firm hope they were.

I am not going to painstakingly list and nit-pick each issue I found. I mean, there was the usual wrong word used (or left out completely) and, hey, I am a typo Queen so never judge people on that.

But when people’s names are spelt a few different ways depending on where in the book they are mentioned… I do get a bit huffy. Then when people change who they are (we swapped from Jane to Cora at one point then back again)… this is poor editing. But - it was an ARC!

I guess what really got me was the way people were one place then suddenly another with no explanation. Holed up way out in the boonies and then in a bed and breakfast. At school but asleep at home? The days and time of days kept swapping about too and, yeah, I got a little frowny at that level of lack of editing/proofing, even for an ARC.

Also, the black and white world the characters seemed to live in. It was either this or that. Nothing else. People were either this way or that way - no grey in between. All depressed people just can’t be trusted, especially around children as they are a risk. Quick, tell my kids! I am a risk despite my Zoloft! And the main characters also came across as quite shallow would go from totally emotionless to OTT emotions and reactions to things within a paragraph and then back again. Anxiety and abuse issues are okay and natural as they have them, but other forms of mental illness or physical issues are alien and negative?

I honestly almost put this book into my DNF (Did Not Finish) pile four or five times as it was just a big jumble of a mess. One moment it would be going well and then all the jumping about, black and white, clanger filled writing would be back. As with the first book, it was almost as if two people were writing this book and only one of them was actually a decent writer.

The story jumped about and, although I guessed the ‘bad guy’ pretty much right away, the end of the book held no true explanation or reasoning behind it. More that the whole crime side of the book sounded like a good idea at the time, but that it wasn’t executed that well and seemed to clash with the cosy craft side. It was like two ideas smooshed together and they didn’t mix as well as possible or hoped.

And this is where Ms Cox Bryan, all her friends and fans will now be hitting the dislike and cussing me. Just don’t get the effigies alight if you are in a total fire ban area okay? ;-) I am so sorry to be so critical of ‘No Charm Intended’ and I feel it got to me so much as the setting, characters, story concept, etc is perfect for the cosy crime/ mystery genre. I guess I am just grumpy as I see so much potential and talent ruined by some poor editing, quite frankly, sloppy writing. Please forgive me.

Would I recommend this book to others?

I am really torn here as I just don’t know. The first book in this series had a few issues, but rather than those issues being resolved and improved upon in the second book, they’ve gotten worse. So as much as I see a LOT of positives and potential in not just ‘No Charm Intended’ but the whole ‘A Cora Crafts Mystery’ series… I don’t think I could personally face another book in this series and so just don’t know if I could safely recommend them to others.

Would I buy this book for myself?

Pretty sure we all know the answer to that question. If it was of the same quality as the ARC I received, then no I wouldn’t. I just pray the final edit was smoother and all the jumbled, sketchy nature of the story was smoothed out.

In summary: A series that has potential but not one I can see myself returning to to find out.

Cora Chevalier is the owner of Kildare House, an historic home in the small town of Indigo Gap, North Carolina. She moved there after her previous life working in a women's shelter in Pittsburgh sent her into a downward spiral that she's still recovering from. Also with her is her best friend Jane Starr, a potter whom, along with her daughter London live in the carriage house on the property.

Cora has turned Kildare House into a place where she holds crafting retreats, and the latest is a "wildcrafting" retreat where the guests are going to learn to use nature to make beautiful items they can be proud of both creating themselves and owning (or gifting).

But then there's a hitch: First, Cora receives a message on her phone that reads "I kidnapped her" but discounts it at first as a prank until she finds out others received the same message. Then Jane's babysitter, Gracie Wyke, goes missing; her boyfriend Paul and his friend Henry show up, hoping that she might have said something to Jane which will give him a clue as to her whereabouts by retracing her final steps, but no such luck. Shortly after their visit, Henry goes missing and Cora, feeling sorry for the distraught Paul, offers to let him stay for awhile. Even though Jane is against it, there isn't anything she can say, so she lets it go. But not too long after, it's discovered that Henry has been murdered, and Paul becomes a suspect in the crime.

When Cora and Jane begin investigating (against the wishes of the local police) they find that all three college students were playing a computer game called The Wizard of Oz. But this is no kids' game, and somewhere along the line it may have turned deadly.

Although I did enjoy this book more than the first one of the series, I didn't enjoy the fact that it was intimated depression is dangerous. At one point Jane practically goes ballistic, noting that if she knew Gracie was depressed, she never would have hired her as a babysitter. Why? (You can recover from depression and never suffer from it again). I also wondered why she would have told her five-year-old daughter that her babysitter had been kidnapped. Who has that conversation with their young child? And then repeats it in front of her, and doesn't even think she's the reason her daughter is having nightmares!

Both women seemingly made a big deal of Gracie's depression; yet you have two deeply damaged protagonists - Cora's stress/anxiety and Jane's bad relationships leaving her with the inability to trust men - who aren't seeking therapy of their own to deal with it. Trust me, just moving to a new town and starting over isn't going to fix their problems, or get them on the road to their own mental health recovery.

There was some nice interaction between the crafters this time out, and I enjoyed the "crossover" of characters from Ms. Bryan's other Cumberland Creek scrapbooking series, which was a lot of fun. The book was interesting enough to keep me reading throughout the night, and it's a light, easy read with a decent plot regarding the DarkNet (it's explained a little in the book for those who don't know much about it).

In the end, I didn't feel that there was any strong motive for the antagonist to commit kidnapping/murder. I would have liked to have had this person be a bigger part of the story so that we could have actually gotten to know a little bit about them (understand their reasoning, etc), but as it were, that seemed to be seriously lacking, in my opinion. However, I'm not ready to give up on the characters yet; perhaps in the third book we'll see the ladies come into their own a little bit more and finally take charge of their lives. Recommended.

No Charm Intended (Cora Crafts Mystery #2)
by Mollie Cox Bryan (Goodreads Author)
Mass Market Paperback, 320 pages
Published April 25th 2017 by Kensington Publishing Corporation

Goodreads synopsis:
Settling into her new life and career in small-town Indigo Gap, North Carolina, Cora Chevalier is preparing to host a “wildcrafting” retreat at her Victorian home. But a specter hangs over the venture when beloved local nanny Gracie Wyke goes missing. Amidst leading their guests in nature hikes, rock painting and making clay charms, Cora and her business partner, Jane, team up with Gracie’s boyfriend, Paul, to launch their own investigation into her disappearance when the local police prove unhelpful.

Cora and her crafters take Paul in, believing he is in danger and not the suspect police have made him out to be. However as they uncover new clues and a body turns up at a local abandoned amusement park, Cora and Jane begin to question their decision. With more questions than answers arising, is Cora crafty enough to untangle a knot that could put an innocent in jail—and permanently destroy her reputation?

***

4 stars

This story really kept me guessing. I can honestly say that I did not figure out who was the bad guy until nearly the end.

I loved the whole crafting aspect of the book. I am a big cross-stitcher and am learning embroidery and crochet so this greatly appealed to me.

When the nanny of her best friend goes missing and she receives a mysterious message on her phone, Cora is on the case!

This book had a great cast that is quite memorable and easy to distinguish from one another. Sometimes that is hard with a big cast. This story had a bit of a larger cast in it.

I was so happy to stumble across this book and add it to my list of “must read” series for 2017. Definitely check this one out. Loved it!

I received this as an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) in return for an honest review. I thank Net Galley, the publisher and the author for allowing me to read this title.

This book was extremely interesting to read. It was my first book by this author and I look forward to more from her now. If you are into crafts, this book will be to your liking. If you are into mystery books, this will be to your liking, and if you are into BOTH like I am, you will LOVE this book. It had an interesting plot line with regards to the mystery and it was fun reading about the crafts that the ladies were doing at a craft retreat weekend. Makes me want to find one to go to! What happens when a child gets sick the night before the retreat officially starts and the babysitter is no where to be found? When one of the hosts of the weekend gets a really random text message from an unknown number that disturbs her, what happens? When the 'teachers' for the weekend are getting ready to head to dinner the night before everything starts, a police officer shows up at the door. What does he want? Why is he there? What has happened? When the boyfriend of the babysitter shows up at the retreat with his roommate in tow, what happens? This was a book that was so much fun to read that I didn't want to put it down to use the restroom or even get a refresh of my drink. Enjoy the book, I sure did!

RECEIVED THIS BOOK AS A GIFT FOR A FAIR/HONEST REVIEW and REVIEWER FOR Bloggin' With M. Brennan.

Cora, Jane, and Ruby are worried about the disappearance of Gracie, London's babysitter, but must carry on the current craft retreat while they try to protect their guests.

the mystery had several different levels and the plot twists were fascinating.

LOVED IT!

A great novel to read by Mollie Cox ....I like her style of narration......

Cora Chevalier leaves her women’s shelter
counseling job to move to the small town of
Indigo gap, North Carolina. Cora has
renovated a Victorian estate into a home
and crafting retreat center. Cora lives with
her cat, Luna in the renovated attic. The
estate came with a cook and housekeeper
who not only works but lives on the estate.
Jane Starr, a potter lives with her daughter,
London in one of the estate cottages.
There is a crafting retreat going on at the
estate when Jane's babysitter, Gracie does
not show up. Then her boyfriend, Paul and
his friend, Henry arrive to inquire if Jane
knows anything about where Gracie might
have said she was going last time Gracie
saw Jane. Where is Gracie?
Paul is questioned by police especially after
Henry turns up dead. Cora invites Paul to
stay at the estate. Is she housing a
murdered or keeping Paul safe? Is she
endangering her crafting retreater?
Add a missing professor who was seen with
someone looking like Gracie?
Are the three incidents connected or separate
incidents?
The story blends mystery, suspense, an array
of colorful, interesting characters with the
social interest in mental health plus learn about
crafting techniques. The retreat covers clay
charm making, basket weaving, making of paper
dolls plus scrapbooking. The food mentioned
makes your mouth water.
So kick off your shoes, put your feet up with
your favorite drink next to you and delve into
this entertaining mystery.
This is book # 2 in the Cora Crafts Mystery series.
It can be read as a stand alone.
I volunteered to read No Charm Intended. Thanks
to Kensington Publishing via Net Gallery for the
opportunity. My opinion is my own.

Cora and Jane are welcoming their second group of crafters to their retreat, this time using nature as part of a ‘wildcrafting’ experience. When a local nanny and sometimes babysitter for Jane’s daughter London disappears, Cora winds up befriending and aiding Gracie’s boyfriend Paul as they look for clues to her disappearance. I wasn’t too sure about veering into the dark web in this story. I think that may have been a little too much for Cora and the gaming world was portrayed very darkly in this story. The clues about the game and the Wizard of Oz were too few, so I was definitely surprised at the outcome overall. I really enjoyed this group of crafters, they contributed a lot to the story considering they won’t appear again.

Princess Fuzzypants here:
I did like this book although I did have a few qualms about it. There is a lot of potential for Cora and her crafting retreats. It was enough to make me want to try some, although, as a cat, it might be difficult without opposable thumbs. The story itself was interesting with the disappearance of a highly respected young woman and the murder of one of her friends. Right from the beginning, I suspected the murderer. But there were elements that did not seem to fit together properly. That is not to say it all might seem wonderful for someone else. i like twists and turns but I want them to surprise not jar.
For whatever reason it was the latter in this book. It was my only complaint.
I can still give this a subdued four purrs, or perhaps three plus and one paw up.

Book two in the Cora's Crafts Mystery series. After really enjoying book one I was looking forward to this installment, and I was not disappointed. This time they are gearing up for the back to nature retreat discussed in the last book where they use items found outside in their crafts. On the first day Jane's nanny comes up missing and shortly thereafter one of the nannies friends is found murdered. Of course Cora and Jane have to investigate and Cora at least finds herself in danger before it is all said and done. There is lots of action, movement, and details involved with this story. I have to admit that I did not see the end of this one coming. I love a good surprise so this one gets 4/5 stars.

No Charm Intended by Mollie Cox Bryan is book two in the Cora Crafts Mystery series. I had read the first book, but this book easily stands on its own. Cora and her friend, Jane, are hosting their second craft retreat. It starts off on the wrong foot when the babysitter Jane hired goes missing. A simple missing person case is complicated when a friend is found murdered. I enjoy the characters in this series and how they interact together. Ms. Bryan's series is definitely one of my favorites.

Another perfect Cora mystery! I love this series and this book had the perfect attention grabbing first line. I was hooked and through all the twists and turns, I found myself soothed with the moments of crafting. I truly think this series can have a long successful series.

No Charm Intended is the second book in the Cora Crafts mystery series by Mollie Cox Bryan. I hadn’t read the first book before beginning this one and although there were a few mentions from the first book that I didn’t get, the book was still plenty enjoyable. The book focuses on Cora Chevalier who has recently moved to the small town of Indigo Gap and started a crafting retreat at her Victorian home. The retreat brings together a mixed group of woman of all ages and backgrounds and teaches them the arts of wildcrafting – using things found in nature to make a variety of crafts from basket weaving to pottery.

A damper falls the gathering when the nanny for one of the retreats leaders goes missing and suspicions run wild. Both Cora, and Jane, the leader who had hired the nanny, feels connected and somehow responsible for Gracie’s disappearance and set out to help figure out what has happened.

The author mixes the sleuthing and crafting elements of the novel well and slips in a variety of crafting tips and tricks within the novel. The story delves into hacking, online gaming and the dark net which pushes the book a little closer to a thriller than most cozy mysteries but I enjoyed the subject matter very much.

If you enjoy crafting and cozy mysteries than this series is worth checking out! I would recommend reading the books in order though.

Overall I gave the book 4/5 Stars.