I'm not typically a person who reads magical stories - I tend to enjoy plots that are more realistic - but I love Daryl Wood Gerber's Fairy Garden Mystery series. It's the perfect light, cute reading for a global pandemic - it will get your mind off of the world's problems and you'll be immersed in a delightful, whimsical story.

Courtney Kelly owns a tea shop/fairy garden store called Open Your Imagination, in which she holds classes to teach people to make their own fairy gardens. (This really, really makes me want to have my own fairy garden!) I wish my own hometown had a store like this because I'd definitely shop there.

Courtney happens to have a fairy who hangs around her and her shop. Fiona got in a bit of trouble and now has to do good deeds and help people in order to regain all of her wings and fairy privileges. Most people cannot see fairies - only true believers can. Courtney's own father doesn't believe in it, though many of her customers are hoping to have the ability to see fairies.

When there's a murder at a charity gala, Courtney is one of the first people to see the body of Lana, a local art critic who seems to have enemies everywhere she turns. The biggest problem? The person who does find the body was recently seen in public in a heated argument with the victim. But she swears she didn't commit the crime and doesn't even know how she found the body. She claims she was sleepwalking.

Courtney knows she needs to try to solve the crime because the police don't listen to her theories so they're looking in the wrong places. The biggest problem is the sheer number of people who strongly disliked Lana. Only one person in town - the librarian - seems to have anything good to say about her.

The stories in the Fairy Garden Mystery series give me a warm and fuzzy feeling. It's refreshing to read something so whimsical and cute. I figured out who the killer was, but that happened right before Courtney herself figured it out. This is a wonderful cozy that will take the reader's mind off the bad things happening in the world right now. I love the series, the setting of the shop, and I'm going to get series about making my own fairy garden - I'm inspired!

Excellent second book in this new series by Daryl Wood Gerber! Excellent character-building of strong women who support one another. Great mystery that kept me guessing to the end. I love how Fiona, the fairy is changing and growing. Lots of twists and turns that keep the reader on the edge of their seat! Gerber is an amazing storyteller and I'm looking forward to the next installment in the series.

Courtney Kelly used work for her father as a landscape gardener until she decided to leave all that behind and open her own business. So, Open Your Imagination, a fairy garden tea shop in Carmel, California was born and life seemed perfect. Then Courtney's best friend Meaghan's mother is arrested for murder and she knows she has to prove her innocence, after all her dad was a cop before he was a gardener so investigation is in her blood!

Keeping her flourishing business going as well as investigating Wanda's case takes up a lot of time, especially as the victim Lana wasn't liked very much by anyone.  Carmel-by-the-Sea has a secret though, one only a few can access; fairies live there including Courtney's very own Fiona, who is more than willing to help. All the evidence seems to point at Wanda and ,as she too thoroughly disliked Lana Lamar, proving her innocent is looking more difficult by the minute.

I have to admit not knowing if this would really appeal or not especially as I hadn't read the first book in the series but I was very pleasantly surprised. It is an easy read and the fact that Courtney works alongside a probationary fairy and takes her cat to work every day didn't even register after a few chapters!  In fact I wish there was a shop near me where I could make a fairy garden, with or without the help of sprites!

The book has a lot of food related activities: restaurant visits, picnics, late night snacks to name a few and at the end of the book are ten recipes from the story with gluten free options wherever possible. The first chapter of the third book is also included and I will definitely be on the look out for that as well.

I was able to read an advanced copy of this book thanks to NetGalley and the publishers but the opinions expressed are my own. This is a fun, relaxing and recommended read.

Courtney Kelly, owner of Open Your Imagination, a fairy garden/tea shop and an amateur sleuth, finds herself in the middle of a tragic situation when a friend is accused of murdering a hated art critic during a charity event. Now, Courtney may be a target of a deranged killer and her friend and fairy Fiona has to help her solve the mystery!

Wow, there were so many twists and turns in this mystery and it made for very entertaining reading! I couldn't put the book down. The descriptions of Carmel-by-the- Sea were gorgeous and I felt as if I was there hunting for clues. I loved the fairy characters of Fiona, Merryweather and Zephyr and could visualize them zipping around. Before I read the first book, I wasn't sure about the premise but now, I'm absolutely a fan! The book has everything I want from a cozy - a great mystery, likable characters, humor, red herrings with a story that keeps you reading!

I'm looking forward to another visit with Courtney and Fiona!

I received an ARC from NetGalley and the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

This is the first book I’ve read in this series, and I’m so excited that I did. The story is so much fun, I love the fairies, and the characters are really easy to like.
Courtney is busy with her shop and all things fairy, but when murder happens and her good friend is arrested for the nefarious deed, she refuses to stand by and watch her friend be falsely accused.
I loved everything about this book and I’m eagerly awaiting the next one.

Love this series and author. I highly recommend reading her books. She has several different series. If you haven't this series yet. Read them in order

A magical series that I would so love to visit and make my own fairy garden and see Fiona. Colorful characters, wonderful setting make this and the series a welcome vacation from reality.

I really like this series. It could be saccharine but the plot is well done and the mystery excellent. I was so intrigued by Fairy Gardens that I went shopping and my niece and I made a lovely one in her back yard.

An Idyllic Setting....
Set in Carmel, California, this is the second of the Fairy Garden series of mysteries featuring Courtney Kelly owner of a fairy garden tea shop. Amidst an idyllic setting murder lurks when an art critic is found dead and Courtney’s friend is in the frame. Enjoyable cosy with a likeable protagonist and a colourful supporting cast of characters. A worthy addition to the series.

Courtney Kelly and her fairy Fiona are making fairy gardens for an upcoming charity fund raiser. All is calm and peaceful in the shop until they hear shouting outside and go to see what the problem is. They find two locals, Wanda, her BFF’s mother and art rep, and Lana, an art critic going at each other. Courtney hoses Lana down to get her to cool off and end the fight, but something is off in Carmel.

At the charity event, Lana is found murdered with Wanda hovering over her body, setting Wanda up as the prime suspect in Lana’s murder. Courtney and Fiona don’t believe Wanda is the killer, as do many other locals, but the police need facts and evidence, not character references. Courtney and Fiona are on the case and vow to get the evidence the police need to clear Wanda and find Lana’s killer. If only they can do it without getting in a pickle and having the killer make Courtney the next target.

I adore Carmel by the Sea and the enchanting cottages that are part of the fabric. This series is magical and feeds my soul when I am longing to travel and spend time there again. Daryl Wood Gerber is a master story teller and every single one of her books immerses me in her story telling, the setting and the mystery. With plenty of red herrings to keep you on your toes, you will never be disappointed with any of her series. If you have not yet read her work, be prepared to binge on all of her other series an entries as well…and be waiting with bated breath for her next entry.

Kindle Copy for Review from NetGalley and Kensington Books.

I received a free, advance copy of this book and this is my unbiased and voluntary review.

An art critic who is too critical gets stabbed to death but who is the killer?

Things do not look good for Courtney’s friend who happened to have a very noticeable wrestling fight still cause trouble at a fundraiser before her demise as she threatens a lawsuit and throwing insults along the way.

Soon the victim will be found stabbed by a decorative knife from Courtney’s fairy gardens and her friend Wanda will be standing near the body asking what she did. Wanda has a habit of sleep walking and is in a daze. Could she have done the crime or was it someone else who the art critic pissed off?

Courtney will not have an easy task to save her friend from jail. A smart cozy read to savour.