This is quickly becoming one of my favorite cozy mystery series. I really like protagonist Whitney, her friends Giff, Tay, and Hannah, Officer Jack, and their small, lovely Wisconsin town. Whitney's family's B&B and bake shop sound like the perfect place for a relaxing escape... unless someone winds up killed! Another murder at the B&B draws Whitney into investigating the crime and turns up several potential culprits with strong motives. I was kept guessing through the whole book and though I suspected the guilty party(ies), I wasn't really sure until the big reveal. With a few quirky characters and a couple energetic goats, a great mystery, and a bit of a love triangle thrown in for good measure, this was a very entertaining story. If you're a fan of all things cherry, like I am, you will love all the tasty treats in this book! My advance copy didn't have any recipes, but the end had a note that recipes would be added for the final copy. Hoping this series continues for awhile!

My copy seemed to be missing all combinations of "ff" "fi" and "fl" which made some things challenging to read and slowed me down a bit. Words like ocer (officer), coee (coffee), chion (chiffon), and even one of the characters Gi (Giff), among others, made me pause to decipher the correct word. I'm guessing errors of this magnitude have already been caught and are being corrected before the book's release.

I received an advance copy of this book. This review contains my honest thoughts and opinions.

Cherry Scones & Broken Bones is the second book in the A Very Cherry Mystery series.

Whitney Bloom has recently learned from her mother that a renowned painter, Silvia Lumiere is coming to town. Silvia has booked a room with them in their family-run establishment, Cherry Orchard Inn, where she'll be staying for two and a half months. Whitney and her mother are excited as they see this as an opportunity to attract guests to their inn following a murder incident that tainted the inn's reputation.

Soon after she checks in, Silvia is found dead in the lobby of Cherry Orchard Inn with one of Whitney's cherry scones shoved down her throat. All fingers are pointing towards Whitney as the suspect.
This is a well-crafted mystery and engaging storyline, I enjoyed the settings of Cherry Cove and found the characters relatable.

Many thanks to Darci Hannah, Midnight Ink, and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a fun book. The titles alone bring a smile to my face but getting to get back to the characters brightens my day. It was a quick, light, fun read.

A nice cozy mystery, well written and entertaining.
I liked the cast of characters and the setting.
The mystery was solid and it kept me guessing till the end.
I look forward to reading other books in this series.
Recommended!
Many thanks to Midnight Ink and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

Cherry Scones & Broken Bones
by Darci Hannah (Goodreads Author)

Paperback, 360 pages
Expected publication: June 8th 2019 by Midnight Ink


Goodreads synopsis:
For the Cherry Orchard Inn, "Cherry scones to die for" turns out to be all too true

Tainted by a recent murder, the Cherry Orchard Inn is struggling to attract guests . . . until celebrated portrait painter, Silvia Lumiere, books a room for the summer. Whitney Bloom, the inn's new manager, can't believe her good luck. Between her scrumptious cherry scones and the painter's remarkable talent, the inn swiftly becomes the center of the Cherry Cove art scene. However, all is not the bowl of cherries it appears. There's a rotten core in the portrait painter that only Whitney and her friends can see. And just as Whitney's baking skills and patience are pushed to their limits, another death occurs at the inn. With all fingers pointing at her, Whitney realizes it will take all her cherry-tastic talents to bake her way out of this one.
Genre: Fiction, Cozy Mystery, Food, Bed and Breakfast, Murder Mystery, Romance, Sequel

***

4.5 Stars

I wasn’t quite invested in this book until the portrait painter, Silvia, landed on the scene and put everyone in some sort of fix. This woman was just mean, mean, mean. I wanted to knock her off her block for treating everyone like she did. I mean, I was feeling stress for all these people, especially Whitney. After that, I was all in. I was riding this cherry boat all the way to the end.

Other reviewers said they knew who the murder victim would be from the very beginning but I was clueless. I did not read book one in this series and so I wasn’t as familiar with the characters as others might have been. I felt all the characters were fully developed and you could remember who was who from scene to scene. It some books that is a challenge. No problem here. The character development was excellent, and the storyline really sucks you in. Just a stellar book.

I enjoyed the setting of Cherry Cove too. The references to Chicago and towns surrounding it made it seem like these characters lived in my backyard. I live in the southern part of Illinois and I wondered if I would stumble across any of the action. No really, but it was neat to think about.

This is a series I think cozy mystery lovers would enjoy. Definitely check this one out.

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

_____
Darci Hannah lives in a small town in Michigan with her husband, three sons, lovable springer spaniel, Finley and golden retriever pup, Ripley. She is the author of Cherry Pies & Deadly Lies (Midnight Ink, 2018) and two previous works of historical fiction, The Exile of Sara Stevenson (Ballantine Books, 2010, 2nd edition by Piffle & Bombast 2016) and the Angel of Blythe Hall (Ballantine Books, 2011).

A very well written cozy mystery.. loved the plot and the characters. I look forward to reading more books in this series. Mystery fans will love this book.

Thank you Netgalley and the Publisher for the chance to read this book!

I have read the first book, so I wasn't completely lost when I started this one. I was hopeful as to where the romance was headed, and I was delighted to see it go right where I wanted. I knew who was going to be the victim right form the beginning; if no one likes a character, then sure enough there's a huge pool of suspects and motives and yet again, I was right. It was a fun mystery to solve, especially with everything happening in the background.

My main concern with this book was no anything to do with the writing and characters, but with the format. So many words were chopped up in my copy that I couldn't read them, it was something to do with the letter F, because words like coffee were coee, and office was oce. More often than not I was left scratching my head as to what a word actually was. I've never come across this issue in a kindle book before!

So I enjoyed the story, and imagine the format issue is long since solved. Three stars.

In ‘Cherry Scones and Broken Bones’, we follow Whitney, an advertising executive turned baker/manager of her family’s bed and breakfast. After the unfortunate events- a murder- that had happened a while back their family establishment has taken quite a hit and isn’t running as well as it used to. However, with the help of her advertising skills and the power of her delightful cherry pastries, Whitney is determined to get her family’s bed and breakfast business back on track. Things seem to be looking up when highly-admired artist Silvia Lumiere has decided to book a two-month stay at Whitney’s bed and breakfast. The locals and even Whitney’s own family members are quite smitten by Silvia; everyone but Whitney.

Things take a turn for the worst when it seems like Ms Silvia Lumiere has a thing for endlessly complaining about every little thing and ordering people around- namely her noticeably younger assistant Peter. Whitney was about to put her foot down when Silvia starts refusing to pay for their services but decides to tolerate it when she realises being on Silvia’s good side will bring in publicity for their business. Despite that, it does not mean Whitney wouldn't let out a couple of snide remarks about Silvia.

Then the unexpected happens. Silvia Lumiere is found dead with a cherry scone stuck in her mouth and all the evidence points to murder. Everyone immediately points their fingers at Whitney as the culprit, so she must find the real killer to clear her name and save the reputation of their bed and breakfast before they’ll be forced to shut it down.

I have not read the first book in this series, but I feel like I did not have to as there were several references about what had happened in the first book. There was quite a lot of characters but they were introduced again and given a backstory, so it was not hard to catch up with who was who. I enjoyed a lot of the characters in this series; some were quite quirky and really added an element of fun into the whole mystery plotline, which reinforces the “cosiness” of this mystery.

Love triangle tropes are really not my cup of tea and unfortunately for me, this novel has it. There were a couple of times where I felt like the whole love triangle subplot was almost taking over the mystery, and it did bother me a bit since I was reading this book to see where the mystery plot line was going and not for the romance element. Whitney did get quite annoying when she would jump from one guy to the other, and how it seems like she contradicts herself. One moment she would express how she has no feelings for her ex-boyfriend, who apparently is still her boyfriend because she hasn't made it clear to him that they're not together anymore, but then in the next chapter she would be drooling over “his spectacular bare chest heaving with Viking bravado”. I kept wondering why she couldn't just break up with her boyfriend when there’s literally nothing holding her back from doing so.

*spoiler* Whitney also cried (twice) after the whole fiasco about Jack finding her and Tate having dinner, and her not telling Tate that she was taking Jack to this fair, which I found quite irksome. Especially once she said she was “too much of a chicken to break up with Tate and too scared of being rejected by Jack”

This just proves my point of there being not a single thing to stop her from ending it with Tate. Plus I would think that a woman, who is so determined to find a killer and save her business, wouldn't be a coward to break up with a guy "no longer was the center of [her] universe", but that's just me.

I was also quite surprised to find out that Jack even liked her when I saw no indication of him ever being mildly attracted to her- but maybe that's my fault since I have not read the first book. Speaking of Jack, can I just say how much I love the fact that he owns two little billy goats. That gets him immediate brownie points from me.

The mystery was quite engaging and I was quite eager to find out who the killer was. The story flowed nicely and was really well written (except for a couple of spelling errors on the eARC that I received, but I’m sure those will be fixed before the release date). I love how descriptive the writing was and because of that, I was fully immersed in the story.

I will be continuing on with this series and cannot wait for the next book by Darci Hannah.

3.5 stars

Thank you, NetGalley and Midnight Ink for providing me with an advanced reader's copy of 'Cherry Scones and Broken Bones'

My review will be posted on my blog, 'ChaptersandChats' (linked), on or before February 28 2019.

I will admit- I am not always the fan of the cozy mystery. Often I feel like they are predictable, not always well-written, and a little to "hokey" for me. However, I found myself enjoying Cherry Scones and Broken Bones, the second book in the A Very Cherry Mystery Series. Though it was the second book in the series, it certainly read easy enough as a stand-alone novel. Murder once again strikes at the Cherry Orchard Inn, this time with its victim being a guest of the inn, Silvia Lumiere, a celebrated portrait artist, who unfortunately, is not known for her treatment of others. Manager of the inn, local baker, and amateur sleuth, Whitney, who is also a suspect in the crime, sets out to find out who murdered Silvia, to clear her name, as well as to save the good name of the Cherry Cove Inn. And there are quite a few suspects, all with good reason to want to get rid of Silvia! Cute story, and quick read!

Thank you to NetGalley and Midnight Ink for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A strong addition to the series. Chalked full of mystery, charming settings, and engaging characters, you will not want to put this book down until you reach the end.

I love anything cherry related so this series is definitely a must read for me.
The story was well told and I was kept guessing until the reveal. I love when I get so caught up in a story that I forget I'm really not part of the mystery.

As the new manager for the Cherry Orchard Inn, Whitney Bloom has full plate when famed painter, Silvia Lumiere, arrives to spend the Summer at the Inn. The painter may attract people to the restaurant to watch her paint, but she also repels people with her demanding and mean personality.

A few weeks after her arrival the painter is found dead at the bottom of the staircase with one of Whitney’s famous cherry scones shoved down her throat. Whitney is the prime suspect, especially after telling hottie police officer, Jack, that she’d like to do the woman in. With no alibi, Whitney and her friends get back into the business of solving a murder to save her hide and the Inn.

The fictional town of Cherry Cove is quaint and quirky, as are the characters. They are well developed and the writing is solid. The story will draw you in and keep you there until you finally figure out whodunit. While I picked up on who the murderer was right out of the gate, I questioned myself a few times with red herrings and was not clear on why until the very end. A great read!

Title: Cherry Scones And Broken Bones



Author: Darci Hannah



Genre: Fiction, Cozy Mystery, Food, Bed and Breakfast, Murder Mystery, Romance, Sequel,



Plot: Whitney went from high powered and stressed out advertising executive to cherry baker and running her family bed and breakfast. All it took for this drastic change of pace was a painfully misplaced ad during the Super Bowl and murder. Now she's firmly settled into a nice baking routine and there are now guests in the b&b, thanks to her advertising skills and price slashing techniques.



To further boost their publicity, celebrated portrait artist Silvia Lumiere has booked a room for the whole summer. She comes every year to spend the summer painting and mingling with the locals who all adore her or simply tolerate her, depending on their personality. While Whitney has high hopes, these quickly evaporate under the never-ending stream of complaints and verbal abuse heaped on her by Silvia.



When Silvia turns up dead, no one is really too surprised. But Whitney must work to clear her name and save the reputation of her little bed and breakfast while she still can.



Likes/Dislikes: This is a sequel and reads like one in several places but can fully stand on its own just fine. I was able to meet all the characters, pick up on the backstory and enjoy this mystery without becoming confused or spoiling the first mystery (which is excellent because now I want to go read it!). The formatting was a bit off and several words were only half there so some translating was required but this will be fixed in editing before publishing, I'm sure of it. One minor annoying thing was that Jack's hair was described as ginger in the first half and then cinnamon in the second half; which color is it supposed to be? During another scene, everyone wades in waist deep water. It is only after doing this that a character decides he needs to completely strip before swimming back to the boat. Other than those little things, this was an excellent book and I look forward to more cherry delights!



Rating: PG-14 and up, mainly for content (lots of talk of sexual harassment from an older female character but nothing graphic)



Date Review Written: January 24th, 2019



I received a copy of this book courtesy of Netgalley for my honest opinion. I wasn't required to write a positive review and the opinions expressed in the above review are my own.

This was the first book in the series that I read and I am definitely looking forward to going back and reading the first one. Darci Hannah created a believeable small town with eccentric but authentic characters. The victim was awful enough that you could believe there would be multiple suspects in the murder, but not so over the top that they came across as cartoonish. Having not read the first book in the series I had to do a little catching up with the relationships between the characters, but there was enough reference to previous events that it didn't take long. I loved when Whitney decided to solve the case as much to clear her own name as to get back at Jack for having doubted her innocence. The triangle between Whitney, Jack, and Tate added some extra tension but I was glad it was pretty much wrapped up before the end - it made it seem like more than just filler for the story. It took a little while for me to warm up to Hannah and I couldn't figure out why the other women were friends with her, unlike Tay who I liked from the beginning. I hope there will be more books in this series, mostly because I would like to see what these characters get up to in the future.

Thank you to net galley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read this book it was a great experience I love a cozy mystery

Whitney has returned home to her family’s bed and breakfast after a disastrous ad campaign failed in the city. She is now working as a baker of cherry delicacies. A customer to the inn is murdered and Whitney ends up a suspect. She works to prove her innocence and prove her love interest, the local policeman, wrong for considering her involvement. She has much more investigative skill than Jack appears to have but, she doesn’t have to follow police work rules. The characters are all quirky and delightful. Readers will enjoy this book and look forward to more.

I read this as an ARC from NetGalley, in return for a fair and unbiased review. Thanks for the opportunity.

This type of cosy, heroine-led mystery can easily fall into a pattern - and I was pleasantly surprised to find that while still in the cosy mystery format, it didn’t fall victim to some of the predictable tropes that other books do. Thanks Darci for avoiding those! Whit has two potential suitors, but unlike certain other baking amateur sleuths (not naming names, but rhymes with Benson), she doesn’t spend 20 books dallying with both men and actually dating both at once. Admittedly this is only book two in the Whitney Bloom series, but I have confidence... That alone, makes me instantly like this series, as Whit recognises that seeing both would be wrong, and she does commit to one (no spoilers!).

Decent characters - I was jumping in with book two and yet I still felt the characters were pretty clear and well written to newcomers like me.

Looking forward to reading more cherry mysteries.

Posted review on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42124411-cherry-scones-broken-bones