Ben Rosencrantz is not completely comfortable interacting with the rest of the world. Not an advantage in his his previous job as an English professor and a definite hindrance now he is back working in his dad's board game shop! Recently divorced from his husband in Seattle, Ben is caring for his dad and hoping his home state of Utah has softened its view on his being gay.

The store is struggling to stay afloat, so the discovery of a disgruntled customer on the doorstep is not good especially as he is very dead! Teaming up with local florist, Ezra, Ben begins to unravel what happened but Sugar House is a close knit community and with all eyes turned their way they soon find themselves in the killer’s sights.

The first in C J Connor's Board Game mystery series is, apparently, a quosy! It is also a very good read and promises great things for future visits to the Sugar House region of Salt Lake City and Of Dice and Decks in particular. Ben and Ezra are endearing main protagonists and there is a gentle humour throughout which never felt forced or out of place.

I was able to read an advanced copy of this book thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, Kensington Books, but the opinions expressed are my own. This is an enjoyable start to what promises to be an entertaining and original new series which I happily recommend.

This was a fun, quirky cozy mystery. I really loved the Utah setting. Having lived there myself, it really took me back to living there, and I enjoyed all the little details the author included throughout the book. I also loved the game store and how the mystery took us into the world of gaming and collecting. The romance was cute, and the relationship between father and son was really well done and my favorite part of the book.

Thank you to Netgalley and the author for the free ARC.

Board to Death has a good premise but the book itself just needed a little bit of work. There was one point when I thought "this character is probably the killer" but then it was so obvious that I thought it had to be a red herring because there's no way it be so obvious - turned out I was right and they were in fact the killer. Having the police detective tell Ben they never would have solved the crime without his help just made the police department sound incompetent. I'm sure they would have connected the same dots he did - at least if they were even half-decent at their jobs. I liked Ben, but I also found him to be kind of an annoying character. At some point you would have thought he would grow a little more confident but he never really did. He's kind of an Eeyore - always moping never really trying to make improvements. Case in point - he talks about how his degree doesn't really have any real-world applications but then when he is offered a position that is pretty much perfect for him he isn't sure if he wants it or not. I know I've mostly been negative in this review, but I didn't hate the book. Like I said previously, it just needed some work.

Board to Death is a charming quozy. CJ Connor's debut mystery has the tenderness of Heartstopper and the puzzle-fun of Only Murders in the Building. Main character, Ben Rosencrantz, has left teaching to return home and help his ailing father run his game store. Ben's insecurities are well-balanced by his confident sidekick and love interest, Ezra. The mystery, which revolves around a rare collectible, is nicely plotted. There is a lot of warmth in this cozy. It is perfect for gentle souls and board game enthusiasts.

Well, I had high hopes for this book, but sadly I was very disappointed.

I was looking out for a cozy mystery involving my greatest hobby board-games. And this is actually exactly what I got... Maybe its a "its me, not you case?"

I just couldn't get into the storyline, which was quite frankly pretty boring. The plot is paper-thin and the mystery just didn't grip me. Maybe if the book was marketed as a romance with a little mystery? Maybe that should work? But then it would still need a lot more plot then it has now.

Overall I didn't enjoy myself while reading. I think the main character Ben has a lot to do with that. I know he should be this nice, adorable introvert who is trying to get his life back on the rails... but he is just so annoying. He not adorable, he is borderline whiny and I couldn't stand being in his head.

This book had everything to be a hit. A wonderful setting of a board game store, but this fell completely flat. No atmosphere what so ever. Cute gay Romance, but that also fell flat, because it was just trying to damn hard to be cute and quirky. We are talking about two adults falling in love! One of them has already been married. Stop writing them like 14 year old boys on the playground.

I couldn't be done with this book quickly enough. It reads like a board game mystery fan wrote a story on watt-pad. Not entirely bad, but with lots of work to be done before it should become a published book.

This is a fun new quozies around a board game shop in Utah. I'm looking forward to more titles in this series!

Sugar Hill neighborhood in Salt Lake City is full of independent small businesses with a tight-knit business owner's association. Ben moves back home post-divorce to help his ailing dad run his board game shop.

A murder literally on the doorstop throws suspicion on Ben. Luckily, Ezra, owner of the flower shop nearby, is there to offer his friendship, be a sleuthy sidekick, and perhaps more.

Humorous cozy mystery which queer romance

This was a pretty good mystery. I did notice some repetition in the writer's phrases, but it kept my attention to the end. Aso nice that they included instructions for the game at the end of the book.

Having finished this, I sure am glad my own 30th birthday was less eventful.

This is my favourite cosy mystery I've ever read. I haven't read many, to be fair, but sometimes I get a craving for queer cosy mysteries, and this is definitely the best one I've read so far.

I came across this book on Twitter a LONG time ago, and I've been highly anticipating it ever since, so I'm very happy I got to read it early. It exceeded all of my expectations.

I just had SO much fun reading this book, and the writing was often hilarious. I ended up laughing out loud a couple of times. What really worked for me, is that the book starts more like a contemporary romance, and the story is set up first before the murder happens and we slowly dive into researching the case. I'm more of a romance reader than a murder mystery reader, so this worked incedibly well for me.

This book's biggest selling point besides this being a queer cosy mystery was the boardgame shop, because I love playing boardgames. And this book is truly infused with boardgames, the entire plot is built around them.

I have been waiting for this theme forever, and I couldn't wait to read Board to Death when I read the summary!

The story has a cozy feel, but the author adds a layer of complexity and romance that takes it up a notch.

I loved all of the board game references and that the love interest was the typical cliche.

I can't wait to read the next book, because I really, really, really hope there'll be more!

A good start to a new cozy mystery series. As I love board games it was a good fit. Looking forward to the second book.

I received this advance reader copy via Netgalley and the publisher, in return for an honest review. Lovely first book in a new cozy series. Professor Ben is post-divorce and returning to Salt Lake City to take care of his dad, their failing game shop and try to figure out the rest of his own life. When a man is murdered right outside the shop and Ben is implicated by the backpack full of cash that appears on his doorstep, Ben overcomes his personal trepidation and delves into the mystery, with the help of the cute florist, Ezra, next door. Great storyline, excellent LGBTQ+ representation, cute dog – all well-done and I really look forward to the next in this new series.

One of a kind book! Love board games so I knew I would love this. Highly recommend!5 stars for sure.

Board to Death oozes coziness from its cottage game store to the very sweet romance brewing between Ben and Ezra. Professor Ben Rosencrantz (what a name!) has left academia to move home and help keep his dad's shop afloat. He almost immediately encounters the dark underworld of the collectible games black market (who knew?). When a man is murdered in the shop's doorway, Ben works with neighboring flowershop owner Ezra to unravel the mystery and clear Ben's name. Tracking down leads side-by-side gives the pair time to overcome some of their shyness and start to recognize the sparks they are feeling go both ways. With a very cute chihuahua named Beans, an ailing dad with a sassy attitude, and a unique and memorable setting, this is a lovely read (despite all the murdering). CJ Connor has a warm voice edged with humor and all the nerdiness. I look forward to more from this series!

This was a fast-paced, well-written, with a comfortable tone making it easy to follow along with what the author had intended, quickly becoming a page-turner. When Ben is falsely accused of murder, he and his newly acquired friends start searching for the person responsible and find themselves in a whole lot of situations that some were amusing at best. The author did a fine job in telling this visually descriptive narrative with engaging dialogue, a cast of eclectic characters, and a small-town atmosphere that added to my delight in reading this book. When I thought I knew what was going on, the author changed direction, all to enhance my reading pleasure. I love the idea of a game board shop as the setting. This was a delightfully entertaining book and I look forward to more adventures with Ben, Ezra and their friends.

Ben Rosencrantz's life completely changed direction when he divorced his husband, quit his job as an English professor, and moved back to his hometown of Salt Lake City to care for his ailing dad and run the family board game shop. But the biggest change of all comes when a mysterious game collector shows up dead on the store's doorstep. With the help of the cute florist next door, Ben decides to put his Clue skills to use and try to solve the mystery before it kills his business.

I absolutely adore this queer cozy (AKA quozy) mystery! Ben is a quirky and endearing protagonist, and the whole community around the board game shop is incredibly charming. The book is full of fun board game references and nerdy jokes that made me laugh out loud. The central mystery is also compelling and unpredictable. This is going to be a killer series!

Board games, mystery and murder - oh my!

This was such a fun new cozy mystery debut novel by CJ Connor! It follows Ben who has moved home to Utah fresh off the heels of a divorce to care for his ailing father & adorable chihuahua (named Beans 😻) while helping to run his family’s game shop. While he is settling back into his hometown, sparking a budding romance with the local flower shop owner, running weekly game nights and figuring out the finances of the business - the unthinkable happens! A man is murdered right at the shop’s front door!! The same man who was turned away after trying to sell Ben a sketchy once in a lifetime rare board game at a fraction of the value! As if that wasn’t stressful enough - a backpack full of cash lands on his doorstep placing Ben at the top of the suspect list!
I absolutely loved Board to Death! Full of so much amateur sleuthing, a budding love interest, hilarious Utah references, family, board games, friendship, social commentary, queer representation, adorable animals, mystery, twists and turns - I cannot wait to see where the series goes from here!

*Also, this book has reignited my love for board games and I may or may not have ordered a couple after reading 😹

Pick up Board to Death when it hits shelves 8.22.2023!

Thank you so much to Kensington Books for the advanced copy!

I'm happy to see a cozy with a main character in the LGBTQ+ community, as I think we need to see ALL communities represented in solving totally unrealistic murder mysteries :>D However, I find Ben to be kind of annoying. He just comes across to me as borderline whiny and ineffectual. And, this reads more like a romance novel at times than like a cozy mystery. So as a specific character, Ben isn't my favorite. The plotting feels kind of thin to me, too.

That said, a board game store setting has so many fabulous possibilities for a cozy series! And I feel like the overall setting of Utah (which is unfamiliar to me) is rendered in a believable way to me. Lots of interesting tidbits re LDS, the gay community, etc. And Ben's relationship with his dad is depicted in a subtle way. (I wish that same lighter touch had been used with Ben's relationship with Ezra, which feels about as subtle as an 18-wheeler.)

Some good potential here, and I'll be interested to see where it goes next.

Review copy provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was my first ever cozy mystery and I can definitely understand the appeal of the genre! I enjoyed all the quirky characters, the sticky situations Ben found himself in, and the adorable romance between Ben and Ezra. I certainly didn’t predict the ending which kept me reading. This was quick and easy and a lovely debut!

Very cute story and an easy read. Fell in love with the characters and believed in their romance. Only dropped a star because I predicted the twist since the beginning of the book and I prefer to have a bit of mystery.