I wanted to enjoy this book so much because i love the golden girls. But this book was rough. The story line is a good story line, but the author focused too much on the wedding aspect and not enough on the mystery aspect. The author ended up making Rose not likable with how she was. I think it can be hard to take characters from a tv show and translate it into book characters and i think that's what happened here. I'd give the book itself two stars, but the nostalgia of the golden girls gives it an another star.

This was such a great read, especially if you are a fan of the TV series. I could picture the entire book in my head and read it in all the voices of the characters, which made it even more enjoyable. I hope there are more in this series!

If you love the Golden Girls, you will love this book. From the first page I was brought back to the cozy home of these lovely ladies!!
I was hooked from the beginning, this was so fun, light hearted and brought back so many memories of watching the show. It honestly felt like this could’ve been a Golden Girls movie special. The Sophia quips were spot on and my absolute favorite! I hope this becomes a series and would love to read more!

Thank you NetGalley and Hyperion for the ARC copy!

This was a really fun, cozy read. I don't think I would've enjoyed it as much if I weren't familiar with the TV show, but I am so it was very entertaining. The characters were in character, which was a huge plus. The mystery was probably the weakest part for me, but it was a perfectly acceptable one for a cozy mystery. I would definitely be interested in reading more books in this series simply because I liked seeing the characters again.

I read an ARC of this book from NetGalley. All comments are my own.

Cozy, nostalgic, and a little ridiculous. I overall enjoyed this book and the sleuthing that the girls did to solve what happened to the man in the freezer. The St Olaf references did get a little old after a while but it was still a nice trip into the world of golden girls!

When you love Golden Girls as much as I love Golden Girls, you drop what you're doing when you get this book!
Rose is planning a wedding full of St. Olaf traditions & Dorothy's online date with a man she met through a VHS dating company turns up dead.... & hilarity ensues. If you're looking for a really literary book, keep looking, but if you want to have fun remembering the 80s and all the Golden Girls quirks, grab this book!
Thanks to NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book.

If you’ve ever watched The Golden Girls, it’s hard to resist picking this up. Though it’s not a show I’ve watched regularly, I’ve enjoyed every episode I’ve watched and have been fond of Betty White in particular. If you’re looking for Golden Girls nostalgia, this is the book for you. If you’re looking for a mystery, this may fall a bit flat.

When Rose’s cousin gets married, Dorothy needs a date. In a pinch, she tries out a dating service. If it wasn’t bad enough that her date isn’t what he seemed in his tape, he winds up dead and found in a freezer. The potential culprit? Cheesecake.

Again, this book hit all the right notes in the nostalgia department. It felt like I was reading a Golden Girls script. Unfortunately, this came at the cost of a substantial mystery. 80% of the focus is on the wedding planning and floats in and out of the mystery. It was fun, but I wish there had been a better balance of the two.

Thanks to Hyperion and NetGalley for providing me with a free digital ARC of the book.

This book was an absolute delight! It perfectly merges two of my favorite things—cozy mysteries and the Golden Girls. Reading it felt just like watching an episode of the show, and I loved every moment of it. I can’t wait for the next book in the series!
Thank you, NetGalley and Hyperion Avenue, for the opportunity to read and review this advanced copy.

I'll start by saying that I am a huge Golden Girls fan! The author wrote the characters very well and I could see them in my mind moving about their house. This book got 3 stars from me because I was about 60% in to the book before things got REALLY interesting with the case. While we know and love Rose's St Olaf stories from the show, I did feel at times that they were a bit overdone here. I also noticed a plot hole in the murder mystery, but it didn't about me to the point that it took away from the story. Overall a cute read that gave me all sorts of Golden Girl nostalgia.

This book made me feel like I found a long lost Golden Girl movie. The Girls on Agatha Christie’s Orient Express vibe. Such a cute must for fans.

Being a reader of mostly thrillers the stories are always so serious- this was a fun departure from all of that. A lighthearted mystery packed full of all the witty banter we have come to love from the golden girls. It was, at times, a little silly but I honestly wouldn’t have expected anything less. And it wasn’t just all fun and games, it was a great story about friendship and family all mixed up with a little action and mystery.

All in all I really enjoyed this read and highly recommend you add it to your TBR. Great for fans of cozy mystery, The Golden Girls, or anyone looking for something a little more lighthearted.

If you are a diehard Golden Girls fan, you are going to love this one! The Golden Girls are a legend and their humour is unmatched. To fully appreciate this book, you have to already understand the relationship dynamic and personalities of Rose, Blanche, Dorothy and Sophia. If you get them, you will get the humour.

If you aren't a fan, this is going to go right over your head. With so much of this particular book noting traditions and events around St. Olaf, reading it is a matter of "if you know you know."

In this particular book, Rose is helping to plan a wedding for her cousin Nettie and her fiancé Jason in Miami. Jason's family runs some high end hotels in Miami and the two families have a difference in opinions when it comes to the wedding. Rose is insistent all the St. Olaf traditions must be carried out. With traditions such as the "March of the Mackerel" and obtaining a live donkey for Nettie to ride down the aisle, the other family is a bit hesitant and try to take over with a more modern theme.

The wedding planning becomes secondary, however, when a body is found deceased inside a freezer at the hotel everyone is staying at. And things become even more disastrous when Dorothy becomes a prime suspect in the murder *gasp! *

Overall, this is a cozy mystery with the Golden Girls as the star. It is light. It is funny.

(ie: "When will we get to the boat?" Sophia asks. "I haven't experienced this much turbulence since Dorothy's marriage.")

It is silly. But because it is the Golden Girls, you expect it. As a huge fan, I heard their voices in my head as their words spoke to me. It was great and I will be anxiously awaiting Book #2 if it happens!

Sadly, Murder by Cheesecake reads more like a tv script, than an actual novel. Such a disappointment to this Golden Girls fan.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC for an honest review.

As a huge fan of The Golden Girls as well as a fan of cozy mysteries, I couldn’t wait to sink my teeth into Murder by Cheesecake!

While I could picture it- Miami 1980’s, and the setting of the Golden Girls home, I just couldn’t get past the over the top kitschy story.

It seemed kind of choppy and more like a fan fiction telling of an episode than a cozy mystery for the girls to solve.

Since it is the first in a series, I may give the second book a shot to see if some of that gets worked out.

Thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I grew up watching Golden Girls reruns with my mom and this series holds a super special place in my heart. I dove at the chance to read this book. Unfortunately, I felt like it was a little unevenly-paced and I found the dialogue to be off? But overall, loved the nostalgic vibes.

I remember watching the last few seasons of Golden Girls when it was still on the air, and decades later, I've rewatched the entire series a few times. Actually, we started again for the new year and watch an episode before bed many weeknights. When the book was announced, I giggled. It could be terrible, it could be amusing. It hit my queue last week, so I jumped on in. The author does a good job balancing the comedic zingers and exuberant personalities, as well as drawing a bit of a caricature for the traits that define each of the 4 women. All their exploits are front-and-center, tho this is primarily about Rose and Dorothy. There are moments (like most cozies) where I worry it's not plausible, and there are others where things are too coincidental, but it's a lovely balance of all it is supposed to be. If you're a fan of the show and like extended fan fiction, you'll enjoy this. If you're the kind of reader who picks away at something because that's just what you do, stay away. For two reasons - stop being such a grumpy reviewer who enjoys ruining things for other people and you weren't going to like it anyway so why bother? But for most fans of the show who are readers and who enjoy light mysteries, you'll relish!

Title: Murder by Cheesecake
Author: Rachel Elkstrom Courage
Publisher: Hyperion Avenue Publisher
Genre: Cozy
Pub Date: April 15, 2025
My Rating: 3.2 Stars
Pages: 336

This Golden Girls themed mystery has our gals heading to St. Olaf as Rose is planning as well as hosting her cousin Nettie’s perfect St Olaf themed wedding.
Everything is going according to Rose’s plans. However when Dorothy’s ex- date ends up dead - in the St Olaf’s Kiss cheesecake, Dorothy becomes the prime suspect,
Our gals are out to clear her name!

Story turned out to be a fun read. I was excited when I got this but then I got worried that reading it was going to be nothing like seeing and hearing the characters. However I discovered my imagination came through. In my mind’s eye, I could see Blanche’s looks and hear the sarcasm in her words,

Want to thank NetGalley and Hyperion Avenue Publishers for granting my wish and granting me this early eGalley.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for April 15, 2025.

I am a huge golden girls fan, so as soon as I saw this one I ran to sign up for it. I really enjoyed this read. It was the perfect cozy mystery and it felt like I was watching an actual episode of the show. The characters stayed true to themselves and this had me laughing at certain parts. If you love a cozy mystery and the Golden Girls, please give this one a read!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I LOVE The Golden Girls! They are so quirky and smart and funny, every single one of them. This book was cute. I don't feel like I got to know Blanche and Sophia enough in this one, but I am sure that there will be a sequel and they have their turn to shine.

Rose's niece comes to town, with most of St. Olaf's residents, to get married. Rose is determined that she will get the full-on St. Olaf wedding, with all its traditions, so that she and her new husband get their part of the trust that is given to each newly married couple.

Meanwhile, Dorothy goes on a date with a man she found through a dating video. They sort of hit it off, but then he is found, MURDERED! Hilarity ensues!

That is the gist of the two stories. I didn't love this book. The St. Olaf wedding traditions were just way too much for me. But, the characters were portrayed very realistically. I think any first book is hard, and add to that living up to fans' expectations of the characters, it is going to be tough.

I will read the 2nd in the series!

Ok cute. I had a good time with this for most of the time and would probably pick up the next in the serious. It’s completely ridiculous and over the top in such a fun way. There were some spacing issues in the text which made it somewhat difficult to read, but I assume those will be worked out.