I adore this witchy cozy series. I am so attached to these characters. I love getting to know them in each book. This one made me one a little kitty! I hate that Mia had to get a different job and let Trent's mom take over. She is doing a great job but I know how much Mia loves her business. Add on a suspicious murder and things could be better for Mia. The victim is Christina's ex. Is she a suspect? Can Mia prove Christina's innocence? I will definitely be continuing this series. I cannot wait for the next book! Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

A great addition to an incredible series! Wonderful characters in an incredible setting. This book will keep you guessing until the end.

This was a bit chaotic. I believe there may be some books before this one that would be needed to understand the full story and characters.

I received an advance copy. All thoughts are my own.

This is book 5 in the Kitchen Witch series. I enjoy this series. It's lighthearted and fun. The re-occurring characters make for some interesting interaction and the magical animals add so much to the story.
To keep her cooking school and catering business, Mia’s Morsels, afloat, Mia’s handed off oversight to her boyfriend Trent’s mother while she focuses on earning a steady paycheck. Too bad her mean-spirited boss at the lodge keeps the misery flowing as steadily as the money. At least her roommate, Christina, is still dedicated to Mia’s Morsels—though she’s also distracted, thanks to her clingy mother’s constant demands. And the distraction only grows when Christina’s old flame shows up in Magic Springs, Idaho, in his Escalade, claiming out of the blue to be her fiancé. The arrival of some homeless kittens, as well as Trent’s new familiar, a cute little Maltese, brings more chaos—as well as a strange spiritual energy that seems to emanate from the animals. But before Mia can figure out what kind of paranormal pets she has on her hands, she finds herself with a murder to solve—when a dead woman is found in the lodge rental of Christina’s suddenly attentive ex . . .

Lynn Cahoon has become one of my favorite cozy mystery authors and the Kitchen Witch series is a delight to read. The characters are well developed and the murder mystery will have you guessing until the end. I love the way the relationships are developing between characters ... friendships and romantic relationships. Though the romance part is not over the top. I encourage you to go back to the first book in the series. You will always be in for a fun trip through the pages. I can’t wait for the next adventure with the gang in Magic Springs, Idaho.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Cozies 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!

This was an enjoyable mystery and the writing was cozy and engaging. I liked the essence of small town life and the supernatural.
Many thanks to Kensington and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

It’s bad enough that Mia Malone has had to put her catering company on the backburner in order to accept a job as the catering director at the Lodge, the biggest ski resort in Magic Springs, Idaho. Her new boss Frank Hines is a nightmare, and the stress of working with him while still keeping her beloved business afloat is proving to be perhaps a little more burdensome than she’d anticipated.

So when a basketful of adorable kittens is left on her doorstep, she isn’t quite sure what to do. As a kitchen witch, she already has two familiars: a doll named Gloria and a cat named Mr Darcy. Adding three kittens to the mix is a lot, especially with Mr Darcy’s disgruntlement at having all these young ones underfoot. Things get even weirder when Mia’s boyfriend Trent Majors finds a puppy on his doorstep. It’s not just any puppy either, but a hellhound sent by the Goddess to help keep him protected.

The question, of course, is protected from what. It certainly doesn’t seem like Trent is in any immediate danger. In fact, the only person who could probably use protecting is Christina Adams, Mia’s roommate, whose ex-boyfriend Todd Thompson is in town and giving her the hard sell on getting married. Christina is happily involved with Levi, Trent’s younger brother, and has no interest in rekindling things with Todd. Levi, however, isn’t taking Todd’s reappearance very well, which is causing friction with Christina.

Things come to a head when Christina finds Todd brutally stabbed to death right before they’re supposed to have dinner together as friends. Mia knows that Levi couldn’t possibly have done this, but without any other suspects, the local police chief has no choice but to treat Levi as the primary person of interest in the case. Will Mia be able to figure out who the real killer is, and bring some level of calm to her far too chaotic life?

This was another cute installment of the paranormal culinary cozy Kitchen Witch mystery series. While not the best jumping on point for new readers, it deftly advances the many interesting aspects of Mia’s life, including the ongoing dilemma of what to do with the ghosts in her library.

There were two recipes included here, and I decided to try out this one:

QUOTE
Chicken Gyros with Tzatziki Sauce

Cook two chicken breasts on the grill, then shred the meat into a large bowl after they cool. (You could cook extra breasts the night before to save time for this recipe.) Add to the bowl the following ingredients:

3 tbsp sunflower oil
3 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tbsp honey

Toss until the chicken is thoroughly coated. Spread on a baking tray and broil for 5 minutes. Mix in ¼ cup of chicken stock and put back in oven for another 5 minutes.

Then put on a warmed pita or flatbread with chopped cucumber, cherry tomatoes, and red onion slices. Top with tzatziki sauce.
END QUOTE

The other recipe in this book is for the tzatziki sauce itself, but I decided to cut that corner and just buy some from the store. I’m sure it’s delicious though, especially if these gyros are anything to go by! They’re the perfect blend of savory, tangy and sweet, especially with crisp fresh vegetables complementing the chicken, flatbread and sauce. I actually didn’t have any red wine vinegar in my pantry (despite assuming that I had!) so mixed apple cider vinegar with balsamic to substitute. It came out deliciously, not that I expected anything different given Lynn Cahoon’s excellent track record.

Since I don’t have a grill, I decided to sautee the chicken breasts. That was honestly the most tedious step in this otherwise quite fast and easy recipe. I should have cut the breasts into strips before sauteeing, as that would have gone a lot faster while sacrificing none of the taste. As it is, I wound up having to cut up the chicken part way through sauteeing to make sure each breast was cooked through. It was well worth the effort overall though.

Next week, we whip up an exotic soup while investigating the unfortunate death of our heroine’s business rival. Do join me!

This is the fifth book in this entertaining, fun series. In my opinion, this is one of those series where it’s best to start out from the beginning to really feel connected and understand the background of the characters and the underlying story arc for Mia’s catering business. The murder mystery didn’t necessarily offer a lot of suspects, but with Levi and Christina on that list, the real murderer needed to be found to keep the innocent from being arrested. I did enjoy this installment in the series, but I was a bit disappointed with the final reveal. Having more detail surrounding the motivation for the murder would have left fewer unanswered questions and provided more closure.

Princess Fuzzypants here: Mia is stretched enough with trying to juggle her catering business and her job at the Lodge. When three kittens are dropped off at her door, her boyfriend receives an unexpected delivery too and then there are the blasts from the past that descend upon her too, she is beyond harried. Grans, who has moved in with Mia and Christina, also wants to continue her witch education. The last thing she needs is another murder in her midst.

Christina’s former boyfriend shows up unexpectedly with a ring and in an attempt to let him down gently, she agrees to meet him for dinner. What she finds is his corpse and a lot of trouble for both her and her current boyfriend. The arrival of Mia’s former fiancée who is also looking to reconnect is last straw. Between trying to be diplomatic to two privileged and demanding mothers and trying to solve a murder, it is no wonder her patience is frayed. Mia is going to need all the self control she can muster.

This has been a fun series with lots of kitties and magic. I enjoyed this one too. Four purrs and two paws up.

Mia is doing everything she can to save her catering business, Mia's Morsels. She took on an outside job as the catering director at a ski lodge to bring in more income. While she's working there, Mia's Morsels is being run by her boyfriend Trent’s mother with the help of Mia's roommate, Christina.

One day Christina's ex turns up at the kitchen claiming to be her fiancé. No doubt this is another of her mothers schemes to get Christina into another wealthy family and away from Mia.

In the meantime Mia finds homeless kittens on her porch and Trent welcomes the arrival of a cute little Maltese who seems to be his familiar. If that isn't enough, there's a murder to be solved.

This is a great series. Never a dull moment

#FiveFurryFamiliars

All of the books in the Kitchen Witch series are charming, as is this latest one. While Mia Malone has been forced to take an outside catering managerial position for financial reasons, Trent's mom, Abigail, stepped in to manage the day-to-day activities for Mia's morsels. Things start to go awry when an old beau of Christina's, Mia's best friend and employee, turns up with an expensive engagement ring and marital expectations. Between a murder, a puppy and a box of kittens, Mia certainly has her hands full. An enjoyable and fun read.

Loved this new addition to the series! This series keeps me coming back for more and keeps layering on the mystery. I need to know more about what Mia is going to do about the school and the ghosts! I can't wait for the next book to come out later this year, because I need answers!

Books like this are the reason I read cozy mysteries. I love Mia, the kitchen witch, and her assistant Christina (the sister of her ex, interestingly enough). Of course there are the people who help create the mystery, and they're not nice, but there are fun adventures, magic, cooking, and homeless kittens. Christina is more of a focus in this one, and I already feel protective of her. This isn't my first experience with this series, and I'm sure it won't be my last. Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this latest installment.

Mia is as busy as ever, she is still working at the lodge while her boyfriends mom runs Mia's Morsels for her along with her roommate Christina. Things get even more hectic when a box of kittens show up on her doorstep, Trent ends up with a familiar, and Christina has an ex show up unexpectedly. Christina is happy in her relationship and doesn't k ow what brought her ex around. When she finds the body of a woman while visiting him to set things straight she is shocked. Mia jumps in to investigate so she can keep Christina off the police's radar. Follow along to see if Mia figures out who the killer is while dealing with all the u expected things popping up.

Thank you to Netgally, the publishers, and Lynn Cahoon

When I requested this book I was unaware that it was apart of a series, one that requires you to read the previous books for this one to make sense. I am unable to read all the previous books along with this one before the publish date. Therefore, I will rate this a fair 3/5 stars and will adjust the rating and review when I am able to read all the books in the series along with this one.

I enjoyed the story and look forward to more. The mystery kept me guessing. I like the characters as well.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for my eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Dollycas's Thoughts

Mia has her hands full in Five Furry Familiars. Making the tough decision to turn over the day-to-day operation of Mia's Morsels, her cooking school and catering business to her boyfriend Trent's mom Abigail wasn't easy. Taking the job at the lodge as the catering director when the lodge stopped hiring her to cater their events has enabled her to receive a steady paycheck as she strived for ideas to make Mia's Morsels more profitable. Her best friend and roommate, Christina is working with Abigail but with her mother making constant and crazy demands she isn't always able to focus on her job. That gets even worse when her ex comes to town to win her back and ask her to marry him again. Her current boyfriend Levi is not happy. When the guy is murdered at his rental both Christine and Levi are on the suspect list.

While this is all going on someone leaves a box holding three kittens at Mia's front door and Trent gets a little Maltese as his new familiar. Dorian/Mr. Darcy doesn't care for any of them and Mia is unsure about all the pets but then another dead body is found so she needs to concentrate on catching a killer.

____

I always have a big smile on my face when I start and when I finish a Kitchen Witch Mystery.

Magic, witches, warlocks, and familiars are an open secret in Magic Springs, Idaho. The old school that houses Mia's Morsels is a very interesting place where wards need to be maintained to keep everyone safe but they are also keeping some ghosts captive that may want to leave. They seem to be congregated in the old library. Ms. Cahoon's descriptive style puts her readers right on the scene whether the characters are communicating with the ghosts, making meals to be delivered daily all over town, attending events at the lodge, or hanging out in Mia's apartment.

All the characters continue to develop as the series continues and become more engaging and fun. Christine and Mia's ex, Isaac's mother, Mrs. Adams, tries to run her children's lives and she thinks she can run Mia's too. There is always a bit of chaos and drama whenever she is around. Grans also brings humor to situations as well. I love that she moves right in with Mia and Christine whenever exciting things start to happen. She also is right at hand to continue to educate Mia about her powers. Even with their exes in town Mia and Trent's relationship along with Christine and Levi's are going strong. Levi has a moment or two of doubt but they don't last long. With her husband out of town, Abigail is thrilled to take on more responsibility at Mia's Morsels but it is hard on Mia to be away so much. We saw a new side in this story of police chief Mark Baldwin, as an expectant father, who is going to receive an interesting piece of news shortly before his child is born. I appreciate the tight bond that has developed with the core characters and I love the addition of more furry familiars.

The mystery was a twisty one. I followed the clues throughout the story along with the characters. My focus was on a particular individual but coming up short on the motive. When the clues all fell into place for Mia she did the right thing in turning her information to Mark. I was just a little disappointed that like in Four Charming Spells the arrest took place outside of the story and things were quickly back to abnormally normal in Magic Springs without an exciting showdown.

Five Furry Familiars is a charming lighthearted paranormal cozy mystery with magical characters and an intriguing mystery. I am excited to see what Ms. Cahoon has planned for Mia and her friends next. Six Stunning Sirens will be released on September 24, 2024.

This has become one of my favorite series' and it was lovely to visit with Mia and company once again. You get magic, MANY furry friends, two annoying exes, a magical baby with a non-magic, non-believing father, some seriously confusing relationships [everyone seems to go through some sort of conflict in this one] and one fairly grisly murder and quite the romp to find the truth. While I had the killer figured out fairly quickly, I didn't know the why and that is always a bonus [IMO].
Really looking forward to book 6 in this series!!

Thank you to NetGalley, Lynn Cahoon, and Kensington Books for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The latest Kitchen Witch book by Lynn Cahoon, Five Furry Familiars, will keep you smiling and laughing while you try to figure out the latest mystery. Yet again, poor Christina, Mia's employee and friend, is caught up in a murder investigation when her ex-boyfriend comes to town and gets murdered. Amidst all of the investigation, three small cats land on Mia's Morsels' doorstep. And, Trent is given a familiar that turns out to be a hellhound. Join the adventure as they all seek to clear Christina's name and keep the business going!
Thanks #NetGalley. I really enjoyed it.

Five Furry Familiars by Lynn Cahoon is another of her adorable Kitchen Witch mysteries. In this one a man shows up with a ring expecting Christina to marry him. She said no and knew immediately that her her mother was behind this. The next thing Mia knew, there was an added event in just a couple of days and Mother Adams, Christina’s mother, was at the head of it. She arrived on Friday to discover that Mother Adams had purchased her a dress and expected her to be part of the group, rather than an employee. Why? Isaac, Mia’s ex-fiance and Christina’s brother, was there to convince Mia to reestablish their engagement. It seemed she was a better bet than the new one. The answer was no and eventually Isaac got it. Then, Todd Thompson, Christina’s erstwhile fiance, turned up murdered and her current boyfriend, Levi, was a suspect, as was she. What a mess.

This is a wonderful series, full of interesting people, all on the edge of magic, some more than others. Throw a little magic into an investigation and things get more complicated immediately. Mia’s grandmother was always available to assist and the local police, not realizing that magic ran in his family was a joy to watch as his daughter was born and he started taking magic classes with Mia. Things always get complicated in these stories, due at least in part to the fact that everyone is related to someone else, so the investigations are always inbred. It is a delightful series with a catering service inhabiting a haunted school house, and the ghosts making themselves part of it all. There is, of course, Mia’s familiar, Mr. Darcy, who was inhabited by Grandma’s dead boyfriend, always complicating things further. Thanks Lynn Cahoon! Such fun!

I was invited to read Five Furry Familiars by Kensington Books. All thoughts an opinions are mine. #Netgalley #KensingtonBooks #LynnCahoon #FiveFurryFamiliars