Again a lovely read. I love this series. The stories are baked with a tiny dash of romance, a spoonful of mystery and a whole cup of magic. Together it makes for a tasty tale, topped of with wonderful characters in a cosy town. ( )

This book was heavy on the fantasy/lore and not so much on the murder mystery, which made it slow to read. I enjoy fantasy, but I want to follow the clues and solve the murder puzzle when I read a cozy mystery. Although I was surprised at who the killer was, the mystery itself was resolved without much to do. I do like Ellery Adams' other series, and this is the only one that takes me longer to read. I'm not sure if this is the last book, but if it's not, the next one will not be a high priority. ( )

Any attempt I make to describe this book is going to make it sound childish so let me start by saying this is a very well-written book with a beautiful sense of place and strong characters all around, but especially strong female characters.

Remember that as I tell you that this is a fairy tale for adults, of a sort. Adams has created a place where love conquers all and borrows heavily from Arthurian mythology to build her world of magic. I'm not quite sure why Berkley markets this as a cozy mystery; the first book of the series was certainly a murder mystery but while the last three have had murders that needed to be solved, they truly are secondary to the over-arching plot concerning the magical community.

I didn't rate this book higher purely out of personal taste: it was just too sappy for me. I'm not sentimental enough to be the target audience for this story, although I still enjoyed it.

This book very much reads as though it's the last of this series. If so, it ended on a very strong loose-ends-tied-up note and I feel like the series stands complete as is.

I stand corrected, there's apparently a 5th book. It'll be interesting to see where she goes with this, after everything has come so neatly to a close. ( )

Book five in the Charmed Pie Shoppe Mystery series comes out in just a couple of weeks, so I needed to get caught up by reading book four. This sweet series is part culinary cozy mystery and part Urban Fantasy light. LEMON PIES AND LITTLE WHITE LIES was an enjoyable continuation of the series, with Ella Mae balancing her duties as leader of the magical community and owner of a popular pie shop.

The world-building in this series is impressive, with all the magic practitioners and an ancient curse going back to the time of Merlin. The baddie in this book was particularly evil, putting Ella Mae’s powers to the test. I don’t think the murder mystery in this book was as strong as the earlier ones, as it seemed to get lost in everything else that was going on, though the conclusion was very exciting. Also, I still haven’t decided how I feel about her romance with Hugh. He wasn’t my favorite in this book.

This is a fun series, especially if you love magical themes like I do. Now, onto book five! (3.75 Stars) ( )

Very different sort of mystery--involving a different sort of magic. First book I have read by this author. All of the women in the family work together--sort of a coven atmosphere??? ( )