I have read several of the books in the Bakeshop series and plan to go back and fill in the blanks with the rest of them. The characters are well developed and I feel like Juliet and her cohorts have become friends. Each of the individuals who work with Juliet at Torte are unique. They have different gifts when it comes to baking, creating coffee, cooking, etc. And they have such a wonderful camaraderie as they navigate the day-to-day grind of running a food venue and the occasional special events. Plus, her husband, Carlos, plays a bigger part in recent books. There are a few extra characters that add so much to the story … Lance, who is a hoot and definitely an extravert, as well as Juliet’s mother and her stepfather, The Professor.

The mystery has multiple facets … an art theft, an attack on someone, as well as a murder. There are lots of twists and turns, clues, plenty of people to suspect as being guilty. The author does a wonderful job of bringing the story to life and keeping you interested as you flip through the pages as fast as possible to see if you can figure out the guilty party. Plus, the food that is described had my stomach growling and my mouth watering. I wish Torte was a real bakeshop because I would be booking a ticket to travel to Ashland, Oregon. I can’t wait for the next adventure with the gang.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s for my advanced review copy. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

For more reviews, please visit my blog at: https://www.msladybugsbookreviews.com/. Over 1000 reviews posted!

Small-town business owner, Jules, gets the chance to cater a gala in her town's museum to kick off an exhibition of Shakespeare's lost manuscript. It's lots of work and excitement that come crashing down when it's discovered that the manuscript is missing and a young guard is dead. In the spirit of all cozies, Jules has no police or detective training but it's up to her to find the culprit, recover the manuscript, and make sure that the wrong person doesn't get the blame.
This was the coziest of cozy mysteries. There's a murder and theft and lots of very dangerous things going on, but something about the small town combines with the yummy food descriptions and you end up just enjoying the tranquility of it. You follow Jules around town as she talks to people and tries to piece together the pieces she uncovers to solve the very well-thought-out theft and unexplainable murder. There's never a real sense of urgency and the only moment of danger is like a cherry on top to close things off perfectly.
Of note is that it's a story very much about the characters, where not only do we get character development from Jules but from all those around her. Every person that graces the page gets a chance to do something memorable and add to the story. I felt that it enhanced the small-town, found family aspect of the story.

Happy thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Paperbacks for the fun mystery!

I really wanted to like this one, but unfortunately it was a DNF for me.






Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the e-ARC.

In the 14th Bakeshop Mystery by Ellie Alexander, Ashland is hosting a coveted Shakespearean exhibit, featuring a long lost play written by the Bard himself. Jules and her team are creating molded chocolate art pieces for the opening night gala, designed to resemble Shakespeare's desk. This level of chocolate artistry will either push Jules out of comfort zone and expand her creative repertoire or push her over the edge. When the valuable manuscript goes missing and the man guarding it is found dead, she's really got her plate full.

Bake, Borrow and Steal is cozy, delightful and delicious. Alexander emphasizes that it is the love and energy infused into food that counts. Food is about connection and coming together around the table. In a murder mystery, this philosophy has the family bakeshop glowing like a beacon in the storm. Read this cozy for the puzzle. Savor it for the descriptions of amaretto clove lattes and passion fruit curd cupcakes.

The perfect read! This series gets better and better with each installment, and this latest read does not disappoint! The mystery gives nothing away, leaving the reader surprised and thrilled when the author finally reveals whodunit!

I always enjoy Ellie Alexander’s Bakeshop Mystery series. “Bake, Borrow and Steal” takes readers back to Ashland, Ore., where Juliet “Jules” Capshaw’s team from Torte (the local bakery and coffeeshop) are hard at work on a huge event for which they are creating chocolate showpieces.
The gala opens a new exhibit called “Shakespeare’s Lost Pages” at the local museum. It’s a lot of hard work, but Jules and the others breathe a sigh of relief when they chocolate sculptures are delivered. Now, word has it that the artifact is missing and the security guard is dead.
Lance, the director of the local Shakespeare theater as well as Jules’ good friend, figures the two of them can find the thief. They hope so anyway.
I love all of the characters: Carlos, Juliet’s husband; her mom and the Professor (a retired cop); and all of the Torte employees. The plot has some good twists and turns.

Bake, Borrow, and Steal is the is the fourteenth Bakeshop cozy mystery by prolific author Ellie Alexander. Released 28th Dec 2021 by Macmillan on their St. Martin's imprint, it's 288 pages and is available in mass market paperback, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.

This installment sees the crew at Torte gearing up for a big show at SOMA to coordinate with a Shakespeare exhibit. Besides chocolate sculptures, they'll be preparing and serving a full Elizabethan feast for the exhibition audience. It doesn't take long until theft and murder enter stage left and in addition to planning and executing a flawless feast, Jules and the crew are solving crimes.

The plotting, characterization, and dialogue are representative of the genre; lighthearted, somewhat over-the-top, and used to move the narrative along. It's not a realistic procedural. There's no gritty unpleasantness, no brutality (even the violence is mostly off-scene), no blatant sexual aspects, and the language is squeaky clean and used appropriately. Although this is the 14th book in the series, it works fine as a standalone.

For fans of the genre, it's a well written and very pleasant diversion. For readers who enjoy this Bakeshop series, I can heartily recommend the author's Sloan Krause brewing mysteries. She has either a truly impressive grasp of baking, brewing, and coffee culture or she's got experts on tap to consult for her background research. Lots of "foodie" fun to be found in both series. With so many books, it's a great candidate for a long-weekend or vacation binge read.

Four stars.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

I've read this series from the first book and this one didn't disappoint. It was nice to return to Ashland and visit my 'friends' there. These characters are like old friends that I always look forward to seeing. Their relationships are still growing but I love the way the friends look out for each other.

The book was well-written and had enough twists and turns to keep me reading late into the night.

This is number 14 in A Bakeshop Mystery series. I really need to pay attention when I request a book to see if it’s part of a series or not. This could be read as a stand alone but you do miss out some things. I guess if you didn’t know it was the 14th, you would be fine though. I’m all about the details for the food, drinks, and small town setting.

A good addition to an ongoing series. This one isn't as easy to read as a standalone, the established characters are pretty central but it was a fun new installment to the series. The main mystery is a pretty standard who-done-it, and while it wasn't my favorite, I am looking forward to reading other books in the series.

An ARC copy was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Juliet and the staff at Torte are challenged with creating all of the food for a gala unveiling a lost work by William Shakespeare. As if that were not enough she also has to create a working desk made entirely of chocolate. Against all odds everything comes together except the unveiling of the manuscript which has been swapped for a forgery. That discovery is quickly followed by an attempted murder and an actual murder. The best parts of this book were the descriptions of the food and the town. The identity of the murderer was a bit too obvious in this particular book. Still I love a good visit to Torte and will be back for the next book.

A lost manuscript by THE Bard on loan leads to a theft and a murder amidst a Shakespearean culinary event complete with a chocolate sculpted desk created by the intrepid Juliette and her amazing staff at Torte, family, and of course there is no friend who can compare with Lance. A well crafted cozy with hints of corruption, larceny, saffron bread, a chocolate masterpiece, and murder. Torte is the perfect example of what a café should be and Juliette is the epitome of a cozy main character, completely relatable and accompanied by a family, a work family and a slightly mischievous friend. Toss in a few suspects with either means or opportunity and a dash of motive making this a book that you can’t put down because it is just too good. My only point of contention is that such wonderful desserts and dishes are beautifully described, but it would be simply prefect with a few recipes tossed in.

A truly mouth-watering mystery set in a delightful town in the Northwest. Each page is filled with delightful descriptions of special coffees, pastries and other delectable dishes. The “who done it” is really secondary to the food that is offered in this fun book.

It's November and the usually quiet town of Ashland is abuzz with the opening of the Shakespeare museum and the original copy of a lost book by the bard himself. Jules and the staff of the Torte bakery are providing the food plus 3 large pieces of chocolate sculpture. They want a chocolate desk with the chocolate pages of the manuscript in a drawer. When the grand opening happens the public finds a dead guard and no manuscript. It's Jules and the bakery crew to the rescue. This is book 14 in the Bakeshop Cozy series. I received a copy of this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I love when I get to visit Ashland, Oregon and Torte. I enjoyed everything about this book. I loved the Lost Pages of Shakespeare, and the food always makes me hungry. the mystery was fun to solve, and I didn't figure out the killer until the end. One of the biggest draws for me in this series are the characters, Jules and company are likable and entertaining.

Interesting story. I have not read the other in this series so I do not know how true to the series it is. I was able to get the gist of the series from this title. Nicely done.

As usual, light and quick and fun.
I love going back to Ashland. Life there is always interesting. Ah the life of a quirky small town.
There were surprising twists and turns to the story.
Quite a satisfying read!

I enjoyed this new book in the Bakeshop Mystery series. The story flowed nicely and the Shakespeare manuscript added a fun element. The new characters were interesting and overall it was a nice cozy mystery.

Thank you to @stmartinspress for the free digital ARC.

Bake, Borrow, and Steal by Ellie Alexander is book 14 in the A Bakeshop Mystery series.
This Cozy has plenty of plot twists. The characters are likeable, as is the setting. I want to visit Torte for lunch. There is friendship, family, and romance.
I was given an ARC by St. Martin's Press via NetGalley for an honest review.

Loved the bakery mystery aspect of this book. Unfortunately the characters felt one dimensional and the plot felt cumbersome.