The Great British Bake Off meets a murder mystery. This one was a fun mystery and a quick read for me. Such a cozy vibe and had me craving baked goods.

The Golden Spoon is advertised as a murder mystery set against a Great British Bakeoff-esque baking competition show. Well, it's half right, because boy is there plenty of baking. Aside from the cold open, however, the murder mystery element doesn't really show up until the book is nearly over - and then is treated entirely unlike a whodunit, structurally, because the mystery isn't solved, the solution is simply told to us. There are a few mysterious threads woven in earlier, characters' dark secrets and hidden agendas that are clearly intended to seem possible leads to the eventual murder we're still waiting for, but the most interesting of these threads doesn't even go anywhere. The bulk of the book is character exploration against the baking show background, which could have made for quite an interesting work in its own right, if the mystery pretense was scrapped. But the actual character work was fairly shallow, to my mind; the characters fit certain archetypes, as casting on reality shows so often does, but despite 288 pages of introspection and backstory, they never go further or deeper than those archetypes. The book's pacing and plot construction involved some of the oddest choices - even the title feels like a miss. I'll give it this - the descriptions of the baking challenges were pretty well done. It made me want to taste the desserts the characters came up with. But I'll give this author's next book a miss, and stick to pie.

Thank you to the publisher for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Golden Spoon by Jesse Maxwell, I don’t really know where to begin. I was so excited to start this book, especially since I was in the middle of a Great British Bake Off season. I’m not sure if that impacted my experience, was I too hyped for a cozy murder mystery about the same premise? Either way, I finished the book disappointed. I think it was the pacing and tone, somehow things weren’t moving fast enough for me but then it felt like I got whiplash and 17 things had happened and I couldn't tell you a single one of them. I did a tandem read between the ebook and audio (not a fan of the narrator for the audiobook), so maybe it would have been a different experience if I just read the ebook. I would encourage others to give it a try, but maybe not on audio and/or while watching the GBBO.

I'm not sure why, but I had a difficult time getting into this book. However, I decided to switch over to the audio version, and that helped a lot! I think part of the issue was the large cast of characters; I had a difficult time discerning who was who. But the ensemble cast for the audiobook was excellent. The pacing was a bit difficult for me, as well. It took longer to get to the mystery and suspense than I wanted it to. I did enjoy the Bake Week action though. Overall, it was a pretty fun read.

Perfect for fans of the Great British Baking Show---where everyone is just so downright civil!---the Golden Spoon is an interesting spin on what it would look like if the participants were not as wholesome as they first appear.

This book made me so hungry. A reality show reminiscent of The Great British Bake-off is the backdrop for murder, secrets, and scandal. I loved how everyone had a motive and story. A quick read for suspense readers who love a large cast of characters with plenty of secrets.

In The Golden Spoon, Bake Week, reminiscent of The Great British Bake-Off, taps amateur bakers to compete in a relatively friendly reality TV show on the remote, Vermont family estate of the judge and host, Betsy Martin. In a multiple-POV, rapid-fire plot, we see how the competition transpires, not much in keeping with the show's squeaky-clean image--from sabotage to blackmail to an affair. The cast and crew carry more than their share of secrets. As the story develops, each character's rough edges are explained a bit more, sussing out in the process who's been murdered, who's done the murdering, and why it's come to pass. This isn't a whodunnit. The murder happens upfront, and then most of the book is the backstory of the filming up to that point. So if you're a reader like me who enjoys an investigative element, know that it's only in the mind of the reader. No one on the page is nosing around looking for clues (about this, anyway).

It's a fast read in any sense of the word. I think the consequence is that everything suffered for lack of development, especially considering the sheer number of POVs being juggled. I didn't find the story that mysterious or compelling, and though I favored some characters over others, I wasn't much attached to any of them. It struck me that each had a very specific purpose on the page-- usually a traumatic past event and/or personality flaw they're struggling with. There's no nuance beyond that to make any character stand out.

While I didn't have a problem with this one, I just wasn't excited to be reading it. Despite a clever setting and a large cast of characters, it didn't have a lot of note to say and didn't offer any startling twists and turns to make up for it. All the same, thanks to Atria for my copy to read and review!

Bake Week, for the last ten years has been the baking show to be on and to watch. Betsy Martin, the host and the owner the of the property where the show is hosted and filmed. Grafton the property is legendary. It is beautiful and sprawling. It like its owner had secret and this next batch of contestants is in for a real treat. Betsy Martin, is the author is numerous best selling cookbooks and is known as America’s Grandmother. Prior to this season, there have been no glitches to the filming of the show. This is season is off to a bad start, sabotage to recipes, salt where there should have been sugar etc. But one day there is a a dead body and now everyone is a subject and chaos ensues. The Golden Spoon is a mystery that takes the baking world by storm. It has twist and turns, that keeps the reader guessing. This was a good, quick read. The author does a great job telling the story of a baking show, gone rogue. The characters were perfect. I want to thank Netgalley, Jessa Maxwell & Atria Books for my copy of The Golden Spoon, for an honest review. It was my pleasure to read and review this story. Who doesn’t love a mystery around a baking competition? This was a 4 star read for me.

A fun and twisty, murderous tale that asks the question, what if The Great British Bake Off was held in an East Coast mansion and had a lot more drama. In this fictional show, famed baker Betsy Martin hosts Bake Week at her estate. Six amateur bakers vie for the coveted Golden Spoon, and each comes with their own secrets. Almost immediately things start to go wrong, with small acts of sabotage...and then a body is discovered.

The plot isn't perfect, but this was an enjoyable story for anyone who loves Bake Off (and murder).

Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for the ARC to review. All opinions are my own.

This was a mix of clue and the great British bake off. I ended up listening to the audiobook which featured a full cast. I think that is what made this book truly amazing especially having the continuous alternating povs.

Thank you netgalley for an arc.

This was a fun cozy mystery. This is set during a highly rated baking show in a historical mansion. I love baking shows, so this made this more fun than ever. One by one people end up dead. This was a propulsive plot that I really enjoyed. Each character was well developed and followed the diversity that many of the baking shows have. I had a lot of fun reading this book.

The Golden Spoon by Jessa Maxwell sounded amazing and the cover is great. But it is more cozy mystery, who-done-it type that I do not like reading. So, it was not for me.

Loved this cozy murder mystery set against the backdrop of a British Bake-off show. It's a fun premise, and even though I would have enjoyed a little more depth into the baking competition, it kept my attention through the end. I wouldn't recommend for people looking for a thriller, but if you want entertainment and a cozy, food-filled environment, this one is for you!

I used this title for my book club, and we all agreed that it was not our favorite pick. With the "Only Murders in the Building" comparison, I thought the book itself would be funnier than it was. This might be a good book to listen to on audio, because there is a full cast. If you're looking for a cozier mystery, with a locked room aspect, this book might be for you. Definitely not a bad book by my standards, but overall, not a memorable book.

Jessa Maxwell can write no wrong and as a huge fan of The Great British Bakeoff a fun mash up whodunnit was exactly what I needed.

I love a nice cozy mystery - we don’t always need the suspenseful spine tingling actions to make a book good. I would recommend this :)

The Great British Bake Off but make it American and add murder. It’s an interesting concept and quite fun to be able to get into the heads of all the bakers as they go through the competition. This does lead to come confusion with so many different perspectives but overall not bad!

A reality show mixed with drama, mystery and murder...amazing!
I overall really enjoyed this one and was immediately taken with the theme. The setting was great and the characters were interesting which really put me right into the world of this cozy mystery. As the competition unfolded and I learned more about the characters agendas I found myself more enthralled with the story (it was a bit of a slow burn for me but it worked for this book).

Definitely recommend to anyone wanting a little bit of thrill, some excitement, lots of mystery and a good whodunnit plot!

This is GBBO but with a mystery added. To be honest I love GBBO and I love mysteries but the way this was put together wasn’t for me. I didn’t enjoy the switching POVs and most of the characters were not enjoyable to read in any way. Overall this one fell flat for me.

This cozy mystery was a fun story based on the great British bake-off. I really liked Gerald’s character. I thought there would be more to the Melanie story. Overall cute.

I loved the multiple POVs here! Some characters I had an immediate like/dislike for which made the backdrop of the baking competition was fun. I found myself rooting for certain characters in the competition and also hoping they survived! A great intersection of fun reality tv and a mystery!

Some things were a little predictable, but overall I enjoyed the mystery and the different voices of the characters!