ll

#TheGoldenSpoon #NetGalley

Perfect for curling up with on a winter’s evening, this book engaged me right from the start. Six bakers arrive at a Vermont estate to compete on a baking show that fans of the Great British Baking Show will recognize right away. However, what if unlike on the GBBS, all did not go well and the issues were not only with the bakes? What if, Instead, murder and mayhem occur during the competition? The bakers are a captive audience so there are also echoes of Agatha Christie, along with Mary Berry, in these pages.

The bakers all have their stories and get to tell them as each narrates sections of the book. They range from a former foster child to a retired nurse, from a self made millionaire to a math teacher, along with a young pie maker and a construction worker. There are other characters as well. These include baking show host and owner of Grafton Manor, Betsy Grafton, the new co-host, Archie, the conniving Melanie and others. How do these characters backstories impact their actions? Who will be murdered and why? Find out, even as you enjoy the baking challenges.

Simon & Schuster’s Editorial Director describes The Golden Spoon as “this wonderfully atmospheric debut” that is “one of the most satisfying puzzles I have read in ages.” I concur. This novel is written by an assured writer who tells an involving story. I highly recommend this one.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for this title. All opinions are my own.

My first book by Jess and it was thrilling and fast paced. Very good read. Loved the characters and the setting. Enjoyed how the mystery played out. Don’t miss it on its release! You will be looking forward to more books from her.

Thank you Net Gallery for the Arc! Minor Spoilers!

The Golden Spoon is about a fictional baking show called Bake Week with the host Betsy. The story is told from all six of the contestants and Betsy. When stories have a lot of characters in them it can be hard to keep track of who’s who. But as the story unraveled it was easier to keep track because Jessa does a good job developing every individual character’s pov. I really liked this book, although it is a little slow in the beginning and the reader doesn’t find out who dies until 80% it. I really liked how it all came together at the end. The book was described as Only Murders in the Building meets Great British Bake Off and it definitely describes this book perfectly. I liked the complexity of the different characters and I liked how the story was moved along by the different point of views. The least thing I liked about the book is during the pie section of Bake Week some cooks a mushroom pie, which is truly disturbing.

3.5. Love the premise. The Great British Bake Off, but in Vermont and with murder! One of my favorite shows in my favorite state. I was prepared to enjoy this one based on my bias alone.

I enjoyed the characters, well fleshed out and interesting. I absolutely loved Gerald. Stella could have used more, it might have made the ending stronger. The pacing was a bit slow with all of the action saved for the very end. I think this story could have benefited from having more clues or reveals sprinkled throughout. Overall, a fun read and I didn’t see the twists coming.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was so good. It took me a minute to aquatint myself with all of the characters but once I had a good understanding of who was who I flew through it. I tried to stay up to finish when I was close to the end and couldn’t keep my eyes open any longer. When my kiddo woke up before 5 the next morning I couldn’t go back to sleep until I finished to see what happened. So good!

GBBO and a murder mystery, what more can a girl ask for? Loved the concept and for the most part the execution was spot on. The multiple points of view in the telling of the story added dimension to the tale. Being a baker I loved the descriptions of the baking challenges. All around an enjoyable and entertaining read. It just was missing a bit of suspense or pacing to make this a four star read for me.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Such a fun murder mystery! As a Great British Bake-off fan, I really loved the setting of this one. Just fresh, clever, and a thoroughly enjoyable read.

DNF @ 17%. I figured my deep abiding love for GBBO would mean I automatically adored this book but it turns out that watching a gentle baking competition is way more interesting than reading about one. Writing's not bad, and those looking for a cozy mystery will probably enjoy, just not for me!

When I first heard about this book, I immediately added it to my Goodreads. A murder mystery in a Downton Abbey-like mansion on the set of a Bake Off reminiscent of GBBO? What’s not to love.

It’s not often that a book exceeds expectations but this one did it for me. The book jumps from the point of view of each of the contestants. They all have their love for baking in common but what differs is their personalities, motivations, and of course their baking strategies. They are each interesting in their own way and some of them have very mysterious backgrounds. You soon begin question their reliability and motivations. The book begins with a body being found which makes the reader question who, the why, and the how- causing us to read deeply into each character’s story and to look for little clues.

I also appreciate the nods to everyone’s favorite British baking competition. This may be set in America, but the similarities just make the reader feel that cozy vibe. The contestants are baking in a tent filled with pastel-colored refrigerators & appliances, saucy hosts, and maybe even a little mischief!

For anyone who enjoys The Great British Bake Off, cozy mysteries, or twists and turns, pick this one up right away!

This was such a fun read! I loved the setting, I have watched many episondes of Bakeoff, and the murder mystery was a fun added twist. I really appreciated the descriptions of all of the food that was prepared and how the show might look like from behind the scenes. This is a great read for any mystery or foodie lover.

Do not go into this wanting a strong mystery. This is like a baking show drama with a side of mystery, which I didn’t mind! The book started out strong and I felt invested but then the middle got a bit slow. If you read the synopsis, you’ll see “a body is discovered and everyone is a suspect” - that doesn’t happen until after the 80% park. Again, I didn’t mind that, but I don’t think the ending landed as well as it could have. So that’s why I could only give it three stars. I’d still encourage people to read it and look forward to what Jessa Maxwell writes next!

I think this is the classic definition of “It’s not you, it’s me.” I don’t watch baking shows, I kinda hate reality TV, and I often find contestants I see out in the publicity whirl to be annoying/obnoxious/uninspiring. See, me not you.

So why did I read this book? Good question.

The premise is creative: six contestants on America’s most popular baking show, competing for the Golden Spoon by the finale. This tale has some good ingredients:

Nasty, vile head baker whose show it is (I needed this to come out sooner and get more developed - she’s a good “Baddie.”

One compelling character: the older woman, Lottie, of course - would have liked story told by her, and her observations of the other characters rather than their POV tales because yes, they were annoying, obnoxious, uninspiring to me. Blech.

Murder and mystery and mayhem were present in this recipe, but took too long to ensue, for me. I almost chucked this book but kept going, and yes, I was glad I did. I was entertained, just not blown away. I suspect if you love the baking/cooking contests on television tho, you may love this book as well:)

Although it was a slow start, man could I not put it down! I’m a big fan of The Great British Bake-off, so I loved all of the baking talk. I also enjoyed the multiple view points, I find that we tend to get more to the story that way. Loved the little twists all throughout, definitely kept me guessing! I can’t wait for the Hulu show. After finishing this book I found myself really wanting to learn how to bake, ha!

{READ THIS IF: you love baking/cooking shows, light thrillers, Only Murders in the Building, debut authors}

So you're giving people Great British Baking Show with Clue? And soon it's going to be a limited series on Hulu? Sign me up immediately!

As fan of whodunnit mysteries, I has lots of fun with this book. Can't wait to re-read it and get my physical copy!

The Golden Spoon

3.5 ⭐️

Great British Baking Show meets Clue?! I was so excited for this one!

It starts off with a lot more baking show than I anticipated. If you’re a fan of the show, you’ll like how true it is to the show. I liked viewing it from so many perspectives.

The final reveal seemed a little clunky so I would have liked a bit more there. Overall a nice light mystery!

3.5 stars. This book sounded right up my alley, The Great British Bakeoff meets Clue? Count me in! However, I think I was set up for disappointment with the description. I expected a longer portion of the book to actually contain the contestants trapped after a murder wondering which one of them did it. Instead, the majority of the book is build-up and focuses on the baking show. I have to say, the ending was not satisfying at all, if there was a proper investigation done on the murder, as there would definitely be with this type of victim, the police would have easily found out what happened. The book ended awkwardly with a focus on two of the side characters, I was left wondering if there was a last page that I missed.
That being said, I still enjoyed this read. I appreciated the inclusion of an Indian character who wasn’t a stereotype and his unlikely friendship and care for an old woman. Overall, while I enjoyed this book, I feel the potential was a bit squandered.
I would also like to add TW: flashback to SA/rape (short description)

Fun and fast-paced. Perfect for readers who wish they could cross Knives Out with GBBO. A recommended purchase.

quite enjoyed this murder mystery!

Filled with intriguing multi-person perspectives, a puzzle is intricately woven together and we follow the secrets, lies and discoveries the whole book through.

This started out with an intro to the characters as part of the book - I’m grateful. I had to revert back to those first couple pages at first just to remember what perspective I was reading from. Once I settled in, the story was a breeze to switch to each character.

The author did an excellent job of making each character unique and full of their own personality. I was able to really immersive myself in this read and although this isn’t what I’d call a nail biter, it was fun! At times, it was quite a page turner. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a little more than a whodunnit - it doesn’t quite have that feel but it is reminiscent of it. Not a super suspenseful thriller, kinda hits that sweet spot right in between.

Pretty good for a debut novel. I’d absolutely read more from this author without hesitation.

THIS book! Wow... I can’t believe The Golden Spoon is a debut. I usually read a couple books per week and honestly don’t give 5-stars often as I save that rating for my all-time favorites, so it’s been quite a few months since I rated a novel as such. I am in awe and absolutely cannot wait to see this book translated on screen as a Hulu limited series. I plan to listen to the audiobook as well once the book publishes on March 7 because there's a full cast of (8!) narrators which is exciting.

In my opinion, this was a thrilling mystery that felt cozy due to the food descriptions/baking competition setting, but it was NOT a “cozy mystery” genre book. I do not feel that the publisher was misleading with the genre or the book description. I have tried quite a few “cozy mystery” books, ultimately giving up on them all because they were too cheesy and didn’t feel real enough. This book, however, felt realistic from the characters to the setting and atmosphere. I found the writing, concept, and story to be exceptional and was captivated from start to finish.

The atmosphere and setting made it feel like the juicy behind-the-scenes that I never knew I desperately wanted. I enjoyed this even more than watching an actual baking competition, which I generally find to be pretty good ‘background tv’ while doing other things, so I don’t think you have to be a baking competition fanatic or even a baker to really enjoy this book.

I am impressed that although there are quite a few main characters, it was super easy to keep track of who’s who, and I found them all to be very interesting. The changing of perspectives with each chapter was very enjoyable with the distinctly different personalities, thoughts, and background stories of the six contestants that made them all feel like real people. None of the characters felt forced or fake and the writing flowed effortlessly.

The story seemed to fly by and never felt bogged down, slow, or repetitive at any point. I found the pacing, plot twists, and conclusion to be very satisfying. I remember adding this to my TBR immediately after hearing about it last year and it was one of my most anticipated books of 2023, so I'm thrilled that it did not disappoint and has even earned a place in my all-time favorites.

Thank you to Atria Books for the advance copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars rounded

A baking show (think: TGBBS) + a murder? What isn't to love?!

The Golden Spoon follows bakers as they compete on Bake Week. All is fun and games until stuff starts happening to sabotage bakers + someone ends up murdered.

I really enjoyed this book - it was an easy/quick read. However, it was pretty predictable, the ending felt a little rushed and the various mysteries didn't seem well linked together. If you are looking for a thriller, this is not your book. If you are a Great British Baking Show junkie (raises hands) and likes the idea of a cozy mystery thrown in - pick up this book!

Thanks, Netgalley for the ARC of this book!