Granted, I read an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review, but there were many mistakes in this one, eye color changing, names changing, non-letter figure used in place of a letter ([), snap on lid for a pastry box(?), 3 people in the bakery, in the next beat it's packed and Sophia's employee is mysteriously there and more. The words cherry flip-flops and just flip-flops are way, way over used. Also, Sophia learns that salt can be used in frosting to cut the sweetness and add to the flavor. The woman is supposed to be a professional baker, even I know this and all my baking is done with box mixes. Hopefully, most of this was addressed in the official published version.

On the mystery side, I liked how Sophia got out there, questioned people and we see her process and the elimination of suspects. I liked the cast of characters, but they were the basic characters we see over and over again in cozies, including the hot law enforcement boyfriend that doesn't want the main character to get involved and the best friend who does all the work while the main character is out sleuthing, etc.

So, it kept my attention, but didn't wow me. 3.5/5.0

I really enjoy cozy mysteries that involve food, especially desserts, and even more so if they include the recipes so i can make them myself. The main character of this book kind of annoyed me, so first, who doesn't make sure they get paid up front, like this whole thing could have been avoided if she just asked for the money up front, isn't that how most catering companies work, you get paid before the event so you have the funds to buy the food you are going to serve. i know i'm thinking too much into it, but it really just bothered me while i was reading. secondly, i really enjoyed the "southerness" of this series and main character, wasn't too over the top, just enough to remind you.

I loved the first book in this series, so I knew the second book wouldn't disappoint!

Sophia was hired to do the dessert catering at a library and winery event. When she found the former benefactor to the library dead by the vineyard and one of her best friends was the prime suspect in the murder, Sophia knew she'd never be able to leave this one alone. It's a good thing Carter loves her so much, or he'd have been furious at her a few times. He did continue to give her warnings. There was a little side story of Sophia wanting to make the famous donut recipe that the bakery before she bought it was known for. After that, her house was broken into, and someone threw a rock through the bakery window. Could it be the killer wanting her to back off investigating?

Not all cozy mysteries are equal- some are over the top silly and some feel dated. This one doesn't suffer from any of those issues.

Sophia was an adorable character without being over-the-top "too good to be true". She was down to earth. I liked her eye rolling at her southern mother and her want to be fair about the recipe book she found.

The mystery didn't take too long to get going and it wasn't a huge shock who went down. I didn't even try to solve the crime, just ran along with the story and enjoyed it. I also really love the cover. This is definitely a series I'd continue and I'll keep an eye out if there end up being more.

<i>A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.</i>

What a fascinating book. I was impressed by the storyline and the characters were all well written and complex. Where there are complex storylines combined with intriguing characters the reader experience is magnified tremendously. To have a book that is well written as well as entertaining is a delight. Reading is about escaping your world and entering another one. The word building was phenomenal in this book. Here I forgot about my own life and was immersed in the world created by the author. I would recommend this book.

This book was charming and mouth-watering, just like the first. I enjoyed the characters, but did feel that this book was more rushed than the first book was.

I enjoyed book #2 in A Southern Cake Baker Mystery much more than the first one. In this book, we find Sophia in Rumford Kentucky after deciding to stay in the first book. She has opened a baker, “For Goodness Cakes” and is trying to get her new business off the ground. She is preparing for her first big catering job at the Library Fundraiser being held at the local winery. Of course, someone ends up dead at the event, and Sophia is the one that stumbles over the body.

The mystery in this book was well plotted. It had some interesting twists, several suspects and a few red herrings. We get to know some of the characters in Rumford better, and they are more involved in the storyline. Even Bitsy gets involved in the mystery. There were some interesting storylines involving a bit of romance and a story about the previous bakery owners. I liked the southern charm in these stories, the sayings, as well as the debutante/county club themes. This is a fun cozy that was well written with some humor mixed in with the twisty plot. I did not guess the culprit in this one, which I always like, and the reveal was well done and made sense. Not sure if there will be more in this series (this one was written almost 2 years ago) but I would read more if it does.

As soon as I finished the previous book in this series, I started this next book, Batter Off Dead. I enjoyed the characters, the story line, everything about these books. I'm so disappointed that there are no more books in this series!

Sophia has her own bakery, and she is starting to get some good orders piling in, but at her first event there is a murder and Sophia's very good friend is the number one suspect. Of course she has to help her, as well as continue to run her bakery and bake her delicious treats for the community. This is a delicious story that will make you crave Maple bars, and turnovers, and cookies and......

I would like to thank Netgalley and Crooked Lane books for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Sophia Cummings owner and head baker of For Goodness Cakes did not expect to be back in her small, Southern, hometown but now she is back from the big Apple and ready to provide an excellent spread for the local library with its very necessary fundraiser taking place at the Grape Valley Winery. Of course every good southern girl needs a good and proper southern Mama who expected her baby girl to go to college and get a MRS. degree then settle down to raise a family and join the local gardening club. Nope not happening for the fiercely independent Sophia. She and her best friend, Charlotte Harrington, have purchased the former Ford's Bakery (the bakery they grew up with ) and are working very hard to be successful, not unlike the Grape Valley Winery. Winery landlord Ray Peel is said to be giving a HUGE endowment to the library which will also cover the cost of Sophia's catering, that is until Sophia stumbles over the very rich and very dead Ray Peel. Turns out he isn't as affable as Sophia and others had been lead to believe and she has got to get to the bottom of this mystery or risk losing her business. Each character adds a little something to the mix and there is the touch of romance between Sophia and Sheriff Carter that is almost paramount to any good cozy. This is an excellent read and best of all....seven (7) that's right seven recipes for truly tasty treats at the end of the book!

Sophia Cummings and her bakery, For Goodness Cakes, are hired to provided desserts for the Library Fundraiser being held at the Grape Valley Winery. A major donor who backed out of his donation is found murdered in the vineyard, and numerous other disasters occur causing Sophia to wonder if her new business is going to survive.

The mystery was a little lite but the characters are fleshing out nicely in this second installment of this series. The pastries all sounded delicious!

Another great book by Maymee Bell/Tonya Kappes. I always enjoy going home to new locations in these books.

Batter Off Dead is a great mystery with wonderful characters. This is so well written I hope to read more in this series.

Batter Off Dead by Maymee Bell is part of the Southern Cake Baker Mystery series. Sophia, owner of For Goodness Cakes, has picked up two catering jobs in her hometown of Rumford, Kentucky. First up is the library fundraiser where wealthy citizen Ray Peel backs out of funding the upgrades to the town library. Ray is soon found dead, and the suspect list is long. This is a charming southern themed mystery. I was thrilled to find several recipes at the end since descriptions of these desserts had my mouth watering throughout the book. The relationship between Sophia and her sheriff boyfriend seems to waffle back and forth so I am curious to see how this plays out in future books.

This is book 2 in the Southern Cake Baker Mystery series. Bakeries are getting to be popular setting for cozies and involving the small town library is a nice twist. The fund raiser is being hosted at the local winery and Sophia from For Goodness Cake is providing the deserts help out. When the winery owner is killed he owes money to a lot of townsfolk and Sophia is one of them. She starts looking into the murder so she can collect from the estate. Good mystery set in Kentucky. Never knew they had much of a wine industry. I received a copy of this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Book 2 in this series and I HAVE to go back and read the first in the series. There were definitely no spoilers in this so I honestly have no idea what happens aside from the name of the Bakery. Sophia Cummings is our sassy Southern heroine who brings humor with her quick wit as well as delicious baked goods to her catering customers and all the clients of For Goodness Cakes. The character development and world building is so well done I had no idea this was only the second book in the series. Maymee Bell never fails to bring us endearing characters and dazzling worlds to lose ourselves within. The whodunit was so fantastic I had no clue as to who it was or why. I guessed so wrong. The recipes at the end made me want to dive into the kitchen but honestly, I have no hope of doing them justice.

Thank you to Crooked Lane Books, Maymee Bell, and NetGalley for giving me the chance to read this book and share my honest thoughts and opinions with others.

I loved this story. I had such a good time reading it and was captivated by the mystery. I'm looking forward to reading more in this series.

Batter Off Dead is a charming Southern cozy mystery. I really enjoyed it. This is the second book in the series but can be read and enjoyed even if you missed the first installment. This book is perfect if you are looking to spend a quiet day reafong a light and lovely mystery. Thanks to Netgalley and Crooked Lane books for gifting me with the arc, the opinions in this review are soley my own.

"Batter off Dead" is a sweet cozy mystery set in a modern day small Southern town. An engaging read and some tasty baking descriptions and tips sprinkled into the latest murder that bakery shop owner Sophia stumbles upon and ultimately solves.

This is the second in the Southern Cake Baker series - but I didn't feel "at a lost" not yet having read the first book prior to this story.

Free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book was refreshing! I remembered how and why I love cozies so much. The plot was wonderful and kept me guessing (wrongly most of the time). The characters were believable and the setting was beautiful. I am now going back to the first in the series and will continue reading this series!

Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the opportunity to read and provide an honest review of this book.

Princess Fuzzypants here: Sophia’s business is growing nicely as the locals succumb to the delights coming from her bakery. She’s hired to produce the goodies for a big fundraiser for the library at a local winery. The fellow who owns the land, but not the winery, has promised a half million dollar donation. But he is an unscrupulous businessman who relishes in reneging on promises both business and personal. It is no huge surprise to anyone but himself when he is found with his head bashed in amongst the vines.
Sophia’s boyfriend, the chief of police, begs her not to get involved. But not only did she stumble over the body but her best friend is the number one suspect. I mean what is a girl to do? She never actually goes down dangerous alleys or puts herself in the line of fire but she does ask questions unlike the proper Southern girl she was brought up to be. In fact, she is a bit of a steamroller when it comes to questions and every time she figures she has the culprit, she discovers they didn’t do it.
She does find out who killed the victim, almost too late to save herself. She can be forgiven for not seeing it coming. It blindsided me too. There were a lot of moving pieces and various storylines going. It made for an entertaining read. I like the characters who are never portrayed as caricatures including Sophie’s mother.
I am enjoying the series but I advise don’t read it on an empty stomach. The pastries sound too good.
Four purrs and two paws up.