Book 9 in the charming Cupcake Bakery Mystery series by prolific Jenn McKinlay. I won't go into details of the plot but instead, discuss why this series works. Two female leads that are both likable and relatable. Multiple reoccurring side characters that are entertaining and still likable. Nothing ruins a book and series faster than annoying side characters that you wish would just go away! In McKinlay's capable hands, she juggles in each book romance and mystery and great storylines. Librarians, recommend to your patrons looking for cozy mysteries or lighthearted mysteries with food and a romance.

Mel gets in over her head by delivering break-up cupcakes to a friend's ex, who is soon discovered murdered. McKinlay's series is the best kind of cozy mystery, filled with characters you love and interesting mysteries for them to solve. We all should be so lucky as to have friends who are willing to investigate to save us from murder charges!

What I enjoy about this series is the writer never loses focus on the mystery. Yes we have the characters life's going on but she intertwine that with mystery and it works out beautifully. I loved her take on bridzella it was hilarious, this was a solid mystery with red herrings thrown in to boot

This is a great series! The last one, Caramel Crush, is funny, mysterious, and charming and fits in great with the rest of the series.

Caramel Crush is the latest book by Jenn McKinlay in the Cupcake Bakery Mystery series. I fell in love with this series by chance. It was a buy two get on audible, and I went out on a limb. I was so excited that I went out and bought all of them. This is a funny adorable series, and I get more of a Stephanie Plum feel cozy mystery instead of Hannah Swenson type. This is due to some of the racier scenes and occasional use of language. I love the relationship with the three friends and their constant movie quotes. It even makes me want to check out more movies that they mention.

Mel's friend is getting married, and she is becoming a lovable bridezilla. Tate can get a little tired, but he is so in love, he does not always mind. Mel is siding with Angie more due to an arrangement made. At the same time, and old friend comes to town cashing in a favor. She enlists Mel to create cupcakes to deliver to her fiancee to break off things for lying to her, and she wants to humiliate him at the same time. Perfect opportunity for Mel to find a body, no?!!

I love this series and cannot wait to gobble up more. Huh? Anyone? That was pure gold! This is just another great tale by McKinlay, and I cannot wait to get my hands on the audio version and listen to it again!

Mel’s college roommate has finally come to collect on a favor that Mel owes her, and Diane wants Mel to deliver break up cupcakes to her ex-fiance. However, the delivery doesn’t go as planned when Mel finds Mike’s body. With the police looking at Diane as the killer, suddenly Mel finds herself with a new favor – keep Diane out of prison.

Who can you not love a book that starts out with break up cupcakes? The story that follows delivers on the promise with plenty of viable suspects and some good twists. I did feel Mel was foolish at the end of the book, but that was my only complaint. All the usual supporting characters are here, and they are their usual charming selves. I just love them! And there is one scene guaranteed to melt your heart.

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley fior the opportunity to read another great cupcake mystery by Jenn McKinlay. I love reading about this trio of friends and their shenanigans! Every book in this series never disappoints fiords fun and easy read.

CARAMEL CRUSH is book nine in Jenn McKinlay's Cupcake Bakery cozy mystery series. As with other books in this series, Jenn McKinlay provides a plausible reason for cupcake maker and businesswoman Melanie Cooper to get involved in a murder investigation. While Mel is biding her time until she finally ties the knot with her longtime sweetie Joe, and quietly going crazy helping her bridezilla friend Angie plan her upcoming wedding, in walks the kind of trouble out of a Dashiell Hammett novel. What starts out as a straightforward, if extremely odd, favor for an old college friend takes a deadly turn when Mel discovers a dead body. Jenn McKinlay superbly balances laugh-out-loud slapstick humor with sinister shenanigans and moral depravity.

Despite her own misgivings, as well as those of her friends and co-workers, Mel sets out to prove that Diane Earnest didn't murder her estranged fiancé Mike Bordow. As Mel's investigation progresses, it becomes evident that there are just as many reasons for Diane to want her fiancé dead as there are other suspects. This healthy amount of doubt makes this mystery even more interesting for readers to try to puzzle out. It's usually a given, in detective novels, that the suspect who comes to the detective looking for help is not the murderer. However, in CARAMEL CRUSH, Jenn McKinlay evokes the same kind of uncertainty that is present in the classic film ANATOMY OF A MURDER. Prickly Detective Tara Martinez and Mel's uncle - Detective Stan Cooper -- make an entertaining good cop/bad cop routine, coming in and out of the story at opportune moments without stifling Mel's investigation.

CARAMEL CRUSH has many elements -- humor, mystery, and a dash of romance -- that work together to make an exquisitely balanced cozy mystery. The themes of friendship and family are skillfully woven throughout CARAMEL CRUSH. Mel's friends and co-workers make an entertaining and loyal extended family. I love the relationship between Mel and her fiancé Joe in CARAMEL CRUSH. Joe listens, supports, and offers suggestions to Mel without acting in a condescending way toward her, or bossing her around. Joe's slightly sketchy, yet lovable, brother Ray is a quirky character and I'd like to see more of him in future books. Jenn McKinlay's Cupcake Bakery books are delectable cozy mystery confections for readers, and I can't wait for the next one!

Jenn McKinlay weaves a tantalizing tale involving a bridezilla, a long-ago debt that Mel thinks she can never repay, and a man murdered just before Mel delivers breakup cupcakes. Her sassy humor captivated me from the very first page and pulled me into the story while there were unexpected twists to the clever plot and subplots, that I didn’t see coming. I greatly enjoy seeing the relationship Mel has with her best friend and bakery co-owner, Angie. It has a ring of authenticity… they care about each other but they also have squabbles that long-time best friends can have; especially those who also work together day in and day out. Angie’s mother and her future mother-in-law are a hoot, and even though they only had a cameo appearance, I hope to see more of them in future books. Mel and her boyfriend, Joe, (who is also Angie’s brother) are progressing ever so slowly in their relationship, but they are sweet together.

And just as sweet as Mel and Joe are together, the recipes Jenn includes at the back of the book are amazingly sweet! So many delectable cupcake recipes to choose from, and I want to make them all! I did make the Key Lime Cupcakes with Key Lime Buttercream so far. The cupcakes are tender and moist while the buttercream tops them off with a zingy creaminess which made them a hit in my household!

3.5 Stars

Mel’s best friend, Angie, is finally preparing for her wedding to Mel’s close friend, Tate. Angie is becoming a bit of a “bridezilla”, but since she adores her friend, Mel is trying to take things in stride. Mel is given some unusual business to take her mind off Angie’s behavior. Another old friend, Diane Earnest, decides to cancel her wedding when she finds out her fiancé is only after her money. She hires Mel to deliver a batch of caramel “breakup” cupcakes to her ex to break the news and then report back to her how he reacts. Mel agrees to the unusual request since she owes Diane a favor. The delivery is cut short when the man is found dead. Diane becomes the prime suspect, and Mel agrees to try to find the real killer.

I have read most of the books in this series, which is set predominately in a Scottsdale, Arizona cupcake bakery. I loved everything about the series in the beginning, from the Old Town Scottsdale setting to the cupcake theme and the three good friends as main characters. Then, the books started relying too much on slapstick humor, complete with food fights and cat fights, for my taste. I am happy the last couple of books in the series seem to be back on track and Caramel Crush continues that trend. The book is a good mix of mystery and more subtle humor. Things finally seem to be going well for Mel and Angie and their respective love lives, if one of them doesn’t do something to spoil things! The bakery is going strong, so that allows Mel plenty of time to focus on sleuthing. Mel’s history with Diane was surprising and takes an unexpected twist at the end. I enjoyed reading about the case, seeing Mel and Angie and their great rapport, as well as reading about all the tasty-sounding cupcakes.

Angie’s bridezilla behavior gets old after a while and Diane is an unusual character and it’s often hard to feel sorry for her. The book ends with a cliff-hanger that I assume will be addressed in the next book in the series. I’m not a fan of this technique to create interest in the next book, but some readers may like to get a hint about what’s coming up next. Readers who have been following this series will enjoy this installment, as will readers who enjoy Joanne Pence or Joanne Fluke. New readers will be able to quickly catch up on the important characters related to the Fairy Tale Cupcakes bakery and join the fun.

~ Christine

Once again the cupcake descriptions in this book are solidly delicious sounding, and Mel is still a reliably good protagonist. The story gets a little meandering with the secondary plot of Angie's bridezilla wedding planning. On the positive side, Mel and Joe's relationship does get to shine, and the story of Mel's relationship with the primary suspect in the story and the information that comes out about their history gives the story strength. Hopefully, the next book gets readers to a wedding, as it seems that it's about time to put that part of the story to rest. Despite that, this series is one of my favorite cozy series out there now, and I hope to see it continue.

I had to go back to the beginning of this series and read all of Jenn's books.! I love the family she has built and how they stand by one another....all while baking cupcakes.

Caramel Crush: A Cupcake Bakery Mystery
By Jenn McKinlay
Berkley
April 2017

Review by Cynthia Chow

The path towards love often is a rocky one, and as evidence one needs only to look within the doors of Fairy Tale Cupcakes bakery. Melanie Cooper’s best friend and business partner Tate Harper is finally marrying Angie DeLaura, but her uncharacteristic transformation into a bridezilla has everyone ducking for cover. Even more unsettling is the demand by Mel’s former UCLA roommate, Diane Earnest, to create and deliver engagement breakup cupcakes to her soon-to-be-ex-boyfriend. Diane is calling in a debt from college, and as a result Mel finds herself on the doorstep of Party On! supply company with a delivery intended to embarrass Mike Bordow at his workplace. Facing a dead body is perhaps slightly less preferable than an infuriated fiancé, but that’s what Mel finds in Mike’s office. When Diane becomes implicated she continues to call in her favor, pressuring Mel to investigate and once again be in the middle of a murder.

As Mel looks into the reasons why someone would have wanted to murder this prospective groom, she digs up his very lurid shenanigans and even more possible suspects. Marrying Diane for her money is the least of his crimes, as Mike may have been having affairs with coworkers, bridesmaids, and even Diane’s mother. The one benefit of mingling with the distinctly unpleasant bridal party is that it at least gives Mel an excuse to avoid Angie and her ceaseless demands and indecisiveness. Mel worries that there is a reason Angie seems unable to commit to making decisions in her upcoming wedding, but she may drive everyone insane before revealing it.

Except for the central characters, this latest installment features an abundance of enormously self-centered and rather abhorrent characters. Mel’s own engagement to the love of her life, assistant county attorney Joe DeLaura, is on the backburner as she allows Angie to have her moment in the sun. An investigating detective’s obvious crush on Joe makes her completely resistant to helping Mel in any way, and even Diane is less than cooperative as an unpaying client. The debt that Mel owes to Diane remains a secret shame, and Mel worries that it could change Joe’s opinion of her. Readers who have grown to love these residents of the charming Arizona town will be fascinated by the further examination of their personal lives and the inner struggles. The affection and genial nature of Mel and her friends bring enough levity to ensure for a satisfying read, although a final twist may have readers feeling that Mel is far too generous. This series continues to take its characters in unexpected directions, guaranteeing that readers will look forward to see where they go next.

Book nine of the Cupcake Bakery Mystery series. This book was incredible! After finishing the last book I could not wait to get my hands on the next installment since as usual it ended in a cliffhanger (this was too but a funny one to say the least). Mel is hired to create some break up cupcakes for an old college roommate of hers, and as she goes to deliver them she finds the intended groom dead instead. Feeling she owes her old friend a debt that can never be repaid she attempts to solve the mystery to clear her name. She finds trouble along the way that kept me hooked until the very end. I was very happy for the development in the personal relationships as well plus meeting bridezilla Angie was a treat. If you are fan of the series you will fall in love with this book just like I did. It is a must read earning 5/5 stars.

This is book 9 in the Cupcake Bakery Mystery and I can't believe I've never read any of the previous books. I had no problems getting into this story, the characters are all well written and interact well with each other. Mel and her friend Angie are keeping busy with the Fairy tale Cupcake Bakery and planing Angie's wedding. While delivering a special order of cupcakes, Mel finds the intended recipient dead. While Mel and her friends investigate, her boyfriend Joe is worried about her safely. This is a nice cozy series and I'm going to be looking for the previous books by Jenn McKinlay.

Caramel Crushed knocked it out of the park for me. I savored each word so it was linger in my mind. LOVE LOVE LOVE!

I always enjoy the Cupcake Bakery mysteries, and this was no exception. While some of the mysteries and murders can be a bit similar, there have always been plenty of plot twists to shake things up. One of the best parts of this series has been the character growth over the books. While there is always a murder, the characters have continued to evolve and change, so this series is never stale.

CARAMEL CRUSH is the ninth book in the Cupcake Bakery Mystery series by Jenn McKinlay but it’s the first book that I’ve tried from this series. Luckily, I had no trouble falling into this series. Upon starting, I knew right away that this was my type of mystery series. It’s cute and often silly, but there’s a great balance of mystery and intrigue as well. I have no trouble falling in line with the characters and getting lost in the story.

McKinlay’s easy way of writing and affable characters make it easy to fall in love with this book. This particular book has a emphasis on love and romance, something I feel that I know well since I’m a Romance reader at heart, so I felt like this was the perfect path for me to take to get into this series. With the heroine’s best friends getting married and other couples walking onto the pages, there’s a lot of baking for lovers going on here. But what’s interesting is Angie’s old friend, Diane, has asked her to bake her finest batch of cupcakes so that she can break up with her fiancé after she realizes that he’s only marrying her for her money. It’s a strange concept, but one that is very interesting. I think it’s a very cute way of bringing the cupcakes into the mix and I have to appreciate an author who is willing to take alternative, unusual routes to write their books.

After reading CARAMEL CRUSH, there’s no doubt that I will be going back to read the rest of the series. I can’t get enough of these fun-loving characters and I look forward to reading more of Jenn McKinlay.

I love Jenn McKinlay's books, and I always look forward to spending more time with the characters in the Cupcake Bakery Mystery series. The cliff hanger and the end of this book has me impatient for the next book! All of that said, the catty behavior and bridezilla character wore on me so I only gave this book three stars.