⭐⭐⭐⭐ Was I hooked by that book? Yes. What a chaotic and bumbling, yet endearing and hilarious way to solve a murder.

Why Kate agreed to attend her ex-fiancé’s wedding is its own enigma, but she’ll plaster on a fake smile for two nights, with the aid of free champagne, naturally. And because the groom happens to be her editor, she’ll try to finish a draft of her latest Loretta Starling mystery as a wedding gift. But when the bride is poisoned and Kate stumbles across a dead body, she finds herself in a real-life mystery that eerily echoes the plot of her latest novel. And the only person who seems willing to help Kate catch the killer is Jake Hawkins, aka: the Hostralian; aka: Kate’s biggest romantic regret. As the wine flows and the weather threatens to hold every guest hostage, bitter resentments and long-held grudges surface amongst the colorful crowd. Anyone could be capable of murder, it seems. What would Loretta do? Unfortunately, Kate doesn’t have a clue.

MY THOUGHTS

Kate was definitely not as smooth as the character that made her a best-selling author. She continuously found herself in unpredictable circumstances and somehow never managed to do the right thing. Her haphazard investigation was a whole string of comedic errors that eventually led her in the right direction. I loved how she kept writing scenes for Loretta in her head to help her figure out an issue, but how, over time, she relied less on Loretta and became more confident in herself.

Jake confused me at the start. For the longest time, I couldn’t figure out who he was to Kate, exactly, and how he fit into everything. But he was a wonderful addition to the cast of characters and the perfect foil to Kate’s chaos. They had good chemistry. The rest of the wedding party was a mishmash of mainly indolent people that were all there primarily to squeeze money out of Rebecca. I didn’t care for any of them. And Kate and Jake’s reasons for being there were somewhat thin.

I enjoyed the writing style. It included plenty of witty thoughts and pronouncements, mostly from Kate’s side. It was all-in-all a very fun read. I can recommend this if you like a cozy murder mystery with some steamy romance on the side, and comical situations. See what other readers are saying on Goodreads.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Were you hooked by that book? Let me know in the comments below.

Genre: Contemporary Romance, Mystery
Published: January 21, 2025
Sensuality Rating: Warm