
Member Reviews

Pomona Afton's family owns luxury hotels—or rather, her grandmother does. Pomona, her parents, brother, and grandmother all live in apartments in their Upper East Side hotel. Pomona embodies the stereotypical spoiled young woman until her world shatters when her grandmother is murdered after a gala.
Her grandmother was no sweet elderly woman but a cunning, greedy business maven who had a surprise in her will: in the event of her untimely death, all assets would be frozen and the family evicted from the hotel. Pomona's parents flee to friends in The Hamptons and her brother moves in with his girlfriend, leaving Pomona alone with nowhere to go. Now "poor," her friends abandon her, and she calls the only person she could ever truly depend on—her childhood nanny.
The former nanny convinces her son, Gabe, to take Pomona in as a roommate. Lost without money or skills, Pomona decides her only path forward is to solve her grandmother's murder, and she persuades Gabe to help. Though irritated by Pomona, Gabe needs the murder solved too so his mother will receive her retirement from her years with the Aftons.
As Gabe watches Pomona begin to stand on her own and they play detective together, friendship and attraction grow between them. But what happens if they solve the murder and Pomona regains her privileged life?
Initially, Pomona's behavior is ridiculous and selfish, but as she faces challenges and experiences personal growth, I found myself rooting for her. This book captivated me as characters revealed their layers and inner motivations. This was my first novel by Bellamy Rose, but I look forward to reading more.
Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for an advanced copy of "Pomona Afton Can So Solve A Murder" by Bellamy Rose. The opinions are my own.

I loved the premise of this book, but the main character just never grabbed my attention and I kept waiting to like her. I eventually just lost interest, unfortunately!

The Simple Life meets Only Murderers in the building
I truly loved how this story followed Pomona’s fall from grace and process to rebuilding her life. I only wish we got to see a little more of her relationship with Gabe.
Obsessed with this book and would really like a slice of Pom’s leek babka right now…

This was such a fun little cozy mystery. I needed a break after reading some heavy books recently, and jumping into this was just what I needed! Of course, at first, Pom is entitled and bratty, and honestly, I really didn't like her! But that is definitely the point. 😉
I enjoyed seeing how things changed in all of the different friendships and relationships Pom had throughout the story. You get to see who her real friends are, and it was really cool to see her evolution and development throughout.
I enjoyed this and can't definitely see myself reading another one of these books in the future!

Ok this was such a fun read Definitely one of my favorites this month! I had seen reviews saying it's like Alexis from Schitts Creek solving a murder mystery, spot on! I loved all the characters, the way Pomona handled everything, and the way the story kept me guessing the whole time! And for a murder mystery, the writing and dialogue were so clever and funny too!! This opened me up to a whole new genre, can't wait to read more mysteries that have an awesome sense of humor! Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this eARC!

If you need a quick, fun and light read- Pomona Afton Can So Solve a Murder is the book to pick up!
It’s very entertaining and kept me guessing along the way. It was definitely a bit silly and over the top but I don’t mind that with books like this that I expect it from.
Pomona was a little annoying at first but she grew on me as she grew and learned. It was a little cheesy at times but still a pretty cute book. I didn’t guess the murderer but it didn’t feel totally out of left field either. It seemed like the cops weren’t even investigating somehow and I’m not sure how they missed all the clues but maybe Pomona was just that good!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc

I was so excited about the premise of this book!
I expected a cozy mystery with lots of ridiculous hijinks, but what I got was a very unlikable & entitled heiress who suddenly becomes a baking prodigy after watching a single YouTube video. No part of me was rooting for her & I didn’t care about a single one of these vapid characters.
Pomona Afton Can SO Just Go Away
Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to the publisher for the eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.
Pomona is rich, well her family is, so she has a trust fund and lives in her own unit of her the family floor of their Manhattan hotel. Her life is about attending galas and partying and not much else. Until the day her grandma is murdered and all funds have been frozen until the murder is solved.
Pomona lives on the couch of her brothers girlfriend for a few days then moves into the apartment of her former nanny's son Gabe. While living with Gabe Pomona discovers her love her baking and realizes that she is actually a good baker while she is living with Gabe. She also realizes how hard working actually is and decides with Gabe's help to investigate the murder of her grandma. She knows the murderer has to be someone close to or in the family and the police have no leads. Can Pomona After solve the murder??
I enjoyed this book. It was an entertaining read. I'll be reading more from the author.

This book is such perfection! Sophie Kinsella meets Crazy Rich Asians meets Finlay Donavan. Such a cute and cozy read, especially considering its about solving a murder!
Pomona is beyond rich and never had to worry about anything, besides what she's going to wear to her grandmother's next gala. She's never been looked at as overly smart, but that's okay, because she's just having fun. She has accepted her role within the family. All of that comes to a screeching halt when her grandmother is discovered dead. Not just normal died of old age, but brutally murdered!
Pomona is determined to find the murderer, or she will lose her fortune and have to live like all the boring poor people. As she is forced to temporarily join the normal world, she is disgusted and shocked at so many things, but also discovers passions she never knew she had before.
I really enjoyed this book. The storytelling flowed so well, and the characters were perfect, so easy to follow and like/hate! I easily read this book in just a weekend!!
this book is OUT NOW, add it to your TBR asap!!
Thank you NetGalley for this ARC, all opinions are my own

Paloma Afton is basically what would happen if Alexis Rose from Schitt’s Creek decided to become a detective—charming, a little chaotic, and way sharper than people give her credit for. She’s got great one-liners, and absolutely zero chill when it comes to solving a murder.
This book is such a fun ride—equal parts twisty mystery and laugh-out-loud humor, with a heroine who refuses to be underestimated. If you love Only Murders in the Building-style amateur sleuthing with a side of sass, Paloma Afton Can So Solve a Murder is definitely worth picking up.
My only slight criticism, and maybe this was my own fault, was that I anticipated this book being much more of a “romance” story than a “women’s fiction” story. I tend to prefer romance, but I still really enjoyed this one!

Thank you Bellamy Rose, Atria Books, and NetGalley for the e-arc of Pomona Afton Can So Solve a Murder! It was a fun blend of London Tipton vibes and amateur sleuthing.
Pomona Afton is the typical hotel heiress — sleeping and branching during the day and going to galas and nightclubs after dark. She’s never had to think about money, cooking, or where she would sleep at night.
All of that changes in a blink when her grandmother, the matriarch of Afton hotels) is murdered. Due to a change in her will, if her death is ruled as suspicious, her remaining family would lose their inheritance and their homes in the hotel. That leaves Pomona with no where to go, except to a small apartment and her new roommate, Gabe— who so happens to be the son of Pomona’s childhood nanny.
While no one else in her family seems to care, Pomona and Gabe team together to try to solve the murder. Pomona learns a lot about herself, like how she’s not actually an airhead heiress, like her family sees her. The longer her and Gabe work together, the closer they get to one another. But as they seem to hit dead end after dead end, Pomona isn’t sure the murder can be solved before her inheritance is taken away for good. Although she wants to solve her grandmother’s murder, she also comes to realize that maybe money isn’t everything.
I really really enjoyed this book! Although there’s not a lot of romance in this book, I would still consider it closed door. The romance aspects are more Pomona and Gabe flirting and realizing they like each other than anything more than that.
I enjoyed the sleuthing and was trying to see if I could solve the murder before Pomona (I had a lot of wrong guesses).
All in all this is a good book if you want a little bit of murder mystery, but would rather pair it with romance than thriller!
4/5 stars
🫑 spice (closed door)

This book is a genre bender- blurring the lines of cozy mystery and romcom. It felt more the latter to me, personally. Pomona is an out of touch heiress who stumbles her way through “real life” incidents, all while trying to solve her grandmother’s murder in order to reclaim her inheritance. She is helped by a hunky guy who has WAY more patience than anyone would. It’s overall a quick read, but relatively predictable. A vacation read for sure. 3 ⭐️
Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this arc!

This was a fun murder mystery set in the rich world of an heiress trying to regain her trust. Pamona is a little clueless and out of touch but quickly became a charming character to root for!

Thank you to Atria Books for the advance reader copy and to Simon Audio for the complimentary audiobook. These opinions are my own.
This was a quick and comedic murder mystery. Pomona Afton is a wealthy socialite who lives in a suite in her family's hotel. That's true right up until her grandmother is killed, and she and all of her family are disinherited due to a clause in her grandmother's will about unnatural death.
I enjoyed seeing Pomona learn about living in the real world and having to take responsibility. And I found her way of trying to solve the mystery incredibly amusing. She gains a great sidekick and some good friends, as she goes. Even more than the mystery, for me this book was all about a great character arc.
Bellamy Rose narrated beautifully. I think her voicing of Pomona is a big reason why I liked her and related to her from the start despite not always appreciating rich, out of touch characters. I definitely recommend the audio format for this book.

This was a fun romcom/murder mystery and a very easy read. I did laugh at parts and it did give a few good twists!

Pomona Afton Can So Solve a Murder is oozing Schitt’s Creek vibes. With a little Knives Out action mixed ins The plot is that when the matriarch of a wealthy hotelier family is murdered, the rest is the family gets totally cut off unless they can solve the murder. And Pomona, a socialite influencer, steps up to figure it out and get her life back. This book had me cackling. Pom was Alexis Rose. It was silly and snarky with a sweet romance. And all the messaging that money isn’t the most important thing. Just one of those charming, cute books that exudes happiness.

Thank you Atria Books for my gifted copy. All opinions are my own.
I’m a week behind pub day, but if you’re looking for a fun distraction I recommend Pomona Afton Can So Solve a Murder! This was such a fun read! I binged this in under a day! Also, if you like audiobooks, Jennifer Jill Araya’s narration was fantastic!
Pomona’s life is turned upside down when her grandmother is murdered and her trust fund is frozen. She ends up teaming up with her former Nanny’s son Gabe to solve her grandmother’s murder. She started off wanting her life back but ends up growing so much in the process. This is perfect if you like the Finlay Donovan series or the Tita Rosie’s kitchen series!

This book was SUCH a fun read. Outside of the mystery, Pomona’s character growth was excellent- I love how she took the initiative to navigate her new life as best she could. But in terms of the mystery, I think it was very well done. It was filled with red herrings and the ultimate twist was shocking! I like twists to be probable but not predictable, and this was definitely that.

3.75 rounded up
What a delightful, cozy mystery this was! Pom Afton is a hotel heiress whose family is stripped of their fortune when Pom's grandmother, the matriarch of the family, is murdered. In order to get her family's money unfrozen, her grandmother's killer must be found. So we go on a journey with Pom, a journey to discover her grandmother's killer and a journey to find her worth outside of her family's money.
I loved watching Pom grow throughout this novel! She learns who she is and finds value in herself, but she is able to do this without giving up her whole personality. A woman can have expensive taste and still be a good person 😋 This kind of development in a character like this is tricky, in my opinion, but Bellamy did it so well!
This book sneakily talked about some great topics like friendship, what it means to be family, and a person's value in the world, but all of it without breaking the lighter tone of a cozy mystery. It all fit in nicely with the plot and Pom's growth without feeling like a side conversation just to make a point. It served the characters rather than acting as preaching points.
There is also a touch of romance in this book, too, and we all know how much I love that! It was a sweet, slow burn romance that didn't overshadow the primary mystery plot. The arc of the romance made complete sense and didn't feel rushed. It was perfectly done!
At times, I struggled to grasp the passage of time in the story. Had a week passed, or just a day, that kind of thing, but it didn't hinder my reading too much. The mystery itself was a bit slow at times (a lot of talking versus action), and I had predicted the ending, but it was still a very enjoyable read! The writing was well done, and Pom's voice was clear and distinct throughout the whole book, and I loved that! I would not hate seeing another Pomona Afton mystery!

I loved everything about this! Sure, of course, you’re supposed to hate Pomona a little in the beginning -she’s the quintessential spoiled, rich girl – but as the book goes on, you learn to appreciate her and root for her as she finds her footing and her place in the world without the fortune. I enjoyed how she quickly, but grudgingly, found a way to support herself and worked to find out what happened to her grandmother, even if she didn’t really like her (or any of her family, it seems). She’s fun, creative, and willing to prove everyone wrong about her. This was perfect the way it was but I wouldn’t be sad if it was a series…