Shay is broke and now on her own, so she moves back to her hometown in California. Why would the town's most famous seer leave Shay her business and home? Also, did she mean to have Shay find a dead body on the roof? With the help of her sister and other locals plus the dog that came along with the inheritance, Shay tries to figure out who wants what she received. This is a fun read with good characters.

Through NetGalley, I received a free copy of STEEPED IN SECRETS (Book 1 of the Crystals & CuriosiTeas mysteries) by Lauren Elliott in exchange for an honest review. Shay Meyers is down and disgraced after her now-ex husband swindled her clients, ruined her professional reputation, and caused Shay to bankrupt herself repaying her clients. However, Shay has a chance to change her circumstances thanks to an unexpected inheritance from a shop-owner from her hometown. When Shay returns to Bray Harbor, she will discover lots of unexpected things about the past, present, and future. The most pressing of which appears to be the murderer of the corpse she and the realtor find on their introductory tour of her newly inherited shop!

I enjoyed this book and recommend it to fans of cozy murder mysteries with magic/paranormal themes.

#SteepedinSecrets #NetGalley

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced reader copy of this cozy. Steeped in Secrets is a new cozy mystery series with a paranormal slant to it. Shay Myers returns to her hometown after a nasty divorce, having inherited a tea shop and cottage belonging to a woman she barely knew. There are many cozy tropes in the book, and I think the character development was a little off on some of the supporting characters (what is up with her sister?), but it's a unique setting that has a lot pf promise. I think overall this is a solid first entry to what could shape up to be a fun cozy series!

Great new start to a new series. Looking forward to more character development and fun storylines. Great twist on a cozy involving gems and a bit of magic.

This is a fun cozy mystery with a bit of magic sprinkled throughout it. Shay Meyers’ life has been turned upside down. She is recently divorced and has decided to return to the hometown she left 16 years earlier. She has inherited a Celtic shop called Crystals & CuriosiTEAS from a women she barely knew..

Adjusting to being single once again, adjusting to moving back to her hometown, and adjusting to being a new business owner of a business she knows very little about can be unnerving. But things become far more unnerving when Shay discovers a dead body on the roof of the business’s greenhouse. Shay becomes determined to discover who the killer is before she becomes the next victim. Luckily, she has the gift of heightened intuition n her side, as well as a devoted sister Jen, a helpful handsome bar owner, and another young woman with similar gifts.

This is the first book in the Shay Meyers Tea Shop Mysteries. Shay and her new loveable canine companion are fun. The cozy mystery is well written and is paced nicely. And a bit of magic never hurt any story! I enjoyed this book. I look forward to the rest in the series.

An unexpected inheritance can be a good or bad thing depending on your point of view. Recently divorced Shay Myers isn't actually sure how to describe her feelings about suddenly becoming the new owner of a tea shop in the home town she left many years earlier, but shocked might come close. If she adds to this the knowledge that previous owner, Bridget, successfully read tea leaves as well giving psychic readings and Shay is pretty sure she's going to be way out of her depth.

Shay Myers returns home to Bray Harbor, California, after being away for 16 years to find that she has inherited Crystal & CuriosiTEAS, an eclectic tea and psychic shop. Not sure why the former owner Bridget Early left it to her, she digs deep and learns some unusual facts about herself and her family. Then murder strikes and she finds herself the focus of a killer. The first book in this series and I think it has potential

An unexpected inheritance can be a good or bad thing depending on your point of view. Recently divorced Shay Myers isn't actually sure how to describe her feelings about suddenly becoming the new owner of a tea shop in the home town she left many years earlier, but shocked might come close. If she adds to this the knowledge that previous owner, Bridget, successfully read tea leaves as well giving psychic readings and Shay is pretty sure she's going to be way out of her depth.

When a body is discovered on her premises, before she's even taken ownership of the keys, Shay finds herself in charge of a store she can’t open, an inventory she has only a basic understanding of, and time on her hands! With the owner of the building next door also unable to trade it isn't long before Shay and the very personable Liam begin their own investigation aided by a beautiful German Shepherd, called Spirit, who, apparently, also belongs to her.

As the unlikely trio searches for answers it becomes clear others are interested in any discoveries they make and the danger and intrigue increases at every turn. Shay knows whatever happens her life will never be the same again, but if she can't find those responsible she may not be around to experience any of it!

This is the first in Lauren Elliott's new Shay Meyers Tea Shop Mysteries and sets the scene very nicely if you are prepared to leave reality behind for a while, which I was! I thoroughly enjoyed the whodunnit, the obviously new characters, and the instructions on how to read tea leaves, all of which I found fascinating.

There were some clichéd parts which will hopefully be sorted quite quickly as the series progresses. Lauren Elliott is an excellent author and I look forward to becoming immersed in her new Bray Harbor world for a long while to come.

I was able to read an advanced copy of this book thanks to NetGalley and the publishers but the opinions expressed are my own. This is a very enjoyable escape, which is what reading should be. Recommended.

Bridget owned a tea store and a small cottage on the seashore at Bray Harbor. She knew her life would end soon, so she prepared in every way she could, and left everything to a stranger; Shayleigh Myers. It couldn't have happened at a better time for Shay, but she was still reeling from having her business stolen and reputation destroyed by her ex-husband, Brad. She would advise you to never have a silent partner. It was a catastrophic mistake.

When Shay arrived in town to see her inheritance, she had some odd feelings and experiences. Some good (and welcoming), others overwhelming or terrifying. As she learned more about her benefactress, Shay also questioned everything about herself. What was she really capable of?

A mysterious (and magical?) white dog watched her. An Irish pub owner charmed and tried to help her, a former friend tried to swindle her, and everyone in town wondered what would happen to her--owning the tea business of a psychic (and possible witch)--who was missing, then found dead. It was anyone's guess!

This was a fun book, with just a smidgen of magic, but mostly learning about the people behind the façades we see.

4/5 Stars

Thanks to Kensington Books and NetGalley for the temporary loan of this book preview; any review is entirely voluntary and completely my own opinion.

#SteepedinSecrets #NetGalley
#KensingtonBooks
#LaurenElliott #LaurenElliottAuth
#ShayMyerTeaShopMysteries
#CrystalsandCuriosiTEAS
#PsychicMysteries
#CozyCulinaryMystery
#CozyCulinaryMysteries
#MagicCozyMystery
#FictionDivorcedWomanStoreOwner
#FictionIrishCelticFaerieMagicCozyMystery
#WhiteGermanShepherdSpirit

Shay Myers is in for a surprise when she returns to Bray Harbor, California after a 16-year absence. A woman she barely knew has left her a shop—Crystals & CuriousiTEAS plus a charming beachfront cottage, and a dog named Spirit. Shay’s not so sure about any woowoo stuff, but she’s broke because her husband stole all her money, and she needs income and a place to stay. Liam Madigan, owner of the pub next door, drops by when the realtor, Julie, is giving Shay a tour of her new properties while trying her best to talk Shay into selling. Upstairs, Shay spots a pair of legs through the glass greenhouse ceiling and a corpse is discovered on Liam’s rooftop patio! Now, the mystery begins….

Deputy Dean Phillips, Shay’s sister Jen’s husband, is an honest cop and Liam is his friend. When the Sheriff quickly pins the blame on Liam, Dean is determined to clear his name. The investigation leads to a good cop/dirty cop showdown. Who is this victim, and was Bridget, Shay’s benefactor, also a victim of foul play? Like a spider web, tendrils of clues start spinning out to trap the guilty culprits. Vandalism, break-ins, and personal threats aimed at Shay make Dean, Liam, and Shay wonder what Bridget could have had that someone wants badly enough to kill for….

This cozy mystery is well-written, interesting, and will certainly appeal to mystery readers who also enjoy magical elements in their stories as it’s clear some magical presence is at work here. The cast of characters play succulent roles as bad guys and good guys, respectively. Nifty secrets are revealed that begin to explain some things to Shay. A young girl, Tassi, who was Bridget’s only friend, comes to work for Shay, and she’s a smart, energetic, and helpful character who enjoys mixing tea blends. Between the two women, they inventory the shop and start selling odds and ends to clear space for an actual tea room. Liam is also a great character and has a wise granny who knows about reading tea leaves and lots of other magical things. It’s funny when Shay tries reading the leaves and keeps seeing the same darn thing over and over and it’s later revealed why! LOL! I enjoyed all the explanations near the story’s end, and I can see a bright future for this cozy series! Enjoy!

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

Steeped in Secrets is the new paranormal cozy series by Lauren Elliott. It follows Shay Myers who returns to her coastal home town after her recent divorce. She finds out that she has inherited a tea & psychic shop belonging to Bridget Early, someone she has never met. Bridget has recently died in a suspicious drowning and things get even more unsettling when a man is found killed on the roof of the teashop.
There is a paranormal element to the series surrounding celtic magic and fairy. Shay is just scratching the surface of that in this book, but I'm sure it will play a bigger role in series.
This book sets up a good foundation for many future books as there is a lot of world building to really fresh out the town, secondary characters and Shay's history.
I really enjoyed this new series!

A new gem in the world of cozy paranormal mysteries. It is true. The typical cozy paranormal mystery tropes abound. The protagonist is the wronged divorcee, moving home to a beach town to start over, after receiving a totally unexpected inheritance, where she discovers there may be more to her lifetime of "feelings" than she thought., BUT that is where anything "typical" ends and a delightfully fresh new cozy home and family are created. Rarely have I felt such an immediate attraction to the characters in a series debut as I did with Shay, Liam, Tassi, Jen, Dean, and Spirit. In fact, Spirit is my new favorite fictional animal, and I am packing my bags to move into Shay's beach cottage. Has there ever been a more perfect abode? I think not.. Lauren Elliott pulls the reader into the story. The characters' feelings, particularly Shay's, become the reader's own. Yes, I laughed out loud, and I may have shed a few tears and swooned a time or two or more. There were sufficient red herrings to keep the mystery lovers guessing, and thankfully the promise of many more mysteries and stories to come.

In the event I have not made myself clear, I loved this book. I could not put it down, and my only complaint is that I now must wait for Book 2 in order to continue my visit with Shay and the other enchanting characters in Bray Harbor.

1st in the Crystals & CuriousiTeas series

After her marriage ends with her ex taking everything she owned out from under her Shay, a gemologist, returns to the small town she grew up in to receive a mysterious inheritance. The tea shop full of curiosities she has inherited from the spooky former owner leaves her with not only a new start but a dead body on the rooftop. solving this and the mystery of the inheritance itself becomes a mission for Shay.

I found this book intriguing. I liked the paranormal aspects of the story and would like to see them much increased in future installments. It was a satisfying read and this will be a series I continue in the future.

4stars on goodreads
I received this book free from netgalley and I am providing a fair and honest review.

This was a great start to a new cozy mystery series. I enjoyed the characters, the plot, and especially the ending which I could not entirely figure out. Looking forward to the next book in the series.
I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

An excellent start to a new series, with an engaging story, a multi-layered mystery, and a little brogue from Mr. McHeart-Flutter. I was all in from the first page and didn’t want to put it down until I got to the end, leaving me to ponder about how long am I going to have to wait for the next one to come out. Oh, and I have a craving for a proper Irish stew. Shay has not had the best of luck and none of it due to her choices, she didn’t choose to lose her parents, she didn’t choose to have a philandering–thief of a husband, she did not choose to have her professional reputation take a hit, but she shoulders on. A mysterious inheritance takes her back to her childhood home where she reconnects with her sister, becomes a bit of a mentor, and meets a police detective turned pub owner. The clues were well placed and I was able to only figure out a small portion of the mystery thanks to the red herrings. I look forward to seeing how the series progresses. Sláinte , to Lauren Elliott on this great new series!

Steeped starts off with a rather common theme in cozy mysteries: early/mid thirties woman screwed over by her ex-husband goes home to nurse her wounds. It then took a sharp turn in another direction. I either didn't read the blurb well when I requested it from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review or forgot before I started reading. I did not expect the paranormal element.

The paranormal element wasn't, to me, very developed. It could have easily been stripped away leaving the story pretty intact. I didn't mind it.

There were a lot of characters introduced and each was given a surprising amount of detail. No info. dumps, just a sprinkle here, a detail there that added up quite nicely for a first in series. I definitely liked that.

There were several typos, a slightly wrong version of a word used here and there. More than I usually notice. I hope they proof read one more time before publishing.

Looking forward to the next in the series to see how it develops from here.

Steeped in Secrets by Lauren Elliott is the first in a new series that features a intuitive gemologist Shay Myers and takes place on the Monterey coast. Shay returns home after both her marriage and career implode, then finds out that she has inherited Crystals & CuriosiTEAS from a woman that she barely knew. Things get even stranger when a murdered stranger is discovered on her skylight.

This promises to be an engaging new series as secrets are revealed and multi-faceted characters are introduced. Aided by her knowledge of gems, Shay experiences what may be her own budding psychic abilities. My favorite aspects were Shay’s strong bond with her sister, the charismatic supporting characters, and the ethereal white German Shepherd that she also inherited. (I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy and all opinions are my own.) I can’t wait for the next book in the series.

What would you do if a mysterious inheritance brought you back to your childhood home? And what if the inheritance included a tea/psychic shop? If you're Shay Myers and recovering from divorce and losing all your money and your reputation, you don't ask questions and leap at the chance to start a new life in Bray Harbor, a beautiful town along the Monterey peninsula. However, when Shay discovers a dead body in her rooftop greenhouse, she wonders if it will be a new start or early end at the hands of a murderer.

Wow, I loved this book.! Shay has been an empathetic person and able to read people's feelings. When she moves into the house she inherited from a stranger, Bridget Early, she knows two things - the house is just as mysterious as it's former owner and Bridget's death may not have been an accident. Couple that with Shay's growing "powers" and you have the beginning of a wonderful series! There's a bit of romance with an Irish pub owner that enhances the mystery and an elusive white German Shepherd, Spirit, who was Bridget's dog adds to the mystery.

A great beginning to a new cozy mystery series!

I received an ARC from NetGalley and the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

New series from author Lauren Elliott..........Yes Please!

Steeped in Secrets is the perfect title for this cozy as Shay inherits this tea shop from Bridget, a lady that she hardly knew and boy are there secrets.

This is a fast paced story that answers who Shay is and gets you connected with what's going on.



#SteepedinSecrets #LaurenElliott #NetGalley

Shay Myers has returned home with her tail between her legs. Her ex stole everything she owned and made her out to be a crook, ruining her reputation at the same time. Fortunately a mysterious inheritance back home gave her the opportunity to start over again, but there are so many unanswered questions and so many dangers lying in wait. Will this be the fresh start Shay is hoping for? Or another disastrous end?

This was my first book by Elliott and I enjoyed her writing style. This book sets up a good foundation for many future books, with lots of mysterious things going on that could be revealed as the series progresses. One thing that was both disappointing and also not was that the tea shop around which this series will eventually revolve hasn't opened yet at the end of this book. While I missed having a tea shop and all the fun cozy mystery things that could happen there, it gave me something to look forward to.

Paranormal cozies aren't generally my thing but it wasn't a major theme in the book and it wasn't used (as it often is, which is probably why I don't generally like paranormal cozies) as a crutch and a way of getting around doing any real investigation. Though some clues were provided through tea leaf readings, it wasn't used as a substitute for the good old-fashioned amateur sleuthing that makes cozy mysteries fun to read.

Overall I enjoyed this book and will certainly be reading more by this author in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.