Thank you for being a friend.... The cover is spot on. Loved the idea of giving the Golden Girls there own mystery. I love how the writer captured each of the women's personalities that we watched daily and didn't change it up. The story played out as if I were watching a GG TV movie. Literally pictured every word. The plot was good. The banter was fantastic. The ending wasn't what I expected but it worked. Overall I really enjoyed this book. Looking forward to more from this author.

Thanks Netgalley and Hyperion Ave. Publishing for the ARC.

I was so excited to have the chance to read an advanced copy of this book! I’ve been a fan of the Golden Girls for years! This was also my first “cozy mystery” novel and I can see the appeal of the genre.

I think the author truly captured the heart of the characters! I’m not sure if the transition from a 22 minute show plot to a full novel plot worked entirely. We’re so used to Golden Girls plots wrapping up so quickly and cleanly, so sitting with a long, drawn out murder plot and complex St Olaf wedding adventure felt a little tedious. I will absolutely read more in this series and feel confident the concept will find its stride!

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

I can’t wait to gift this book to my 3 best friends.
They will love so many part to this book. From the nod to Golden Girls and the story line.

thank you to Rachel Ekstrom Courage and NetGalley for the free eARC in exchange for my review.

I really enjoyed Murder by Cheesecake by Rachel Ekstrom Courage. As a fan of the Golden Girls, I loved how the book captured the charm, wit, and unique personalities of these iconic characters. The St. Olaf-themed wedding and the chaos of Dorothy’s VHS date becoming a murder suspect added a delightful layer of nostalgia and humor. The combination of a cozy mystery and beloved characters made it an entertaining read.

The storyline brought a fresh perspective to the Golden Girls universe while staying true to their spirit. I especially appreciated the creative premise of a cheesecake-laden crime, which tied perfectly to the theme. Overall, Murder by Cheesecake was a fun and heartwarming book that I’d recommend to fans of cozy mysteries and anyone who cherishes the Golden Girls. I’d give it 3.5 stars rounded to 4 for its charming concept and nostalgic appeal.

I enjoyed reading about my favorite group of women. With that being said there was so much going on about the wedding that I honestly forgot there was a murder mystery. Maybe that was the intent though. It was a joyful read and I feel the women were described very true to the television character. Just I didn't feel the mystery in it. I am excited to see how this series plays out

Golden girls and a murder mystery….yes please. The characters were true to their original personalities on TV. Throw in wedding planning and I dead guy in the freezer and you got yourself some fun.

The author really captured the voices of the main characters making it a fun read. The story felt like it could have been an episode in the series. Overall good but, it felt a little long.

Thank you NetGalley for the advance read. 😌

Thank you NetGalley for the loan of the book forr my honest review. A very enjoyable revisiting the Golden Girls. I hope this is the start of a series. I’ve missed Blanche, Dorothy, mama Sophia and of course innocent Rose. The author brings them all back. This time to arrange a wedding for Rose’s niece Nettie. Sadly the wedding can’t take place in their home town of St. Olaf because of a fire but thanks to the groom’s parents’ generosity in footing the bill it can now take place in Miami only glitch the groom’s parents want to make all the arrangements but this will never do for there are certain foods, events and procedures that must be followed for a proper St. Olaf wedding. To add to the dilemma a murder is discovered and Dorothy is a suspect. All in all an enjoyable read, hopefully there’s more Golden Girls.

Perfect for any golden girls fan.it was fun to be in their world in a different story and setting than I'm used to in the million of rewatches. The mystery was fun, the characters were silly but it felt like they belonged with the group. I would love a whole series of our girls solving crimes!

As someone who grew up watching The Golden Girls, I was thrilled to be granted early reader status for this title. Unfortunately, I feel like the book missed the mark a little. It felt like it tried too hard to make it a GG episode with a mystery built-in, resulting in the mystery feeling second-hand to the plot.

What was done well: Courage was able to truly meet the women where they were at when we left them. You're able to fall into the quick humor of the ladies and feel their friendship just as lovely as ever. Courage made sure she understood the roles each woman played in the TV show and applied that to the story. I found myself laughing at various jokes and falling easily into the chaos of the wedding. The wedding was also such an easy fit for the gang. I loved the various roles each lady took and how it really fit their MO as characters. If we left it as that story, I think I would have enjoyed it a lot more.

What I didn't enjoy: The mystery. I felt like it was so underdeveloped and I didn't understand why we needed it. The character involved in it were not in the forefront of the story, so it felt like you really had to pay attention in order to follow this. Additionally, the descriptions and set-up for the wedding took up so much detail and space that it grew hard to fall back into the mystery/suspense aspects of the story.

I'd suggest it as an individual read or independent reading, but this isn't a text I'd suggest as a curriculum read. I will still purchase a copy for our library to have for a cozy, mystery read.

Thank you to Hyperion Avenue for the ARC of Murder by Cheesecake, the first of a new Golden Girls mystery series!

Like being transported into an episode of Golden Girls, Murder by Cheesecake follows our four favorite girls –Blanche, Rose, Dorothy and Sophia– preparing for the wedding of Rose’s cousin, who’s decided to elope in Miami. In need of a date, Dorothy relies on a VHS-dating service to find a man in time for the wedding, and ends up with a real winner (read in sarcasm). However, it turns out the only thing worse than having a bad blind date is that date dying and then being suspected of his murder. Balancing hosting the wedding and Rose’s family, solving a murder, and keeping their wits, the Golden Girls are back and better than ever!

This was a lot of fun. Ekstrom Courage captures the signature wit and hilarity of the series, bringing Blanche, Rose, Dorothy and Sophia to life in a new and exciting adventure. Murder by Cheesecake is a charming escape, a lot of laughs, and a nostalgic look at four amazing women who’ve left us in real life, but won’t ever be gone in our hearts. Thank you for being a friend.

Well done, but not for me. I wasn’t able to connect with the story. It felt like I was reading the script of the show and I could almost hear the laugh track.

A delightful cozy mystery filled with nostalgia from our favorite senior citizens!

Rose is helping plan the wedding of her niece and must get all the St. Olaf traditions just perfect. But what they find in the frozen cheesecake will put everything out of sorts… Dorothy’s wedding date, frozen solid and deceased. What follows is a fun ride through 1980’s Miami and all the St. Olafian silliness you can imagine.

I thoroughly enjoyed reliving these characters again and loved that I could picture them in my head exactly as they were in the show, down to the outfit details. Looking forward to the next in this series.

Thanks to #NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my review.

3 ⭐️

This was pretty silly.

The author did a good job capturing the familiar essence and dialogue of these characters, especially Sophia.

Lots of Easter eggs.

Predictable, as expected.

I think this would’ve excelled as a series of short stories rather than a novel.

A cozy mystery with the Golden Girls, what more could you ask for?! I loved the banter but felt like a lot of the charm was simply because I knew the characters. I wish the mystery was more front and center. I'll definitely read future books but I felt this one was just an okay start to the series.

Thank you to the publisher for allowing me the chance to read and review the ARC copy of Murder by Cheesecake. Rachel Ekstrom Courage did a ton of research for writing this book and it shows. Her characters and dialogue were spot on with the Golden Girls TV show. It took me back to watching it. I felt the storyline moved a little slower than I would've liked it too and at times it was bogged down with extra details, but the story was a good one. Fans of the show will love this story! 3.5 stars!

I am a Golden Girls lover at heart, so I had to read this book! I really loved the atmosphere of the book - I felt like I was a part of the crew! This was really a fun read to see how Roses' side of the family works and all of their quirky traditions. This book really put 2 of my favorite things together - Golden Girls and True Crime! What a fun read! This really felt like I was following a long with a Golden Girls episode, but we got to see so much more. There were lots of wedding planning and murder investigations going on. I really enjoyed this and would tell any other Golden Girls fans to give this fun book a read!

Thanks to NetGalley and Hyperion Avenue for the eARC!

I liked this book, but not quite as much as I wanted to. The parts that were good were REALLY good - I think Courage really captured each woman's voice well; in certain places I could even hear them saying the words she put in their mouths! But there was a bit too much focus on St. Olaf and the wedding. And occasionally the characters sniped at each other in ways I thought were out of character.
HOWEVER, that being said, most of the story is very cute and well done. I thought the way the mystery was solved was clever. I think Courage did a great job of evoking the 80s and Miami. She created a great set of side characters, and she included some incredibly funny moments - some of Sophia's one-liners were so great!
Overall, I think this book got better as it went along, and I would check out a second mystery if it comes out.

“She wondered what she should write down for Nettie. Never go to bed angry? Say I love you at least once a day? Don’t worry about the dead body? It really was hard to narrow down.”

Murder by Cheesecake is a cozy mystery set in the world of 80’s American sitcom Golden Girls with familiar characters and settings. Rachel Ekstrom Courage really nails the voices for all four of the main cast members, making the reading experience feel more like watching an extended episode than anything else. I will say, though, that if I had to give the book one criticism it would be that the ending did feel a bit rushed. Despite that, I really look forward to the continuation of this series.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

When I found out that there was going to be a Golden Girls book series, and a cozy mystery series to boot, I went as fast as I could to NetGalley to see if I'd be able to get a copy... and I did. The cover/title only intensified that for me. The nostalgia is strong, especially since none of the Golden Girls are with us anymore so new adventures from them is a strong draw.

So I rate this one 3 stars, middle of the road. The strong nostalgia both helps and hurts this book. It helps for all of the obvious reasons. However, I had some issues with it. And maybe it's just me but it prevented me from giving the book a higher rating. I almost think it tried a little TOO hard with the nostalgia factor. I know that it's the first in a series and that some might not have watched the TV show. However, I'll also admit that I got a little annoyed at all of the descriptions at the beginning of the book. I know what their living room looks like and I don't need a description of it. I can picture it all and hear their voices as I read. I do get that if someone has never watched the show, those descriptions are kind of necessary... so that didn't really play into my rating. But...

For a murder mystery that centered on a hotel freezer, we had surprisingly little storyline with the hotel itself. The book was so focused on the wedding and the St. Olaf traditions that I think it detracted from the story, especially since in the end it had nothing to do with the murder. At one point I did think Cousin Gustave was the culprit... the story was so focused on the St. Olaf traditions and the trust that I really thought briefly that Cousin Gustave was trying to prevent the couple from getting their share of the trust for some nefarious reason. Not even remotely close. It was an interesting distraction but it also shows just how much the book was focused on St. Olaf and its traditions. I felt like the story needed more focus on the murdered man and the groom's family. Also, does anyone else want more on Miss Sugar or is that just me?

Despite my middle of the road rating, I am looking forward to book 2 and am hoping that as the series goes on, it settles more into nostalgia without trying so hard.