I've finally reviewed two of my favorite books. 

For some reason they kept getting set aside. 

I just know you'll love these as much as I do.

Welcome to Torte-a friendly, small-town family bake shop where the treats are so good that, sometimes, it's criminal...

After graduating from culinary school, Juliet Capshaw returns to her quaint hometown of Ashland, Oregon, to heal a broken heart and help her mom at the family bakery. The Oregon Shakespeare Festival is bringing in lots of tourists looking for some crumpets to go with their heroic couplets. But when one of Torte's customers turns up dead, there's much ado about murder...

The victim is Nancy Hudson, the festival's newest board member. A modern-day Lady Macbeth, Nancy has given more than a few actors and artists enough reasons to kill her...but still. The silver lining? Jules's high school sweetheart, Thomas, is the investigator on the case. His flirtations are as delicious as ever, and Jules can't help but want to have her cake and eat it too. But will she have her just desserts? Murder might be bad for business, but love is the sweetest treat of all...

MY REVIEW

MEET YOUR BAKER is a sweet slice of mystery!

From the moment I saw the cover of this book, I knew I had to learn more about it. After reading the blurb on the back I was sold. I’m thrilled to say, MEET YOUR BAKER was not only everything I hoped it would be, it surpassed my expectations!

Author Ellie Alexander is an incredible writer who literally had me hooked on page one. The easy flow of Ms. Alexander’s prose was hypnotic to me. That may sound over the top to you, but it’s honestly how I felt.

The setting of Ashland, Oregon with the quaint streets and the Oregon Shakespeare Festival made me feel like I had found me home. And walking into to Torte, protagonist Juliet “Jules” Capshaw’s family bakery, I was enveloped in a sense of belonging. With every new character introduced, it was like being in the company of family and friends.

The mystery in this story was very well done. Lots of questions leading to more intriguing questions. And the ending was such an exciting, action filled reveal. Author Alexander really has a way of making the reader feel part of her story.

MEET YOUR BAKER was one I truly didn’t want to end. One of those books that made me feel there was no way the next book I picked up could be half as good. Ms. Alexander, you have a true fan in me and I look forward to your next tasty treat!

This book is not to be missed. I have no doubt after you read it, each new book in the series will be at the top of your wish list!

Make sure to check out the back of the book for amazing recipes and an excerpt from book two in the Bakeshop mysteries, A BATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH!

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Welcome to Torte-a small-town family bakeshop where the coffee is hot, the muffins are fresh, and the cakes are definitely to die for...

It's autumn in Ashland, Oregon-'tis the season for a spiced hot apple cider with a serving (or two) of Torte's famous peach cobbler. It's also the perfect time for Jules Capshaw to promote her family's beloved bake shop by competing in The Pastry Channel's reality show, Take the Cake. The prize is $25,000. But as Jules quickly learns, some people would kill for that kind of dough. Literally.

Then, just as Jules dusts off her Bavarian Chocolate Cake recipe and cinches up her apron, the corpse of a fellow contestant is discovered-death by buttercream. What began as a fun, tasteful televised adventure has morphed into something of a true-crime detective show for Jules and everybody else on set. Who could have killed Chef Marco, and why? Can Jules sift out the killer before someone else gets burned?

MY REVIEW

5 eggs, 5 cups of sugar, 5 cups of flour, but 10 stars for A BATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH.

I couldn’t wait to get my hands on this book. It was one I was most looking forward to this year. It was worth the wait! I loved every minute of it! I gushed, and raved about the first book in this series, MEET YOUR BAKER, so I won’t get all gushy this time…but I will rave! A BATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH is one of my top three favorite book of 2015!

There is not one thing I don’t like about author Ellie Alexander’s writing. Her words transport me into her story. I can hear every sound, and smell every smell. I honestly feel as though I have walked the streets of Ashland, Oregan. Just like I have sat at a table in Torte and shared pastry and coffee with Jules and her mother. I ached to get into the kitchen with them and help them bake their amazing confections! Okay, I started gushing, didn’t I? ;-)

A BATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH focused on a reality cooking show. My sister and I watch them all, so it was fun to feel part of one and see how they may run behind the scenes. But you know, without murder on the set. But murder this book did have. For lead character Jules, finding a dead body may not have been fun, but the way the body was found was delightfully sweet for mystery fans such as myself.

A truly wonderful whodunit, the one thing this story had more of than delicious food…suspects. Seriously, I simply couldn’t even narrow it down, but author Alexander leads us through the investigation like the pro she is and total caught me off guard with the killer.

Make sure to check out the Bakeshop Mystery series! You’re going to love it!

Wonderful recipes and an excerpt from book three, ON THIN ICING, can be found at the back of the book! 

Both books are available now!

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Coming December 29, 2015

Book 3 in the Bakeshop Mystery series 

Welcome to Torte-a small-town family bakeshop where the treats are killer good.

It's the dead of winter in the sleepy town of Ashland, which means no tourists-and fewer customers-for Jules Capshaw and her bakery. But when she's asked to cater an off-season retreat for the directors of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, business starts heating up...until Jules finds a dead body in the freezer.

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