it's time for the annual music festival in Camellia Beach and Charity Penn and the chocolate shop are playing an important role is sponsoring the event. But someone isn't happy and a vandal is intent on putting the shop out of business. When one of the musical guests is murdered Charity isn't sure if the murder and shop destruction are connected but needs to solve both.

An enjoyable addition to the series. It was a nice improvement over Asking For Truffle. The mystery was well written, although I did feel that some of the drama was unnecessary. It was a surprising ending, and I am still amazed at how horrible some of the characters were revealed to be.

Inheriting a chocolate shop when you have limited experience can be daunting. Charity Penn leaves her comfortable home in Wisconsin to take over the shop on the beachfront in Camellia Beach, South Carolina. In Playing with Bonbon Fire by Dorothy St. James, Penn is learning chocolate making first hand from her able partner Bertie Bays and still trying to fit in with her estranged family. When she finds a body, Penn is thrown into some long ago feuds.

A new beach music festival (or is it) to attract tourists and bring in much needed income to Camellia Beach brings up questions of why would a swoon-worthy and much loved and followed musician be doing a small town concert. A quandary of parentage issues continues for chocolate shop heiress Charity Penn (call me Penn!) while she struggles to learn her craft. Accidents, shattered windows and attempted murders combine with missing persons to plague this seaside community, leading the Chief of Police to swear all this trouble followed Penn to the island.
Will it be possible for Penn to build a life for herself here?

Swirls of complications at every step as Penn tries to build a life and business for herself and understand her beginnings. Her half sister, Tina, thinks she is helping even as she sets Penn up with not only a headliner but also a romantic partner. Unfortunately that pairing brings additional trouble to Penn's doorstep.
I loved the friendship situations but everything is underlined with secrets. Penn has her work cut out for her, not only physically but also emotionally and intellectually. We couldn't take anything at surface value during this pot-boiler. Even as a murder is solved and people reappear, I still have questions about how this will play out in future books.
I do believe that enjoying quality chocolate while you read is a MUST with this series.

I enjoyed this book, I love copies set in the South and this series and book are a delightfully sweet treat. oK would recommend this book to all cozy fans

I loved this book! It's the second book in the Southern Chocolate Shop mystery series, and Charity Penn is getting used to her chocolate shop. She is helping organize a summer music festival, and her old friend and star singer Bixby Lewis has come to perform. When one of the festival's singers is found dead, Penn isn't sure if the killer meant to target her friend Bixby so she starts investigating the murder.

The characters in this book are quirky without being outrageous. The plot is interesting and Mrs. St. James is a talented writer. I highly recommend this book.

Thanks to Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

PLAYING WITH BONBON FIRE, the second book in the Southern Chocolate Shop Mystery series by Dorothy St. James is a sweet addition to a yummy series! Protagonist Charity “Penn” has been in Camellia Beach for five months, learning to make the decadent chocolates her maternal grandmother was famous for. Except it’s not as easy as it appears and Penn is struggling to become the chocolatier her deceased grandmother wanted her to be. Penn has had an emotionally devoid life having been abandoned as a newborn by first her unwed mother (and the mystery of who her mother is, is a theme that runs through both book one and two) and then her young father. Raised by her wealthy paternal grandmother who wanted nothing to do with her, Penn has learned to protect herself with a prickly exterior and hasn’t ever made friends. However, being in Camellia Beach has softened her some and the townspeople are teaching her to open up and accept their friendship and help. But she obviously has lots of baggage and I’m glad to see that the author is allowing Penn to grow.

Penn is also getting involved in her town’s inaugural Summer Solstice Beach Music Festival. She has convinced her half-sister’s ex-boyfriend, Bixby, to headline the music show but trouble seems to have followed him in to town. When one of the town’s older band singers is found murdered, Penn is sure Bixby was the target. After all, he has a stalker that has followed him across country. With the success of the town’s festivities on the line and her determination to keep Bixby alive, Penn starts asking questions, trying to find out who killed the singer. As she digs deeper, a forty-year-old mystery comes to the forefront that might shed light on who her mother is. But so many of the older townspeople are closing ranks and hiding secrets that Penn feels like an outsider again. With time running out and her chocolate shop a target for vandals, can Penn find the truth? There were plenty of viable suspects and I enjoyed how the old mystery was woven into the current day mystery. I loved getting to know the characters surrounding Penn and the southern sayings they throw out. The sayings puzzle Penn and I have to admit me too, but there’s always someone willing to translate and clarify what was meant… that provided some laugh out loud moments. The finale was a surprise and the author pulls the various threads together and answers the questions Penn has, yet leaves a door open for more changes coming to Penn’s life. I’m anxious to find out what happens next and if Penn’s chocolatier ability will blossom.

While Penn may be struggling with the art of chocolate, there are several townspeople who were each taught a recipe by Penn’s grandmother and they in turn are trying to teach her. There are so many delectable chocolates and truffles mentioned… it will be difficult for a die-hard chocoholic to read through the book without having a few pieces of chocolate close by. Fortunately, Ms. St. James includes several recipes at the back of the book.

I fell in love with the Southern Chocolate Shop series with the first book so I when discovered that Playing with Bonbon Fire was available on Net Galley, I jumped at the chance to read it. The characters are as great as they were in the first book and I adored them both places. Penn's relationships have shifted and I was not thrilled with the change in Harley, but I will be really interested to see where that goes. On the other hand, I was pleased to see Penn start to reach out and trust.
She has become totally involved in the community and helped organize the week long celebration of their town and its music. Through her growing relationship with her sister Tina, Penn is able to pull in a big-name headliner and everyone is thrilled, but it soon seems that he has brought trouble as well as fans. The question soon becomes whether his presence is responsible for murder or whether the answer lies in the past. Someone seems to be targeting the candy shop but even the constant assaults may be aimed at someone else. Penn doesn't really have time to devote to an investigation but she can't just stand around trying to make candy while her store is destroyed inch by inch or when a friend is the focus of the investigation. Twist and turns abound throughout the mystery, so be ready for a fast-paced ride along with Penn and her friends.
I received an advanced readers' copy of this book via NetGalley. The opinion stated in the review is all mine. I I shared the book because I enjoyed it so much.

I liked the first in this new series, Asking for Truffle and I like this entry even more. Not just the chocolate theme, not just a cozy, not just a small town setting and eccentric and quirky characters but a multi level story line centered around a very real and flawed main character. Charity Penn has not had an easy life. There is the thread involving her mother, the horrible treatment by her paternal grandmother - who named her Charity as a reminder of her station in life. No wonder she calls herself Penn. Her maternal grandmother has given her the chocolate shop but that side of the family battles her for it. Penn's dealt with a lot and keeps on going, now finding a new home in a small seaside town that is starting to make her feel more comfortable.
While her business partner works in the store, Penn has time to help organize the local music festival but there was no mention of a corpse in the bonfire. With the arrival of her half sister and musicians who don't get along plus personal attacks on her store and on another musician, Penn sets out to find the killer before anybody else dies.
My advice is to read this series in order as Penn's backstory is essential to the mystery and explains her actions.

Playing With Bonbon Fire by Dorothy St. James is the 2nd book in the "Southern Chocolate Shop Mystery series." Our protagonist Charity Penn has inherited a chocolate shop from her Grandmother. in Camilla South Carolina. She is busy running her shop and begins to involve herself in the local community. She is also searching for her family history and disliked by part of her Grandmother's family.. She is still finding her place after a series of set backs and enjoys the town and her business. The chocolate descriptions within each book are simply divine.
This series is set in a lovely coastal town and a music festival is bringing excitement to the town. Charity decides to help organize the event. When a murder occurs she is on the case and proves to be a able sleuth while running the festival and her business.
I love this series for the quirky characters, the location and the well crafted sleuth. The added dose of Southern charm is in each book. Its is a delightful series and I look forward to more in the series by this author. Thank you for the ARC which does not influence my review.

Charity Penn is finally settling into life in the quirky South Carolina seaside town of Camellia Beach and cooking up chocolate treats, sometimes. She has helped organize the town’s lively beach music festival which has brought rollicking crowds. That is until one of the band’s lead singers is found dead beside a beach bonfire.

While also trying to balance the amorous attention of music star Bixby Lewis, in town for the festival, and her quest to perfect a new hot flavored bonbon, Charity dives into the investigation. Though it’s more spice than sugar when she discovers a threatening note and comes across decades of age-old secrets. Bixby comes into the line of fire when a gas grill explodes on the deck of a beachfront house, and a crazy stalker is chasing after him.

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Series: A Southern Chocolate Shop Mystery - Book 2
Author: Dorothy St. James
Genre: Cozy Mystery/Culinary
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books - Publishing Date: March 13, 2018

Charity (Penn) is an evolving character who is slowly opening up and enjoying the love and attention of those around her. This is a lively and exciting story filled with all the elements of a good who-done-it. Playing with Bonbon Fire is the second book in the “A Southern Chocolate Shop Mystery” series and is a wonderful adventure into the past and the present.

Penn is not used to having anyone care about her. When her new friends who have shown her nothing but kindness and love find themselves under suspicion, she does whatever it takes to help the police find a killer bent on framing one of them.

Penn is a likable character who is becoming more and more loveable. In the first book of this series, Asking for Truffle, Penn was always downcast with no hope for the future. In this latest installment, she has become more outgoing, more trusting, and fiercely protective of her friends even though her heart is breaking over the past.

Tina, Penn’s sister, plays a much bigger role in this book and readers will love her. She is everything Penn is not but is the one-person Penn has always loved and knew that she was loved in return. Other returning characters such as Harley are also present and play important roles in the discovery of the killer.

The ocean side setting is a lovely picture of everything a seaside town should be minus the murder. Camellia Beach is a caring community that doesn’t hesitate to lend a helping hand when Penn needs it the most. It has become home, and she will protect it for as long as she can.

Playing with Bonbon Fire is a great addition to the series and readers will be left wanting more. Ms. St. James is a talented writer who knows how to grow characters into loveable members of a reader’s fictitious family. This book and series are highly recommended to lovers of chocolate and intrigue.

ARC provided by NetGalley

I was very happy to be back in the Carolinas with another Southern Chocolate Shop Mystery by Dorothy St. James. 'Playing with Bonbon Fire' is not an easy cozy mystery. Penn and the cast of surrounding characters are complex and the mystery is sharp and tense. Although I figured out the 'who' pretty early on, the 'why' kept me guessing until the end. There were revelations that have impacted Penn's life, and I look forward to discovering what is to come.

This is a well-written mystery that immediately grabbed my attention and I could not put the book down, quickly becoming a page-turner. The comfortable tone and pacing was on par with how well this multi-plot story was being told. Who would want to kill a songwriter? Penn is on the case when her worry concerns two friends. The author did a great job in setting the stage with visually descriptive narrative that placed me in the middle of all the action as I watched chapter after chapter, someone causing harm to Penn in an attempt to deter Penn and her friends from discovering the truth. It was fun watching it all play out as a few strategically placed twists lead to the killer’s identity and more surprising was the motive that started it all. Everyone had a pivotal role in the telling of this tale and I especially liked that several questions were answered. This was a fun book to read and I can’t wait to read the next book in the delectably charming series.

Enjoyable, engaging and entertaining cozy mystery. Chocolate, music festival, crazy fan, family issues, and more. A page turner. I am eager for the next one in this series.

Playing With Bonbon Fire by Dorothy St. James is the 2nd book in the A Southern Chocolate Shop Mystery series. Penn has been busy organizing a Music Festival, but when a band member is murdered, she ends up looking for the killer and experimenting making spicy chocolate. This book has more twists and turns, that kept me reading page after page. I love the unique people and situations in this book. I found this book to be a quick read, with a well developed plot and characters. I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series. If you love cozy mysteries, I recommend this book.

I received this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Penn is finding her way as the owner of her grandma's chocolate shop as well as organizing a beach music festival to bring in the crowds. As a favor, her sister has asked music star Bixby Lewis to perform and with the fame comes the crazy fans. Was the murder of the local a mistaken identity for Bixby as Bixby claims or is there something deeper going on? Can Penn solve the crime before damage is done?

This is the second book in A Southern Chocolate Shop Mystery and it has proven to be a winner for me. I feel in love with Penn's character right away. She has already proven she is strong with overcoming her background of a loveless childhood. She moves to a new town and new state and starts overcoming adversity with trying to find out who her mother is and fighting family members left and right for the knowledge she is seeking.

I have not read the first book in the series (I think I am seeing a pattern for me) but I was able to follow along with who the characters were and how they related to each other. I really want to see how the friendship/relationship between Penn and Harley progresses. Harley seems like a real sweetheart but is he too soft for Penn who has a wall up around her heart?

Thank you Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for an advanced copy to read in exchange for an honest review based on my own thoughts.

Charity Penn is a very fun character. This is the first book I've read, so I'm still learning the history of Penn.

In this story, a music festival is taking place and some murders are sending the small town into a tailspin.

Penn is still trying to learn the truth about her mom and this is where things get good.

I really enjoyed this story and the author did a great job of keeping me guessing.
I'm looking forward to reading more in this series.

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

Playing with Bonbon Fire: A Southern Chocolate Shop Mystery
By Dorothy St. James
Crooked Lane
March 23, 2018

Review by Cynthia Chow

Charity Penn is the epitome of the poor little rich girl. Abandoned by her mother, neglected by her father, and disregarded by her grandmother, Penn is wary to trust and suspicious of anyone who attempts to get close. The all-too-brief time she spent with her newly discovered maternal grandmother gave Penn a glimpse into life with a true family, and she hopes to continue the legacy after inheriting Mabel Maybank’s Chocolate Box shop in Camellia Beach, South Carolina. Not yet having mastered the craft of confectionary herself, Penn is helming the inaugural Summer Solstice Beach Music Festival as an opportunity to showcase new savory bonbon delights and attract tourists to local businesses. Penn even enlists her half-sister’s ex-boyfriend, famous pop singer Bixby Lewis, into performing for one of the weekend’s planned concerts. The first sour notes hit when rivalries between bandmates from the sixties reignite, Bixby’s obsessive fans descend upon the town, and a beach bonfire reveals a horrific casualty.

Determined to prove to the judgmental police chief that she isn’t responsible for the increase in crime, Penn begins her own investigation into the pasts of Bixby and the has-been musicians. This is in addition to the mystery Penn pursues as she tracks down her possible mother, a task not made easier with the Maybank siblings contesting the will and refusing to take DNA tests. Penn is accustomed to rejection though, and she’s not about to stop her search for answers to the questions that have plagued her for years. With those past secrets bleeding into the present, Penn’s mission only becomes all the more dire.

Penn struggles with issues of abandonment and trust, which explains why she is often prickly and overly sensitive. Her occasional abrasiveness is offset by the complete acceptance and love of Bertie Bays and her daughter, partners in the Chocolate Box and whose hugs, humor, and embraces are something Penn is learning to tolerate. Penn’s half-sister Tina also proves to be an ebullient counterweight to Penn’s pessimism, pushing Penn to reach out for love and risk new relationships. Penn may have already found that person in her life, she just has to be open to accepting it. Many answers to the mysteries of Penn’s life will be found in this second of the series, but readers will look forward to discovering even more. Penn and even her temperamental Papillion Stella have softened the more they appreciate Camellia Beach, with their willingness to love increasing with Penn’s skill at crafting gourmet chocolates.

I finished reading Playing with Bonbon Fire last night. I enjoyed this second in series mystery. This one is being published by Crooked Lane Books March 13th and it has a good mystery, even better is the ongoing mystery of who Charity's birth mother is. You can not help but feel for Charity who rightfully so goes by the name of Penn, her Paternal Grandmother made her feel unwelcome and unwanted her entire life and made sure everyone knew it, giving her the name Charity just to spite her existence. This theme of being unwanted and not having a place to feel connected or part of is a very good theme in this series, it may seem impossible in many ways that anyone would be so cruel, but Penn has many qualities readers can relate too. I like that nothing is easy or perfect in this characters life, that she is woefully pragmatic and yet hopeful and disillusioned at the same time. This book was a good read and I am pleased to have gotten the ARC to read and review.

Charity Penn is settling into her new life in Camellia Beach, SC running the chocolate shop she inherited. While still trying to solve some mysteries about her mother, she's making new friends, learning to trust people again, and getting involved in local events. Camellia Beach is gearing up for its beach festival and Penn has agreed to help organize the event. Famous singer Bixby Lewis, who used to date Penn's half-sister Tina, is in town to perform. Two other groups featuring local musicians are also going to perform, despite bad blood between two of the musicians. When one of the performers is found dead by a beach bonfire and strange attacks on Penn's chocolate shop start happening, Penn knows she needs to investigate before more people are killed.

I like the quirky, unusual characters in this series. Penn has some serious issues with trust and personal space, but given her background that's understandable. I like her as a main character because she's different....not a tropey formula MC. I like the fact that residents of Camellia Beach are finally treating Penn as one of their own, not as an outsider. There is some excellent character development for Penn and a couple of the other characters in the series in this second book. I can't wait to find out what happens in the next book! Penn's on-going struggle to solve her issues with her biological family adds an interesting secondary storyline to this series. At times, I really want to jump into the story and knock her relatives around a bit for being jerks. This secondary plot line doesn't get in the way of the mystery, but enhances it. The mystery moves along at a nice pace with plenty of suspects and some unexpected twists. The story held my attention from beginning to end. All in all, a very enjoyable cozy mystery.

The cover is colorful and cute, as usual. And, there are some yummy recipes in the back of the book! :)

**I voluntarily read an advanced readers copy of this book from Crooked Lane via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**