A delectable cozy mystery with tearooms, scones, pastries, a handsome police officer. This makes for an easy, cozy read. I found the descriptions beautiful and the characters likable even though the main character could be a bit reckless when she steps into danger fully aware of the possible consequences. Though this is why it is fiction :). I recommend this book to wind down from a busy day and relax.

An interesting read...

It has all the required aspects - a cozy mystery, adventurous characters, cute & smart dog, fun parts and emotional connect.

The story was well written and mystery well developed. Loved all the characters.

Definitely looking forward to more in the series.

Part of a series but can be read as a standalone.

For those who like good old Murder Mysteries ,with great friends , what some might term nosey British Middle aged Women who won't let problems rest ,a faithful Dog too this is a book for you .#Goodreads,# NetGalley ,#FB, Instagram, #Amazon.co.uk, #<img src="https://www.netgalley.com/badge/358a5cecda71b11036ec19d9f7bf5c96d13e2c55" width="80" height="80" alt="100 Book Reviews" title="100 Book Reviews"/>, #<img src="https://www.netgalley.com/badge/ef856e6ce35e6d2d729539aa1808a5fb4326a415" width="80" height="80" alt="Reviews Published" title="Reviews Published"/>, #<img src="https://www.netgalley.com/badge/aa60c7e77cc330186f26ea1f647542df8af8326a" width="80" height="80" alt="Professional Reader" title="Professional Reader"/>.

When a local is killed in their home, time is of the essence to find the murderer before the wrong person is accused. Vivian also wants to know why a replica of Big Ben from her shop is among the victim's things. She is led on a wild goose chase to find the killer.

Vivian Wainwright lives her dream of running a quaint English-style tearoom in picturesque Oregon. But, after the murder of a local hermit and beachcomber, Vivian, and her two assistants, Jenna and Gracie, find themselves serving up an investigation in addition to tea and scones. Along the way, they will uncover more than one crime.
This charming, light cozy mystery is made extra cozy with lots of tea, a cute dog, and deliciously described British pastries. Seriously, I craved baked goods the whole time!
Concurrent to the mystery, there are a couple of sweet romances, and a significant amount of the story explores the emotions and interactions of those relationships. And while I enjoyed the character and relationship development, I sometimes felt that time spent on the relationships slowed down the action a little in some scenes. However, I really loved the dynamic between the three women, each in a different stage of life, ranging in age from early 20s to 60s but all supportive and loyal friends. They are likable, and their interactions and sleuthing as "the three rookies" are a highlight of the book. Even though it is the second book in the Misty Bay Tearoom mystery series, I think it could easily work as a stand-alone. I think fans of Kate Kingsbury will enjoy this one.
Sincere thanks to Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books for this ARC

I received this book for free for an honest review from netgalley #netgalley

Omg I love this series so much! Can't wait for the next one

Although this book is filled with crime solving due to a murder in the town of Misty Bay, it still give me Hallmark movie vibes. Basically, Hallmark Channel - if you're reading this, please turn this series into a movie or tv series.

I just love the picture Kate Kingsbury has painted for us. Watching Vivian navigate her new life is so heart warming. I love that, although she has gone through terrible pain and loss, was able to pull herself out of depression to open her dream tea shop and live her mystery writer fantasy - one murder at a time.

I will definitely be purchasing this book once it's published. Thank you, Crooked Lane for the opportunity to review an advanced readers copy via NetGalley.

Oh - and p.s - bring on the Jenna and Messina romance!!!!

This was a really solid cozy mystery; it's the second novel in the Misty Bay Tearoom series. I have not read the first book, In Hot Water, but I think I feel compelled to check it out based on this one.
While there are a couple of areas I would have preferred to see done a little differently, the setting and cast of characters made for a thoroughly enjoyable read, and several aspects made the book stand out to me in a positive manner.
I also want to point out the that cover illustration is just about perfect; it's got all the ingredients of a cozy cover in the right arrangement to get the "Cute" receptors firing in your brain. Seriously, I'd get it as a poster for my kitchen if they sold it.

Vivian Wainwright, a widow in her sixties, has pursued her dream of running an English style tearoom- The Willow Pattern Tearoom- in her little coastal town of Misty Bay, Oregon. She manages this with the help of two servers, Jenna and Gracie. Jenna is in her late 30s and on the other end of an abusive marriage; Gracie is 24 and dealing with generalized mid-20s life issues. While the three women are in very different phases of life, I really appreciated the fact that they all had healthy and meaningful friendships with each other. I also appreciated that Gracie had pixie cut blue hair, as I was sporting that style myself a couple years ago.
Vivian is also supported in this book by her sweet, goofy rescue dog Felix, and her close friend-that-could-be-more-than-a-friend, Hal, who owns the local pet store.
The tearoom scenes involve a lot of pleasant descriptions of the requisite pastries and beverages, and I think this will land well with fellow fans of shows like The Great British Bake-Off. We stan a colorful Battenberg.

Vivian is drawn back into sleuthing when a local recluse and beachcomber is found murdered in his remote home. Recognizing an item from her tearoom in his residence on the news reports, she feels a responsibility to locate the loved ones who may not have had enough contact with the man to know about his passing.

Much of this book focuses on the emotional developments and interpersonal relationships of the protagonist and central characters. While I think this is generally a positive thing, and we certainly need more books like this that center older women with strong personal agency, I did find myself wanting a bit more plot and a bit less musing at times.
I think the mystery plot itself was decent, but perhaps a bit simplistic. To try and explain without spoiling it any... there is a clever enough device to kickstart the sleuthing, but it doesn't progress very much beyond that. You spend a good deal of the book just tracing back through a series of transactions in a pretty linear fashion. It wasn't *bad*, it just didn't have any mind-blowing plot twists and it could be a bit dull if you're more focused on the mystery and less concerned with the atmosphere and the coziness of the book.

So, like I said, while I think the mystery itself could use some work, this is mitigated a bit since the novel leans quite a lot on solid character interactions and its cozy, tranquil setting. I give it a 3.5 and recommend it to people who already enjoy cozy mysteries in general!

A great group of characters not used to their potential and the main character just too unreal. The plot is not believable and the recklessness of Vivian overshadows any redeeming factors in the story.
Thank you netgalley and the publisher for this arc

Thank you NetGalley, Kate Kingsbury and Crooked Lane Books for the copy of In Too Steep. This is my personal review.
This is the second book in the Misty Bay Tearoom series. After reading the first book in the series I was looking forward to this one.
We are back in the Misty Bay Tearoom with Vivian, the owner and Gracie and Jenna.
When a local hermit is found dead Vivian decides that the three of them need to find out who killed him and why.
The story for me just did not hold my attention. I like the location of the story but the mystery was just not my cup of tea.

I had not read the first book in this series but had no trouble following the storyline of this book or feeling like I was dropped the middle. Tea Room owner Vivian hears about the murder of a local beachcomber and is determined to find someone who cared about the victim. She and her two employees begin digging into the purchase of a model from her tearoom that was found in the victims home and following the leads out of town to someone who may have known him but also has a big secret to hide.
I loved the cast of characters and how their relationships evolved even within this one book. The characters are well developed and very relatable. I enjoyed the humorous writing and that it did not take away from a twisty mystery leading to an action packed ending. I highly recommend In Too Steep to all lovers of cozy mysteries.

Loved everything about this read! A location I would definitely visit and enjoy. Characters that are highly entertaining. Great story plot. Thanks #netgalley and #Crookedlanebooks for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are mine.

What a fun book and such engaging characters. Honestly, I'd like to visit the tea room too.. I will look for more from Kate Kingsbury.

In too Steep is a cozy mystery, with a wonderful use of words and language. Even the title is a bit of a pun. This book is the second novel of this series and the first Kate Kingsbury that I have read. Even though I had not read the first book in this series, I had no problem getting to know the characters and their histories. This mystery is very much character driven, which I like. I mostly read crime mysteries and have always ignored cosy mysteries, but I have found that this genre has much to offer. I loved the tearoom setting. I have spent a lot of time in England and love good English tea and pastries. Kingbury's focus on making pastries was a personal hazard, since she invariably made me hungry. The characters and the mystery were sometimes interesting, but some of the plotting--having the 3 protagonists question suspects--was silly. As was quite predictable, one of the women put her life at risk, put a second woman's life at risk, and both women needed to be rescued by a man. I would really appreciate it if women could save themselves and not need to rely upon a man to do so. At the end of the book, romance once again saves the women from loneliness and boredom.
I really wanted to like this book more than I did when I finished it. I want the protagonists to either save theirselves or to not make such bad choices. I want the protagonist to be smarter. Given the ending of this book, I am not at all sure how there can be a third novel in this series.
I do want to thank the publisher and author for providing me with this ARC to read and review. The opinions stated herein are my own. I also appreciate that NetGalley has introduced me to so many new authors. Thank you NetGalley.

A very enjoyable story revolving around life, love, starting over and crime!! My favorite books are crime stories so in reading this I was always waiting for the surprise other shoe dropping but pleasantly surprised when it didn’t (until the end and then it really surprised me!!). Nosy Vivian got too involved in Crime solving and nearly got killed because of it. She says she’s learned her lesson, but she said that last time too!!!

In Too Steep is second book in this series. I really enjoyed this book.

Vivian and her assistants work on solving another puzzling murder. I felt there was a lot of character development for Vivian and both her assistants.

Vivian is a very persistent sleuth and it was very hard to stop reading the story until I knew how this was all going to end.

I hope there will be a third book coming in the future for this series. This is an honest review of ARC I received from NetGalley.

I really wanted to like this book because of love the tea shop setting. Vivian Wainwright uses her mother's British recipes to bake her delicious treats in her shop. Her two assistants - Jenna Ramsey and Gracie Jackson work well together and the shop is thriving. When a local hermit is found dead in his cabin, Vivian decides she needs to solve the case. This is where the book went bad. Not only does Vivian question suspects, but sometimes she does it alone. I always believe that too stupid to live (TSTL) characters should be put out of their misery. This is especially stupid as in the previous book, Vivian's assistant Jenna was nearly murdered. I'd still patronize the tea shop, but I don't think I will read the books.

The Three Rookies are back at it again in the second book in Kate Kingsbury’s Misty Bay Tearoom cozy mystery series. When a reclusive beachcomber is murdered and the big city cops want to pin a crime on him and wash their hands of the case, Vivian pursues bringing him justice, both in clearing his name and in finding who murdered him. Vivian notices that an item purchased from her tea room is in the dead man’s living room in a photo she sees in the newspaper. She sets out to find out how the model of Big Ben came to be there in an effort to find the man’s friends so he has someone to mourn him and, ultimately, solve the crime of his murder.

Vivian would give me grey hair if she were my mother. She plunges headlong into a lot of sketchy situations in pursuit of answers. Her friend, Hal, is worried about her and repeatedly warns her off her snooping - to no avail, of course. When Hal has a medical issue come up, Vivian starts to realize she truly has feelings for him and love starts to blossom. Jenna and Detective Messina start to pursue their mutual attraction in this book and even Gracie looks like she may find a love interest.

I felt the culprit was pretty obvious from the first moment we met them and I’m not one to spend much time trying to figure out whodunit. I usually like to just let the story unfold. Vivian follows up on a lot of leads and meets a wide array of suspects as she goes. She makes a new friend in one of them through a “mutually shared experience” (I’ll leave it at that). I wish that character would stick around for a while, but the author seems to be setting it up for them to move away from Misty Bay. Felix the dog continues to be more adorable. Gracie and Jenna do join Vivian in the snooping along the way as well, though this book felt far more centered on Vivian. She is the narrator so in many ways it is more focused on her perspective, but she also did most of the snooping on this case as well.

I like to read all the books of a series in order when I can so I did read Book One of the series, In Hot Water, before reading this one for NetGalley. The first book suffered a bit from the world-building clunkiness common to the first book in a series. I find it to be a rare gem when the author gets it really right in the first book so I try to commit to reading at least the first two. This book definitely polished off many of the rough edges and settled into a nice setup for a fun series. I look forward to reading more in the series when they are released. There is no magic and only a brief mention of Jenna’s cat here and there, so it doesn’t check my two favorite cozy mystery boxes, but the camaraderie between Vivian, Jenna, and Gracie make up for it.

The tearoom setting is such a comfortable to spot from which to solve this simple at first glance mystery. Likeable characters that you can route for. Looking forward to seeing where their adventures lead

I really enjoy Kate Kingsbury’s writing and particularly I enjoyed this book. I enjoyed the setting of the tea room, and the author made me want to visit an English tearoom. I appreciated that the characters in the book are different ages and have various issues that they try to help each other with. I definitely recommend this book. I look forward to more in this series.