Romance, mystery and pastries is such a good combination! It was an easy read and perfect for a cosy weekend read.

When Claire Walker signs up for Britain’s Battle of the Bakers, she gets more than she bargained for. One of her fellow bakers is dead, it mirrors an unsolved mystery on the estate, and the inspector has been told to stay out of it. He tasks Claire Walker and the estate owner, Jonathan Ainsley with the task of investigating what he cannot.

The setting made me feel like I was going back in time, when it was really just a jaunt across the pond. I loved the mystery and the romance. Since the cover has “A Claire Walker Mystery” on it, I hope that means we’ll be seeing more of this dynamic duo. Well done!

Claire finally has the chance to show off her baking skills on Britain’s Battle of the Bakers! This season is full of surprises as filming takes place on actual castle grounds that is still home to a Viscount! Soon after filming begins there is a murder that strangely resembles a pervious murder that occurred on the property 200 years ago!
With the help of Viscount Johnathon, Claire and the local magistrate work together to uncover what is brewing on set. Along the way, romance may be brewing as well.

I enjoyed reading this mild mystery/romance book. If you are looking for ghosts, a solvable mystery through hidden clues and lots of twists- this is not the book for you. However, if you are looking for a nice, romance with a sprinkle of mystery and action that will make you hungry to taste all the baked goods- this is the prefect book for you!

This is a very light cozy that actually reminded me a lot of a series I binged last year called The Great Witches Baking Show or something like that. I found this one a bit twee but still an entertaining afternoon of reading.

THE CRIME BRULEE BAKE OFF • Rebecca Connolly • Pub Date: February 4, 2025 • 3.5 stars (rounded up)

"I will bake like my life depends on it," Claire vowed with a smile. Then the smile faded, and she looked into the now mostly empty pavilion. "After all, it just might."

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for an eARC. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Abridged Synopsis: When Claire Walker is selected to be a contestant on the immensely popular cooking show, Britian’s Battle of the Bakers, she is thrilled. However, the Viscount of the estate where the show is being hosted, Jonathan Ainsley, is less than pleased. With his family’s income dwindling, he reluctantly agrees to host the production team, but he refuses to participate. But when a contestant is found dead soon after filming begins, Jonathan is forced to get involved, as the baker’s death is eerily similar to the death of the tenth Viscountess of Colburn two hundred and fifty years earlier. As suspicion falls on some of the bakers, a decidedly different kind of heat begins to simmer between Claire and Jonathan. If they are to have any hope of a future romance though, they must first solve the mystery before the show gets canceled or someone else falls prey to the Blackfirth Park ghost.

A cozy murder mystery that takes inspiration from one of my favorite TV shows (The Great British Baking Show)!? Count me in! This book is best described as "wholesome." It includes the perfect mix of atmosphere, bakes, and mystery. Claire is corny in the most endearing way, and Jonny is every bit the (reformed) grump that readers want to read about in a grumpy x sunshine trope. The only thing I was missing was an added layer of complexity to the murder mystery plot.

Suffice to say, this book was every bit a cute as the title. The book also includes a few recipes in tribute to the bakers, which was a lovely touch. I cannot wait to give one a try myself!

Posted on Goodreads on January 26, 2025: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7246497447
Posted on Instagram (@keentoread) on February 4, 2025: https://www.instagram.com/p/DFqUoDHyx_7/?img_index=1

The beginning of a new cozy mystery series set in England. Claire Walker is a teacher and amateur baker who is selected to compete on a cooking tv show. Something very similar to The Great British Bake Off. The setting for the show is Blackfirth Park, an estate owned by Jonathan Ainsley, Viscount of Colburn. Claire finds the body of one of the contestants. Does it tie in with the show or with a death on the estate a century before?

This is a cozy mystery not a suspense thriller. Claire joins with Jonathan bumbling in their way to figure out what happened. There are a few red herrings thrown into the mix. The mystery itself is fairly straightforward. I liked the setting as I’m a huge fan of the Bake Off show. The food descriptions are great and there are bonus recipes at the back of the book as well. For me the fun of a cozy mystery is the recurring characters. Claire and Jonathan are likable but they haven’t gripped me yet. There are a lot of food puns in the book. Claire uses them instead of expletives. It began as fun but in more serious moments it felt silly. ‘

I would gladly read the next book but can’t say yet if I’m interested in committing to a new mystery series. (3.5 Stars)

The Crime Brulee Bake Off is book #1 in the Claire Walker Mystery series by Rebecca Connolly.

I’m a fan of baking competitions so I was drawn to this book and I wasn’t disappointed. Wonderful characters, interesting premise, beautiful location, food, and a murder. What more could you want? I’m happy that this is the start of a new series as I want to see more of these characters. There are several recipes at the end so we can try baking ourselves.

Thank you to the author, Shadow Mountain Publishing, and NetGalley for the Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) copy of this book and I am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

The Crime Brûlée Bake Off (Claire Walker #1) by Rebecca Connolly, 320 pages. Shadow Mountain Publishing, 2025. $17.
Language: G (0 swears, 0 “f”); Mature Content: PG; Violence: PG
BUYING ADVISORY: HS, ADULT - ADVISABLE
APPEALS TO: SEVERAL
Claire is a teacher first and a hobbyist baker on the side—until she is accepted as a contestant on the upcoming season of Britain's Battle of the Bakers. Despite her anxiety over the competition aspect of the show, Claire goes. But she never expected the competition to turn deadly.
Though an average murder mystery, I enjoyed the characters and the baking competition aspects of the story. The murder itself was carried out in a brilliant way; however, I found the explanation in the end to be lacking, as if it was only half of the explanation. The suspicious activity mystery on the baking show side of things kept me engaged, and the romantic side plot was adorable. Overall, Claire’s story is fun and well-written.
All of the characters are British. The mature content rating is for alcohol use, illegal activity, and kissing. The violence rating is for corpses, assault, murder, and mentions of suicide.
Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen

Great mystery with romance. I liked the story being around a reality baking show. I enjoyed learning about the food and baking techniques in an earlier time period. Great banter and the food "cuss" words were awesome. Love that it includes recipes! Great read and I hope the series continues.

3.5 stars rounded up.

A lot has been happening in North America lately and this was a much needed lighthearted detour across the pond for me. The summary confused me a little bit because it says a "Regency-era twist" and for some reason I thought that meant it was a historical fiction book but it very much isn't and the regency part ties into the mystery. Looking at the tags for the book it is obviously not historical and I'm dumb, but this year has been a decade long so far and I'm blaming my lack of reading comprehension on that. I also very much would not consider this to be a thriller, it is firmly a cozy mystery.

I am so glad Claire said and thought something along the lines of "why the fluffy crumpets am I helping solve a murder" throughout the book because I was thinking the same thing. You do have to suspend disbelief to allow the main characters to become the pseudo detectives in a murder investigation when they are a wannabe baker and a viscount turned investment banker while the actual detective does almost nothing. If you can get over that hump and the insta-love that usually gets on my nerves this is a smooth and fun ride. The slow burn of both the mystery and the romance aspect of the novel made both of these issues much easier for me to swallow and I found both Claire and Jonny fun characters to spend some time with, although we don't learn too much about them because the third person POV changes chapter-to-chapter. Based on the series title it seems like this will be a series and I think this is a great introduction to Claire, Jonny, and the estate which provided a fun and interesting backdrop as well.
I also appreciate the recipes at the back, it's a cute touch.

I loved the great British baking show meets a Sherlock Holmes murder mystery! Such a fun idea! The baking puns are absolutely delightful! I think my only disappointment was the judging sessions were really fast or non-existent, but still an excellent book!

A cozy murder mystery featuring bakers on a tv show not unlike The Great British Bakeoff. Unfortunately, I feel like if you're going to base your entire plot, characters, etc. in England, you may want to have a better grasp of the culture. In other words, I can completely tell this was written by an American.
However, this may turn out to be a series so hopefully, the author will put forth a bit more effort into getting the Englishisms.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Shadow Mountain Press for this digital e-arc.*

What a fun book! I’m loving all the cozy, romance steered mysteries that have been hitting the market lately. If you like Stephanie Black’s mysteries, I highly recommend picking this one up!

This book is for you if you like:
🧁 UK setting
🧁 The Great British Bake-off
🧁 Mystery
🧁 Modern day English aristocracy
🧁 Yummy treats
🧁 The drama behind reality TV

Also the book has a few recipies at the end. I’m hoping to try the crème brûlée in a few weeks with my kids! Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the advance copy of this book. A review was not required.

This was definitely a cozy read and would suit a reader who just wishes to relax and/or is new to murder mysteries. The premise is a fun blend of cozy mystery and romance, but unfortunately I feel like it didn't deliver on either of those genres. The romance is very bland and barely there, and the murder mystery investigations are non-existent. Our main characters just walk around the estate talking about how they have no experience and no clue how to solve a murder, then things just conveniently happen, and then they carry on same as before. While this seems quite realistic, it doesn't make for an entertaining read. The "reveal" in the end felt completely unsatisfying to me, it was not expanded on or set up in any way, and the murderer's motivation was extremely shaky.
From the cover and marketing of the book, it seems like it's a crime novel first, and romance second, so it's disappointing that the novel doesn't deliver on either. If you read a lot of mystery, this story will not satisfy that particular itch.
The only positive and definitely strong part of this book was the descriptions of baking. In my case, however, it wasn't enough to redeem the story.

Cozy and fun read. I love a good competition food show to unwind at the end of the day.
The mystery was a fun element.
Was it the most lifechanging read? No, but I think that wasn't the point of the book.

I did enjoy the recipes at the end of the book!

Crime Brûlée Bake Off is the perfect combination of baking competition, mystery and romance. In the author’s first cozy mystery, we get a beautiful setting in England on an estate, which has a mysterious past death.
Claire Walker, teacher and lover of baking, can hardly believe she has made it on Britain’s Battle of the Bakers.
Jonathan Ainsley, viscount, cannot believe he agreed to host the baking show. He blames his sister.
One of the bakers winds up dead and Crime Brûlée Bake Off is what happens after.
Claire and Jonathan are a fun pair. Detective Watson has good intentions.
I really enjoyed reading this book and I highly recommend picking up a copy especially if you love baking shows and/or mysteries.
Thanks to Netgalley and Shadow Mountain Publishing for the opportunity to read this book.

3.5 stars. I stuck this out because I liked the characters. The selling point is really the baking competition setting and the banter/chemistry between the leads, much more than the mystery. I enjoyed it enough that I’d continue the series and just hope for a stronger plot.

I enjoyed this cozy, light-hearted mystery with a baking competition and a viscount and an estate and m u r d e r.

THOUGHTS 💭
🍰 Jonny is an upper-crust, contemporary lord; Claire is a shy school teacher-turned-baker and contestant on the baking show being hosted on his estate. I love how Jonny can’t help but be charmed by Claire’s awkward sweetness.
🍰 The GBB vibes were perfection! Reading this book was like getting a behind-the-scenes look into the show.
🍰 I really enjoyed the underlying mystery throughout this whole book! That being said, the local detective puts a lot on two laypeople to help solve a crime. 😅
🍰 The romantic focus was on the budding relationship between Jonny and Claire; it’s a sweet slow burn and you can’t help but root for them.

Thanks so much to Rebecca Connolly, Shadow Mountain Publishing, and Austenprose for the ARC of this book.

This book was a good combination of the things that I already love, cooking shows and murder mysteries. It was cute and cozy fun read.

Mystery and spice and everything nice! I picked up "The Crime Brulee Bake Off" by Rebecca Connolly mostly because The Great British Bake Off is one of my favourite TV shows, and overall I had a great time reading it.

Throughout the book, we follow Claire Wilde as she takes a leave of absence from her teaching job to take part in Britain's most famous baking competition. Her season takes place at an estate with a history of an unresolved murder. A person being found dead at the scen early on turns Claire's time at Blackfirth into something bigger than baking.

It was thouroughly an enjoyable read. Being my first cozy mystery, I did find some of the various people's reactions to events that transpired a bit subdued to how one might think you'd usually behave, but I assume it's a part of the subgenre. Although it was more cozy mystery than a crime with a romance subplot, I found the blossoming romance between Claire and John quite charming. The mystery aspect of it had me suspecting few different people, and at the end I started doubting myself even though the outcome seemed clear, so that was definitely a plus for me. And as a fan of the show parts of the story was based on, I had a fun time trying to match which characters in the book were based on actual people.

I'll be looking forward to reading more books from the series. This one does get a Hollywood handshake from me!

Thank you to NetGalley, Shadow Mountain Publishing and Rebecca Connolly for providing me with an ARC in exchange for a review.