Book Review: Vanilla Beaned by Jenn McKinlay (Cupcake Bakery Mysteries #8)

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Fast moving story with delightful characters

Cons: Any cons lost in the sugar rush of cupcakes

The Bottom Line:

Danger in Vegas

Road trip with fun characters

Pages turn too fast

Bet on Enjoying this Book

Last year, I decided I needed to catch up on Jenn McKinlay’s Cupcake Bakery Mystery series.  I had originally figured I’d spread them out over two years, but I quickly got addicted and read them quicker than that, which meant I was ready for Vanilla Beaned, the latest in the series, when it came out this month.

If you’ve missed the series, it focuses on Mel Cooper and her two best friends, Angie DeLaura and Tate Harper.  The three own Fairytale Cupcakes in Scottsdale, Arizona, but it’s turning out to be a bit more deadly than they planned on.  We are up to the eighth mystery in the series, after all.

This book finds the trio headed to Las Vegas on business.  Tate has been trying to get Mel to franchise the bakery, and the three friends are heading there to meet their first potential franchise owner.  Mel’s first impression of Holly isn’t good, and the meeting goes further downhill when the location for the bakery blows up when they open the door.

Through the crisis, Mel begins to see another side of Holly, a side she likes.  However, it is quickly obvious that someone is out to destroy the franchise before it even gets off the ground.  Is it someone from Holly’s life who doesn’t want her to try something new?  Or is someone out to get Mel, Angie, and Tate?

As you can imagine, I have fallen in love with these characters, and it was wonderful to spend more time with them.  As any fan of the series knows, there are quite a few supporting characters, and almost all of them manage to show up in Vegas before the book is over.  The arcs we’ve been following over the last few books continue to advance as well.  About the only thing I didn’t like about the characters in this book is that I don’t see how Holly can be in future books as easily.  I absolutely loved her, and she’d make a fantastic addition to the series.

The mystery in this book is more about the why of the attacks in order to figure out the who.  That sets up a different type of plot, but I enjoyed that for a change of pace.  The mystery does slow down a bit at times for the character arcs, but fans of the series won’t care at all.

If you aren’t already a fan of the series, you might not fully appreciate all that happens with the characters here.  There’s a fun solution for that, however.  Head back to the beginning and get that history.  The books themselves are fast reads, and you’ll be so hooked you’ll be on this one before you know it.  I’m speaking from experience here, so trust me.

We’ve got four new cupcake recipes here, including the title recipe, Snickerdoodle, Cherry Cola, and the Elvis.  Hey, it was set in Vegas after all.  Just the titles make my mouth water.

I fully expect to go into withdrawals now that I’m up to date on this delightful series.  Fans will love this latest visit with Mel, Angie, Tate and the crew.  And if you haven’t met them yet, what are you waiting for?  Trust me, you’ll rush to find out what happens to them in Vanilla Beaned.

Need more sugary goodness?  Here are the Cupcake Bakery Mysteries in order.

NOTE: I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Giveaway!

Thanks to the publisher, I have one copy of this book to give away.  Because it is a physical book, the contest is limited to residence of the US.

Just leave me a comment with your e-mail address so I can get in touch with you if you win.  I will pick the winner next Tuesday, April 19th, so please leave your comment before 12:01AM Pacific Time on 4/19.  You will have until midnight on 4/24 to get back to me, or I will choose a new winner on 4/25.