Where Slash Rules

If Fried Chicken Could Fly by Paige Shelton

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


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I had so little left to read of my “work” book that I brought it home and finished it this evening. The book was If Fried Chicken Could Fly by Paige Shelton, and it’s the first in her “Gram’s Country Cooking School” series of cozy mysteries. The main character is Isabelle “Betts” Winston.

Betts and her grandmother are busy running Gram’s Country Cooking School and preparing for the upcoming cook-off competition. Everything is going smoothly until they discover the body of Everett Morningside in their supply room. Everett owned the local theater in Broken Rope, and now his widow is accusing Gram of murdering him. Betts knows her grandmother didn’t murder Everett, but she also knows Gram is keeping secrets from her. The biggest secret of all is the ghost of Jerome Cowbender, Broken Rope’s most infamous outlaw. Legend has it that Jerome robbed a bank and buried the gold somewhere in Broken Rope. Jerome may be able to help Betts solve the mystery, if only he could remember his past.

I liked this story. I loved the ghost aspect. Characters were fleshed out (even Jerome!), and the plot proceeded in an orderly fashion. There was the added drama of Betts’ high-school sweetheart, Cliff, having recently returned to town to accept a job in the sheriff’s office. I do wish we’d seen more of Betts living her life instead of investigating. She wasn’t even shown all that much working, either.

Favorite lines:
♦ Having a watch-ghost made me relax completely.
♦ “Ghosts, coins in tombstones, bartenders who resemble dead contortionists. Interesting.”

Interesting and enjoyable, four stars.

( Trope Test )

Southern Spells by Amy Boyles

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


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Juuuuuust after midnight I finished reading Southern Spells, which is the 2nd book in author Amy Boyles’ “Sweet Tea Witch” series. The main character is Pepper Dunn, novice witch.

Pepper is learning to embrace life in the magical town of Magnolia Cove, and she’s especially excited about the upcoming Cotton and Cobwebs Festival. This year, Pepper’s grandmother, Betty, is determined to have the winning entry in the magical creatures contest so as to best her nemesis, Melbalean Mayes. When Melbalean is attacked and killed at the festival, Betty becomes the prime suspect. With her Gram sidelined by the official investigation, Pepper takes it upon herself to launch her own investigation to prove Betty’s innocence. That, and Betty gives her a list of tasks that must be accomplished in order for Magnolia Cove to continue running smoothly.

A fun and quirky story. Pepper is a likable character, as are her cousins. Her gram confounds me a bit, and her aunts, Mint and Licky, are double trouble. Literally. They are chaos witches. The slow-burn romance between Pepper and Axel is coming along. We were also subjected to the return of Pepper’s nemesis, Rufus, who was allowed into town for 24 hours to attend Melbalean’s funeral. Everyone knew that Rufus had twice tried to abduct Pepper, yet he was again able to confront her in this book. Um, I thought he was meant to be under constant surveillance to ensure that wouldn’t happen again. Did it add some drama and excitement? Yes. Did it add anything at all to the plot? No.

Favorite lines:
♦ “You might be making unicorn coffee, but it won’t make you poop rainbows.”
♦ “The chicken’s the best witness we’ve found.”
♦ “Sorry, I got cat brain.”
♦ “If you had an opportunity to get back at someone and you were putting all your faith in a chicken, would you just want one chicken, or would you want to increase your odds by having two chickens involved?”

Cute story, four stars.