This book was an amazing read. Loved the story, the characters and the cover! I was so happy to read this book

Thank you to the publisher for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review -

Lila is on the young side of her twenties and just returned home after a bad breakup only for her ex-boyfriend to die in her family’s restaurant. After being accused by local Shady Palms police of murdering him she launches her own investigation with her best friend to find the true culprit.

The characters are lovable, familiar, and conflicted. There is light hometown romance and a fierce friendships without either being the sole focus of Lila’s trope. (Also Shady Palms is just teeming with eligible bachelors apparently??) Plenty of LOL moments and did I mention an endearing cast of characters? I want a Lola Flor in my life.

THE FOOD. Between the coffee shop next door and Lila whipping up authentic Filipino treats, I would read any book from this series just to satisfy my inner foodie.

The ending was not stupefying but without a doubt delivers for a cozy and was believable enough for me. I did not expect to love this book as much as I did but if you are curious about it - READ IT AND LOVE IT.

Cute comedic culinary mystery- good readalike for fans of Dial A for Aunties. Descriptions of Filipino food are luscious and the recipes are included in the back!

I would imagine that those who enjoy "cozy mysteries" would enjoy Arsenic and Adobo. Unfortunately, I'd rather eat food than read about food, and there was a lot of yummy food described within this book. It just ended up making me incredibly hungry. I would however, definitely recommend Arsenic and Adobo to those of you who enjoy recipes being talked about within your books and for those of you that find cozy mysteries pleasurable.

This one just wasn't for me.

My first cozy story and it did not disappoint! I loved all the Filipino food references along with the fun characters. I’m excited for the second book in the series! Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the advanced eARC.

Cozy mysteries are a new=ish genre for me and this felt like a good one to get my feet wet with. I enjoyed the cast of characters and found this to be a fun read.

This first book in a series is a cozy mystery set around a family restaurant in a small town. Like most small towns, there's a dark side, as Lila discovers when her ex passes out into the dessert platter at her family's restaurant and then dies on the way to the hospital. Lila has the solve the mystery of her dead ex to protect the restaurant and her family, who are the focus of the investigation. This is book club bait!

I loved this one!

Mia P. Manansala brought me back to mysteries.

I have been avoiding murder mysteries, true crimes, and thrillers for a while because there has been too much violence and many authors have been amping it up.

Not Mia P. Manansala! She crafts such a great story that I need more of this Filipino family, asap! I enjoyed the story, while I was trying to figure out who did it, and I knew by the end, nothing would be too over the top horrifying or gory.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for bringing me back to this genre!

You could call this a cozy mystery, and if you like those, or are looking to try a new genre this year- I highly recommend this one!

Family, friends, food, and… murder? Arsenic and Adobo provides all that and more. A girl who leaves to pursue her dreams and ends up back home and helping out in the family business, Lila doesn’t know how to fit her aspirations and her duty to her family together. When a murder threatens an already shaky profit margin she knows that she has to find out what really happened to save her family’s restaurant from ruin. With light romance along the way and friendships built and at stake, this book is a light and fun mystery that will leave you wishing you could eat at some of the places mentioned.

#ArsenicandAdobo #NetGalley

Okay, so lets just start this by the fact that cozies should not have to come with content warnings. They are cozy for a reason and so to me that means it doesn’t need to have any hardcore topics or taboo things that will offend people. They are just fun fluffy reads!!

Lila has moved back home after a horrible breakup and is working in her aunt’s Filipino restuarant and things were going pretty good until Derek walked in. Derek is her ex-boyfriend from a long time ago and it seems that for some reason he thinks himself a food critic and writes for the local paper. He also seems to have it out for her aunts restuarant so she was not happy to see him. This time though he comes in with his stepfather and they both order a few things.

Lila is not happy to see him but there is not a lot she can do about, but try and be nice and polite. Things don’t go so well when he ends up face down in some of his food. At first she thought he was just being his horrible self but then she realized something was really wrong.

It seems that someone had it in for the horrible food critic but it’s Lila that ends up on the suspect list because she was serving him and he was her ex. It didn’t help that he was bent on ruining her aunts restuarant. In comes the detective who seems to fixate on Lila as the killer. It doesn’t help when some things are found in her locker, so now Lila has to do a bit of sluething to get herself off the list, but it’s not going to be that easy.

I was really excited about this one but it was ruined a little by some content and the fact that it just didn’t feel very cozy. I am okay with grumpy policeman but this detective was just so rude and then expected his friendship with the aunt to be just fine. He shuts down their livelihood (the restuarant) and arrest her niece and then expects her to be just fine about things. Well, at least the aunt gave him a piece of her mind!

There is a bit of fat shaming in this book that might make people mad. It bothered me but I also have been to the Philippines and have friends who are Filipino and I am a plus size gal and I know how blunt they can be about weight! So that part just felt authentic to me, but doesn’t mean I had to like it.

I thought that the mystery in the story was pretty decent but was a bit overshadowed by things I didn’t think were very cozy in the story and the rude detective.

Reading this book will also make you hungry and because I have been to the Philippines it was exciting to be able to say oh I know what that is!! 🙂

Would I recommend it? Yes and no. I think this is just one that is hard to know how people will feel about it which is just strange for a cozy.

While I loved this new cozy mystery and the protagonist being Filipino, a couple things brought it down. Mainly, I felt the protagonist was constantly loud and accusatory, and many things were told instead of observed. My favorite parts of this book were the nuggets of information related to Philippine culture such as the food and family dynamics.

Arsenic and Adobo is the first book in a new cozy mystery series. Lila moves back home after a bad break up and begins working at her family's restaurant, Tita Rosie's. When Derek, her ex and local food-critic, dies in the restaurant after eating there, the restaurant is put under the microscope. Luckily, Lila is on the case and is determined to find out what really happened to Derek.
This was a great first book in the series. I can't wait to read more about Lila and her family.

This romantic mystery was a perfect summer read for me. I loved the characters and my mouth watered at all of the delicious food!

Lila is back home after leaving for the big city and her adult life. It didn't work out the way she planned and she has had to come back to the family restaurant. Her ex-boyfriend, who she has been seeing again, drops dead in the restaurant and Lila has to figure out who killed him so she and her family aren't blamed for it.

It was fun and not stressful with a feel-good romance. Just want I wanted from it.

I liked this book. I’d read more with this same characters, I just wish there had been more depth to them. And I wanted ALL the food. This author could be a good blogger with those descriptions. 😉. Cute story.

Lila recently moved back to her hometown of Shady Palms, Illinois, to help out in her family's traditional Filipino restaurant, which has been struggling from the combination of great food and poor budgeting. With a degree in restaurant management, Lila is sure to be helpful, but there's only so much she can do in the face of a series of bad reviews from her ex-boyfriend, Derek, in the local paper. His negative reviews don't stop Derek from coming into the restaurant and finishing his plate every day, though, which is exactly what he's doing when he keels over dead in his dessert. When the initial toxicology screening reveals a high level of arsenic in both his blood and the dessert, Lila and her family are at the top of the suspect list, and Lila must clear their name — and that of the restaurant — to save her family.

This series starter is a fun (and diverse!) entry into the cozy mystery genre, and holy cow, those recipes made my mouth water. I can't wait to see what else happens to Lila and her family and friends in Shady Palms.

This is an excellent addition to the food-murder mystery genre. I loved reading more about Lila, her Filipino family ,and the people who are in their lives. I'm very invested in their lives now! The murder mystery component of the story was compelling, and just serious enough. Would recommend.

Thanks to Berkley & Netgalley for a eARC. I love cozy mysteries so when I saw the cover of this book I knew I wanted to read it. The food they talked about sounded good. With that being said this book didn't live up to my expectations. I felt like some of the descriptions took too long to describe. I liked one of the love interest that she had but I didn't like the MC. She kinda got on my nerves. Maybe in the next book she can redeem herself. Overall I give this book a 2 out of 5 stars. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This book was the dash of spice I needed to get me out of my reading rut. I can't wait to read more from this author.

I adored Arsenic and Adobo! This first installment in Mia's series was an absolute joy to read with the Literary League and I cannot wait for the next books to be released. From the setting to the delectable foods she describes at length, and the mystery to the characters - Mia did a wonderful job with Arsenic and Adobo.

Arsenic and Adobo was a fun read. I really loved the family in the book and learning more about Filipino culture.
Prepare to get hungry! The descriptions of some of the dishes had me wanting to go find a filipino restaurant.

This was my first cozy mystery and I knew not expect a ton of mystery. I thought it was a short and fun book.

I had some issues with the characters not taking anything serious but I’m not sure if this is common for a cozy mystery. While annoying it didn’t stop me from liking the book.

I think this is a great start to a fun series.
If you enjoy murder mysteries with a bit of humor, I highly recommend you pick this up.

Thank you Berkley and Kaye publicity for the gifted book.