Cute (if somewhat hokey) story about an Amish girl starring in a cooking show - and filming in New York City. Though Bailey might be naive and willing to overlook some of the unexpected kitchen set “accidents,” Bailey’s visiting cousin has sharper eyes and more street smarts.

Amanda Flower writes a terrific cousin relationship and fun kitchen escapades. The production crew kept me on my toes and taught me a few things about filming. I enjoyed the whole enchilada - except maybe for the slightly-more-grisly-than-expected ending.

NetGalley provides a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.

Bailey is an English, a non Amish person, living in Amish country. She had previously given up on her NYC lifestyle and her fancy Chocolatier job, to help her grandmother run the Amish candy shop after her grandfather's passing.

In this novella, we see life through Charlotte's eyes. Harvest goes to NYC... filming Bailey's new television show, Charlotte is her candy making assistant. When things start going wrong with the shoots daily, Charlotte realizes there is someone trying to sabotage Bailey's chances at getting her show on tv.

I really enjoyed reading from Charlotte's POV. I liked that there were mysteries to solve instead of murders. I often wonder why it has to be murders in every cozy novel. This was just a nice change of pace. I also adore the shenanigans that Juliet and Jethro bring to the table.

I received a digital copy of this book via NetGalley. I am impatiently waiting for book 4, Toxic Toffee, which will be released on June 25, 2019.

Charlotte Weaver accompanied her cousin, Bailey, to NYC film Bailey's Amish Sweets. While Bailey is a natural on camera, begins the scenes someone is orchestrating mishaps to keep the show off the air. Told from Charlotte's perspective, the story is a charming short story to add to the series.

I’ve not met a book or series by Ms. Flower that I haven’t enjoyed yet. I loved getting back to the characters. It’s a great read.

I am a big fan of Amanda Flower and LOVE her different characters and different series. I would consider this one more of a segue than an actual book in the Amish Candy Shop series. Charlotte is a sweet character and I enjoyed her "take" on the Big Apple and the storyline; however, Bailey didn't play a main character, there was no Aiden, and no dead body. This will probably hold me over until I get a chance to read Toxic Toffee.

Another excellent edition to a wonderful series! Full of twists and turns that leaves you wanting more and enjoying each moment until the end when the killer is caught.

Another fun mystery from Amanda Flower! Bailey and Charlotte are in NYC for Bailey to film her TV show for the Gourmet Network. This time we are viewing the city and it’s citizens from Charlotte’s Amish point of view. Charlotte becomes convinced that someone is trying to sabotage Bailey’s TV show and she’s using her considerable investigative skills to save Bailey’s show. Add Jethro the pig into this NYC location and it only increases the fun. I am hoping to read another book in which Charlotte plays a major role. She the perfect combination of intelligence and Amish wisdom combined with naivety. I enjoyed looking at life from her eyes.

This is a sweet and clean cozy mystery. It’s a light, entertaining story that will make you smile. This is not a “Christian fiction” book, but I have no problem recommending this book to anyone who loves reading that genre.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions are my own.

Dollycas’s Thoughts

This delightful novella picks up where the last book leaves off, Bailey and Charlotte travel to New York to film Bailey’s Amish Sweets. Both are thrilled to be part of the Gourmet Television Network. Anxious and nervous for everything to go smoothly Bailey tries to do her best but a bunch of freaky things happen. It seems the show may never get off the ground. Charlotte makes some keen observations proving the mishaps are not accidents and she is determined to find out who is trying to keep Bailey off the air. She just needs to keep herself safe in the process.

I loved that this story was told from Charlotte’s point of view. She has a huge decision to make soon and spending part of her rumspringa in New York may help her to make her decision. Seeing New York through her eyes was wonderful, that city is awestriking whether you are Amish or English. I am sure I would have reactions similar to hers.

I enjoyed that Juliet Brody and her comfort pig, Jethro make a surprise appearance to help Bailey out. That Jethro shakes things up wherever he goes.

For a book of this length, there was a good number of suspects and Ms. Flower twisted the clues up nicely. There were some tense moments as everything came to a head. I was partially right in my deductions, I just didn’t get the extra little skewering twist. Well-plotted Ms. Flower.

This was a nice little interlude as fans wait for Toxic Toffee to be released June 25.

Oh, and there are recipes too!

Amanda Flower continues her Amish candy shop mysteries with this novella. This story sets the ground work for a spin off series for one of the characters.
Bailey is back in New York to shoot some TV spots for a later to debut candy making show. Charlotte, Bailey's Amish cousin, comes along to help Bailey. The book starts out with a chocolate demo that goes wrong, creating an explosion and possibly injuring Bailey. Who is out to get the star....lots of suspects are revealed! Also a special appearance by Jethro the pig reminds fans of the candy shop that Harvest, Ohio is never far away.
Loved the book and I am looking forward to the series!

I received this ARC via Netgalley and the publisher in return for an honest review. I really enjoy this series. Usually set in a small Amish town and featuring a non-Amish family member who trained as a chocolatier and joined the family shop. So, bits of cultural awareness are adeptly added about the Amish culture. The characters are real and well written. In this smaller story, the main character, Bailey, and her Amish cousin, Charlotte, are in New York City for the first tapings of Bailey's new cooking show, based on chocolate! This story is from Charlotte's point of view and delves into who is trying to sabotage the show and why. Fun, easy to read and an enjoyable addition to this series. I recommend it.

Criminally Cocoa

by Amanda Flowers

I have read books in two different series by Amanda Flowers and generally find her plots intriguing, her characters interesting, and her writing style excellent. Criminally Cocoa, except for the kitschy title, was disappointing. Normally I like the rare cozy mystery that doesn’t revolve around a murder. No murder here, but no plot success either. Flowers and her characters kept strolling through the same territory with two themes (Amish girl in the big city and the success or failure of a new cooking show) over and over again. Fortunately this book is a novella. Otherwise, I would have broken my own rule for my book world and not finished the book. I did complete it, but only so I could write a proper review.

I would like to extend my thanks to netgalley.com and to Kensington Books for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 2/5

Category: Mystery

Notes: Novella in the Amish Candy Shop Mystery Series
Recipe for Bailey’s Easy Easter Birds’ Nests included.

Publication: February 26, 2019—Kensington Press

In this installment of the Amish Candy series, Bailey and Charlotte have ventured to NY to film Bailey's new candy based tv show. Unfortunately things start to go awry and it seems someone is out to get Bailey. In an interesting twist, this book is told from Charlotte's perspective which brings an interesting perspective to the events unfolding. The character development is quite good as usual as is the plot so all in all a very successful visit with the ladies. I quite look forward to how the next book unfolds and how the community of Harvest deals with Charlotte's role in the tv show.

I love the sweetness of this series. The mystery was so intriguing and you can’t go wrong with a book with a pet pig named Jethro. I didn’t really like the New York setting but Besides that I enjoyed this book so much. This is a great series and I can’t wait for the next book

I really liked this short story about Bailey and Charlotte's trip to NYC for the filming of Bailey's cooking show. I was pleasantly surprised that this story was told from Charlotte's point of view, especially since she is trying to figure out whether she wants to stay Amish or not - we get a little peek inside her head. I LOVED that Jethro came to NYC as well to stake his claim to fame :)

This was a well-written, quick read. Hopefully there will be more short stories from the characters from this series in the future...maybe from Aiden...???

#netgalley #amandaflower 4.8 stars

Bailey King is in New York City, filming her new cooking show, Bailey's amish Sweets. She's brought her cousin, Charlotte Weaver, with her. While they're on the set, strange things start happening, including an explosion that could have turned deadly

While Bailey is working to get things just right, Charlotte decides to look into the sabotage herself, to find out what is happening and make it stop.

This was a fun interlude in the Amish Candy Shop mysteries. It was entertaining to see Bailey from Charlotte's point of view, and to see Charlotte react to the world of the English while she decides between that and the Amish way of life.

As usual, Jethro the pig makes an appearance, and pretty much steals the show, lol. I highly recommend this series. It's great fun, and this short story is a wonderful addition.

Criminally Cocoa is a companion novella to the Amish Candy Shop Mystery series (#3.5). This installment finds Bailey King in New York City filming for her new series Bailey's Amish Sweets, to be featured on the Gourmet Television network. Accompanying Bailey to the city is her cousin Charlotte Weaver who is currently on rumspringa, and the story is told from Charlotte's point of view.

From the start things on the shoot seem to go horribly wrong and Charlotte is convinced someone is deliberately trying to sabotage Bailey. A double boiler explodes sending shards of glass and chocolate all over the set, someone fills a can of pretzels being used for the Easter bird nests with sneezing powder and a loud horn scares Jethro and he takes off running through the park. Yes, Julia Brody and her precious pet porcine have come to the city at the bequest of Bailey's friend Cass.

It is interesting to solve the mystery from the young Amish girl's perspective. While the novella can read as a stand alone I recommend reading the series in order to fully understand the background history of the series characters. A quick, pleasing afternoon read.

I received an advanced copy of Criminally Cocoa from NetGalley via Kensington Books. While not required to write a review I am more than happy to offer my honest opinion.

This is a novella in the Amish Candy shop series. Bailey and her cousin, Clara travel to New York to tape Bailey's candy show. This is told from Clara's point of view, which is a change from the previous books. It seems someone is out to sabotage Bailey's show. Clara doesn't want to worry Bailey so she doesn't tell her about her suspicions and investigates on her own.

This was a cute story. I liked that it was written from Clara's point of view. It was interesting to see the story from that side. It was light and fun and perfect for a novella between books.

CRIMINALLY COCOA is a fun little novella set in author Amanda Flower’s Amish Candy Shop series’ world. It is a bit different from the full length novels as it is told from Amanda’s Amish cousin Charlotte’s point of view. Flower does a great job capturing Charlotte’s “fish out of water” culture clash with bustling New York City. The mystery is gentle and does not include murder, only mischief. Even Juliet Brody and Jethro the pig make an appearance.

CRIMINALLY COCOA fills the void while waiting for the next book in the series to be released. It is cute, fast reading.

I received an ARC of this title from the publisher through NetGalley and voluntarily shared my thoughts here.

Bailey has taken Charlotte with her to New York whilst she's filming her new television show.

The novella is narrated by Charlotte rather than Bailey and shows some of her struggles with her religion. The set of the television show is beset by problems and Charlotte wants to find out who is trying to ruin her Baileys big break.

A fun and easy to read novella.

Thank you to Netgalley and Kensington for the digital arc.

I have enjoyed the other books in this series, so it was nice to add a short story to the collection. The story takes place in New York where the main character Bailey is filming her soon to be cooking show. Charlotte, Bailey's cousin is also in New York to assist Bailey and the story is told from Charlotte's point of view.

Right from the start things go wrong on the set of the show, and Charlotte is determined to find out who is behind it.

Looking forward to the next book in the series!