As readers know, I love cozy mysteries. New series A Cannabis Cafe Mystery stars Chloe Barnes, who has returned to her hometown to take care of her beloved grandmother. She’s fresh off a broken romance and a bad review of her work as a pastry chef in Paris. She’s trying to figure out her next steps when her aunt suggests taking her pastry skills to make tasty and luxurious cannabis-infused pastries. But things may go up in smoke when a bully from Chloe’s past turns up dead and the police think her aunt was involved. Chloe has to clear her aunt’s name and figure out if making cannabis baked goods is going to be her next step.

I'm a big fan of legalizing Marijuana, would love to see more bake shops too lol so this book title felt so right! and boy am I glad I requested it because this book was fantastic. Formally trained pastry chef Chloe Barnes is opening a cannabis bakery (my dream job LOL). That's not at all what the twenty eight year old envisioned while living the dream in Paris with a hot fiancé and a Michelin star restaurant gig around the corner. But the rising "it girl" of choux puffs rethinks everything after a scathing food review and humiliating breakup make her long for home in sunny California. When her beloved grandmother falls ill, Chloe returns to quaint Azalea Bay to start over in the most satisfying way possible concocting delicious edibles with her quirky Aunt Dawn.
Combining French luxury and THC, Baked by Chloe will take pot brownies to another level. That is, until a creepy past acquaintance rehashes old drama and shockingly turns up dead landing Aunt Dawn as the number one murder suspect. Now, alongside her closest confidants, a stunned Chloe must alternate between budding entrepreneur and amateur sleuth to clear her aunt's name, open the best bakery in town, and weed out the real culprit from a list of unsettling suspects!
Totally enjoyable read and totally recommend

Thank you to Kensington Books and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this ARC

I more recently got into cozy mysteries and I’m obsessed and have been reading as many as possible lately and when I saw this cozy mystery with a cannabis bakery twist, I was sold! I absolutely loved this story and the characters were a blast. I actually would have loved to see cannabis mixed in more than it was, but overall a great read! I am definitely going to be keeping up with this series as it comes out and look forward to seeing where this whodunit goes next! The mystery was so much fun and had me guessing until the end.

I loved A Half-Baked Murder! It was really interesting to read about the process of setting up a pot bakery. I’m excited to see where the series goes and will definitely be back for the second book!

A Half-Baked Murder is cozy, fun, and HIGHLY entertaining! I don’t typically read very mysteries, but this was great!

This was a super fun cozy mystery involving a weed-infused cannabis bakery. I will definitely keep reading more of these in the future!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the free e-copy.

A Half-Baked Murder is a cozy, murder mystery with a little ray of sunshine. I loved Azalea Bay, the characters, and plot.

The characters, Chloe, Aunt Dawn, and Grandma Rose, have a family chemistry that is held by strong morals. You can definitely feel through words the love that Chloe has for her aunt and grandma and vice versa.

The pace of the book of just right. Not too fast and not too slow.

If this is Emily George's first book, I can't wait to read her next one!

Wow, this was a such a fresh angle to a cozy mystery. This book was highly entertaining. Loved the small town and the characters in Chloe's life. The mystery was interesting and I could not figure out the whodunit. I look forward to reading more by this author and this series.

Debut cozy mystery for this author- a little different than other cozies I’ve read but not in a bad way. Teeters between cozy and almost going towards full fledged fiction just based on the amount of details and descriptions given. Can see more stories in the future and will keep an eye out for them

This is a new to me author and I have to say I am looking forward to reading more by this author! I loved this book

Great introduction to a new cosy mystery series. I liked Chloe and I am rooting for her. I guess who did right along with Chloe so that was great. The pieces of the puzzle were laid out for the reader to solve the murder mystery. Plus there are recipes included for cannabis infused treats.

This cozy mystery was alright. Even though I wasn't a big fan of the heroine chosen career. Didn't love it but also didn't hate. However I don't think I will be continuing with the series.

This book was a cute comic murder mystery. My only complaints are the times when wayyyyyyyy to much detail or description is given…. I don’t need an entire page to tell me step by step how she fastened her dog in a car seat. The other thing was the justification or responsibility of the people using the cannabis products. Like I can assume they are being responsible you don’t have to tell me that they made sure everyone had a ride home from a dinner party knowing they would be partaking. You wouldn’t put that in a book where ppl were casually drinking alcohol at a dinner party. I can assume that the characters are responsible. I was a little bummed how the ending turned out for one of the couples but don’t want to spoil it. I’ll look for the next book and decide if I end up reading more in this series when it comes out but I do think a heavy edit of the drawn out explanations would drastically improve the readability. The story and premise of the series is good so I’m hoping this will be improved on in the future.

I found this quite a fun read and admittedly did not know what to expect at first. So far the 'weed' angle is minimal and is written into the narrative with purpose. I'd say the book is more complex than the average 'cozy' mystery. The story kept me guessing until the end.

Omg I loved this!! Cozy Mysteries are what got me reading again a few years ago and I am so happy to have found another great series!

A Half-Baked Murder follows Chloe, a professionally trained Pastry Chef who's recently moved home to Azalea Bay, California from living abroad in Paris. After having her heart crushed by her then Fiance, who cheated on her with one of her assistants, Chloe is back home to help take care of her Grandma who has been diagnosed with Cancer. Her Aunt is determined to help Chloe put her Pastry skills to work in a whole new way... opening a Cannabis Cafe. Due to Grandma Rose using Cannabis to help with the pain of her Cancer treatments, Chloe has started making infused baked goods and with the perfect space opening up for lease, Aunt Dawn encourages her to bring a whole new world to Azalea Bay. When an unexpected murder takes the town by surprise, Aunt Dawn is somehow found to be the lead suspect in the murder, causing Chloe to set down her pastry blender and pick up her detective hat as she ventures out to prove her Aunt's innocence.

A Half-Baked Murder was everything I love in a Cozy Mystery, A well rounded, female amateur sleuth who is also a baker, loveable side characters, a picturesque small town and of course the Culinary trope. Chloe is truly such a great character, her dedication to her family, her humor and sarcasm, and the deep gratitude she has for her Grandparents were incredibly relatable for me and instantly made me love her. The originality of a Cannabis Bakery is stellar, the educational aspects of usage and what parts of the plant are non-psychoactive and which are makes this easy to digest for those who may have a bit of judgement surrounding the usage of Cannabis, especially in a medicinal manner. As someone who has been prescribed Cannabis for chronic pain, the representation isa breath of fresh air and I believe that humanizing it in this way is exactly whats needed to reduce the stigma of Cannabis as Medicine. I could go on and on about this topic, that said, I give Emily George props for the positive representation.

This series has so much potential and I am thrilled to find out whats next for Chloe! It's hard for me to think of things I didn't enjoy about this book, I had the best time reading it and I hope that you do too!

A Half-Baked Murder is a super fun, debut cozy that introduces Chloe, a fine-dining pastry chef who finds herself returning to her small beachside hometown to help take care of her grandmother. In addition to Chloe, we meet her Grandma Rose, her Aunt Dawn, and her close friend Sabrina. Of course, since it is a small town, everyone knows everyone and we get to know all the interesting characters that make up Azalea Bay. Emily George does a great job introducing the characters, the setting, and Chloe's ambitious cafe goal, while also presenting an intriguing mystery. There were a handful of suspects, and I was kept guessing until the end. I definitely recommend A Half-Baked Murder to anyone who loves a good cozy mystery.

California, cozy-mystery, amateur-sleuth, women-sleuths, family, chef, bakery, friendship, new-business, baker, relationships, relatives, recipes, murder, murder-investigation, secrets****

Trained in Paris as a pastry chef, Chloe returns to her family and hometown after a personal disaster just as her grandma was starting chemo. In point of fact, it was grandma's chemo side effects that aided the decision to open a cannabis cafe. And then there's the murder of the town bully. The characters are so well done and the plot keeps taking twists that are delicious. So are the recipes at the end! A good read!
I requested and received a free temporary ebook copy from Kensington Books via NetGalley. Thank you!

I just finished Half Baked Murder and I’m already hoping there is a sequel in the works. The characters were engaging and fun. Loved the recipes. Can’t wait to try them!!

I enjoyed this book. It was easy to read, and I truly didn’t figure out until Chloe did who the murderer was. That said, I would have liked to see more depth and character development. Perhaps that will come as the series moves along. A decent cozy mystery.

The coziest of cozy mysteries, as well as a delectable fusion of mystery and rom-com. Chloe is a relatable and charming protagonist who finds herself at a low in her late twenties- her fiance has cheated on her, and her career as an elite baker in the French restaurant world has come crashing down around her. She retreats home to lick her wounds, and embarks two journeys: repurposing her skills in the kitchen to open a cannabis bakery with her boho aunt, and learning to trust and put herself back out in the dating world. George carefully balances the two threads of this story, especially when things take a turn for the worse: there's a murder, and Chloe's aunt is the prime suspect! I had so much fun getting to know Azalea Bay and its residents, and I cannot wait for more stories in this world.