Cruisin' thru the Cozies Reading Challenge discussion

I have just finished level 3, moving on to level 4 now!

1. Meet Your Baker by Ellie Alexander
2. Careless Whiskers by Miranda James
3. Basket Case by Nancy Haddock
4. Last Wool and Testament by Molly MacRae
5. Murder at Honeychurch Hall by Hannah Dennison
6. Claw Enforcement by Sofie Ryan
7. A Crime of Passion Fruit by Ellie Alexander
8. A Picture of Murder by T E Kinsey
9. A Batter of Life and Death by Ellie Alexander
10. A Cup of Holiday Fear by Ellie Alexander
11. On Thin Icing by Ellie Alexander
12. Caught Bread Handed by Ellie Alexander
13. Fudge and Jury by Ellie Alexander
14. Another One Bites the Crust by Ellie Alexander
15. Till Death Do Us Tart by Ellie Alexander
16. Live and Let Pie by Ellie Alexander
17. Dyeing Wishes by Molly MacRae
18. A Murder for the Books by Victoria Gilbert
19. Crime and Poetry by Amanda Flower
20. Spinning in Her Grave by Molly MacRae
21. Murder, She Barked by Krista Davis
22. Plagued By Quilt by Molly MacRae
23. Nothing Bundt Trouble by Ellie Alexander
24. The Burning Issue of the Day by T. E. Kinsey
25. Prose and Cons by Amanda Flower
26. Murders and Metaphors by Amanda Flower
27. The Diva Runs Out of Thyme by Krista Davis
28. Death Beside the Seaside by T E Kinsey
29. And Then There Were Crumbs by Eve Calder
30. By Book or By Crook by Eva Gates
31. Verse and Vengeance by Amanda Flower
32. Cat Me If You Can by Miranda James
33. Sugar and Vice by Eve Calder
34. The Ghost and Mrs. Mewer by Krista Davis
35. Nightshade for Warning by Bailey Cattrell
36. A Case of Cat and Mouse by Sofie Kelly
37. Murder Most Howl by Krista Davis
38. Assaulted Caramel by Amanda Flower
39. Death on Tap by Ellie Alexander
40.Flowers and Foul Play by Amanda Flower

41. Lethal Licorice by Amanda Flower
42. Premeditated Peppermint by Amanda Flower
43. The Pickled Piper by Mary Ellen Hughes
44. Double-Booked for Death by Ali Brandon
45. Brownies and Broomsticks by Bailey Cates
46. Criminally Cocoa by Amanda Flower
47. Toxic Toffee by Amanda Flower
48. License to Dill by Mary Ellen Hughes
49. Botched Butterscotch by Amanda Flower
50. A Novel Way to Die by Ali Brandon

Congrats! I look forward to seeing what you read next.

Thanks, Yvonne!

Stefanie wrote: "I have just finished level 3, moving on to level 4 now!"

Welcome to Level 4!

BTW... The only challenge after this is to try to match or beat the number of books Hilary (A Wytch's Book Review) reads. :o) She's above 100 at this point.

Karen wrote: "Stefanie wrote: "I have just finished level 3, moving on to level 4 now!"

Welcome to Level 4!

BTW... The only challenge after this is to try to match or beat the number of books Hilary (A Wytch..."

Eep! I didn't realise I was challenge level 5!

Ha ha! I don’t think I’ll manage to get to level 5. ;)

Hilary (A Wytch's Book Review) wrote: "Eep! I didn't realise I was challenge level 5!"

Just a level I aspire to! :o)

Stefanie wrote: "Ha ha! I don’t think I’ll manage to get to level 5. ;)"

Neither will I. I do, however, add a lot of TBRs from Heahter's list. (I'm a level 5 TBR-er. HA!)

Karen - Starting these challenges has really cause my TBR to grow! I suppose that is a good thing, I'll never run out of books to read. :)

This was my first cozy mystery series and have always enjoyed each book. This one however, was a little bit disappointing to me. I didn't like that they were not in their home town, many of the characters I enjoy reading about were missing because of that. For some reason, the MC's girlfriend just gets on my nerves...and now she seems to be having a larger role in the series. Hopefully the next one is back to the usual routine.

I am mostly enjoying this series so far. I admit some of the characters were getting on my nerves a bit, but maybe I was just not in the right mood for the book at the time. I did enjoy it anyway!

This series is okay so far, I think I will continue with it since I enjoy the setting of a pet friendly town. I do enjoy this series better then the author's Domestic Diva series, I just could not get into that one.

I did not enjoy Death on Tap as much as I do the author’s Bakeshop series. It may be because I really don’t have much interest in brewing, but I also really did not like some of the characters and don’t feel like I want to read about them any more.

Flowers and Foul Play I did enjoy, but again not as much as the other series by this author. I may check out the next book in the series and see if I would like to continue with it after that.

I’m finished! :)

I will keep adding on any more cozies I read for the rest of the year. This challenge has really motivated me to read a lot more then I usually do, I am so glad I joined in!

Stefanie wrote: "I’m finished! :)

I will keep adding on any more cozies I read for the rest of the year. This challenge has really motivated me to read a lot more then I usually do, I am so glad I joined in!"

Congratulations on hitting another goal! This is one challenge I look forward to each year. I look forward to see how many you get to by the end of the challenge year.

And... now you can check your reads to see how they fit the "B" portion of the challenge -- which I have yet to hit, darn those historicals! I like reading what I want when I want, which is one reason I choose to read 40 of what I want -- the A portion. I note the "B" category(ies) of the books I read, but usually wind up a genre or two short. Oh well... It's the reading that's important.

Again, congratulations!

Thanks, Karen!

When I started the challenge I originally chose the B portion. After I completed that, I switch to the A, just to see if I could complete it without having any restrictions on myself. But that is a good idea! I am going to see how many more that I read may fit those categories.

Next year I think I will just start with the A category. I’ve tried some other challenges this year, and I did well for a little bit. But I had a hard time finding books to fit certain categories and gave up. I’d rather read what I want, when I want. I am more likely to read a lot more.

I agree, it’s the reading that counts!

I am still a bit surprised by how much I like this series so far, I really didn’t think I would!

Stefanie wrote: "When I started the challenge I originally chose the B portion. After I completed that, I switch to the A, just to see if I could complete it without having any restrictions on myself."

When this challenge began it was a read X for whatever level ("A" option). A few years in they changed to the read X of the listed genres ("B" option). I didn't participate that year because 1) I didn't (don't) read some genres; and 2) I like reading what I want. I kind of regret my "break" because I do think the "B" challenge would stretch my reading and introduce new series, etc.

I was so happy the following year when they offered both options. What I do now is read what I want ("A") and see how they fit into the genre list ("B") and note them on my list.

Each year I fall short of a few categories. I do well with a lot of the "Bs" -- I'm great at freebie reads -- but both the historical and set-outside-the-US categories usually do me in (though thanks to the Hat Shop series, I hit the latter this year).

Hats off to those who reach "B" goals in any levels!

Stefanie wrote: "
I am still a bit surprised by how much I like this series so far, I really didn’t think I would!"

I have this series TBRed. Nice to know it's a good one. Thanks for the note.

@Karen - That is a great idea. I am still unsure what I want to go for next year, as I liked the fact that the "B" option sort of forced me to pick up books I would have otherwise avoided. On the other hand, some of those books I did not enjoy too much. I know what I like to read, and maybe I should just stick with that. :)

I did enjoy this first book in the series, and will continue with it in the future.

There were a couple of things I liked about this book, but a lot of things I did not like, including the weird love triangle. The two love interests were not likable and it just seemed a bit off to me. I won't be continuing with this one.

Stefanie wrote: "Brownies and Broomsticks
There were a couple of things I liked about this book, but a lot of things I did not like, including the weird love triangle. The two love interests we..."

I started this series when it first came out and remember liking what I read, I fell behind when other series and reads took my attention. I've wanted to get back to it. I think I only read the first two books, but will need to reread them because it's been so long. I have them all available. I just (still) have other reads in front of it.

And... why must there always be a triangle?!! :o)

Karen wrote: "And... why must there always be a triangle?!! :o)"

I wouldn't say this was a bad book...there was just something about the one guy that creeped me out. He was very pushy and it annoyed me, and the fighting between the two of them, which kind of turned me off to the book completely. Maybe I was just not in the right mood for this one. Perhaps I will go back to it if I feel forgiving, or if I ever run out of things to read, LOL.

And I know, right?! The love triangles are getting tiresome. Sometimes I don't mind it much, if it doesn't take up too much page time. =)

I didn't like that guy either. The later books were much better in my opinion. He does keep trying to 'get the girl', but she is too smart for that.

Wow, I read an extra 10 books after finishing my challenge. I can’t believe how much I read this year. I hope I can keep it up into next year.

Here are my updates:


This has become one of my favorite series, too bad I am almost caught up already! I was not sure I would really like an Amish mystery, but I really do enjoy it. I like the setting, the characters and the candy making details. The author tends to have good romances in her books as well. Two of these were novellas, which did not take me long to finish. I actually really like having those short stories in between books. They don’t normally involve a murder which is a nice break, and they are quick reads.


This is the second book in the Pickled & Preserved Mystery series. There is only one more book in this series unfortunately, but I will definitely be reading that one soon. Cute story, and a different setting with the MC owning a pickling shop which is interesting. The only thing I do not like is the way the MC treats her ex. I guess I am supposed to hate him, but he doesn’t come across as a mean spirited person. So it aggravates me when she blows him off all the time.


Nope, I am done with this series. I liked the first book despite a couple of cringe worthy aspects, but I did not like this one at all. Maybe it’s just me, but this one seemed a bit too gritty for me. There were so many scummy people hanging around, it just did not feel like a cozy mystery. Perhaps I need to stick with the “small town” cozies. Also, the stereotypical way she has teenagers talk is very annoying. The only person I liked in this book was the cat.

Stefanie wrote: "Wow, I read an extra 10 books after finishing my challenge."
So, you started at 10 and hit 50!!! Congratulations.

I won't make the 80 I thought I would before the holidays hit, but hope to get (at least??!) one more finished before year's end. That'll put me at 76 cozies once I update. Oh well... At least I hit the challenge minimum.

Stefanie wrote: "The only person I liked in this book was the cat."
Uh-oh! :o)

Stefanie wrote: "Wow, I read an extra 10 books after finishing my challenge. I can’t believe how much I read this year. I hope I can keep it up into next year.

Here are my updates:

[bookcover:Criminally Cocoa|42..."

Stefanie wrote: "Wow, I read an extra 10 books after finishing my challenge. I can’t believe how much I read this year. I hope I can keep it up into next year.

Here are my updates:

[bookcover:Criminally Cocoa|42..."

I actually liked the Ali Brandon series, but Since I have nieces and nephews that are teens and young adults, I am used to much of the slang. I did often find that it was very easy to figure out who done it as they were always nearly as unlikeable as the victim.