As a longtime Golden Girl's stan I nearly broke my finger requesting this book and it didn't disappoint. The writing is fresh but the girl's are still recognizably the legends we've all grown to love. The mystery was interesting and fast paced enough to keep my interest. This is a must read for all GG fans!

I think the wonky formatting on the ARC made me read this slower than I would have liked. I tried my best to not factor that into my review.

This was a cute book. The plot was drawn out more than it needed to be and I got sick of the St Olaf random wedding customs, but it felt like a warm hug. The Golden Girls felt very true to character and their dynamic was a lot of fun. Despite my couple complaints about the plot it was still a lot of fun. It had a few fun twists and turns and I enjoy how it all wrapped up. Will definitely read more if this becomes a series.

This is a fun one...definitely for fans of The Golden Girls (obviously) and Jesse Q Sutanto's Four Aunties series. The book follows the four main protagonists of The Golden Girls--Rose, Dorothy, Blanche and Sophia--as they discover a dead body in the freezer of the venue where Rose's family member is getting married, Rose is trying her hardest to have a by the book St. Olaf wedding but of course things go haywire when the man Dorothy goes on one date with and invites to the wedding to be her plus-one is the dead man in the freezer. Hilarity ensues in the most Golden Girls way possible and the author did a great job of capturing the tone and voice of the four main characters. It felt like I was watching an un-produced/lost episode of the Golden Girls. There was a LOT of St. Olaf talk which somewhat took me out of the story from time to time, but not enough to make a larger more negative impression. I would recommend this book and look forward to more in the series.

I’m a huge fan of The Golden Girls and of cozy mysteries, so when I saw that this series was coming out, I was super excited (and maybe a little wary?). Having just finished; I can definitely say: Rachel Ekstrom Courage has done an fantastic job.
Now, the mystery itself is a good one, and the story is full of quirks and hijinks, but I think most potential reader are going to be most interested in how the ‘Golden Girls’ aspect of this Golden Girls Mystery plays out.
In my opinion, reading MURDER BY CHEESECAKE felt almost exactly like watching an episode of the TV show, just with a little more action – the sort of story that just wouldn’t be feasible on the shows budget. Courage does a really wonderful job of painting the girls, not just the easy-to-hit trademark catchphrases, but the speech patterns and attitudes, as well as the body language of the original actresses. I really think she had a great handle on the inner workings of each characters too, of the complex personalities they developed over the full run of the show, rather than simply relying of a snapshot/ archetype for each girl. For instance, it’s easy to make Blanche the flirty one, having hot flushes and eyeing up every eligible man – and that’s there! And it's a lot of fun – but we also see the insecurities that ballsy attitude sometimes covers; and the genuine, soft concern she feels for her friends.
Of the four girls, Dorothy and Rose are the main characters of this particular book: we spend the most time with them – as Rose problem-solves her niece's wedding, and Dorothy tries to clear her own name – and they do feel the most developed. Blanche and Sophia feature less but still feel very true to themselves. I imagine that as the series continues, we’ll see the girls take turns in the spotlight.
A great new avenue in The Golden Girls' world, and a fun cozy mystery. I really enjoyed all Rose’s St Olaf shenanigans, Dorothy’s dating drama, and Blanche and Sophia’s snappy comebacks. I’m really excited to watch this series as it develops.

This is a review of an ARC I received from the publisher via NetGalley. Thank you!

So, when I saw there was a new cozy mystery series about the Golden Girls, I knew I had to read. Good, bad, or indifferent, I had to! So I was thrilled when I received the ARC. And while I definitely have a lot of mixed feelings about the quality of this book, I came away feeling overall pretty positively about it!

Let’s start with the good: this book is FUNNY. To me, the most important quality this book needed was for the girls to feel like the girls, and for the most part, they do. I could easily picture the characters I know from endless reruns, Rose’s bewildering anecdotes, Blanche’s horny little daydreams, Sophia’s absolutely lethal comebacks—the dialogue is excellent. There are so many jokes and most of them land, with impeccable comic timing. I was utterly delighted.

Also, while she’s only around for a few pages, there’s a dog in this.

And onto the bad: the second half of this book was much better than the first but both had some problems. First of all, the prose, especially at the beginning, is rough. Too many words—so many unnecessary adverbs and redundant words and phrases, and it really destroys the flow of the otherwise excellent banter. It gets better over the course of the book, though.

The pacing is all over the place. The body isn’t found until almost a third of the way in and then nothing much else happens with the case until the halfway mark. The St. Olaf stuff is pretty funny (the entire scene at the end had me giggling) but in that section there was just toooooo much of it. It really dragged and to be honest, I considered DNFing. I’m glad I didn’t, but it was a near thing!

Towards the end, there are a lot of little conveniences that smooth over several conflicts that had been present throughout the story. A lot of the tension that wasn’t directly related to the crime ending up being for nothing.

And that climactic confrontation happened so fast! Blink and you miss it. To make this a bit of a compliment sandwich, though, this sort of scene is so bog standard for the genre and a lot of times it feels forced and kind of goofy. In this case I actually bought it, and the somewhat cartoonish villainy of the bad guy worked with the overall tone and style of the book.

Also, this book made me want cheesecake so bad and I have none and that’s criminal. No a recipe is not enough (though it was a nice touch).

Finally, the indifferent, or at least the neutral: kind of disappointing only Rose and Dorothy got POVs, but as this is meant to be the first book in a series I gather the girls will alternate who’s in the spotlight from mystery to mystery.

I really think I will continue in this series. Despite its flaws there was enough that was just so good and that keeps me from walking away.

3.5/5

I've binged watched almost every episode of the Golden Girls. It was one of the best shows made and to read them in a book solving a mystery was just as amazing. I love these characters. Highly Recommend if you want a good time and a good laugh!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I am a huge fan of the Golden Girls, having seen the show hundreds of times, and even have pictures and magnets of the girls hanging up in my home. They are important characters to me so of course I was excited to read this!

What I think the author did super well was capturing Sophia and Rose’s personalities for the most part. A couple lines felt too modern, or too sweet, but they felt really on par and with those two I could hear them in Estelle Getty and Betty White’s voices so often. It choked me up a little in the beginning when I first could hear the lines as if Sophia was speaking out loud. The Sophia scenes brought a lot of levity to the story, as she does in the show, so of course I enjoyed any moment she was in. Particularly when we see Sophia with a doggy door. (You’ll have to read to see what that’s about).
I do feel that the author wasn’t as successful capturing Blanche and Dorothy. Truthfully, Blanche didn’t play any major role in the book as this centered around Rose’s cousin’s wedding and Dorothy’s disasterous date, and how that impacts Sophia too as her mother. Blanche is around a lot for the ride but isn’t moving the plot much. I felt like there were moments where Blanche would have said something more salacious and it didn’t. Towards the end of the book I do think this got better and she felt more authentic. Now, with Dorothy, I felt she was the most off. Which really can hinder the story as a lot of us Golden Girls fans do see Dorothy as the heart of the show. She has a dry sense of humor, and constant wise cracks. I feel like a lot of things she thought and said weren’t as true to character. I definitely think she would have jested more with Rose, instead of being so sweet and understanding. She is very no nonsense and Rose definitely brings the nonsense here with the St Olaf traditions. Some moments did feel like Dorothy but I was a little disappointed that she didn’t feel as much like Bea Arthur’s portrayal. Which is a little disappointing with Dorothy as my favorite character.

As for the plot, I do think there was too much wedding and not enough detective work. I wish they had been more intertwined, like when they were at Coconuts. That was super interesting and meshed the two so well. It also would have been nice to tie more loose ends together, such as the Bryants getting along with the St Olafians. It seemed like at the end this was all brushed under the rug when it was setting up to play a larger part in the plot.

All in all, I think this is a huge element to tackle, and I do think the author is ultimately successful. This did seem like a Golden Girls adventure and I loved getting so many callbacks to the show. In essence, the author did capture the energy and vibe of such a beloved show with beloved and talented women. And did so in a way that felt true to form without going overboard on elements that didn’t age well. The show was progressive but that doesn’t mean it was always right by today’s standards. It teetered that line like the show did which I appreciated, and celebrated a lot of things that are so important in modern times, like lgbtq+ rights and diverse cultures.

I will be recommending, and I am excited for more!

This book brought me right back to the Golden Girls episodes I have watched repeatedly! The dialogue was perfect and true to character. The book itself seemed to move a bit slowly as I’m used to 30 minute sitcom Golden Girls episodes. I would have liked for it to be a bit faster pace.

When I read the blurb on this book I knew I wanted to read it. I remember The Golden Girls television series during the eighties. Well this cozy mystery author uses the Golden Girls characters as slueths to dig up clues and find out who the whodunnit is. The author did a fantastic job of bringing the girls back to life in this cute, sometimes silly cozy mystery. Because I watched the show I didn’t have to imagine what Rose, Blanche, Dorothy and Sophia looked like. This book was humorous, unpredictable and as the ending drew closer it was action packed and edge of seat reading. I wasn’t sure what to expect from this book. I knew I enjoyed the Golden Girls tv show but I wasn’t sure that the author of this book would be able to capture the likeness of the girls on the show with the characters in the book but she did not disappoint. I thought it was a good mystery and if there is a second book I want to read it too.
I recommend Murder by Cheesecake to all readers of Cozy Mystery. This is the first book of a new series. The book is scheduled to be released on 4/15/25.
I voluntarily read an advanced readers copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions expressed here in this review are solely my own.
#MurderbyCheesecake #NetGalley

I absolutely loved it and cannot wait for future releases! I've been a fan of the girls since I was younger and this definitely scratched an itch I did not know I desperately needed scratching lol this book gave "The Case of the Libertine Belle" (one of my favorite Golden Girls episode) vibes.

I absolutely adored this book. I’m a huge golden girls fan and have watched all the seasons many times over. This book was like a slice of nostalgia for a show that I hold dear to my heart. I think it was the perfect cozy mystery.

This was exactly like watching a comforting, funny, glorious episode of The Golden Girls that we all know and love- with a crime in the mix!! This was so fun, cozy, and silly- what we all know to love about our ladies! I’m so thankful for a chance to review this neat arc and see where this goes next ! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing an arc in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you to NetGalley and Hyperion Ave for this advanced reader copy!

I will be honest- I have seen some Golden Girls episodes, but not all. I do like the show and its brand of humor, which drew me to this book. That being said, I enjoyed this book! It’s a very cozy murder mystery with lots of quips from the four famous friends. I loved all the weird wedding traditions Rose insisted that Nettie’s wedding should have, and the other side of the plot with murder investigation of Dorothy’s mysterious date was definitely a twisty mystery. I would definitely consider reading another GG themed book from Rachel Ekstrom Courage in the future!

DNF at 30%. This book was really hard to get into & I felt the writing wasn’t that great either.
Everything felt so random & kind gave me YA vibes.

I was really looking forward to this book/ series. But it may not be for me.

Absolutely loved this! I was so lucky to be chose to read this DRC of the book and review it. It was one of my must haves. I'm a big lover of all things The Golden Girls. I've watched the show in full so many times. So when I saw that this book was coming out I was super stoked to read it. I loved the spin on an all time classic! Plus I love me a good mystery. This book will have you laughing, and wondering what's going to happen next! I would definitely recommend this book. I can't wait to see what's in store for the classic four ladies next!

This book transports us back to the Golden Girls era. It brought me back to when I used to watch the episodes and could hear their voices and banter as I read.
The girls prepare to host a wedding but as those festivities commence they stumble upon a murder!
This book was fun to read, and I wanted to see where it was going.
It reads like a cozy mystery novel although some parts seemed forced with all the quips added but I grew to like them.
I would recommend it as a fan and someone who would like a quick read.
This book is good for those who like the Golden Girls and want some nostalgia!

Thank you NetGalley and Hyperion Avenue for the ARC in exchange for my honest review

as a huge golden girls fan i was so excited to receive this arc from NetGalley. This is written like an episode where if you close your eyes you can hear the girls voices. This was a cozy mystery with so much laughter and banter...I truly enjoyed this arc and cant wait for more mysteries for the girls to solve.

Exactly what I expected…a silly mystery told in true Golden Girls fashion. There were lots of St.Olaf stories from Rose, attempted romance from Blanche, quips from Dorothy and put downs from Sophia. In the end they always have each other’s back and treasure their friendship.
The mystery was fairly easy to guess for me. I didn’t read this expecting it to be more than silliness and the ladies getting into some trouble.

The story was very cute and nostalgic. It did feel pretty slow at times, and I would’ve loved to have had more mystery/thriller elements to it. But really loved seeing the Golden Girls together once again!

Thank you, NetGalley and Hyperion Avenue, for the ARC!

Genre: Cozy mystery

Realse date: Apri 15th 2025

Rose decides to put on a wedding for her cousin Nettie, causing Dorothy to search for a date. After connecting with the ideal man through a VHS dating service, Dorothy decides to have a lunch date where she realizes he might not be worth her time. While at the first of many wedding events, the girls find Dorothy's past date dead in the freezer.

Let me start off by saying I love the Golden Girls and was running to read this arc! The majority of the book revolves around the wedding and all the many St. Olaf traditions. So much so that the mystery element almost felt forgotten at times. If you're picking up this book for a cozy mystery, I think you'll be disappointed. I'm giving this book a four-star rating just for my enjoyment of hanging out with the girls. I would honestly give the mystery a two-star. The mystery didn't really go anywhere until close to the end, where the solution was quickly unraveled. I would definitely read the next one in the series to see if it's more mystery-focused. If you love the Golden Girls, you should give it a shot!