A great story with lots of twists and excitement. I enjoyed all of the characters and how they interacted with each other. The recipes at the end were a nice touch too!

I unfortunately could not relate to the main character, but this was a cute, cozy mystery! Thank you to the author and the publisher for a chance to read this!

A well crafted cozy mystery that has great characters and interesting storyline
Thank you to Valerie Burns, NetGalley and Kensington for the arc of this book

Mystery, a loyal dog and a bakery?! Sign me up.

This murder mystery starts with Maddy getting left at the alter. Shortly after her great aunt passes and she inherits everything under a few conditions. She has move to a tiny town, live there, and run the bakery for an entire year.

Sounds doable for this world traveling girl who is used to the finer things in life she thinks until murders start happening in her bakery. Is this more than she signed up for? Will she be able to handle learning how to live independently and do things that have always been done for her?

With the help of her great aunt’s close knit little group (whom you will absolutely fall for each and every one of these characters) she might have a chance and learn so much about her self in the process.

Don’t skip this one! It’s cozy, sweet, and mysterious all at once. And you’ll constantly be craving chocolate cake.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for a review.

If you've ever owned a mastiff (or had a relative who did) then you know they are gentle giants who have a tendency to get into mischief. Add an unknown legacy, great location, hint of romance, and a modern touch, makes this cozy unique and very realistic! Add in lots of clueless moments, and you have a charmer that you'll be sharing with your friends this Summer! It's the start of a fun new series!

This is a super fun start to a new series. It's clear that Maddy has a lot of room to grow, but Burns already started her development in this book. I'm a sucker for culinary mysteries and this series clearly plays with Burns' formula of a small group of sleuths with a mystery-loving leader. The millennial voice doesn't feel particularly authentic, but the book is fun enough for me to overlook that. The one truly annoying thing is the hashtags - it may have been a formatting thing, but it's so weird to read just hashtags without a photo or caption.

Thank you NetGalley, Valerie Burns and Kensington Books for the ARC Two Parts Sugar, One Part Murder. This is my personal review.
I am a huge fan of cozy mysteries and when I see a new series, I am going to grab it and hope it will fill my expectations for a new author and new series.
Maddy has inherited a house and bakery from a great aunt she barely knew. The aunt has added a catch to her inheriting the house and bakery- Maddie has to live in the house and work in the bakery for one year.
As Maddy is settling in to begin her year she finds things are not exactly what she thinks they are going to be. Top that off with a murder in the bakery and she get s help from her friend to try to figure out what is going on in the town and who is behind the murder.
I wanted to like this book, but it just did not grab me and make me even care who was guilty or what exactly was going on in the town.

I have recently fallen in love with anything "cozy mystery" so when I saw this posted on NetGalley I didn't have to think twice about requesting it.

This book follows Maddy when she finds out she has inherited a house and a bakery from her great-aunt she hardly knows. There is one stipulation - in order to keep the inheritance she has to live in the house and work the bakery for a year. As Maddy starts to settle in, she finds out things aren't all that they appear - starting with a murder in her beloved bakery.

As Maddy and the friends she has made try to undercover what is going on in their town, Maddy finds herself falling in love with both her great-aunts home and bakery.

This book was just okay for me. There were a few holes in the plot line and while there were concerns about the murders happening in the town, I was confused as to why people weren't freaking out more. And, I felt like they tried to end the book on a cliff hanger (given that this is book #1, I'm not surprised) but it just ended. I actually had to flip back to ensure I didn't miss anything and sure enough - it just ended.

Thanks, Netgalley for the ARC of this book!

The Setup: Maddy Montgomery is looking for a fresh start after she's left at the altar, so a surprise inheritance from a great-aunt she never knew comes at the perfect time. The will stipulates that Maddy must live in her aunt's small town and run her bakery for one year, so she packs up and moves to New Bison, Michigan. Soon though, dead bodies start turning up and Maddy realizes that all is not well in her new hometown. With the help of some locals, she's determined to get to the bottom of things.

My Review:
I'm a sucker for a small-town lakeside setting, especially one set in a bakery! I really liked the premise of Maddy, who never knew her great-aunt Octavia, coming into a community that loved and adored her. It created an immediate connection point between Maddy and the other characters, some of whom were my favorite parts of the story! Maddy reminded my a lot of the lead character in Sophie Kinsella's Shopaholic books; a bit out of touch with reality but kind hearted nonetheless.

I found myself pulled out the story a few times due to the writing. There were plot inconsistencies that had me confused and an ending that felt so abrupt I was sure I was missing the final pages. A running thread throughout the story is that Maddy is a social media whiz and she is constantly (and I mean constantly) posting pictures and hashtags. This plot device got very old very quickly for me and I wish the author hadn't been so heavy handed with it. I think that with a little tightening up and more editing this could be a really enjoyable cozy mystery series, and I'm looking forward to reading what's next for Maddy and the citizens of New Bison!

When I saw the cover to this book, I was immediately drawn in. A mystery about a young woman’s aunt passing, a bakery and a dog included. Sign me up. But honestly, that’s about where I lost the appeal. I tried half a dozen times to get into this book and I just couldn’t. Maddy just did not feel relatable to me and I physically cringed when hashtags were thrown into the story. If you like these kind of cheesy yet cozy mysteries, then this may be a quick read for you. Sadly, it was a DNF for me.

I was very happy and excited to get a chance to read this first in a new series by Valerie Burns/ V.M. Burns. Just from reading the description, I knew it was going to be full of some great cozy elements: a sleuth starting over, a cozy town with cute shops, tasty food, and a cozy companion. This book, though, gave me all that and more! First of all, can I just say how much I enjoyed Maddy as a protagonist? The character writing in this book is so good, and Maddy is the perfect example. From the first chapter, we get a glimpse of how she is both a part of this superficial, celebrity world AND extremely intelligent and personable. The more we see her in her new environment of a small town and trying to live up to her Aunt Octavia’s expectations, the more she shows her complexity and creativity. Add in the best Mastiff scenes, some witty banter on Army v. Navy, fun side characters, and amazing food. Now, there’s recipe for an excellent series. I’m also hopeful for more books since there were some mysterious threads that didn’t seem totally tied up by the end of the book. Who can resist a mystery within a mystery? Certainly not me.

This well-written and fast-paced whodunit kept me immersed in every minute detail in the reading of this drama. Maddy is new to New Bison and all sorts of things including the involvement in a murder investigation. Will the #socialmedia skills that she has embraced help her solve the local murder? The author did a great job in staging this finely tuned mystery with a bountiful cast of characters, a pipeline of suspects and a group of people who are determined to solve this puzzling case. In between the pages there are delectable goodies and amusing, downright laugh out loud moments that enhanced my reading pleasure. This was a very enjoyable book to read, and I adore the person that Maddy becomes and I can’t wait to see what happens next with Maddy and her friends in this delightfully appetizingly entertaining tale.

I recommend checking out this book!

Maddy is a fun protagonist and it was great to see her get used to living in a new place. The characters are charming and the mystery makes this book wonderful to read. The book also includes recipes for readers as well.

My thanks to Kensington Publishing for a digital copy of this book for my review. I'm looking forward to reading more of this series!

4.5/5
Mystery/Thriller, 336 pages
No Spoilers Review

As I've mentioned multiple times before, mystery thrillers are my favourite genre. When I first heard about this new mystery series, I knew I wanted to get the first book as soon as possible!

I'm happy to say that the series is starting with a bang!

The book introduces us to our protagonist, Madison Montgomery, who appears to be a spoiled, entitled brat. Just as I was getting ready to formally apply that label - unexpected twist - she's not that way at all. This immediately captured my attention, and the book held it easily right up til the very end.

We are introduced to several characters, most of which are very relatable. I especially liked the bakery staff and thought those characters and their contribution to the story was excellently done!

The main story itself is also well done. It does have a few continuity/timing issues, some of which caused me to flip back to make sure I didn't skip or misunderstand something, but those are minor, forgivable, and will hopefully be corrected before it is published. Despite these issues, my interest was held right up until the very end, which to me, seemed to happen pretty suddenly.

Things I liked:

The characters and their relatability
The bakery
The hashtags - nice touch!
Baby (what an amazing dog!)
The fact I was kept in suspense and guessing at what was coming next

Things I didn’t like:

The continuity/timing issues, which caused me to go back and try to figure things out

The ending seemed to come out of nowhere

I would recommend this book to anyone! It has so much more than just mystery/thriller elements and I'm sure a wide variety of audience would enjoy it thoroughly.

A fun cozy mystery debut with a spoiled protagonist who inherits a gentle giant of a dog! Madison Montgomery’s been raised by her father, a Navy Admiral, and traveled the world at his side. When she inherits her Great Aunt Octavia’s home and bakery, Madison spontaneously heads to New Bison, Michigan without telling dear old dad. Her inheritance includes a house, a bakery, and a huge, slobbery English Mastiff named Baby! Maddie is a social influencer and constantly posts pictures with multiple hashtags that start trending. She helps spread the word about things she likes. The crew at Baby Cakes Bakery are great characters. There are also some unsavory characters Madison meets that she’d rather not make friends with. And, The Admiral is fit to be tied that she won’t come home!

Mirth, new friendships, a sweet, protective pet, and a possible romance are all perks in this cozy Murder mystery. I really, really liked the Sheriff, April Johnson, who was mentored by Octavia. There are several funny scenes as Maddie starts learning to bake. The murder victim isn’t that well liked and Maddie feels like she needs to investigate some wealthy developers who are trying to buy her land. The plot is filled with surprising twists—some left by Octavia herself—as to circumstances possibly leading to her death. Excellent story!

“Two Parts Sugar, One Part Murder” receives a 5 Star Rating. I highly recommend it to cozy mystery readers! Delicious recipes included.

I honestly reviewed a digital arc provided by NetGalley and Kensington Publishing. All opinions are my own.

I just could not with this book. I found the prognosticator both shallow and extremely annoying. Along with the constant #THIS #THAT. I just #dnf.

Oh how I miss my mastiff 😭 Baby was absolutely perfect, the star of this book. The slobber across the dash board really did it for me.

This book was as lighthearted as murder mysteries come - I loved this little town & the characters were really fun. Leroy & Tyler were both so sweet!

The mystery element fell a bit short for me. I had the ~bad guy~ pinned from the start & I didn't find the mystery plot all that compelling. But overall it was a super cute escape read.

Many thanks to the publisher for my gifted copy!

4⭐️
Firstly, thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for the E-ARC of Two Parts Sugar, One Part Murder (Baker Street Mystery #1) by Valerie Burns. The below is my honest opinion!

Great characters, a small lake front town, a savvy social influencer main character, an English Mastiff named Baby, and a delicious bakery are the perfect ingredients for this cozy, lighthearted murder mystery.

When spoiled army brat, Maddy Montgomery’s fiance leaves her at the alter, she jumps on the first opportunity to get away from the embarrasment. The opportunity comes from her Great Aunt Octavia’s inheritance- her house, bakery and star stud dog in New Bison- a smalltown on Lake Michigan.

Although Maddy never met Aunt Octavia, she decides to take a chance, and stays in New Bison. She quickly makes friends with Hannah and Leroy who helped Aunt Octavia at the bakery. However, not even a few days in New Bison and a murder occurs at her bakery.

Soon, Maddy finds out that there’s something afoot in New Bison, and Aunt Octavia was on the case until her death. Now it’s up to Maddy and the Baker Street Irregulars to solve the case before something else happens.

If you are a fan of murder mysteries, baked goods, and a drooling English Mastiff, then get cozy with a blanket, some tea and the Two Parts Sugar, One Part Murder!

I loved the book, I red the bood within 12 hours. This mystery will slowly ease you into the plot, eventually you won't even notice how many pages you have read. It wil keep you hooked to find out what happens next.
However, I believe, it would be nice to have a small epilogue. To see how the characters are doing afterwards.

A surprise inheritance following a major fail of a Livestream wedding where Maddy was left at the altar, leads her to impulsively change her life. After being raised as a (self admitted) spoiled military brat Maddy has much to learn about the world and how to take care of herself. When she discovers the inheritance comes with a bakery to run for a year,and she can't even crack an egg. And a bear sized canine to take care of, as well as people pushing her to sell and/ or get out of town, it would be easier to give up. But this time Maddie feels like she has found home and she is going to fight to hang on to it. Then a murder and fire take place in the bakeshop.. can Maddie and her new friends figure out what's going on before she loses everything?

First in a new series, and a great start. Although I must admit I found Maddie's lack of basic skills at the opening of the book quite irritating, I could also see hints of a strong desire to change for the positive and glimpses of true potential showing through.
The reader is introduced to a large cast of characters which are both interesting and easy to like. Especially Baby.
I enjoyed this read and look forward to more in this series.
Goodreads 4 stars
I received this book free from #netgalley for a fair and honest review.