Apparently this is the week I start a bunch of books in the middle of the series. But hands down I do not regret this one. I don't think I have ever read such a fantastic Cozy Mystery before. I tend to stick to full out Smut or full out action Fantasy. But this was the fun little journey I needed this week. It was such a great quick and easy read that I will definitely be keeping an eye out for more by this author!

This story is the third book in the Three Tomes Bookshop series. This time, there are vampires!

This series is a fun cozy series set in Northern Michigan. Jacqueline, our heroine, has recently inherited the bookshop from a distant relative, and she has come to discover the relative was a witch. Fictional characters have a tendency to pop out of their books, sometimes in a helpful way, like Ms. Danvers from Rebecca and Ms. Hudson from Sherlock Holmes. Sometimes, these characters cause trouble. When the novel Dracula is found open on the bookshop floor, Jacqueline is on alert expecting the worst.

I love the sense of community in this series. There are three women (witches) who live at the end of the lane who are mentors of a sort to Jacqueline, and she has two best friends who run businesses across the street. There's also a hunky, Viking-like police detective in the mix. I just really enjoy this series and want more. The whole series has been fun to read.

I'm not sure how I feel about this book. I loved the premise, but there's something about the execution that just didn't work for me. This book lives somewhere between cozy mystery and urban fantasy, and it does both sort of half-well. The main character's obsession with grammar is annoying (who thinks, while drunk, 'I don't even care that I just ended a sentence with a preposition'?). Some of the things the characters do, don't do, understand, or don't understand don't really make sense, although maybe there's more of an explanation for that in the first two books.

I will say that jumping into this book without having read the first two didn't detract from the story in this one - there was enough background given that I felt like I understood who everyone was and their relationships to each other, and enough of the previous stories for it to make sense (with the exception of the above caveat).

I would like to thank the publisher and NetGalley for the eARC I received.

Jacqueline is back once again in this third installment of the times bookshop series. It's incredibly engaging. It's a book I couldn't put down. It all starts with a group of vamp hunters showing up at her bookstore. It's action filled, dangerous and very exciting. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone liking cozy mysteries.

⭐⭐⭐⭐ -- The cover of the book is fantastic, and it perfectly captures the spirit of the story inside!

I recently finished reading Stakes, Cakes and Mandrakes by Colleen Gleason and I have to say that it was a fun and entertaining read. The book is set in Button Cove during springtime, where Jacqueline is settling into her new life. She has made new friends and even found romance with the town detective. But things start getting strange when mandrakes begin growing in her garden, and a woman is found dead with puncture wounds on her neck...

What I loved about this book was its originality, humor, and the fact that it can be easily enjoyed as a standalone novel. The writing was great, the pacing was spot on, and the plot kept me guessing until the very end. Even though there were plenty of characters introduced in the book (including Mrs. Hudson from Sherlock Holmes and Mrs. Danvers from Rebecca), they were all unique and likable in their own quirky way.

As soon as I finished reading this book, I became an instant fan of Colleen Gleason’s writing style. I am eagerly looking forward to the next book in this series! Overall, if you love supernatural mysteries with humorous undertones, then Stakes, Cakes and Mandrakes is definitely worth reading!

**ARC Via NetGalley**

Stakes, Cakes and Mandrakes follows Jacequeline, bookstore owner and book character wrangler, as she attempts to solve a possible vampire murder with the help of literary characters who have escaped their books and arrived in the real world.

The blend of magic and mundane was excellent in this book. I loved this interesting spin on the bookish/book store cozy mystery. While this was the third book in the series, it is the first one I've read. I felt there was enough clues in the story for me to catch up quickly without bogging me down in backstory. Overall, a really great read for anyone who loves book related mysteries with a dash of fantasy.

This was a NetGalley review.

This is my first read of a Gleason book and even though it is the third in a series I did not feel that I was missing anything and even more so wanted to go read the first two books. Jacqueline is an almost fifty protagonist which I found delightful because it isn't too often you get a midlife main character. Jacqueline is the manager of a quirky, magical bookstore that when a book drops from a shelf you better be ready for a character from that book to emerge. When Dracula is the next book to drop Jacqueline is not quite sure she is ready for any character to come out and "play". I enjoyed this paranormal mystery book and look forward to any more in the series but while I wait I will go back and read the other books.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Stakes, Cakes and Mandrakes is the third book in the Three Tomes Bookshop paranormal cozy series by Colleen Gleason. Released 7th Feb 2023, it's 277 pages and is available in paperback, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately. For Kindle Unlimited subscribers, this book is currently included in the KU subscription library to borrow and read for free. The previous two books in the series are also currently available on KU.

This is a cute shopfront cozy series set in fictional tourist town Button Cove. There's more than a little magic in the town environs; characters from books keep coming to life (the bookshop itself is home to Mrs. Hudson and Mrs. Danvers (yes, the ones from Sherlock Holmes and Rebecca, respectively)). There are cursed items and more than a little bit of a witchy vibe. In between selling books to locals and tourists, and possibly building a romantic relationship with the local handsome officer of the law, newcomer Jacqueline Finch also tries to keep the peace between her stubborn and occasionally difficult to manage fictional help and solve the occasional murder that comes her way.

All of the mysteries in this series are self contained and as such work well enough as standalones. The characters' interrelationships have developed over the course of the books, so there will be some missing backstory, but the author is adept at giving the necessary information, so readers who choose to pick up this one first won't likely experience any problems with keeping the story straight. With three books in the series currently, it would be a good choice for a binge or buddy read.

For lovers of very light bookstore cozies with romance/drama, it's a good fit. The author is adept and prolific and the book is peppered with background info about bookselling, books, and lots of title tips for new books to seek out and read. Some of the plot setups and developments are a bit over the top, but I strongly suspect that's a big part of why bookshop cozies are wildly popular. A strong suspension of disbelief is required. The language and content are chaste and perfectly safe for commute or work reading.

Four stars. The author is a talented and capable storyteller, and almost everyone loves bookstore cozies.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

I’ve really enjoyed this entire series and the latest episode was equally brilliant. This time ‘Dracula’ (the novel) drops off the shelf in the bookstore and plunges Jacqueline into another mystery that was a suspenseful and fun as the previous too. Loving this new genre of paranormal women’s fiction that features older protagonists.

I liked Colleen Gleason's books and I thoroughly enjoyed this paranormal cozy: it's entertaining, there's humour, romance and a solid mystery.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

Stakes Cakes & Mandrakes
Colleen Gleason is a new to me author and she has me hooked. I absolutely loved this perfect story. I believe this is truly a biplophile's dream series. There are so many ties to literature & it is written so well that I just couldn't put it down.
The bookshop owner, Jacqueline Finch has a magical bookshop full of surprises and a great mystery to solve. The characters from all kinds of stories come to life, in her
mystical bookshop. She has the help in her bookshop of Mrs Hudson (Sherlocks
Landlady) & Mrs, Danvers from Rebecca. That is just the beginning of the book characters that enter her world.
Then the mandrakes start showing up & someone ends up with two puncture
wounds in their neck and it could all be connected to the Dracula book that fell in her shop. This is just the begining of the fun mystery, all the magic & all the wonderful adventures. You will be captivated and in love with all the characters and the story.
This is the third book in the Three Tomes Bookshop series. I wish I had known about this wonderful series & started from the beginning,
but after reading this story I will be rushing to resed the other two as fast as I can. I'm sure they are as amazing as this one.
I would give 10 ★

Hopefully authors don't mind their novels to be called "cute," especially a book that contains murders and paranormal magic. I thoroughly enjoyed Stakes, Cakes and Mandrakes and it was just as cute at its cover!

First, I loved the literary references. From classic literature to contemporary, to lots of nods to Colleen Gleason's own works, I highlighted so many favorite names -- characters I love and other books and authors I obviously need to check out.

Button Cove is a whimsical and quirky place and the main story follows Jacqueline Finch and her eclectic and magical book shop, where literary characters come to life. Amongst the magic are the rooted friendships among women (over the age of -gasp- 40).

If you're looking for a clever, engaging, cozy paranormal mystery with great friendships then I recommend this book.

If you're a fan of Colleen's (and any of her pen-names) you need to read this book. Especially if you love her Gardella series (and if you haven't read the Gardellas, you NEED to add them to your bookshelf).

Thank you to NetGalley for a review copy. Thoughts and opinions are my own and are freely given.

Another in the series with books announcing what is what in the cozy mystery series. Not sure why, but did struggle a bit with this one. Still liked it, but liked the others in the series better. Might just be me. Would recommend.

Stakes, Cakes, and Mandrakes is book three in the Three Tomes Bookshop series, I have not read the previous two books, so I entered this series unfamiliar with everything. I like when an author invites the reader into their series, and no matter where you might enter, you know you can go backward or forward in the series and not be lost. Some subtleties let you know certain characters were introduced in previous books, and gentle nudges let you know the underlying theme of the series was developing.
For example, Jaqueline's familiarity with Mrs. Hudson and Mrs. Danvers, her increasing ability to communicate with the special tree, and her ability to work some magic. This is women's fiction, and I would also call it cozy paranormal women's fiction. It was fascinating and humorous. I enjoyed every word. The relationships between these older strong women, the hunky fifty-something police detective, quirky fictional characters having important roles while infighting over how women can fight as well as men, and the ever-present Sebastian and Max, the cats, I think, with a secret. I would really like one of Egala's purses (you must read about those). I could definitely use one. Stakes, Cakes, and Mandrakes is a fun, delicious, tea-filled adventure with vampires and evil to be fought, all wrapped in an eclectic bookshop I would dearly love to visit.

Myth: 4/5

Another fun installment at Three Tomes bookshop! Jacqueline has good friends, a magical bookshop and a possible date in her future with the handsome detective. What more could a woman ask for? With her magical bookshop where characters literally come off the page as the need arises, she can’t be in for anything good when the vampire hunters start showing up.

This book was extra fun because Colleen Gleason referenced and played with characters from her other book series. Also expect to see some Dracula shenanigans, because, if you’re going to do vampires, you might as well include Dracula!

Magic: 4/5

The concept of this magical bookshop, where characters come to life will forever be my favorite. Situated in a small town in western Michigan, it combines cozy mystery and paranormal with spectacular grace.

Overall: 4/5

A very cozy read, Jacqueline and her growing found family are a delight. It’s also a pleasure to read a paranormal with a forty-something heroine. If you’re a book lover and you enjoy a little paranormal in your reading, you should absolutely check this series out.

Before starting with my review I would like to thank the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

I had already started the Three Tomes Bookshop series by Colleen Gleason because I had read her Gardella series and I loved it.

In this third book we find the characters we already know where we left them in the previous book.
Jacqueline is living a new happy and peaceful life in Button Cove. But peaceful doesn't mean calm. In fact, she has to face the bickering Mrs. Hudson from Sherlock Holmes and the creepy Mrs. Dancers from Rebecca. The two of them were directly out from their books to help her run the bookshop!
But this time Jacqueline will have a new problem: a new character from an old book has gone out. What will be his intentions?

The style of the author is as I remembered. Fluid, vivid and full of sarcasm. Jacqueline is a strong female character who never gives up.

I liked a lot this series, indeed, I was looking forward to reading this book.
It deals with a simple story which transports the reader into a small town, that can seem normal but it is not.

A perfect mix of normal life and magic.

I suggest this book to fantasy readers and to people that see a pinch of magic everywhere.

Differnt interesting story where fictional characters comes to life to help sove mysteriers.
Jacqueline and the rest of the characters like Mrs. Danvers and Mrs Hudson are fun along with the three crones.
Good fun read .
Voluntari;ly reviewed.

I absolutely loved this!! I'm going to have to get the previous books in the series and make sure that I get the new ones because I loved this series. The characters feel like friends and the story sucked me right in.
I just reviewed Stakes, Cakes and Mandrakes by Colleen Gleason. #StakesCakesandMandrakes #NetGalley
[NetGalley URL]

Many years ago I tried reading the first book in Gleason's Gardella series and it didn't grab my attention enough to finish. I like to give authors a second try and was glad I did because I enjoyed Stakes, Cakes and Mandrakes.

I have read books where fictional characters have come to life but found the way they did here even more enjoyable. The world around Jacqueline is interesting and likeable.

There was a bit too much women of a certain age talk, but given the protagonist and her friends it made sense.

I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

I hadn’t read the other books in this series when I requested this one because I hadn’t seen the series before. However, I was excited to try it anyway. I am so glad I did. Jacqueline and her friends are just so much darn fun even if they are perimenopausal. Not only that, but I also just love the way the books in Jacquelin’s bookstore can fall and characters come to life from them. Add in a wonderful and interesting plot, and I am totally in love with this series. I just wish I had found this series before. I can’t wait to read more in this extremely fun, well-written, cozy paranormal series. Highly recommend. I was provided a complimentary copy which I voluntarily reviewed.