In Ashland, Oregon, Jules and her team at Torte are working on a big event. They’ve been invited to create chocolate showpieces for the opening of a new exhibit, Shakespeare’s Lost Pages at the local museum. The museum is getting ready to unveil the Bard’s lost manuscript, Double Falsehood, which is being advertised as the greatest artistic discovery of modern times. Torte is also creating a historically accurate feast for the guests. Once the massive works of chocolate art are safely installed at the museum, Jules can let out a sigh of relief and enjoy the excitement of the grand celebration. But her relief is short-lived when news begins to spread that Shakespeare’s lost manuscript is missing. Then, the security guard tasked with keeping the priceless artifact safe has been murdered. When a family friend is charged with murder, Jules is on the case to find the culprit and the missing manuscript.
I loved this cozy mystery. The characters are likeable, and the setting makes me want to visit and spend some time eating. The plot was enjoyable, and full of red herrings and clues that kept me guessing. The romantic subplot is a wonderful addition to the mystery. This book can be read as a stand-alone. I recommend it for anyone who loves a good mystery. I received this advanced reader’s copy from NetGalley and all opinions are my own.

After a few disappointing installments in this series (*cough* Chilled to the Cone *cough* Mocha, She Wrote *cough*), this book fourteen brings the series back home and shows why it's lasted so many months. Without any extra frills of an ice cream shop, vineyard, or coffee competition, we simply see the crew at Torte catering an event unveiling a lost Shakespeare manuscript--which is, of course, soon stolen. It's old school Ellie Alexander in the best way, and makes me want to continue reading this series. A classic cozy mystery, with lots of delicious food references, plenty of suspects, and twists and turns to keep you guessing. Fans of Alexander and cozies are sure to like this latest bakeshop book.

Thanks to the publisher for my eARC! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

5 stars - 8/10

"Bake, Borrow, and Steal" is the 14th book in the Bakeshop Mystery series by Ellie Alexander, and another great book to the collection! Ashland, Oregon's SOMA museum is lucky enough to be the first to showcase the "Shakespeare's Lost Pages" exhibit, in which a recently discovered handwritten work by William Shakespeare, "Double Falsehood" is being shown. A huge gala is being held at the museum to welcome the exhinit, and Jules and her bakeshop Torte have been asked to cater the event. However, the night of the gala it is discovered that the glass case holding the manuscript has been replaced with a copy. Jules also discovers the musem janitor lying in the basement with a shelf toppled on him, and after the police are called to start questioning everyone at the gala, the security officer tasked with guarding the case with the manuscript is found dead. Jules, and her friend Lance, once again begin investigating the crime when the museum's director, and their friend Javier, is arrested for the crime.

"Bake, Borrow, and Steal" is another great addition to the series, and is a fast-paced read. While I have only read a few books so far in this series, I am looking forward to reading the rest, and look forward to more to come. The only thing that would make this book better would be adding a few of the recipes highlighted in the story- yum!

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martins Press/St Martin's Paperbacks for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. "Bake, Borrow, and Steal" is set to be released on 12/28/21.

I didn’t care for the writing style if this author in this novel. Slow moving for quite awhile and I wasn’t invested in the characters
Thank you netgalley and the publisher for this arc

This is the 14th book in the Bakeshop Mystery Series and my first read! Even though I have not read earlier series, I was able to enjoy this book as a stand alone read.

This was such a fun cozy mystery read where the author has done a marvelous job on building the suspense while keeping the location very familiar with the earlier books. Jules was my most favorite character who was invited to build chocolate showpieces at a gala. I enjoyed reading and learning about Shakespeare connection to the town of Ashland Oregon!

Thank you St. Martins press and NetGalley for the gifted galley of this mysterious cozy read, which releases on Dec 28, 2021

This is one of my favorite series, but I had to knock this down from 4 stars to 3 stars. The idea that ANYONE would let Dylan, the stoner idiot, guard a priceless Shakespeare manuscript is ludicrous. Dylan demonstrates how ineffective he is over and over. At one point, Jules says, "I feel so bad for Javier. He had put as much effort into securing the exhibit as we put into the food." Man, this just lost all credibility (as much as any fun, escapist cozy has credibility to begin with :>) at that point. So much was made of Dylan's ineptitude that it kind of ruined the book for me. It sways you into thinking certain characters are suspect because they kept him around and is not just a character problem--it influences the mystery itself, in my opinion. I still love Jules and Torte and her family and friends, but this particular title wasn't my favorite.

Review copy provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I was given a free e-copy of this novel by NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.
As the autumnal hues of November fall over the Shakespearean hamlet of Ashland, Oregon, Jules and her team at Torte are working on their biggest event ever. They’ve been invited to create chocolate showpieces for the gala opening of a new exhibit, Shakespeare’s Lost Pages at SOMA. The museum, located on the campus of Southern Oregon University, is getting ready to unveil the Bard’s lost manuscript, Double Falsehood, which is being touted as the greatest artistic discovery of modern times. In addition to molding luscious, silky chocolate into magnificent structures, Torte will be serving an authentic Elizabethan feast straight from the pages of a sixteenth century cookbook featuring Lardy cakes, Frangipane tarts, and jellies with chestnut cream.

Jules has underestimated the amount of work required to pull off such a culinary feat. She finds herself in the strange position of feeling frazzled and stressed as the day of the gala approaches. However, her team rallies around her and once the massive works of chocolate art are safely installed at the museum, she can finally let out a sigh of relief and revel in the excitement of the grand celebration. But her relief is short-lived. Right before the unveiling, news quickly begins to spread that Shakespeare’s lost manuscript is missing. Not only that, but the security guard tasked with keeping the priceless artifact safe has been killed. Is this a case of a heist gone terribly wrong? Or could it be that a killer is lurking in the museum archives? (Goodreads synopsis)

I have read other novels by Ellie Alexander. She is one of my favorite cozy mystery writers. I have not, however, read any of the Bakeshop Mysteries, but I can honestly say that I never felt lost in this one. There was enough mentions of Juliet’s past and her relationships that this could have been a standalone novel.

I enjoyed the idea of a lost Shakespeare manuscript. I even enjoyed the friction between the museum board members. The mystery and its solution became obvious, but I will admit that the manuscript’s hiding place was not where I thought it would be.

I really really enjoyed the descriptions of the town, the snow, and the food. Especially all of the chocolate and the coffee flavors. I wish I know how to create coffee like that (and I’m sure my husband does, too!) Everything made my mouth water.
Overall I rate this novel 5 out of 5 stars, and I will go back to read this series from the beginning.

So…..I loved it! No surprise there. I always enjoy going back to Ashland & getting caught up with it’s characters. This one has one of my favourite kind of Bakeshop plots, one involving the more Shakespearean aspects of the town. The supporting cast of characters are some of the best executed ones in all the series I read. They really shine. The series in no way has diminished for me, which is quite surprising after so many books. Loved the mystery, loved that it was all caught up in a never before seen Shakespeare play & it going missing.

There’s really only one thing I can say……READ ELLIE ALEXANDER’S books! You won’t regret it. She sets the highest of bars!

Jules is the owner of Torte Bakeshop, and she has been hired by a museum to cater a large gala which will be featuring the lost Pages from Shakespeare. unfortunately several crimes are committed and Jules‘s stepfather has to get involved to uncover what is happening. which of course obviously Jules is involved and helps With the investigation.

I have not been reading this book since the beginning of the series and I feel like that might benefit me because I wasn’t familiar with the background information with a number of the characters. But overall it was a good story and the description of all of the delectable foods left me hungry.

Bake, Borrow and Steal is part of the Bakeshop Mystery series. I have read all of them and have enjoyed all of them. Each book is a standalone but you get to know the characters the more of the books you read. This book takes place in the fall when things are winding down in Ashland, Oregon. The college has been chosen to be the first to display lost William Shakespeare manuscripts. Jules and her team are an integral part of the celebration. In addition to catering the event, the team from Torte are making chocolate showpieces. Along the way, Jules is involved in investigating a theft and a murder. Will Jules find herself in trouble this time around? A five star book for me.

Another excellent edition to a wonderful series! Full of twists and turns that leaves you wanting more and enjoying each moment until the end when the killer is caught!

This was my first book by this author and in this series.

It was an enjoyable, quick read, but I think I've learned that a cozy mystery isn't really my thing. I had a similar struggle with Homicide and Halo-Halo - I just want more grit!

I quibble with these books every time I read them in terms of Ashland's layout, I sometimes feel like the author has never actually been there. I realize this is fiction but if you're going to take license with places that actually exist in Ashland, at least make them geographically correct.

Jules is settling into her new life with husband Carlos finally committed to staying in Ashland for good. Torte is catering the new fancy Southern Oregon Museum of Art (SOMA) exhibit of a 400-year-old lost manuscript of the great Bard himself, Double Falsehoods (side bar - this does NOT sound like a Shakespeare title to me and I am an English major and very familiar with the Bard myself). The exhibit is titled The Lost Pages and it is a coup to bring the exhibit to Ashland, home of the renowned Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Except during the fancy gala the document disappears and someone is injured. Another is murdered. Jules again goes amateur sleuthing to find the culprit, this time before the FBI does.

I do enjoy these mysteries as I will take any excuse I can to visit Ashland in person or in the pages. I know I take issue with the layout but otherwise the stories themselves are quite good. I will say that these books sure make you hungry and I would delight in tasting Andy's delectable coffee offerings. I wish Torte was a real place. This is a nice cozy mystery to settle yourself with by a warm fire and a toasty hot beverage.

Although this is book 14 in the series, it is the first A Bake Shop Mystery I have read. The author did an amazing job by writing the story in such a way that I had no problem reading this as a stand-alone. I have already gone back and picked up book 2 to read because our main character Jules seems like she has had a lot of great adventures. The book kept the location of the mystery pretty contained which helped in my being easily able to follow along. The setting of the book and the characters relationships with each other are appealing. We are given lots of possible suspects to choose from and the author provides a few twists along the way. This is a quick read and delightfully cozy.

Thank you Netgalley an St Martin Press for the arc.

14th book in a series, but easily reads as a standalone. Characters and background are introduced in a manner that's easy to follow. The small town of Ashland is known for its Shakespeare festival. When a long-lost Shakespeare manuscript is found, the town museum presents a gala to present the find. Juliet and her team of bakers and chefs are excited to cater the event, but find more complications than they bargain for when the manuscript is stolen, a custodian is injured, and a security guard is killed. A friend is arrested, and Juliet is charged with proving his innocence, while continuing to create scrumptious seasonal recipes and taking care of her friends and family.

3.75 stars

Another entry in the solidly reliable Bakeshop cozy series set in Ashland, Oregon. Reading earlier books would be helpful in understanding the characters, but not absolutely necessary.

Baker and coffeeshop owner Juliet is reunited with her husband, Chef Carlos. The business is thriving, and includes now a winery and a summer ice cream stand. Jules is asked to provide catering for a very special and exclusive event connected with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival: the viewing of a priceless artifact, a recently discovered play in Shakespeare's own writing.

But the enterprise is troubled - the major donor is an interfering blowhard, the volunteer coordinator and paid staff are overworked, and the director of the sponsoring museum is distracted by a million small details and not enough help.

Opening night is a disaster. The artifact disappears, an employee is injured, and then a young security officer is found dead. Ashland is a small town and Jules has ties to the accused so she and her extroverted friend Lance have to get involved.

Thanks to the publisher and to Net Galley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This is a very enjoyable cozy mystery series, especially because of the likable characters and all of the yummy food content. The mysteries are not typically the strongest part of this series but I thought this one was well done. There are a few plausible suspects and the reader has to watch the clues to determine the most likely suspect. There are a few things happening, including theft of a valuable manuscript, an attack, and murder of course. Juliet and Lance don't play as large a part in solving this one as they usually do, but I love how the Professor respects Juliet's intuition and insight.

**Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing an e-arc in exchange for an honest review**

Another very fun entry into the Bakeshop series. I always enjoy the Shakespearean connections, and the setting at SOMA allowed for some new ground to be tread. However, I also feel that as the series progresses, the cast of characters is ever expanding (naturally, as the bakeshop expands and new books introduce new characters), but it means that less time is spent on each, and the characterization feels thin when there are so many people involved. The mystery was well-executed and successfully tricked me about who was involved.

Bake, Borrow and Steal is a great addition to this already fantastic series.
I love the gang at Torte, as well as all the other characters in this book.
Ashland sounds like a wonderful place to visit, and I'm glad I had the opportunity to read this book.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for selecting me to read an advanced copy of this book.

This is the 14th book in the Bakeshop Mystery series. I really enjoyed it!
Jules is back, busy at Torte, her bakery, working with her friendly staff. Her husband Carlos is back in Ashland fresh from cooking on cruise ships, and life is good. Torte is catering the unveiling of Shakespeare’s Lost Pages at a local museum when someone reports that the original manuscript was stolen. Jules and her friend Lance start investigating, but there are so many suspects to consider and they’re stalled.

Unfortunately, the guard watching the pages that night is found murdered and it gets even more confusing. Who had motive and opportunity? Jules is determined to find out.

I liked this book a lot. The descriptions of Ashland OR are detailed and beautiful, not surprising because the author, Ellie Alexander, lives there! I love that the solution is hard to figure out, it makes reading the book more fun. My only change would be to add recipes for some of the amazing dishes Jules makes at Torte. 4 stars.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.