Larch Haven, Vermont is made for winter. It’s like an Italian city was transplanted into frigid temperatures. There are frozen canals to skate your way around town, the restaurant is called The Gondolier, the chocolate shop features chocolate gondolas filled with truffles. When Christmas is just around the corner, trees and windows are twinkling with lights, and a baking competition is underway. It seems everything is perfect.

Her friend Dizzy convinces Becca Ransom, a budding chocolatier, that a chocolatier in a baking competition is perfectly normal. The big finale is a showpiece using several techniques so she can have cake scenery and chocolate details. The prize is a write-up in Bake It Right magazine. One of the contestants, Amber, is positive she will win. She’ll make sure of it.

At least until one of the other contestants, Irma, is found dead. She wasn’t well-liked, not liked at all really, by the other contestants or anyone who knew her. Irma liked to hoard secrets about people. It didn’t matter if the secret was big or small, true or misconstrued, Irma kept them all.

When the murder weapon is found to be Becca’s chocolate chipper, she’s determined to prove her innocence. Despite dating one of the detectives, Becca feels she must be involved. In the meantime, the competition goes on. Was Irma murdered over the competition, the secrets, or her general unpleasant self?

This is book two in the series. Six Sweets Under was the first but they can be read out of order. There are a number of characters to remember—Becca’s friends, other contestants, employees of the chocolate shop, her family, boyfriend, the cats…and plenty of motives to be found with an equally long list of suspects.

Recipes included are for candy cane truffles and almond creams. Just reading the ingredients will leave you drooling.

Baking Spirits Bright
A True Confections Mystery, Book #2
Sarah Fox
5 Stars

Synopsis:


In a cute new culinary cozy from USA Today bestselling author Sarah Fox, budding chocolatier Becca Ransom must solve a murder before she meets a sticky end.

Winter has arrived in Larch Haven, Vermont, bringing with it holiday cheer, lots of snow, and freezing temperatures. Becca Ransom is squeezing in time to skate on the frozen canals and drink hot chocolate by a roaring fire while also whipping up new creations for her family’s chocolate shop and experimenting with holiday flavors like eggnog, gingerbread, and peppermint. At the same time, Becca is preparing for the Baking Spirits Bright holiday baking competition, a popular annual event. She’s planning to enter an edible model of Larch Haven, with a mountain backdrop made of cake, gingerbread cottages, and chocolate gondolas on sugar-glass canals.

Professional bakers and a local food blogger are also participating in the event and they aren’t about to go down without a fight. The competition quickly heats to a boiling point, with flaring tempers and mysterious happenings. When one of the entrants is found dead, stabbed with Becca’s chocolate chipper, Becca tries to salvage the season by finding the killer. But the heat is on, and Becca is in danger of getting burned.(Amazon)

Review:

The characters are well rounded and well developed. Becca has decided to enter the holiday baking competition and make an edible model of Larch Haven. Before the competition is done, someone has been murdered. Becca will have to figure out who the culprit is and the why.


The author is very talented in her descriptive writing and these descriptions pulled me into the story from the very beginning. Whether I was walking around Larch Haven or watching Becca make the chocolates, I felt like I was right there watching all the action taking place. The writing flows smoothly and the book is an easy read. The mystery was well plotted and it was not easily solved. There were enough suspects to consider and clues to sift through.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a well crafted cozy mystery. I am already looking forward to reading the next book in the series.

I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book provided by the publisher, Berkeley Publishing Group, and NetGalley, which I greatly appreciate.

Becca is going to enter the local Baking competition in hopes of getting free publicity for the family Chocolate Candy Shop. When the town baker and busy body is found dead in the kitchen there are a lot of suspects. Becca seems to be finding clues without trying and friend and police officer, Sawyer warns her to stay out of the investigation his warning comes too late. Chased down by a snowmobile and pushed down the stairs at the competition she seems too be on the right trail. I like Sarah Fox and the cozy's she writes. This is another good one.

Baking Spirits Bright was a delightful Christmas cozy. It followed chocolatier Becca who entered the Baking spirits Bright competition in hopes of being featured in a magazine. One of the competitors is killed and Becca’s off on a search for the killer. The search turns dangerous after Becca is pushed down the stairs at the finals of the competition. The ending is satisfying, but a bit abrupt.

The book takes place in Larch Haven Vermont which is located on canals that freeze over the winter and is part of the True Confections series. This is the only one I’ve read in the series but I’d like to read more.

Former actress and chocolatier turned amateur sleuth Becca Ransome has plans in motion to enjoy the holiday season and winter weather in Larch Haven, Vermont when her best friend Dizzy convinces her to enroll in the Baking Spirits Bright Holiday Baking Challenge. Becca is all set to get started at the competition when she finds the body of her co-competitor with a reputation for being mean and gossipy, her chocolate chipper the murder weapon. Becca works with her law enforcement friend (and possibly something more) Sawyer to find the murderer among a list of suspects with their own motives for killing the victim. Can Becca balance making sweets, enjoying the winter season, and finding a murderer who may strike again?

Baking Spirits Bright is an enjoyable read to pick up for the holiday/winter season. Becca is a likable lead full of curiosity and detective skills to put to use in solving the crime. However, her character reads flat along with others. The intimate small town setting provides a great opportunity to infuse local color and distinctive personality quirks and traits in the characters, but that wasn’t present in this novel. Also, cozy mysteries thrive on intentionally funny or at least slyly humorous moments to temper the darker themes that usually accompany murders. While there are plenty of descriptions of sweets and pastries, culinary themed cozy mysteries always have a bigger impact when page time is spent describing how the recipes are made in greater detail, spurring the reader into downright envy or at least hunger pangs as they read. Becca’s occupation as a chocolatier could have provided some very scrumptious moments, but these scenes were delivered in a more matter-of-fact, serviceable way. As far as the mystery, it was well plotted, but there could be more breadcrumbs that pointed the reader in the right direction to the culprit. Instead, the resolution feels tenuous. Overall, despite some shortcomings, Baking Spirits Bright is a diverting read that will get readers into the holiday/winter season mood.

Former actress turned chocolatier Becca Ransome is settling happily into life in her hometown of Larch Haven, Vermont. Making chocolates for her family’s candy store True Confections takes up most of her time, especially with the holiday season turning the charming town with its picturesque canals into a true winter wonderland. But when she’s challenged to enter the annual Baking Spirits Bright competition, the idea of bringing more publicity to her family business proves irresistible, even if Becca’s less confident of her baking skills than of her chocolate-making.

Becca is thus pleasantly surprised to make it through the first round of the contest and into the finals. She’s up against some pretty stiff competition though, facing off against Roman Kafka, the pastry chef from her older brother’s restaurant; cupcake maven Stephanie Kang, and Irma Jones, the perennially sour owner of an otherwise excellent local bakery. Despite this, she thinks she has a pretty decent shot, especially with the brilliant idea she has for her final presentation. All thought of baking is driven right out of her head, however, when she stumbles across Irma’s dead body while getting her supplies together for the competition.

Irma had never been the most popular resident of Larch Haven, but she certainly hadn’t deserved to be murdered so brutally. There’s no shortage of suspects, especially since Irma was notorious for keeping a notebook filled with incriminating secrets involving the rest of the townsfolk. But after a threatening note is found when the competition finally restarts, and Becca is subsequently pushed down a flight of stairs, things start getting personal for our amateur sleuth. Can she figure out whodunnit before she and her friends are put in even graver danger?

This was a very cute cozy mystery, with a terrific setting, lovable characters and an utterly charming slow burn romance. It also features tight plotting and execution, making for the perfect holiday read. As if that weren’t enough, there are two candy recipes included! I decided to try out the slightly more seasonal confection of the two:

QUOTE
Candy Cane Truffles

4 oz milk chocolate
4 oz whipping cream
1 9-inch candy cane
2 tablespoons crushed candy cane
8 oz white chocolate

Finely chop the milk chocolate and place it in a heatproof bowl. In the top of a double boiler, heat the cream over medium-low heat until it’s just starting to bubble. Remove the cream from the heat, add the 9-inch candy cane, and let the cream steep for approximately 5 minutes. Then return the cream to the stove and heat again until it’s just starting to bubble. Remove and discard any undissolved candy cane. Pour the cream into the bowl of milk chocolate. Mix the cream and chocolate together until all the chocolate has melted and the ganache is smooth. Add the crushed candy cane and stir to combine. Leave the ganache to cool to room temperature. Then put the ganache in the fridge until it is chilled and completely set.

Remove the ganache from the fridge and use your hands to quickly roll it into 1-inch balls. Set the balls on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Place the tray in the fridge and chill the ganache balls. Leave them in the fridge until you’re ready to dip them.

Roughly chop the white chocolate and set approximately one-third of it aside (this is the seed chocolate). Put the remainder of the chopped chocolate in the top of a double boiler set over simmering water. Melt the chocolate and heat it until it reaches 113-122°F (45-50°C). Remove the bowl from the double boiler. Add the seed chocolate and stir until the chocolate cools to 84-86°F (29-30°C). At this point, the chocolate should be in temper.

Line another baking tray with parchment paper. Using a truffle fork or regular fork, dip each ganache ball into the tempered chocolate, making sure it is completely coated, and then set it on the prepared tray. Leave the truffles to set at room temperature or, if necessary, chill the truffles just long enough to set the chocolate.

Makes approximately 24 truffles.
END QUOTE

So I knew going in to this recipe that I would be diverging somewhat from the recommended steps, as I got chocolate melts that didn’t need tempering. I also couldn’t find candy canes, and figured I could just substitute regular peppermint candy rounds. Those substitutions all worked out even better than expected. Alas that I could not for the life of me get the ganache to set into anything remotely workable into a ball.

Online sleuthing assured me that the reason for this is because in order to get a semi-solid ganache, the ratio of chocolate to cream needs to be 3:1, not 1:1 as this recipe suggests. I didn’t have any extra milk chocolate on hand, so decided to improvise by using a chocolate mold to help the finished candy retain its shape. I poured a thin layer of white chocolate into each mold and let that harden before adding first the chocolate mint ganache and then another layer of white chocolate on top. I think my truffles came out quite nicely in the end. The flavors were certainly extraordinary, especially to someone who rarely enjoys the combination of mint and chocolate. If you try out this recipe, please let me know how it goes, and your own opinions of the measurements.

I’m taking off next week to catch my breath in the middle of my unusually busy holiday season, but after that, I’ll be cooking a yummy dish reminiscent of warmer weather, while reading about a murder in a bookstore. Do join me!

One of the most charming winter-y settings I’ve read, Sarah Fox’s Baking Spirits Bright is the perfect winter mystery! A chocolatier finds herself on the case to solve a mystery when a fellow contestant in a holiday baking competition is murdered with her chocolate chipper!

About the Book | Baking Spirits Bright

Setting

The events of Baking Spirits Bright take place in December just before Christmastime in the small town of Larch Haven, Vermont. Larch Haven is known as the Venice of the United States because it has canals and gondolas in place of roads and vehicles. Residents and visitors may use golf carts or snow mobiles to get around town depending on the time of year, and during winter may skate on the frozen canals.

Characters

Becca Ransom is an actress-turned-chocolatier who left her career in Hollywood to move home to Larch Haven, Vermont and help run her family’s chocolate shop, True Confections. Angela (Angie) is Becca’s cousin and runs the business side of True Confections. Milo is a teenage cousin of Becca and Angie. Lolly is their grandmother who is now retired from running the chocolate shop.

Gareth is Becca’s brother, and he owns the Gondolier—one of the most popular restaurants in town—with his husband Blake. Roman Kafka is the pastry chef at the Gondolier, and a contestant in the Baking Spirits Bright competition.

Dizzy Bautista is Becca’s best friend and a local librarian. Sawyer Maguire is a police officer and a childhood friend of Becca’s. Detective Ishimoto is the officer working the murder investigation. Ollie Nyberg is another officer working the case. Ginny Ellis is a reporter for the local paper.

Irma Jones owns a bakery in town and is a contestant in the competition. Juniper Jones is Irma’s daughter and an aspiring artist. Eleanor Tiedemann works in Irma’s bakery as Irma’s assistant. Cameron is Eleanor’s teenage son. Stephanie Kang owns a cake shop called Love at First Bite and is a contestant in the competition. Donna works for Stephanie at her cake shop.

Amber Dubois is a food blogger and social media influencer who is competing in the competition. Paisley Hooper is Amber’s personal assistant. Daniel Hathaway is in town covering the competition from the magazine, Bake It Right.

Jaspreet Joshi is the organizer for the Baking Spirits Bright competition. Victor Barnabas owns the local art gallery and is a judge in the baking competition. Natalia Mehta is the head chef at the Larch Haven hotel and the second judge. Consuelo Diaz is the owner of a local café and the third judge.

Delphi Snodgrass and Luella Plank are friends and locals who live in Larch Haven. They are known around town as the Gossip Grannies because they love to spread rumors and gossip. Lois March is a friend of Lolly’s and lives in one of the apartments above Stephanie’s bakery.

Plot

In a cute new culinary cozy from USA Today bestselling author Sarah Fox, budding chocolatier Becca Ransom must solve a murder before she meets a sticky end.

Winter has arrived in Larch Haven, Vermont, bringing with it holiday cheer, lots of snow, and freezing temperatures. Becca Ransom is squeezing in time to skate on the frozen canals and drink hot chocolate by a roaring fire while also whipping up new creations for her family’s chocolate shop and experimenting with holiday flavors like eggnog, gingerbread, and peppermint. At the same time, Becca is preparing for the Baking Spirits Bright holiday baking competition, a popular annual event. She’s planning to enter an edible model of Larch Haven, with a mountain backdrop made of cake, gingerbread cottages, and chocolate gondolas on sugar-glass canals.

Professional bakers and a local food blogger are also participating in the event and they aren’t about to go down without a fight. The competition quickly heats to a boiling point, with flaring tempers and mysterious happenings. When one of the entrants is found dead, stabbed with Becca’s chocolate chipper, Becca tries to salvage the season by finding the killer. But the heat is on, and Becca is in danger of getting burned. (Synopsis from Goodreads)

Review | Baking Spirits Bright

I am so happy I discovered this cozy mystery by Sarah Fox! I expected it to be a standard holiday-baking-competition-cozy-mystery, but it wasn’t that at all. This is a well-crafted, winter mystery that kicks off in the final round of a baking competition but isn’t necessarily related to the competition (though it could be). This mystery isn’t overly Christmas-y. In fact, I would describe this as more of a winter-theme than Christmas, taking place in December in the adorable town of Larch Haven, Vermont.

This is the second book in the True Confections Mystery Series, but it was easy to jump into without reading the first. Becca Ransom is a strong, caring, intelligent leading character. This is her first holiday season since she moved back to her hometown in Vermont. The town of Larch Haven is a charming setting. The town has canals and gondolas (in the summer) in place of roads. Now that it is winter, many of the residents get around town by ice skating, snow mobiles, snow shoes, skiing, or rented golf carts.

Becca and her cousin Angie co-own the True Confections chocolate shop, with Becca providing the creative side and Angie running the business. Angie encourages Becca to enter the Baking Spirits Bright competition because it is covered by a well-known magazine and would be great for their business. Becca is thrilled to make it to the final round, where she gets to flex her creative side making a chocolate model of Larch Haven. However, the finals are delayed when talented-but-disliked baker and contestant Irma is found dead.

Though the murder weapon is one of Becca’s tools, she’s quickly cleared as a suspect. This was a nice surprise, since cozies tend to have the protagonist as the leading suspect. The rest of the mystery unfolds with Becca and her best friend Dizzy sleuthing, with some help from their childhood friend and current police officer, Sawyer.

Though Irma was murdered at Town Hall where the baking competition was hosted, I thought it was clever that the murder wasn’t necessarily linked to the competition (at least not fully). The other finalists are suspects, but Irma had plenty of people who may have a motive to kill her. The mystery kept me engaged through out. Fox crafted it so the mystery was both who committed the murder and why were needed in order to solve it.

The mystery had some great twists that took it into new directions. I loved getting to know the different townspeople while also keeping the book focused exclusively on the mystery. The side plots all tie into the central mystery and I never felt the book strayed too far. This was necessary since the mystery was highly complex and had a lot of layers to it.

There were a few scenes that got my heart rate up, including a winter-y chase that terrified me and thrilled me in equal measure. The reveal at the end was surprising but also made sense, and I thought back to scenes and clues that I had overlooked starting way back at the beginning of the book and throughout.

I loved the narrator for the audiobook. She brought Becca and the mystery to life. I actually just grabbed the first book in the series on audiobook as well because I enjoyed it so much!

This mystery kept me guessing until the final page. The mystery is the best part but the setting and characters make this a must-read series. I loved everything about this winter-y cozy mystery!

It's the season of cozy cheer in picturesque Larch Haven, Vermont, and chocolatier Becca Ransom can't wait to celebrate the season. Skating on the frozen canal, hot chocolate with friends and making delicious chocolates at True Confections. However, this season, Becca is also participating in the Baking Spirits Bright competition, and it looks like the competition is going to heat up the village! Truer words have never been spoken with a contestant turns up dead and fingers start to point at Becca. Can Becca solve the murder and save Christmas?

I love Christmas themed cozies. There is just something about the holiday season that screams "cozy mysteries"! Especially in a picturesque town like Larch Haven. From the very first page I was enraptured with Fox's description of Larch Haven, the frozen canal, skating, hot chocolate... send me now!

The mystery itself is a first class whodunnit, which will challenge the most seasoned mystery readers. Becca's right in the middle of it as it is her chocolate chipper that is used to kill the victim.

I really loved Baking Spirits Bright. It has put me in the perfect Christmas spirit and dreaming of cold nights in front of the fire with chocolate, gingerbread and a good cozy mystery!

BAKING SPIRITS BRIGHT is the second book in the True Confections Mysteries by Sarah Fox. This book has everything a holiday cozy mystery should be: a charming town, snow, ice skating on frozen canals, hot cocoa, a Baking Spirits Bright baking competition...and murder. The author brings each holiday scene to life with Christmas cheer, through her strong descriptive voice, including the sights, sounds, tastes, and smells. It makes the reader feel like their right there in Larch Haven, Vermont celebrating alongside protagonist, Becca Ransom. I adore her family’s chocolate shop, True Confections, and the close relationship she has with her cousin and her grandparents, Lolly and Pop. Like the candies Becca makes, this book is charmingly sweet.

Lest the reader gets lulled into a sense of comfort and joy, the author stays true to the book’s genre and murder ensues. One of Becca’s competitors is found murdered at the baking competition’s venue. Was one of the participants trying to weed out their competition? That seems possible after an unknown person pushed Becca down the stairway. However, as Becca asks questions and delves into the victim’s personal life, she discovers the hateful woman had more than her share of disgruntled employees and acquaintances. There were suspects galore and clues were sprinkled throughout for the sharp reader to follow. And, as Becca gets more embroiled in uncovering the killer, heart-pounding danger follows her. With an edge-of-your-seat reveal, the clues dropped into place and justice was served.

The yummy confections mentioned throughout the book will have you craving chocolate. My advice is to make one of the recipes at the back of the book to have on hand while you read this charming holiday cozy mystery!

I was provided with an advance copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Brought to you by OBS reviewer Jeanie

I am extremely impressed with the talent, skill, and heart in this mystery! I felt that the setting and characters were at least as developed as a fourth or fifth in the series rather than the second. I was able to know the characters better and truly enjoy this unique town of Larch Haven, Vermont. The characters are very likeable and well-depicted and the setting is amazing. The mystery itself kept me guessing throughout, with a red herring that looked almost like the real bad guy.

Christmas is a couple weeks away, so I was surprised to see a baking competition so close to the big day. An actress, Becca had moved back to Larch Haven when her grandparents planned to retire from the family candy store, True Confections. Becca learned how to make chocolate from her grandmother as a child, and she just went to school to become the new chocolatier for the business. Her cousin Angie focused on the business aspects and the store itself.

Dizzy, Becca’s best friend, brought her a flyer for the third annual Baking Spirits Bright competition. As a chocolatier, Becca’s baking skills are not as extensive as her talent with chocolate, so she didn’t intend to compete. Finally, Dizzy and Angie wore her down, and she entered. If she makes it as far as the finals, True Confections will be written up in a magazine published for the New England area and hopefully gain new in person and on-line customers.

Encouragement from Angie, their beloved grandparents Lolly and Pops, Dizzy, and Becca’s high school crush, Sawyer, helped Becca begin the first round of competing with confidence. All snarky comments and rude behavior of a couple contestants aside, the first round went extremely well, and Becca was chosen as one of the four finalists. The night before the final, Becca took the supplies she needed to set up her cooking station at the town hall and heard a loud disagreement between Irma, a finalist who is an excellent baker, and her daughter Juniper. She also witnessed Irma’s long-time assistant shuffling through her boss’s handbag while she was out of the competition room.

The next morning when Becca arrived for the final, she went in with Stephanie, a top-notch cake baker and decorator. Becca thought she saw spots of blood both outside and inside the building. Irma was lying on the floor dead, with an injury she could not have made herself. There would be no final competition that day, or maybe ever. Especially when it is discovered that one of Becca’s specialized chocolate-making tools was the murder weapon.

Most people in town did not like Irma, but most would not kill her for being a grump, either. This was not a high-stakes competition, so other contestants had no real motive. Days later, when the final competition is rescheduled and another contestant has replaced Irma, a warning letter is left for one of the four, then Becca is pushed down a flight of stairs. This is not the normal contest.

Larch Haven, Vermont, would be the country’s leading tourist attraction if it were real! The word pictures are amazing! Instead of streets, there are canals with limits to watercraft used. Ice skates and snowshoes are perfect when canals are solid ice. Cobblestone walking areas, business, homes, and gardens have an old-world charm.

The town, its shops, and offices are so well-planned that I would anticipate seeing a print of street elevations. The characters are depicted as if known by the author for a long time. Conversations, attire, background, and behaviors bring them to life. I really enjoy almost everyone I’ve “met” so far.

This complex mystery was constructed with so many layers! The author does an excellent job of taking all the seemingly unrelated components and put everything together for a cohesive whole, like Becca making her detailed, edible “slice” of Larch Haven scene for her entry. For as much as I was wrapped up in this little town and its people, I not only did not come up with the real bad guy(s), I also didn’t have a motive that made one person different from any other. I love everything about this very surprising cozy mystery, and highly recommend it!

Always a fun read by a favorite author. Not usually a fan of books that involve food competitions, but this was pretty good. Loved that the competition didn't drag on forever. Good mystery. Great series!

I wish Larch Haven was real. Is there a real Larch Haven, Vermont? I need to go research that. Okay - that aside this was a fun mystery. Becca is an interesting main character, back in her hometown and with a second career as a chocolatier. I do question how she became a chocolatier so quickly but that's really neither here nor there.

We meet quite a bit of the community of Larch Haven that we didn't meet in the first book as the baking competition starts. Of course, I was rooting for Becca to win but there were plenty of likable contestants and a few that weren't so likable. There is a decent amount of setup but there was enough progress in the story that I never felt like the story was dragging.

The wrap up did seem to come a bit out of nowhere but I enjoyed the mix of Christmas-y spirit with investigation enough that that didn't bother me too much. I really love the community and the setup for this series and will definitely be reading the next book - even though it does make me want chocolate!

Larch Haven, Vermont, is a charming small town. There are no cars or trucks, but there are canals where gondolas transport people through town. But when the year is closing out and the holidays are coming fast, the canals are frozen and perfect for ice skating. Becca Ransom has moved back home after several years in Los Angeles, where she had been an actor in a hit show. But now she’s back in Vermont, working as a chocolatier in her family’s chocolate shop, and she couldn’t be happier.

True Confections was started by her grandmother and now Becca makes the chocolates and her cousin Angela runs the business side. It’s a perfect setup for Becca, and she enjoys the quiet nights at home with her two cats, Truffles and Binx. But there is a baking competition coming to town, and her best friend Dizzy thinks Becca should join in and give it a shot.

It’s the third annual Baking Spirits Bright competition, and there are two rounds. In the first round, the 16 competitors are grouped into fours, and each group gets 90 minutes to bake two treats. Once everyone has baked, the judges will decide which four bakers will make it to the final round. Becca is in the first group to bake, so she can make her candy cane bonbons and not have to spend a lot of time worrying about the other contestants. After all, there is Irma Jones, who owns a local bakery. And Roman Kafka, the pastry chef from Becca’s brother’s restaurant. And there is Stephanie Kang, who owns a cake shop and makes Becca’s favorite cupcakes, and food blogger and influencer Amber Dubois.

Becca and her delicious chocolates and gingerbread make it through to the final round, along with Irma, Stephanie, and Roman. But when Becca and Stephanie arrive early to drop off their baking materials, they find Irma already there. But she is in no condition to bake. Someone has killed her.

The baking competition is postponed while the police investigate, but they don’t have any answers several days later. Becca gets the text that the competition is moving forward, with food blogger Amber taking Irma’s place. Becca decides to focus on the competition and do her best. For the five-hour competition, she has planned out Larch Haven in summer, with gingerbread shops and cottages, chocolate gondolas on sugar-glass canals, and mountains made of chocolate cake. But before they can get going, Amber bumps into her, spilling coffee all over Becca’s shirt.

Becca finds a light sweater she can wear instead, but as she makes her way back downstairs to where the competition kitchens are set up, someone pushes her from behind. Becca is okay, bruised and with a sore wrist, but she can still compete. But the police are concerned that these bakers are in danger. One has been killed and another attacked. Is that about Baking Spirits Bright, or is there something else going on in the small town?

Baking Spirits Bright is the second book in Sarah Fox’s True Confections Mystery series. And while the mystery is layered, with red herrings and twists throughout, I thought the real charm of this book was the town. Between the Christmas festivities and the layout of the town, I think it would be so much fun to live there or even to visit. Especially since the small town has a chocolate shop, a bakery, a cake shop, and a bookstore. I mean, what more do you need?

I thought Baking Spirits Bright was a fun cozy. I loved the baking competition, and the characters were interesting. I haven’t read the first one in the series yet, but I will need to go back and get caught up, just to hang out in Larch Haven some more. I think this series has a lot of potential, and I look forward to seeing what kind of trouble Becca finds herself in next.

Egalleys for Baking Spirits Bright were provided by Berkley through NetGalley, with many thanks.

After reading Six Sweets Under, the first book in this series, I was really excited to get my eyes on Baking Spirits Bright. While the whimsy of Six Sweets Under was still there, it was majorly dialed-down, Becca, the main character, was disappointingly bumbling, vs the clever amateur sleuth she had been in her introductory book, almost achieving the title of Too Stupid To Live with her unreasonable reaction to events in the story. At the end of the book, I am honestly not even sure why she felt she needed to solve the crime, as it only peripherally affected her. I'll definitely read #3 whenever it comes out, but hopefully I can chalk Baking Spirits Bright to the typical "Middle Book Syndrome."

I am a sucker for a holiday themed mystery, and BAKING SPIRITS BRIGHT really delivers the Christmas cheer and ambiance. A universally unliked murder victim, gossip, and plenty of chocolate come together to make a great cozy read.

Chocolatier Becca Ransom is a likable, intelligent sleuth, and her best friend Dizzy makes a great sidekick. Childhood friend Sawyer is endearing and provides a good conduit for police information. I am curious to see Becca and Sawyer’s changing relationship. Becca’s grandmother Lolly is also a notable character.

Murder victim Irma is an unpleasant woman so it is no surprise that there are plenty of suspects to investigate. There are clues and red herrings sprinkled throughout, but I did not solve the mystery before Becca.

I really enjoyed BAKING SPIRITS BRIGHT. It is the second installment in the True Confections Mystery series but can definitely be read as a standalone. I look forward to reading Becca’s future adventures. Recommended to any culinary cozy mystery fan and lovers of a charming setting with holiday charm.

Becca Ransom is getting settled back into life in Larch Haven, Vermont, after working in Los Angeles as an actress. The holidays are coming up, and the canals throughout the town are frozen and perfect for skating and getting into the Christmas spirit. Becca is looking forward to her first Christmas since returning to her hometown. She is busy preparing holiday sweets for the family chocolate shop, but her best friend, Dizzy Bautista, convinces her to enter the annual Baking Spirits Bright competition. The excitement of the contest is dampened when one of the bakers is murdered. Even though her friend, Sawyer Maguire, who is on the local police force, tells Becca to stay out of it for her own safety, Becca can’t help but launch her own investigation into the death.

This is the second book in a charming series, but you don’t have to read the first book to enjoy this one. The small-town atmosphere with so many cute shops is ideal for a cozy mystery series. Becca is a likable main character, and I especially enjoy her friendship with Dizzy. They are there for each other during their sleuthing escapades and in the ups and downs of their lives in general. I also like Becca’s renewed friendship and the promise of something more with Sawyer.

The murder victim in this story was an unpleasant person, so there is no shortage of suspects. There are also plenty of townspeople willing to gossip, so Becca is able to get information that the police can’t by talking to people and keeping her ears open. I wasn’t able to guess who the killer was, but there didn’t seem to be any clues leading to this person either, so the resolution wasn’t very satisfying. On the other hand, the overall ending of the book was wonderful and uplifting for a mystery set around the holidays.

~ Christine

Baking Spirits Bright by Sarah Fox takes us back to Larch Haven, Vermont where Becca Ransom is entering the Third Annual Baking Spirits Bright competition. Larch Haven is a unique town. It is a cross between a cozy Vermont town and Venice with the canals. I would love to skate on the canals in the winter and then warm up with a delicious cup of hot chocolate. Becca is getting the hang of being a chocolatier. The luscious descriptions had my mouth watering (had me heading to the pantry where I keep my chocolate stash). Competition brings out the bad side in individuals. Irma, the perpetually grouchy owner of the local bakery, is found dead before the final round in the competition. Becca switches her Tam O’Shanter for a deerstalker cap and begins sifting through the clues. Becca needs to be careful, or she could get burned. I figured out the mystery before Irma was murdered. I felt that there needed to be more clues along the way to help lead readers to the guilty party. I would have loved a twist. There is some action to spice things up. The whodunit is neatly wrapped up at the end. One of my favorite characters is Lolly, Becca’s grandmother. She is a sweet, warmhearted woman. There is some romance as well. It seems that Becca’s old schoolgirl crush might finally reciprocate her feelings. I could have done with less repetition. The author captured the chilly climate of Vermont in the winter. I could feel Jack Frost nipping at my nose. Baking Spirits Bright is the second book in A True Confections Mysteries. It can be read as a standalone for those new to the series. Baking Spirits Bright is a merry mystery with chocolate confections, a butchered baker, a distinctive stranger, taking a tumble, gossip girls, and enlightening notes.

recipes, family, family-business, gondolas, car-free-town, friendship, canals, cats, local-law-enforcement, series, amateur-sleuth, chocolatier, cozy-mystery, Vermont, small-town, small-business, murder-investigation, competition, ex-actress, hometown, relationships, family-drama, gossip*****

Becca is a former actress who has returned to her hometown to run the family shop (True Confections candy shop) with her grandparents (parents now live in Florida). The big event now is the
Baking Spirits Bright holiday baking competition which sets the scene as to Most Likely To Be Murdered On Purpose. Yup, that's the one, but the problem is that she is done in with Becca’s chocolate chipper! Even though she has a solid alibi, she and her best friend hop in to do some amateur sleuthing, much to the dismay of her possible boyfriend who is the local police chief. And so it begins! Good story with fun characters, distracting red herrings, and really unexpected twists. Loved it!
I requested and received a free e-book copy from Berkley Publishing Group via NetGalley. Thank you!

It’s Christmastime in Larch Haven and Chocolatier Becca Ramon enters a baking competition hoping to get publicity for her family True Confection business. When one of the Contestants is murdered ,Becca and her friend Dizzy detour to find the murderer .

I loved this book , the characters are fun and likable. The plot was fun , quick and held my attention. I can’t wait for the next book .

I just reviewed Baking Spirits Bright by Sarah Fox. #BakingSpiritsBright #NetGalley

Becca always considered herself a candy maker and not a baker but she's eager to see how she does in a baking competition. And then one of the other competitors, the grumpy Irma, is killed with Becca's chocolate chipper. Yikes! This has all the cozy elements- a small town, a love interest, good friends and pets, and a victim who was disliked by many. Because of this, cozy fans will be able to enjoy this even if it's a standalone, as it was for me. One quibble - all the sugar puns got to be a bit much for me after while. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A good read,