Murder In A Cup is the second book in A Crystals And CuriosTEAS Mystery series by Lauren Ellicott.

Shay enjoys growing tea for and packaging various blends she sells in her shop. There were some poisonous plants in her greenhouse on the roof of her building, and she donated them to her friend Dr. Mia Harper, a botanist at the local university, so they weren’t accidentally used when she packaged her tea blends. A group of women called the White Gloves come in for tea every morning. One day, a new member, Jasmine, the girlfriend of Peter Graham, the father of Shay’s part-time teenage employee, Tissi, joined the White Gloves. Peter is in Bray Harbor to take custody of Tassi and take her home to Carmel. Peter wants her to meet and get to know her soon-to-be stepmother, but Tassi wants nothing to do with Jasmine. In addition, Peter doesn’t want her working for a witch. Shay doesn’t feel comfortable reading tea leaves yet, but Jasmine finally talks Shay into reading her tea leaves. Tassi serves Jasmine her tea, and just as she is about to hand the cup to Shay, she collapses and dies. It seems that Jasmine had been poisoned. Tassi is quickly considered a suspect as she served the tea and made a comment that was construed as threatening.

Liam, who owns the pub next door to Shay’s shop, has returned from Ireland and has brought his Gram to Bray Harbor. Gram is also a seer and knew Shay’s grandmother and mother and will share Shay’s family history with her. Gram will also support Shay as she works to develop her powers.

The book is well-written, plotted, and exciting. The story also reads at a nice pace. Most of the characters from the first book are back again. The characters are well-developed and believable. The reader will also learn more about the backstory of Shay and Tassi. Once again, Shay’s German Shepard will play an integral part.

I’m looking forward to more visits to Bray Harbor.

Shay is learning more each day about her magical powers, but when a woman drops dead during a cup reading, she is helpless to explain why it happened. With the woman's fiance threatening to sue her and put her on trial as a witch, there is a lot weighing on Shay's mind. A well written, complex mystery with interesting subplots. I cannot wait for the next installment!

Gemologist Shay is settling into running her inherited New Age tea shop, growing herbs for tea blends, and learning to hone her gifts as a seer. Her friend Liam's psychic Gran is visiting from Ireland and encourages Shay to do a group reading, which ends in a murder, with Shay's tea shop and one of her employees coming under suspicion. So, Shay must track down the real culprit while processing her own major family drama.

I enjoyed the first book in this series. And book two is a fun and twisty mystery as well! Set in California on the beautiful Monterey Peninsula, the world-building is excellent, with a charming setting that is also a bit mysterious, thanks to the magic in the air and the New Age vibe. I like Elliott's writing style; this was well-paced and plotted and kept me guessing, with a few surprises along the way.

Shay discovers she is a descendant of a famous Irish witch from long ago, and seeing how Shay's psychic gifts play into her sleuthing is interesting. I look forward to seeing where the storylines about Shay's magical lineage are headed in future books!

The tea shop and town inhabitants are vividly depicted. I love the addition of Liam's Gran to the cast; she is delightful and teaches Shay about Irish folklore, the fae, and Shay's lineage and gifts. Hopefully, she's a permanent addition! The character development and relationships among the core group are progressing, and I enjoyed spending time with them. Agatha Christie's famous Poison Garden is mentioned as Shay has some poisonous plants, too, and I loved that reference!

An entertaining and quick read! Perfect for anyone who enjoys paranormal cozy mysteries!

Thank you to Kensington Books for the gifted ARC. I enjoyed it!

Murder in a Cup by Lauren Elliott the 2nd instalment in the "A Crystals & CuriosiTeas Mystery " series. What a great follow up to book one! As with Lauren’s other series, I’m now a huge fan of this one and just as invested in the characters.

Another thing I enjoyed was the ongoing close relationship between Shay and Tassi. I love the introduction of Gran from Ireland and can see her playing a big part in helping Shay.

The story is well-written and I found it entertaining, full of twists and turns and I didn’t completely guess whodunnit until Shay did.

I highly recommend this series to all my cozy loving friends and I can’t wait for book 2 to come out!

I requested and received an advance reader copy of this book from Kensington Books and Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I have enjoyed the books I have read in the Crystals and CuriosiTEAS series. I am not really a huge paranormal fan, but this series is entertaining and has such wonderful characters that I don’t mind that aspect of the books. I love the family dynamics between the characters, the small town feel between the individuals in Bray Harbor, California, and the typical murder mystery. I enjoyed getting to know Liam’s grandmother. Her visit ... or possibly permanent stay ... from Ireland adds a good twist to the story line. The murder mystery kept me guessing until the very end. Lots of twists and turns and family issues that has you flipping through the pages to get to the end.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for my advanced review copy. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

For more reviews, please visit my blog at: https://www.msladybugsbookreviews.com/. Over 1000 reviews posted!

Murder In A Cup is the 2nd book in Lauren Elliott's A Crystals & CuriosiTeas Mystery series. It is a good paranormal with likeable characters and a cozy mystery that kept me guessing. Shay Myers owns the New Age tea shop and she offers tea leaves readings, and she can read emotions. Shay inherits the shop from her birth mother Bridget. She has a lot to learn about tea, poisonous plants, and her paranormal abilities. Shay's sister Jen and friend Tassi work at the shop. Shay gets talked into doing a tea leaves reading for a group of local women. One of the women ends up dead and.Tasks is a suspect. Shay's neighbor and friend Liam returns from Ireland with his grandmother. Gran and Shay hit it off but Gran causes a few problems for Liam. The story moves along at a.good pace and there are several things happening that keep the story interesting. It centers a lot on the paranormal, familiars, inky feelings and trusting instincts. Overall, this was a good paranormal cozy mystery. #MurderInACup #Crystals&CuriosiTEASMystery #KensingtonCozies

I absolutely loved book 1 and was so excited to get an arc copy of book 2 through @netgalley. I love Elliot’s cozy mysteries. And I really enjoyed this one too! I like the development of the characters. I love Liam and can’t wait to see what’s to come for their friendship for now, hopefully. I had my suspicions about the guilty party in this one, but it didn’t take away from the story. You could probably read this as a standalone, but it would be extremely better if you read Book 1 first.

Murder has blown into the tea shop again and this time Shay may not be able to untwist the mystery until it is too late for her especially if she doesn't hurry up and embrace her gifts! This series is shooting up to my favorites list in a hurry! Wonderfully plotted, fantastic character development and interactions that draw you in and keep you turning pages are two of my favorite aspects of the series. However, there is so much more. The dynamics between the characters is blossoming and so very engaging. The paranormal aspect is delightfully intriguing and draws you further into the story. I absolutely can't wait to see where the series goes from here as there are big things on the horizon for the characters, I'm just not sure yet if they will bring good or bad tidings that our characters have to unravel in the future!

I tend to be a thriller/suspense fan so was not quite sure what to expect when I started Murder in a Cup by Lauren Elliot, a Cozy read with a paranormal element. Cozies by nature are lighter novels- not much profanity or extreme violence. What I discovered was an absolutely delightful novel that instantly captivated my attention. Murder in a Cup is part of Elliot's Crystal's and CuriosiTeas series featuring Shayleigh Myers, the owner of Crystals and CuriosiTeas tea shop in Bray Harbor, CA. The storyline is intriguing and completely engaging, the characters believable and most very likeable, and I learned some basic information about crystals and various teas. I thoroughly enjoyed Murder in a Cup, and thank NetGalley for the opportunity to read an ARC, although that in no way impacted my review. 4.5 stars.

Murder in a Cup by Lauren Elliott is the second book in the Crystals & CuriosiTeas paranormal mystery series. The story is as enticing as the cover and moves at a good clip. The characters are developing nicely though Shay Meyers is still indecisive and too willing to blame herself when things go wrong. Gran is helping her with that. I do enjoy Gran's attitude and wisdom, but not the Irish pronunciation and use of words. That distracts this reader from the story. The supporting characters are all experiencing growth--- which keeps me engaged, and curious, as to where the next book will take me.
Though it is not necessary to read the debut book, it will enrich your relationship with the characters, and set the paranormal scene more clearly.
Shay is stressed when a patron of her teashop drops dead at a reading and the victim's step-daughter is accused of her murder. As Shay endeavors to investigate the charges, she is met with stiff interference from the law, Tassi's father, and other officials.
Meanwhile, the unresolved issues from book one rear their ugly head once again. Liam is undergoing a big change--aside from Gran-- and I am hoping Shay finds a love interest in book three.
Thank you #KensingtonCozies, #MurderinaCup #NetGalley #KensingtonBooks for the chance to read an AREC of this book. My opinions are my own---I review books that I enjoy for friends and followers.

This book will be published on November 28, 2023.

This is the second book in Lauren’s new series and I really enjoy it although I do believe it could be read as a standalone. I thought it works well as a cozy mystery series as I really like the setting, characters, and amateur sleuth. I like that Shay, the amateur sleuth has some magic she’s working on her connection to and while it may point her in the right direction but it doesn’t solve mysteries for her. I think the timing with Liam thing was a bit overdone and I am over him as an interest and I would like her to find someone else. When Tassi’s new stepmother (who she hates) drops dead in Shay’s shop she is dismayed to learn that Tassi is the main suspect and instead of being focused on clearing his daughter’s name Tassi’s father is focused on proving Shay is a witch and a horrible influence on his daughter. Of course Shay can’t leave all the sleuthing to the police even though she does trust her brother in law to investigate fairly. Lauren Elliott is one of my favorite cozy mystery writers. I really like her writing style and her mysteries are always interesting and full of some fun twists.

An overall enjoyable second installment in the series. The premise of the series is entertaining and the characters are likable, even if they are clueless at times. Shay is still struggling with accepting and embracing her psychic abilities. She waffles a bit too much with trusting her instincts and second guessing herself. This gets frustrating at times for the reader. The potential love interest scenario will hopefully resolve itself soon or this could also get to be a turnoff for some readers. In my opinion, this is an interesting series that has a few growing pains to get through to really meet its potential. I’m interested to see how the author moves the series forward.

Murder in a Cup begins a year after the events of book 1 Steeped in Secrets. Shay and Jen are making a success of the tea shop. Things start to go south when Tassi’s father comes to town. We soon have a dead girlfriend, a restraining order and Shay is going to have to stand trial for witchcraft.
I spent a good portion of this book as confused by events as Shay was. Shay was having a lot of self doubt and that added to the feeling of unease that permeated the storyline.
Liam’s Gran is great. I didn’t understand her speech patterns though. Some of the word usage was not Irish but more like southern Mamie with der and dat.
I enjoyed how the paranormal played into helping Shay solve the mystery.
I enjoyed reading Murder in a Cup. It is a clever use of title and poison.
Thanks to Netgalley and Kensington Books for the ARC.

A cozy mystery with Shay who inherits a tea shop and finds out she has a different abilities then reading tea leaves..During tea leave reading her client dies and her employee is accused of the murder
Shay will have to find the real murderer with her friends help.
Voluntarily reviewed.

Love this cozy series. This is book 2 and can be a standalone but I am glad I read the previous book. There will being missing gaps in Shay history. Shay Myers is the owner of Crystals & CuriosiTeas which she inherited from her unknown birth mother. As she learns more about her mother and her Irish roots she discovers that she comes from a long line of healers, seers and those with the gift. She also is learning about her plants and how to blend various teas, but there are also poisonous plants in her rooftop greenhouse. She made arrangements to donate those dangerous plants to the local college for peace of mind. Wouldn’t want to poison a customer. And then her fear comes true when at the group tea reading one of the ladies dies in front of the group. And her coworker is to blame since she served her and there to some bad blood between the two. Since this was the women who broke up her parents marriage. Things go from bad to worse and Shay is caught in the middle of it all. With her friends and family, plus Spirit her dog, they all help and guide Shay to solve the mystery of who dunnit.
There is still the unanswered mystery of Shay’s birth father and I can’t wait to read the next book. Thank you NetGalley for this eARC. I am voluntarily posting an honest review after reading an Advance Reader Copy of this story. #NetGalley #MurderinaCup

Shay Myers is settling in well to her new life running a tea shop that leans heavily into the ‘skills’ she’s exploring from her Irish Witch ancestors, even as she remains sceptical and keen to find scientific explanations. But she can’t ignore the feelings of dread, nor the flash of foresight that precedes a murder in her own shop…

I wasn’t massively taken with the first book in this series, Steeped in Secrets, but I had hoped that the second book would settle into a better flow of this. Alas, I think it went the other way for me.

The biggest negative remains the truly dire attempt at ‘Oirish’ accents in text – like nails down a chalkboard, frankly. It’s even worse this time round, as the ‘unavailable love interest’ stereotype – I mean, the lovely neighbour Liam – brings his grandmother to stay and she could not be a bigger stereotype of interfering-if-well-meaning, steeped in all things woo-woo, Irish granny. There are far, far too many places where the actions of various characters are painfully obvious plot devices rather than feeling at all authentic, including Shay’s weird dance between disbelief and going full woo-woo herself. Throw in a huge dollop of “I have all this information about your background but won’t reveal it outright” and just… urgh, no.

The plot has some interesting elements, including poisonous plants, family feuds, and the weird gangster element carried over – but still not developed – plot from the first book. The ‘romance’ subplot is cringeworthy on every front, imo.

While not awful, there just wasn’t enough here to improve on my lowish opinion of the first book, and I’m afraid this is as far as I’m inclined to go with the series. Your mileage, as they say, may vary considerably.

Murder in a Cup is the second novel in Lauren Elliott’s Crystals and CuriosiTEAS mystery series. I really, really like this series so far and count it as one of my automatic buys. Shayleigh Myers inherited the tea shop from her deceased, and never known, mother. Her sister Jen helps out at the shop as well as a teenage girl named Tassi. Clearing out many of the more magical items, Shay is left with some deadly plants that a local botanist professor and her college students are supposed to be removing. While in the teashop, the Little White Gloves Society has come for tea, and convince Shay to do a group tea reading. Unfortunately, the tea reading takes a deadly turn when one of the ladies collapses and dies. Now Shay must find out what happened and why before her staff and she end up behind bars.

Yay! I’m so happy that this novel focused on Tassi. She is such a relatable character for me, because I deal with anxiety to the point of exhaustion. I felt so sad for Tassi during and after everything, but I think she will appear stronger as the series progresses. I really need Liam to get his act together, and I’m hoping Gran forces him to do so. The addition of Gran is great, because it shows the research that the author put into the novel. That’s my ultimate favorite thing about this series, the obvious care that was put into it.

I'm curious to see the plot involving Shay’s family. I think her relationship with her sister is great, but I would like to see more of the Irish side. Gran being there allows many potential options.

I, now, have two German Shepherds, and the mannerisms depicted in the novel are real. My oldest is very in tune with my husband. The youngest is still learning, but she is very clingy and doesn’t really like when she’s not with us. Both do a dancy-prancy maneuver if they want to investigate something.

Overall, I rate this novel 5 out of 5 stars.

I’m loving the second in the new series from Lauren Elliott! Magic, murder, mystery…. And I want more! Love this series. Love this author. Can’t wait for the rest.

Shay is owns a tea shop, but there's more to her than just that: she loves coffee. Haha! It's true, but actually, the biggest surprise is: she has psychic abilities. She's descended from other women with magical "seeing" abilities, which gives this cozy mystery an interesting flair. Shay's ties to nature extend past her ability to read tea leaves. Shay interacts with stones as well. But most importantly, she curates plants to use in her shop. Unfortunately, she's discovered that some of these plants are deadly. It's after this realization that a patron winds up dead in her shop. Can Shay discover what happened without losing everything?

I enjoyed this mystery! I'm a tea lover, and to say that tea is featured in this story is an understatement! There's a lovely hero as well, Liam, who I appreciated as the (usual) romance reader that I am. The dog, Spirit, who acts as Shay's "familiar," was a lovely addition to the human cast of characters. I found myself really caring about these people and wanting to learn what actually happened! The bits of history tied in were fun as well!

Trigger warning: estranged father, death by poisoning (on page, but brief)

I'd like to thank Kensington Books, Kensington Cozies, and Netgalley for the eARC of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.

Murder in a Cup by Lauren Elliott is a paranormal cozy mystery, but it is so much more. From family dynamics, small town relationships, friendship, murder, and sisterhood to cultural heritage, this story has it all. Shay Myers owns an eclectic tea shop and is descended from an Irish witch. She’s been living in Bray Harbor, California for about a year. She is learning how to operate her business while dealing with her visions and her ability to sense other people’s energy. When a customer had a group tea reading dies and an employee is suspected of the murder, Shay is determined to prove her innocence.

Shay stands up for those she knows are innocent, but she doesn’t believe in or is afraid of her psychic abilities. This lack of confidence bothered me at times. She’s also stressed over the changes in her life. Her friend Liam helps her with her investigations and her dog Spirit protects her and others. My favorite character was Liam’s grandmother. Gran has recently moved the town from Ireland and is helping Shay learn about her heritage.

The novel moves at a decent clip and has a good mix of rounded and dynamic characters. The conflict advances the story line through a few twists and turns. There are several sub-threads that expand the story. I’m looking forward to seeing where they go in future books. Themes include jealousy, greed, family, resentment, a sense of losing control, and much more.

Overall, this cozy mystery keeps the reader guessing. Excellent characterization and a solid mystery made this one an enjoyable read. I’m looking forward to the next book in the series.

Kensington Books - Kensington Cozies and Lauren Elliott provided a complimentary digital ARC of this novel via NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own. Publication date is currently set for November 28, 2023.