I didn't care for the slow moving plot nor the unsympathetic characters. Seems a bit disjointed.and had a lack of strong character voices.
Thank you netgalley and the publisher for this arc

This is the sixth Book Retreat Mystery.
Jane Steward and Storyton Hall are hosting a children’s book conference and a family fairytale oriented weekend. First one woman and then a second are found on the grounds murdered with a fairytale angle.
Jane is angry and who can blame her? She had hoped with the telling of some secrets that the untimely deaths at Storyton would stop. Plus she wants a fairytale weekend of love, laughter and joy for the parents and children coming to Storyton.
This may be the most heartbreaking mystery of the series. I am truly grateful the author does not end the book with the solution to the murders. There needs to be hope and light reintroduced following the darkness.
I feel in order for the reader to truly appreciate the nuances of this story the other books are needed. The setting is well explained and if you wanted to read this book alone you could do it. It is just so much better if you have grown with Jane, Fitz, Hem and the Fins.
From the book -“...happy endings weren’t that important. It was the journey they were interested in - the voyage from first page to last.”
While I can understand the idea, I like happy endings or at least a happy-ish ending where there is hope for happy things yet to come. This book does that well. You have to experience all the messy bits first but there are happy things to come for the characters. That is what I ask for from my favorite books.

“Happily ever after wasn’t a huge event. It was a hundred small moments of happiness.” The murder mystery that unfolds in Murder in the Storybook Cottage is wrapped in many small moments of happiness. This 6th book in Ellery Adams “Book Retreat” series is perfect for readers who love fairy tales and children’s stories. There are many scenes vividly described throughout the story, such as lavish tea parties for children and families, costume character events and even an art contest for illustrators that evoke pleasant thoughts in the midst of some not so happy endings for actually quite congenial characters. The mystery is not predictably easy to solve, so you will keep guessing until the end. Murder in the Storybook Cottage is a delightful and refreshing cozy and great addition to the Book Retreat series.

This is one of my favorite cozy mystery series! It’s a unique setting and has such creative events that surround the mystery! I love the interconnection between the fairytales and the mystery to be solved in this installment in this series! So very creative! Pick them all up! You won’t be disappointed!

Thank you so much NetGalley and Kensington for the ARC!

I love reading these cozy mysteries & wish that Storyton Hall did actually exist!
The one thing I would have changed in this story, was to add more about the families & their visit to Storybook Village/the Fairy Tale Forest. The part of the story was somewhat of an add-on, in my opinion.
As usual, no idea who the suspects were until it is revealed who committed the murder!
Hoping this series does continue, thanks to NetGalley, Kensington Books & Ellery Adams for the preview

Ellery Adams creates locations I want to visit — or maybe live. This one is no exception. Who wouldn’t want to live surrounded by books and stories and people who love both.
Oh, well, there’s the murder issue, but even Rip Van Winkle cannot make these people and this place less appealing.
It’s another good one from one of my favorite authors.

I  received a free digital copy of this book from Netgalley for an honest review.

"I'm British, Miss Jane. The word exotic evokes visions of poisonous snakes, stinging insects, unbearable humidity, and malaria."

This book was a genuine delight and I can't wait for the story to continue!

This is one of my favorite series and has unique setting. I would love to go to attend a book retreat at Storyton Hall! I'm not sure what I'd enjoy the most the people or the food.

These characters are interesting and I love the way their interact with other and how the relationships are continuing to grow.

I was totally engaged with this book from the first few pages and read late into the night because I didn't want to put it down. It's one of those books that you have to know how it ends and then is a little sad that it's over.. I'm already ready for the next book!!

Ellery Adams is the voice of cozy mysteries and she's crafted some of the best mysteries on the shelves today. She's at it again with Murder in the Storybook Cottage, delivering a beautiful, magical story that will have readers craving to re-read books from our childhood.

Storyton Hall is hosting a publisher's conference for Peppermint Press, publishers of children's books, and Jane Steward is looking forward to a week of fun and frivolity. However, when she discovers a stranger's body in her new Storybook Cottage, plans change and Jane must devote her time to finding out who the stranger is and who killed her.

I've been a long-time reader of Ellery Adams' books. Whether she is weaving actual magic (like the Charmed Pie Shoppe Mysteries) or the magic that comes from being curled up with a good book (like the Book Retreat Mysteries), I've always felt like real magic comes off each page of her stories. They wrap me up like the hug from a best friend, and make me feel like everything is right with the world. This is exactly how I felt reading Murder in the Storybook Cottage.

The story centres around children's books, both modern and older books. While reading the story I was able to think about how much the stories have changed over the decades. The Brothers Grimm stories were quite dark, but still very much read and loved today. As a mom to twin boys myself, I read a lot of children's books with them, and I loved seeing Ellery Adams mention many of our favourites - including Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

I loved that the mystery involved fairy tales of times gone past, and it was interesting to see how the mystery was weaved into the Grimm's Fairy Tales. Along with the mystery, the readers get a look into life at Storyton Hall, and all that encompasses the children's activities that they are holding, to celebrate children's fiction. Both storylines we weaved together, and that pace was frantic, as Jane and her friends try to find a killer before they strike again!

With the current situation in the world, Murder in the Storybook Cottage is a well-timed, much needed dose of magic. The kind of magic that doesn't come from a wand, but from reading a good book, escaping the world and adding one of those "happy moments" to our lives. I can't recommend this book (and the Book Retreat Mysteries) enough. Pick up a copy today. I guarantee you that it will be the best book you read this year!

Storyton Hall is hosting a Children's Book Retreat and preparations include a fairy tale village with Mother Goose's shoe house, the three pigs houses, and more. Sounds like so much fun, right? That is until a young woman dressed like Red Riding Hood is found dead in one of the cottages. Jane Steward, the proprietor, has many secrets of her own but she is determined to discovered who the secret murderer is with the help of her staff of Fins - one of her secrets.

The story was so entertaining and engrossing I was up until 3am because I couldn't put it down. This is one of my favorite series and I look forward to many more with these engaging characaters and mysterious hidden secrets!

I kept putting off reading this book because I didn't want it to be over - I wanted to keep looking forward to it. But a beautiful, peaceful resort setting with likeable characters and a fascinating fairy-tale mystery, love in the air, and BOOKS, make this the perfect thing to read right now. I've read all of this series and this is by far my favorite to date. For a deeper understanding of the plot and characters I'd recommend reading the previous books, but it's complete and interesting enough to stand alone. Storyton Hall is an incredible place and you'll want to live there by the time you finish reading!

Thanks to Netgalley and Kensington Books for the advance digital copy. All opinions are my own.

This series has such a unique storyline. I enjoy the characters and the enchanting location. To be a protector of books is so noble.

It may be because I have not read the previous books in this series, but was unable to get into this book. I love a good mystery, and I could see this being good, but it just was not sucking me in.

Return to Story took, a little piece of heaven for literature lovers.
This story takes us to a wonderland of different children's storybook cottages.
A fun mystery and a few gruesome murders.
A town full of colorful characters.
I recommend reading the whole series in order to understand what is going on in storybook

An entertaining and well written cozy mystery. My first book in this series but will be going back to read others. I received an arc from the publisher and this is my unbiased review.

I'm always happy to return to Storyton Hall, and every time I read a book in this series I wish that it was a real place where I could take a vacation! This book felt a bit darker than some of the others in the series, but the mystery was well crafted and I always enjoy the characters.

Ellery Adams is the benchmark in cosy mystery there is no other writer that so succinctly and impressively builds a world that I actually want to live in. And not just once. Every series that I have begun by Ellery is a demarcation in my reality and new one that I want to visit again and again.
Across each and every one of her series she creates characters that are resonant and attractive to the heart, she creates environments that are rich in detail and decadence and she masters the arc and emotion required for a mystery story.
I haven’t read the other five book in this series yet but upon finishing the first chapter; I ordered them all, in paperback for my collection. I was introduced to cozy mysteries with a recommendation to read Ellery Adams and can confidently say that she is the best writer in this genre. A brilliant story, a brilliant series and an absolutely brilliant author.

I love this series, and this book was my favorite so far. I love the characters, how they support each other, and will drop everything if needed to be there in a jiffy. Jane is a woman who does it all, has a heart of gold, protects her loved ones to the end, and is no nonsense and fierce. This book kept me engaged all the way through, and I couldn't put it down. I love the surprise at the end, and can't wait for the next book!

This book is going to bring out your inner child. You're going to want to twirl between chocolate trees, follow a peppermint path to an enchanted village, where some of your favorite childhood books come to life.
Storyton Hall is a place like no other, filled with books, book and crannies, and people who will want to share their love of books with you.
Jane Steward is a single mom of twin boys, living her life in Storyton Hall, after the death of her husband.
Jane's aunt and uncle share the magical place with her, the boys, and a staff full of wonderful people, who have become family to them all.

During what is supposed to be a grand event sponsored by Peppermint Press, one of the top publishers for children's books, a tragedy takes place, and it seems the murderer isn't quite finished.

This book brought back great memories of my own favorite books, and I enjoyed catching up with some of my favorite friends.
To read a book by the talented Ellery Adams, is to discover a new world where anything is possible.

This is the 6th book in the series Book Retreat Mysteries...and it didn't disappoint.
We have a Rip Van Winkle in a new addition to Storyton Hall...
We find Jane in the middle of another convention...this time it's children's authors...
The Rip Van Winkle is found with a very expensive edition of Grim's Fairy Tales...who is she?
As Jane and the Fins (her security team who also help run Storyton) try to solve the mystery
They find themselves looking at all of the guests...especially the authors and publishing people..
I really enjoy reading Ellery Adams books....they grab you from the start and keep you reading until
the mystery is solved.
Highly recommend this series; Great characters; and who wouldn't love to run Storyton Hall, a book retreat...