Is there any place more dangerous than a small town with a bookstore or tea shop? That’s the best part of cozy mysteries-you get exactly what you are expecting. The covers are too die for and the plots are comfortable. There is a theme for literally any subject so if you like a little magic with your tea, these might be exactly the books for you on a hot summer day! I have two fun magical tea themed cozies for you (and more recommendations all the way at the end). This week I read Steeped in Secrets by Lauren Elliott and Steeped to Death by Gretchen Rue and gave them both 3 stars. Let’s take a look…
First up is Steeped in Secrets. In this one, Shay is flat broke and moves back to her hometown where she has inherited a tea/psychic shop. So far it’s your basic cozy mystery, then it goes off the rails-Shay has no idea why she has been left this shop as she barely knew the woman. Who gives virtual stranger a huge house and business? Before she can puzzle that out, she discovers a dead body on her roof. YIKES!
The plot was a bit convoluted but easy enough to follow along as the story unfolds. My only complaint was the jarring way a few of the characters acted. Everyone was just too familiar too fast like they were forever friends when she just met them. Shay definitely has boundary issues and not in a good way. Why is she letting this man just walk all over her shop? Who is this guy and what secrets is he hiding? All becomes clear later on but it was weird. Also weird is all the Irish and Celtic lore thrown around that didn’t really connect to anything or help the story. I felt like the author tried to balance cozy elements vs supernatural elements and didn’t do too well. There are a couple of plot twists and a cool dog, so points for that. All in all, it wasn’t bad and was a fast read so three stars but I probably won’t follow the series into book two.
Also book one in a new series, Steeped to Death by Gretchen Rue was really good. Phoebe also inherits a magical shop but this time it’s The Earl’s Study book/tea shop. Intrigue hits you right away with a nosy neighbor/realtor (uh, oh, we know where this is going!) who is really over the top about buying Phoebe’s house, she will NOT take no for an answer. When the murder happens I said to myself, “oh, well, that figures and I know who did it and why”. Do I have to tell you, dear reader, that as usual I was completely fooled and knew NOTHING! The plot moves right along and Phoebe learns about her ‘powers’ as she mixes Aunt Eudora’s magic tea recipes and solves murders; all with a funny cat named Bob at her side. Very fun book!
Here is your bonus for reading this far!! A few other TEA cozy series that I just couldn’t get to but let me know in the comments if you have read them. Vicki Delaney writes the Tea by the Sea series of 4 books featuring an English tearoom in Cape Cod, while Kirsten Weiss gives us the Tea and Tarot Cozy Mysteries, 7 books set in luscious San Borromeo and Laura Childs has a bazillion books in her Tea Shop Mysteries set in Charleston, ok it’s only 27 books but still that’s pretty impressive! It’s 100 degrees this week in my neck of the woods so I will be conserving energy by sitting very still and reading–I hope you do the same!!
