Kristen Bird, lets be best friends...

A Beauty Queen's Guide to Murder and Mayhem, is the perfect blend of southern charm, quirky characters with a side cart of mystery. This book is equally entertaining as it is suspenseful

The small town backdrop with the ever present beauty pageant scene makes for a vibrant and engaging setting, filled with colorful personalities and hidden agendas.

Enter Dakota , a relatable and witty narrator, balancing the need to save her family home and maintain her snarky sarcasm. The supporting cast of character is equally well-developed, with each character adding their own unique flavor to the story, everyone feels so incredibly real, I swear I am going to miss them all!

I loved everything about this book including my initial love for the cover.

Kudos to Kristen Bird and cheers to A Beauty Queen's Guide to Murder and Mayhem!!

Check out this teaser :

Welcome to Aubergine, Virginia, where the mountains are blue, the air is sweet, and the beauty queens have secrets darker than last year's spray tan.

Armed with more sarcasm than sequins, Dakota reluctantly enters the cutthroat world of sashes and smiles to save her family home. But when the pageant owner vanishes faster than she can shimmy into an evening gown, suspicion lands on Dakota's beloved Aunt DeeDee.

Now Dakota must navigate a minefield of catty contestants, skeptical judges, the infuriatingly handsome new sheriff and the unsolved beauty queen mystery – all while mastering the art of walking in heels without looking like a newborn foal. Can this reluctant pageant star unmask a killer, clear her aunt's name, and claim the crown? Or will she be the next to disappear?

Loved it, want to read another one soon. Here's my money, give me a series
Well plotted, witty, intriguing
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

A letter a month from a young woman's dead mother culminates in a strange and unusual ask: enter the small-town Rose Beauty pageant to get out of debt.

MC Daktota has a problem though, she's a dropped out of vet school farm hand who hasn't waxed her eyebrows in years, let alone prepped for a spectacular show full of perfection. Dakota is wrapped up in a journey with many threads, and what starts as an ask from her mother turns into a whodunnit murder mystery with a "Miss Congeniality" undertone.

I felt that I knew many of the twists but the story was easy to read and provided some feel good moments. I think this is a great vacation read for relaxing and could see myself reading another in this series.

Thank you to Storm Publishing, NetGalley and author Kristen Bird for this eARC

This was so fun and entertaining. I enjoyed this different type of writing from Kristen Bird, and it was super playful. I am excited to read the other two in the series and follow along Dakotas journey!

"A Beauty Queen's Guide to Murder and Mayhem" was an absolute delight! From the moment I started reading, I was completely captivated. The protagonist's distinctive combination of Southern charm and unwavering resolve created a truly compelling narrative. Professionally speaking, the plot's intricate structure, filled with unexpected twists, ensured a consistently high level of suspense. This novel effectively balances a lighthearted tone with a genuinely engaging mystery, making it a highly recommended read for anyone seeking an entertaining and skillfully executed cozy mystery.

Thank you to Storm Publishing, NetGalley and author Kristen Bird for this eARC

The premise for A Beauty Queen's Guide to Murder and Mayhem sounded so fun and gave me major Miss Congeniality vibes. And in a way I guess it did deliver.
Our MC Dakota has some major not-like-other-girls, pick-me attitude with a big superiority complex and I found her absolutely unlikeable. But throughout the book she has some very good, and necessary, character development which I loved to see.
The side characters were amazing, I loved Lacy and Summer and even Sevilla.
The mystery itself was fine, I guessed it pretty quickly, but it was still fun to read.
Despite it's flaws A Beauty Queen's Guide to Murder and Mayhem was an enjoyable read and I'll probably continue with the series.

In A Beauty Queen's Guide to Murder and Mayhem, Kristen Bird presents a delightful mix of mystery, humour, and heart in a small-town setting. Dakota Green, a stable hand, would rather do anything than compete in Aubergine, Virginia's annual beauty pageant, but her late mother’s dying wish forces her into a world of glitz and glamour. Dakota, armed with sarcasm and determination, must step into the competitive world of beauty queens to uncover a decades-old mystery surrounding a missing contestant and save her family home.

The small town of Aubergine is beautifully brought to life, where the air is sweet, but the secrets run deep. The pageant world is portrayed as a cutthroat, sometimes absurd place, with Dakota caught in the middle of it all. As if the competition weren't enough, the pageant owner vanishes, and suspicion falls on Dakota’s beloved Aunt DeeDee. As Dakota reluctantly enters this world of sashes and smiles, she faces a minefield of catty contestants, dubious judges, and the annoyingly handsome new sheriff, all while trying to solve the mystery and clear her aunt's name.

The book is packed with humour, particularly from Dakota's sarcastic voice, and the twists in the plot keep readers on their toes. The epilogue is especially jaw-dropping, adding a final layer to the mystery that left me reeling. A Beauty Queen's Guide to Murder and Mayhem is a perfect read for fans of small-town mysteries with plenty of laughs, a touch of romance, and a whole lot of suspense.

Read more at The Secret Book Review.

Thank you NetGalley and Publisher for allowing me to read and review this book.

Enjoyable cozy and humorous mystery.

I really enjoyed reading this Cozy Mystery Thriller.

It definitely gave me a Miss Congeniality vibe while still remaining uniquely it's own story. I read through this book pretty quickly and enjoyed playing detective right alongside Dakota.

If you enjoy a lighter mystery with some comical moments I think this is definitely worth checking out!

This book was a pure delight to read. A beauty pageant plagued with hyper-competitive contestants, a missing person and a decades old mystery surrounding a former Beauty Queen has everyone shaking in their stilettos.

The last place Dakota Green wants to be is in Aubergine’s annual pageant. But it was one of her late mother’s last wishes and truth be told Dakota could really use the prize money. With the help of her aunt and her best friend, Dakota joins in the festivities.

And just when Dakota thinks things can’t get any worse — a first night hat tradition and a butt-busting workout set to Broadway tunes?! — a pageant crown goes missing and her Aunt DeeDee is arrested.

Cue the hijinks, amateur detecting and one very swoon-worthy new sheriff in town.

I loved the snark, sarcasm and great humor of this story. But there is also so much warmth. Not just in Dakota’s love for her aunt, but she’s still navigating the loss of her mother and how much her life has shifted in the past year. Things stay on the cozy side, but there’s no shortage of surprises, twists and dark motives.

We get past + present mysteries — no secret that’s a fave of mine — and I was all in with Dakota as she unraveled clues and searched for the truth. There are so many secrets in this small Virginia town as well as a great cast of supporting characters who make for excellent suspects.

I’ve read all of Kristen Bird’s books and am such a fan of her writing and her characters. At the core of all of her stories are strong women and found family. In BEAUTY QUEEN’S GUIDE the friendships were definitely one of my favorite parts. Dakota’s best friend, Lacy, cracked me up so much and their ride or die friendship is one we all need.

This is the first book in a new series and I’m so excited to see what Dakota gets up to next.

🧁Review: A Beauty Queen's Guide Murder and Mayhem

🥞Rate: 5 Stars!! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

🍰Praise: This was definitely an awesome read! I felt as if I was reading a book with a mix of Miss Congeniality with extra Southern charm! Beauty queens have many secrets in this book! They want to win win win!! Our main character Dakota Green is honoring her mother's last wishes and entering a beauty pageant. I so envisioned Dolly Parton making a soundtrack for this book!

🍭 Dakota has the heart of a real cowgirl! She really is loyal and honoring her mother's last wishes by doing this made me love her even more! Her Aunt Dede had me the moment her dialogue came to grace the pages!

💌Characters: Our beloved character definitely has her hands full with trying to find a reason for the disappearance of a beauty queen from the past! And now her aunt is accused of being involved in something scandalous! (I won't share too much detail it's too good! LOL) every character definitely has their own set of layers that you cannot wait to peel back and see what they will offer up as either truth or lie! Or dare I say in between?!

📖Extra/Trope: I am 100% hooked on this book! And I want a hundred if not more books from this beloved author who will now grace my Kindle and my shelves!

🍪Cozy Mystery!
🍪Fun read!
🍪Southern Charm!
🍪Must Read!

Thank you to Netgalley and Storm Publishing for an early release of this book in exchange for an honest review. I enjoyed this book so much and read it in one day. I loved the story line and the characters. I even caught myself laughing in parts! I would definitely recommend this book.

✨✨ BOOK REVIEW ✨✨
A Beauty Queen’s Guide to Murder and Mayhem by Kristen Bird is out now. This is a cute cozy mystery that has vibes of both Murder She Wrote (for those that remember Angela Lansbury in the 1980’s) and Miss Congeniality.

🎀 Dakota Green lives in Aubergine, Virginia where she pursues in obtaining a veterinarian degree to take care of horses. Unfortunately her dreams are derailed and stop with a screeching halt when Dakota has a life changing experience. Along with her Aunt Dee Dee, they begin on a new track to navigate life together, picking up the pieces and trying to put their financial lives back together.

💅🏻 Dakota, with the encouragement of her mother and Aunt Dee Dee, enters the Centennial Rose Palace Pageant, with the hopes of winning first prize to get their financial situation in order. However, Dakota is not the beauty pageant type, with permanent dirt stained nails from her care of horses, and being a flannel, jeans, and cowboy boot wearing kind of gal.

💄 Dakota connects with her best friend Lacy, the hunky sheriff, and others to find out the mystery of the missing beauty queen from 2001. Strange things begin to happen and these ladies find themselves racing the clock to uncover the truth behind the murders swirling around the pageant, ultimately finding out the mysterious truth behind the pageant’s history.

💞 If you enjoy a cozy mystery, check this book out. I liked Dakota’s spirit, her value of friendship, and the appreciation she had for those who helped take care of her. She’s a beauty who’s spunky, loyal, and fierce. This cozy mystery is out now! 3 1/2 stars

Thank you to Net Galley and Storm Publishing for the opportunity to read and review this book. All opinions are my own.

Just absolutely brilliant! Wow, what an amazing read! Just wonderful! I recommend this to everyone. You will not be able to put this one down. An amazing tale, wonderfully told.

A Beauty Queen's Guide to Murder and Mayhem was a hilarious and entertaining mystery that had me laughing out loud from start to finish. Dakota is such a relatable and witty protagonist—her sarcasm was my favorite part, and I loved how she tackled the absurdity of the beauty pageant world. The mystery itself was intriguing, with plenty of twists and suspense to keep me hooked. The small-town drama and quirky characters added a lot of charm to the story. The romance between Dakota and the sheriff felt a bit predictable, but overall, it was a fun and enjoyable read!

Dakota Green is used to manual labor and barn chores. Her momma has passed and she has left behind letters that have her last dying wishes for Dakota to fulfill. One of momma's grand wishes is for Dakota to compete in the Centennial Rose Palace Pageant so that she can make some money to keep their house, pay off her student loans and all her debts.

Dakota enters the pageant and soon after the pageant owner goes missing and all mayhem ensues.

Witty, funny , twisty and very pageantry, A Beauty Queen's Guide To Murder And Mayhem will have you cheering for Dakota and her sleuthing skills!

Thank you Netgalley and Storm Publishing for this funny and charming read!

⭐️⭐️⭐️ .5

Miss Congeniality vibes!!! 👠 This was a fun, quick read with good twists and a FMC I was rooting for all the way through. I do wish that the side characters had been developed a bit further but there were a lot of them! It kept me guessing up until the end and the finale was so satisfying! Can’t wait to read the sequel in June!

A Beauty Queens Guide to Murder and Mayhem by Kristen Bird is a witty and humorous mystery that would probably lean more towards a cozy mystery.

Dakota Green is more accustomed to mucking stalls and handling horses. But when she receives a letter from her late mother that explains that she's been entered into the Beauty Pageant of Aubergine, she swaps her boots for heels reluctantly. She has heard the rumors about the pageant... Bad things seem to happen to the beauty queens. But Dakota needs the prize money so with some fresh highlights she is off to try to claim her crown. When her lovable Aunt Deedee is accused of stealing a crown not to mention murder, Dakota must figure out who is behind the crimes, stay out of the crosshairs of the killer and let's not forget..to get ready for the pageant!

This was a quirky fun novel. I tend not to like cozy mysteries, but I thought this was a good read. One negative I had was it felt somewhat slow and then the last like 40% of the book was a roller coaster. I still enjoyed it and recommend it to anyone who likes clean cozy mystery reads.

Thank you to NetGalley, Kristen Bird, and Storm Publishing for this ARC. Expected publication date is February 28th 2025.

I loved this book! The characters are fantastic. Dakota is fiesty and relatable. The mystery is just the right amount of zany. I was so glad to find out this is the first of a series. I'm looking forward to many more adventures with this bunch.

A cozy mystery read set in the beauty pageant world in a small southern town in Virginia. It read well and had a good plot line and red herrings, and the growing friendship between the characters was well done. There was also a hint at romance and a lovely aunt-niece relationship.

However, for some reason I just did not fully connect with the characters. I cannot put my finger on exactly why and think this is a me issue as the book was objectively well done.

If you like cozy mysteries, recommend you check this one out. It’s also the start to a series.

Thanks to the publisher for this complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.