a very fun read! the description fit it perfectly! i laughed a lot and loved pomona and gabe as a team. i wish it were a little more suspenseful, but i would absolutely still recommend. hoping pomona finds herself in some more crazy situations!

If you enjoy Hallmark Mystery movies, you’ll love this part RomCom/part Mystery book. A spoiled heiress temporarily loses her trust fund and living quarters after her grandmother is murdered. She’s forced to move in with a roommate and get a job. Meanwhile, she and her handsome new roommate decide to investigate the murder together however, it also leads to a wonderful love story. I enjoyed Pomona’s character growth throughout the story and can’t wait to see what she investigates next!

Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for the ARC!

3.5⭐️This was a light, easy, fun read.

Pomona is a stereotypical trust fund girl with zero ambitions aside from partying. Then, one morning, after a night of drinking, she finds her grandmother has been murdered.

The family finds out that Grandma's will states that all assets are frozen if she dies of "unusual circumstances." Pomona must now figure out who killed her grandmother.

Along the way to solving the murder, Pomona learns important life lessons and who she really wants to be.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for allowing me to read this ARC in an exchange for an honest review.

Pomona Afton is American royalty. Her silver spoon has never known tarnish… until now. When the Afton Matriarch, her Grandmother, is brutally murdered the family’s inheritance is frozen. Pomona finds herself without… without money, without a home, without her friends. Pomona’s childhood nanny suggests she moves in with her son, Gabe, who’s in need of a roommate. Gabe and Pomona become a team- focused on finding a murderer and consequently becoming each other’s champion.

You’ll love this story of Schitt’s creek meets Maid To Order (1987) with a murder mystery twist. @bellamyrosebooks I hope this isn’t the last of Pomona and Gabe- I loved every bit of this. PS- red stiletto on cover is perfection.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to @netgalley and @atriabooks for this #advancedreaderscopy -publication date is 3/18/25

#2025bookchallengebook19of100
#pomonaaftoncansosolveamurder
#netgalley
#stilletoscankill

What do you get when you cross a Paris Hilton (or London Tipton for my Disney channel girlies) with Only Murders in the Building? This quick little mystery!!

Pomona Afton is THE it girl, and alongside her gang of gals with equally silly names (including Coriander, a spice I would never have guess could be a name), is living it up as part of the wealthy elite of NYC. That is, until her grandma, the matriarch of the family hotel business, is found murdered in her apartment. With no warning, Pom is left homeless, jobless, and broke- and with essentially no skills to fix her circumstances.

Our gal is sweet but kind of clueless, well intentioned but unaware, and resilient even if she doesn’t want to be. Pomona’s skills of charming people, pushing herself to improve, and committing to the bit make her a fun character to spend a few hours of reading with!

The murder mystery aspect feels very OMITB, and Pom is a fan of a true crime podcast in the same vein as the show which was a nice touch! I was able correct from my earliest guess (go me!!), but unraveling everything was a fun experience!

Thanks so much to Bellamy Rose and NetGalley for a chance to read this in exchange for an honest review.

Pomona Afton is one of those fallen-from-grace society elites that has an endearing personality along with her reality check. This book was fun and Pom had no shortage of witty one-liners in her inner dialogue. If you're looking for an elaborate mystery, this may not be for you, but it is a fun story of a young woman who's had it all but suddenly has nothing. The mystery didn't have too much actual investigation and there didn't seem to be too much emotion in any aspect of the story, but it all worked together for an easy, light read that I'd recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley, Atria Books & Bellamy Rose for the chance to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

What a fun mystery debut for Bellamy Rose! Don't you just love a pen-name-pivot to a new genre?! I've read her work as Amanda Elliot so I am not surprised at all that I enjoyed this so much.

Anxious readers that stay away from mystery- this book will be very palatable for you. The stakes are low and I LOVED how a little romance was mixed in! It's very much giving Schitt's Creek plus Adult Gossip Girl and Pomona reminds me so much of our beloved Cher, from Clueless.

This was a fun murder mystery with a little romance mixed in. It definitely kept me hooked from the beginning. I loved the character growth that happened with Pomona. A quick and easy read!


Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed this cozy mystery. Although intended to be a bit of a caricature, Pomona was multi-dimensional and likeable. The amount of romance was just right and added to the story. I look forward to future books by the author.

3.75/5 rounded up

Thank you Atria/Emily Bestler Books for the advanced reading copy!

I really enjoyed this book! Expected a cozy mystery and definitely got some of thurs vibes, plus some romance and a coming of age story!!

Pomona could have easily been an insufferable main character — spoiled and ignorant and conceited. However, I really loved her. While she did definitely have some flaws, she grew so much throughout the book and had more insight than I would have expected from this character.

Gabe was so sweet and a great counter to Pomona’s chaos. He was steady and supportive and their dynamic was so cute!

The mystery itself was intriguing, too! I really wasn’t sure where things were going and the author did a great job of creating red herrings that were believable enough to add some twists and turns throughout. This one might not totally blow your mind but I do think most readers will be surprised by the way things turned out!

Overall had lots of fun with this one and kinda got the vibe they’re setting up for a sequel/series?! I would definitely be down for that!

This was my first time reading Bellamy Rose. It was relatively well written, and the book was an easy read. The plot was never too "graphic" and was a simply sweet ending. The "Heiress/Social Media Queen" plot didn't really resonate with me. Would recommend for a light read with nothing too intense.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this story and give my unbiased opinion.

Schitt’s Creek is 100% my comfort sitcom, so when I saw a new mystery novel centered on a spoiled heiress who must solve her grandmother’s death to gain back her trust fund, I was all in!

Pomona Afton finds herself evicted, credit cards, frozen, and nowhere to go after her grandmother’s murder freezes the family assets until the crime is solved. She is rescued by her former nanny’s son, Gabe, who needs a roommate in his tiny apartment and who offers Pomona a barista at the local coffee shop he manages. She convinces him to assist her in solving the murder so she can get back her life and get out of his hair ASAP!

I adored Pomona’s ‘fish out of water’ experience as she rides the subway, works for tips with disgruntled customers, and is forced to cook her own food. The plot is also packed with plenty of rich people behaving badly, back-stabbing, drama, and twists! The more time Pomona and Gabe spend together however, their chemistry escalates to something they both must determine if it is ‘real’ or could be something worth pursuing.

With a great balance of humor and heart, tons of character growth, and a satisfying reveal, I had a great time with this story. My only complaint is that is read more YA or NA to me, as Ponoma had a naivety that made her act younger than other mid-20 something characters.

Thank you to Atria books for my gifted digital ARC and finished copy in exchange for my honest review!

This book is about a spoiled heiress getting a reality check when her grandma is murdered and she's disinherited from the family. Unless.... she can find the murderer before the deadline and her money is permanently gone.

This was a really interesting premise that I enjoyed reading. Very short and sweet book. Pomona was a little annoying but that was how she was designed and it was nice to see her character develop throughout the book as she realizes how much work it actually is to survive in NYC. The murder investigation also felt very straightforward as we were led through the story. 3.75/5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.

A fun, lighthearted murder mystery!

I really enjoyed this, it had everything I like in a story: murder, amateur sleuthing, romance, a cute cat, and a nice helping of self discovery and finding some self-confidence.

When her grandmother, matriarch of the family (and the family's lavish hotel chain) is murdered and Pomona is thrown out into the real world with almost nothing to her name, she has to scramble - for a roof over her head, to get her first job, to figure out if she's actually even good at anything (her family would say no). Despite growing up spoiled materially, Pomona Afton doesn't have much love or support in her life. But during the journey of trying to solve her grandmother's murder, she finds support, she finds love, and she finds out that she might be good at much more that she gives herself credit for.

Yes, the 'heiress who gets suddenly stripped of everything and has to start over' trop is a touch overused (personally its not a favorite of mine); but this book used it pretty well. Pomona has moments of realization about how privileged her life really was, but we thankfully aren't beaten over the head with it too much.

The romance with Gabe was straightforward and cute, and I really appreciated that they didn't let their arguments drag on - they both confronted their issues pretty immediately.

As for the mystery of it all, it was solid, with a couple of red herrings thrown in here and there and a pretty believable villian/motive - and a real unique murder weapon. It didn't feel like a brain burner - longtime mystery readers will probably pick up on who did it real quick, but the journey of investigating the murder felt almost more fun than the actual solving of it.

Highly reccomend for fans of Only Murders in the Buildings, or for someone looking for a less spicy version of It Happened One Summer by Tessa Bailey (with murder).

I really like stories with a murder mystery or romantic suspense, but I don’t know many and need to read more. So, when I heard that Pomona Afton Can So Solve a Murder by Bellamy Rose is a rom-com meets murder mystery, I had to read it.
 
The story is about Pomona who comes from the prestigious Afton family. The family business is all about hotels and even though Pomona tries, she doesn’t really fit into that and is rather the wild party child. Pomona had a great character development, and she went from being a spoiled, naive, and privileged heiress to being a sympathetic woman with a good heart.
 
Everything changes when Pomona‘s grandmother is murdered and every trust fund is locked down. This provides a unique opportunity for her, and she must face the real world. By her side is the son of her childhood nanny and Gabe is such a sweetheart. He manages a coffee shop and is studying to become a teacher and he has a heart of gold. It was also so wholesome to see them being roommates and living together with a cute cat. They became a perfect team and I loved how they started working together on solving the murder mystery. They are so cute together and I loved the dash of romance in this book.
 
There are family secrets and drama, and it was really entertaining. It definitely had Only Murders in the Building vibes. Even though I had a suspicion from the start that later on turned out to be correct, I still liked following along the story in narrowing down suspects and uncovering some truths. Ultimately the family gets closer together after this tragedy and I really liked that.
 
Even though this is not my typical read, I was invested in the plot, and it surprised me in a good way, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. 4 stars.
 
(Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an arc.)

This is such a fun cozy mystery, with a bit of romance thrown in. A spoiled socialite is forced to grow up after her grandmother is murdered and the only way she can get her old life (and money) back is to solve who murdered her. Along the way she learns what actually gives her life meaning and what makes her happy. It was engaging with some twists and moved at a quick pace.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for providing the ARC for my honest review!

Pomona Afron is your typical hotel heiress socialite with everything available at the stap of a finger and not a worry in the world until her grandmother is murdered and she is left with nothing until her murder is solved!

This was such a fun popcorn mystery type read. Pomona was a hard sale at first, but throughout the book she redeems herself by becoming more relatable. That forced proximity romance always gets to me in the best way possible. The fun banter between her and Gabe will put a smile on your face. Pomona's self discovery was so heartwarming to watch especially seeing how her family treated her like she couldn't do or become anything. She was capable of a lot more then she realized, which was one of my favorite parts about her journey.

It was easy to figure out who the killer ended up being, but there were times that I questioned myself. Some parts were a bit repetitive, but overall the story did flow nicely.

I overall enjoyed this book and lot! If you like murder mysteries and a character like London Tipton from Suite Life you will definitely enjoy this book!

Cute, cozy murder mystery

Think London Tipton solving a murder to gain access to her inheritance again

Read this in one sitting

Rags to riches and a murder mystery? What more could you ask for. Romance? Oh yeah, there's that too!

Pomona Afton is an heiress who is used to having everything and never having to work a day in her life. But when that is all abruptly ripped away from her, she is left homeless with no friends and no money! Luckily, her former nanny suggests she lives with her son Gabe. Moving in with Gabe seems like a bad idea, he is somewhat hostile towards her and she doesn't understand why. They come to a mutual agreement - he helps her find the murderer and gives her a job in order to get her out of his apartment. Once that's settled, she sets about with a plan to solve her grandmothers murder in order to get her life back! Feeling underestimated by those in her life, it further pushes her to try new things (baking) and getting better at her job. Her investigation leads her to those nearest and dearest to her family, but who could've possibly done it? If it turns out to be someone in her family, does she really want to know who did it? Is Gabe becoming a true friend and possibly more as time goes on?

This book was like Schitts Creek and gossip girl with Knives Out all rolled together. At first I was annoyed with spoiled Pomona but she redeemed herself in the end. I really enjoyed reading this book. It was a fun escape from reality.