Kale to the Queen is the first book in the Kensington Palace Chef Mystery series by Nell Hampton and it is absolutely delightful!

When I first saw this title offered on NetGalley, I thought it sounded interesting. Then, the other night I was going through my backlist of books for review, looking for one to start reading. I kept simply dismissing things thinking, "No, that doesn't sound good right now" and things of that nature. When I came across this one in my list, I thought, "Eh, this did sound interesting, let's give it a try." I'm really glad that I did! It was absolutely delightful and fun to read! In fact, I stayed up and read half of it that night!

The cast of characters in this series is rather fascinating. We have the combination of "proper protocol" followers and those who don't care about that rubbish (that's their attitude, not my feelings on protocol!). We have well-rounded, complex characters that you can tell we're just starting to get to know. We have some background on some of the characters, but you can tell we'll be learning more about them in future books.

The descriptions of the settings are adequate. I probably could have used just a little bit more detail, but I was still able to imagine most of the rooms/places where the scenes took place.

Our plot line moves along at a steady pace. I did figure out who the villain was before he/she was exposed, but it wasn't too long before the exposition, so I wasn't too disappointed.

I highly recommend this book to cozy mystery lovers, especially foodie cozy mystery lovers! It's terrific and I can't wait for the next book in the series to come out!! ( )

I was so looking forward to a brand new series set in one of my favorite London spots, Kensington Palace. However, from the very first page, I knew I was going to be extremely let down. This author's father might "love all things British", but she definitely needs to spend some time there---or hire a British editor---or both.

The many, many inaccurate English stereotypes were painful. "Cream tea" is not cream in the tea---they take milk. They wear "jeans and athletic shoes" just like we do---that's not a dead giveaway to being American. Everyone I've ever met from way up north to way down south dresses just like we Americans do. In fact, the complete idiocy of the main character is painful. ("How could you tell I was American---are my clothes that odd?" "No, it's your accent...") Um, duh? I've never had anyone in England ask me if I was American---they're smart enough to figure that out when I speak---but especially not in London. Does the author realize how many foreign-born people work and reside in London?

She would not have shown up to the palace completely clueless on royal protocol. There are lots of chefs in England that could have filled in at the last minute---she would have been briefed and given the "proper badge" before ever being ushered into the private apartments. Who doesn't know the toddler prince is older than his sister? The frustrating and unnecessary blithering goes on ad nauseam, to the expense of what could be a good story. A few minor missteps here and there would have given her some character---ignorances of basic terms and phrases seem overly contrived and completely unbelievable.

The writing is very, very juvenile. The constant descriptions of clothing is irritating and the repetitious writing style makes me feel like I'm reading my nine year old self's attempts at fiction. Way too much unnecessary back and forth dialogue.

In my opinion, the problems with this book are not necessarily the fault of the author. They're the fault of the editor who didn't push her to do her research and make the experiences as authentic as possible. I think this is especially important when one is writing about something she's not familiar with.

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. ( )

This was extremely light reading, and I couldn't quite enter into the spirit of it...I found myself rolling my eyes a few times over the unlikeliness of some things, and I found the dialogue often uninspired. However, in the end, I decided it would do, as entertainment...after all, what else was I expecting when I checked out a book called "Kale to the Queen"?! ( )

This was a cute cozy with a very interesting setting. I did figure out who the murderer was halfway through the book, and I didn't feel like I got to know the characters well, but maybe in the next book they develop more.
Carrie Ann, a chef in Chicago, gets the chance of a lifetime to become personal chef to the Duke & Duchess of Cambridge (who are never identified by name.) First day on the job, one of her assistants is found dead in the greenhouse. Not a good start. ( )

3.5 stars. I like this series. It's fun and light with our gal Chef Carrie Ann Cole from Chicago getting a new gig at Kensington Palace. Of course she found a body and went to solve the mystery. ( )