This book finds our beloved Clare Cosi who has no idea why she is in New York to her she should be in NJ. She knows only one place to go which is the Village Blend what she doesn't realize is she's been missing for days and no one. knows what happened except Clare. Add to the mystery a crime was committed infront of her and she has no idea what it is or where she was before showing up in the park.

This book was such a delightful adventure watching Clare try to piece her life together, and watching her ex-husband try to come to terms with the fact they weren't going to get back together even in her diminished state.

I can't wait to see what is next at the Village Blend it's such a great thrill to read this series it's like visiting old friends every time you open a book seeing what Tucker, Dante, Madam, Matt, Clare and everyone else is up to!
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Grab your favorite mug and fill it up as you settle in with this mystery. Coffeehouse manager Clare Cosi wakes up in a strange place and she has no idea how she got there. She's been missing for a few days and no one is more bereft over this than her fiance Mike Quinn. Unfortunately she can't remember him or hardly any of the last fifteen years of her life.

The only clue that she has is video footage of her and an acquaintance being confronted by a masked man in a parking garage. With a gun. The video goes black and her mind does the same thing. Police are confounded by this latest development and Clare must regain her memory and clear her name, before its too late.

C

BREWED AWAKENING is the eighteenth book in the Coffeehouse Mystery series by Cleo Coyle and wow, if you think the other books in the series have been good, then you’re going to be in for a surprise.

Cleo Coyle is one of those authors that writes on a whole different level than everyone else. Not only are they skilled in narrative, but their plotting and pacing is out of this world. BREWED AWAKENING isn’t just an amazing book; it’s a masterpiece.

Coyle has done something completely different with this book, taking Clare out of the main narration role and giving others a chance. Since Clare isn’t at her best in this book, readers get to experience more from other characters that we love. In a way, it’s great because we can see different points of views, but I also found myself wishing that we had Clare’s point of view back. This book definitely feels a lot different than the other books in the series because of this, so there is that to take into consideration. But since this was such a unique idea, I really can’t complain. My eyes were completely glued to the pages and I couldn’t sleep until I flipped that last page.

BREWED AWAKENING is undoubtedly going to be of my top favorite books of 2020. Trust me when I say this, but this is not a book that you want to miss!

BREWED AWAKENING is the eighteenth book in the Coffeehouse Mystery series by Cleo Coyle and wow, if you think the other books in the series have been good, then you’re going to be in for a surprise.

Cleo Coyle is one of those authors that writes on a whole different level than everyone else. Not only are they skilled in narrative, but their plotting and pacing is out of this world. BREWED AWAKENING isn’t just an amazing book; it’s a masterpiece.

Coyle has done something completely different with this book, taking Clare out of the main narration role and giving others a chance. Since Clare isn’t at her best in this book, readers get to experience more from other characters that we love. In a way, it’s great because we can see different points of views, but I also found myself wishing that we had Clare’s point of view back. This book definitely feels a lot different than the other books in the series because of this, so there is that to take into consideration. But since this was such a unique idea, I really can’t complain. My eyes were completely glued to the pages and I couldn’t sleep until I flipped that last page.

BREWED AWAKENING is undoubtedly going to be of my top favorite books of 2020. Trust me when I say this, but this is not a book that you want to miss!

Great read with an interesting take on memory loss! I really enjoyed it!!!!

Clare is a newly engaged woman at the very beginning of the book, and she is happy and ready to start her new life with Mike. All that changes when Clare wakes up on a bench in Washington Square Park. All her family and friends are scared because she has been missing, but none of them are expecting the Clare they get back. She has lost her memory of the last 15 years. This is just part of the story. It may be connected to the missing hotel heiress, Annette Brewster. Then, there Dr. Lorca, the man who is supposed to help her regain her memory, but with a very controversial method, isolating her from all her family and friends.

The interconnected mysteries are great. Many writers may not be able to pull off those separate yet connected plotlines, but not Cleo Coyle. It was fantastic! There were many plot twists I didn’t see coming.

While the mystery was wonderful, Coyle also pulled my emotions into the storyline as well. I cannot imagine how Clare was feeling. This woman didn’t even know what a smart phone was! She thinks her daughter is 11 when in reality she is now a grown woman, not to mention, her complicated past with her ex. She doesn’t even know she is newly engaged to the sweet, strong Mike.

Not only is she suffering but so are her family and friends…poor Mike. The woman he has loved and spent time gaining her trust and love doesn’t even know him. It broke my heart. I did like the premise of her getting to know him and falling in love with him all over again…that warmed my heart!

To make the book even better, there are a ton of recipes and tips from The Village Blend!!!! I can’t tell you how much I LOVED Brewed Awakening!!!!

The latest coffeehouse mystery was a wild ride, what with Clare ending up with amnesia and unable to recognize her fiance or her coworkers. I couldn't put it down.

First of all, I loved the cover of this book. Coyle can always be counted upon to deliver such amazing mysteries of all time. Apart from been mind blown, I cannot wait to read her remaining titles.

Thank you, NetGalley for providing me with this eARC in exchange for this honest review.

This was a delightful twist on the cozy mystery! Very different than any story I’d read before and so much fun! In Cleo Coyle’s Brewed Awakening, a coffee-shop owner and expert barista awakens on a park bench with no memory of the past fifteen years. And unfortunately, she also has been missing for several days and seems to be the sole witness to a missing person’s case—if only she could remember it! A fun, sweet, and unique cozy mystery that I highly recommend!

So, I haven’t read any of this series and I was shocked to learn that Brewed Awakening is book 18 in the Coffeehouse Mysteries! It easily read as a standalone and I felt completely caught up on the character back stories, while unspoiled on the previous 17 mysteries (which I definitely am reading after loving this so much)!

Opening with a glimpse into Clare’s proposal, the book flashes forward two months to Clare waking up on a park bench with no memory of how she got there. And pretty soon we realize that her memory gap may be even larger than we thought, as she runs into a pedestrian with a smart phone and seems to have no idea what it is. Returning to the coffee shop that she thankfully worked at fifteen years ago and still does today, Clare is greeted with open arms. Everyone was worried because she has been missing for several days!

And they are even more worried when they realize that she has no memory of the last fifteen years, including her engagement, current role running the coffeehouse, and her daughter growing up. But the more pressing issue arises when she gets locked away in a memory ward and her friends need to bust her out. On the run, Clare holds the key to the missing heiress, if only she can remember!

I loved the way this mystery delved into memory and sensory memory in particular. Clare’s very clever friends quickly are able to test that her memories are locked away somewhere, as she can remember specific coffee beans that her ex-husband brought back in the years after her memory went away. As she has built her life and passion around coffee, it seems to reawaken bits of her memory. It was fun and scary watching Clare try to remember. I worried she might not remember anything!

The conclusion to this was a lot of fun, and I loved that we got a healthy explanation of how the case was solved and what happened in the aftermath. Did Clare recover her memories? Was the heiress found? What about the person or people behind the kidnapping???

A fun read that I can’t recommend enough! Thank you Berkley for my copy. Opinions are my own.

Our story starts with Clare waking up on a park bench, not knowing how she got there. When she tries to find familiar, she ends up discovering that she had been missing and she has lost years of life she lived. Her daughter is grown, she doesn’t remember her chunky NYPD fiancé or that she is now the owner of the coffee shop and the employees that all know her well. Clare’s soon realizes that her memory loss is linked to a crime she witnessed and now find herself a suspect in the crime.

Hospitalized to try and discover the reason for her loss in memory, puts her in the sights of a doctor that is trying to isolate her from her family and those who know her. She quickly realizes she must uncover the mystery behind her memory loss and the crime its tied to clear her name.

I found the characters witty and quirky. The plot engaging while keeping the me, the reader, completely invested in the outcome. I love a great mystery and that is exactly what we got with Cleo Coyle’s Brewed Awakening.

I received this ARC copy of Brewed Awakening from Berkley Publishing Group. This is my honest and voluntary review.

A well done blend of cozy mystery and suspense. In this case, the suspense comes from questions surrounding Clare’s loss of memory and what she will remember when and if she recovers her memory. The interplay between the characters and their competing priorities served to keep the story on an edge between success and failure.

Kudos to the Cleo Coyle writing team for the way this installment was put together. Clare’s apprehension and fear, as well as that of those around her, dominate the story, but are woven into the mystery storyline. This one kept me on the edge all the way through.

The latest in the “A Coffeehouse Mystery” cozy series from Berkley Publishing written by Cleo Coyle, Brewed Awakening is now available. This book is a pleasant and gripping read filled with captivating characters in a charming setting.

This is a long-running cozy series. Readers have come to love the characters, many times finding themselves anxious for the next installment. However, a series of this nature also tend to become stale. Thankfully, that is not the case with this the 18th book in this series. Clare losing her memory is a great way to keep this series fresh and allows readers to reminisce about her past exploits.

Readers are taken on an emotional roller coaster as they travel with Clare on her adventure to recover her memory. She finds herself in peril at every turn, gets involved in a murder, and wonders if she will ever remember her fiancé. No one seems to be who they claim to be, and everyone seems to have a motive to commit a crime. Like with other books in this cozy series, Clare eventually finds the killer and her life.

This cozy series and Brewed Awakening, in particular, are easy to read, easy to follow, and keeps readers questioning and invested. I am happy to recommend the series and this book to cozy mystery lovers.

ARC provided by NetGalley

The review is on GumshoeReview.com and is restricted to Gumshoe until Feb. 1st, 2020. Follow the link to the review.

Brewed Awakening was a delicious treat of a cozy mystery. I’ve loved this series from the very first book and I loved how these authors gave us a glimpse at life for Claire before the Coffeehouse. Claire has been missing for several days and when she is found, she no longer remembers her life for the last several years and no longer remembers the love of her life, Mike Quinn. Besides solving a mystery, Claire must now try to put together the pieces of her past to find a killer before it is too late.

I loved this story and it showed me how amazing Claire has become after splitting with Matt. The Claire that we all know and love is such a resilient, strong person and I’m so glad that Mike would do whatever it takes to get her to fall back in love with him. One of my favorite mysteries.

This is the first book I have read in this mystery series and I was happy to dive straight in. I can’t believe this is the 18th book in a wonderful series and I've never come across it before now. Cleo Coyle did an excellent job of making this story fresh and new while giving me plenty of detail to be able to jump right in even at this late stage. I was sold from the very beginning, with its solid characters, great writing and a marvellous mystery that provided a good sprinkling of clues to satisfy even the most painstaking and diligent armchair detective.

In this instalment, expert sleuth Clare is suffering from memory loss and everyone believes this is due to a tragic event. She had been meeting with hotel heiress/owner, Annette Brewster, to taste wedding cakes. After the tasting, both women disappeared. While Clare has been found, Annette is still missing .... But Clare's missing memory is tied to a crime she witnessed. As evidence mounts that she set the woman up, is Clare really a victim or merely acting like one?

The author, Cleo Coyle, has drawn a lot of great characters in this fabulous cozy mystery. I particularly liked the coffeehouse manager Clare Cosi who worked in Village Blend, the local landmark coffeeshop. Other characters - her detective fiance and her ex-husband - all have their own personalities and add to the richness of the plot. This series is like a coffeeshop that serves a fabulous cup of white chocolate mocha latte .... I will keep coming back now that I have discovered it!

There was a large number of characters in Brewed Awakening but I think I just about managed to keep track of all of them without being overwhelmed! Apart from Clare herself who is suffering from memory loss, from the elegant Madame and the caring and inventive Mike Quinn, her fiance, to conniving ex-husband Matteo Allegro, there’s someone for everyone to relate to.

The Village Blend and New York City are a spectacular setting for the story. The author’s descriptions create a visual masterpiece for readers to enjoy. I could smell the coffee, the rich blends, along with delicious baked treats too. However, whilst the Village Blend makes for a superb backdrop, I liked that that the mystery and keeping Clare safe took me on something of a journey, to New York and New Jersey, and further up the coast.

Another of my favourite aspects of this novel was the transparency and fluidity of the writing. The details of the plot were very well executed and every chapter left me with a compelling need to read on. The author did a brilliant job of balancing the story-line and various events jumbled matters up somewhat, making figuring out the identity of the perpetrator more challenging.

With no disappointments, wonderful characters, an intriguing mystery, and just the right blend of humour and romance, this was such an entertaining story with many exciting moments. I am looking forward to returning to the Village Blend with Clare on a future occasion and reading the earlier books in the series, too! I've already bagged two books in the series for those evenings when I feel like a little brain candy.

Cleo Coyle is the pen name for writer duo Alice Alfonsi and Marc Cerasini. They also write the Haunted Bookshop cozy series under the name Alice Kimberly.

So entertaining and engaging, Brewed Awakening is definitely well worth the time invested.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel from the Penguin Random House via NetGalley at my own request. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

I have read almost all of the Coffeehouse Mysteries. Brewed Awakening is my favorite so far. Using an innovative plot device like amnesia refreshes the series because Claire is thrust back to the beginning. She only remembers what happened ten years ago when she was recently divorced with an eleven-year-old daughter working in her ex-mother-in-law’s coffee shop. Imagine her surprise when the daughter is magically an adult and everyone, including herself, looks older than she remembers. She doesn’t even recognize the love of her life, Mike, who recently asked for her hand in marriage.

Claire is on camera as a witness to an heiress’ abduction. The shock has made her lose her recent memories. Can a miracle doctor help her memories return?

Brewed Awakening combines the best of a cozy mystery’s character focus with a thriller’s pace and plotline. It results in an innovative story that elevates what is achievable within the cozy mystery genre. It is highly recommended! 5 stars!

Thanks to the author, NetGalley and Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

The Coffeehouse Mystery series has been one of my favorites for years now. I like the main characters and the setting in and around a popular coffee shop in NYC. The plots are always good, and the coffee is always hot (or iced, or latte, or whatever new drink is all the rage at the Village Blend). I like the discussions the characters have about coffee -- preparing, roasting, buying beans, brewing, etc. Each book also includes recipes.

This newest book I devoured in one awesome bout of binge reading, only taking breaks to refill my coffee cup. This time the authors went for something a bit different. Loved it! Clare Cosi wakes up in Washington Square Park. She has no idea how she got there....and she's lost 15 years of memories. She thinks her daughter is still a child....that her ex is still a supreme rat.....and that she no longer works at Village Blend. Her disappearance and subsequent reappearance with memory loss coincide with another crime. The police start to suspect her....is her memory loss real, or a put on? And....she has no memory of her fiance. Will she regain her memories and help solve the disappearance of a wealthy heiress.....or will she be arrested and charged with the crime?

There are several yummy recipes at the back of this book, as usual. I can't wait to try the recipe for KFC-style chicken...I've always wanted to try making a homemade version!

Brewed Awakening is the 18th book in the Coffeehouse series. I highly recommend these books to coffee and cozy lovers. Even if you don't care for coffee, the mysteries are entertaining and the characters are interesting. This series always provides an enjoyable mystery!

**I voluntarily read an advanced review copy of this book from Berkley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**

I absolutely LOVED this cozy. I cannot believe this is number 18 in the series! I've been reading this series since I was in college. 😱😱

This book is perfect as a stand-alone or to read in the series. But ---I can't skip! The set up of this book is extremely unique and a exciting change of pace for a long-lasting series.

Clare wakes up unsure of where she is, no keys, no purse and everything looks so different. Once arriving to the Village Blend, she finds out she has been missing for days when she was kidnapped with a hotel heiress and that she's lost 15 years of memories. Clare must work with her family and friends to piece together the last night before she went missing and is Annette still alive?

I could not put this book down. Most definitely recommend! I am a huge fan of cozy mysteries, but I'm an even bigger fan when the author chooses to challenge the usual cozy layout. I live the different POV between Mike and Clare as well as Clare's memories slowly dripping their way back.

This mystery is so compelling I could not put it down!

This book is very tense yet tempered with hilarity!

At the beginning of the book I was worried that the author had jumped ahead and that we were going to be missing out on YEARS of enjoying this series and the wonderful characters.

As it turns out, the one missing years of great memories is Clare. When she awakens, she turns to the safest place she DOES remember, only to have to go on the run with the one man she doesn't remember being her friend.
It is fascinating watching as her sense of memories slowly drips in, without the actual memories flowing smoothly back. This gives us hope but keeps the suspense high.

Those memories are not restricted to coffee and family moments (both good and bad.)

Clare also seems to know a lot about police procedures which surprises her. Where- why-how would she have come to this knowledge?



A delicious mixture of memory loss, medical mystery, police procedural, missed chances, family betrayal, greed and so much more!

This fabulous series can be enjoyed whether read book by book or one after another.

Clare Cosi, Owner of Village Blend coffee shop in New York City, wakes up in Washington Square with no recollection of how she got there. She has no ID, no keys, and no memory of the past twenty four hours, or the past fifteen years. As far as Clare is concerned, she is a recently divorced mom of a young child. Abducted along with her is a friend of Madame's who has yet to turn up. While Clare's friends and family rally behind her and encourage her to obtain her memory slowly, Clare must dodge a local doctor who is attempting to commit her and Matteo who is using the lapse in Clare's memory to worm his way back into her heart. Clare works with local police to figure out who is behind her recent bout of amnesia as well as her abduction. The hunt for answers is on and leads Clare throughout different parts of the city.
This is the eighteenth book in the Village Blend mystery series and part a departure from previous installments. It just might be my favorite in this longstanding series. Clare's amnesia and the fallout was fascinating to watch unfold and made for a unique plot. There was much more of Matteo and far less of Mike in this book which I quite enjoyed. There is still plenty of the comical adventures, descriptions of different, lesser known parts of New York City, and quirky characters that everyone loves or loves to hate. To me this series is a brilliant mix of police procedural and cozy mystery, with the best parts of both displayed in the plot. They are the epitome of cozy and perfect to curl up with during the holiday season. I would highly recommend this book and this series to longtime fans and those new to the series. Given this book's plot which is centered around Clare's bout of amnesia it may be confusing to newcomers, so I would suggest maybe starting with an earlier book in the series to fully enjoy all the backstory and memories in this new addition.

Brewed Awakening
(Coffeehouse Mystery #18)
by Cleo Coyle

Kindle Edition, 352 pages
Expected publication: December 3rd 2019 by Berkley



Goodreads synopsis:
From Cleo Coyle, the New York Times bestselling author of Shot in the Dark and Dead Cold Brew, comes a delicious new entry in the "fun and gripping" (Huffington Post) Coffeehouse Mysteries.

When coffeehouse manager Clare Cosi awakens on a bench in Washington Square Park, she has no idea she's been missing for days, or that her friends and family have been frantic with worry. Now that she's back, everyone is overjoyed, including a handsome NYPD detective who claims to be her fiance. But to Mike Quinn's crushing distress, Clare doesn't remember him, or much of anything about the last fifteen years of her life.

Clare's missing memory is tied to a crime she witnessed. An acquaintance of Clare's elegant employer--and fellow member of an exclusive Gotham circle known as "The Ladies Who Brunch"--invited Clare to her posh hotel to sample gourmet wedding cakes. After their indulgent tasting, they headed to the parking garage, where a camera captured a masked figure with a gun confronting the hotel heiress with Clare looking on. Did the kidnapper take Clare, too? The camera went dark, just like Clare's memory. Soon authorities grow suspicious. Is Clare really a victim? Or merely acting like one? Evidence is mounting that she set the woman up.

To clear her name, Clare must find a way to reclaim her memories and rescue the heiress before this high-stakes crime ends in tragedy. Otherwise, instead of walking down the aisle, Clare may find herself perp-walking to prison as an accomplice to kidnapping and murder.

***

5 Stars

This is book eighteen in the Coffeehouse Mystery series by Cleo Coyle.

This series just rings all the bells for me. Murder by Mocha was my first introduction into the cozy mystery world and I have been hooked ever since. Stepping back into this series is like coming home. So, when Clare Cosi loses her memory we are transported back to a time just after her separation with Matt and her daughter, Joy is still a kid.

It was fascinating to watch the fallout from Clare’s memory loss and how it effected everyone. This was all before Clare ever did her sleuthing thing so she was so out of her element and I couldn’t take my eyes off the page. Matt was at his most annoying and taking advantage of the situation, per usual. Why does this guy never learn? And Mike Quinn, her fiancee, and I loved the whole flashback to the proposal. How inventive!

This reminded me of other Coffeehouse books where Clare and Mike were on the run and it was a good feeling of deja vu. This book makes you appreciate how far the series has come. And it it making me want to revisit the entire series with a marathon re-read starting at book one! Just can’t get enough of this coffeehouse series. It feels like coming home.

To me this is part police procedural and part cozy mystery with all the best parts of each genre featured here. I definitely can’t wait to see what Cleo Coyle comes up with for book nineteen!

If you love cozy mysteries or police procedurals/detective fiction, definitely try out this series for size. I am sure you will not be disappointed.

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.