This second book in the cozy mysteries series moves its focus from the family restaurant to the town’s teen beauty pageant. The tone is darker, reflecting Lila’s mental health struggles. Luckily, the warm focus on food and community remains, although Lila’s aunties are featured less heavily, reflecting the expanded number of side characters introduced in the first novel. A satisfying sequel, like a sweet dessert.

This was a great second book in the Tita Rosie's Kitchen Mystery series. I had high expectations following Arsenic and Adobo, and this did not disappoint.

This series is one after my own heart because it is deeply personal to me. As a 2nd generation Filipino-American who also grew up in the Chicago area, I identify a lot with Lila Macapagal and her relationship with her family and friends. The descriptions of traditional Filipino food, as well as all of the fusion recipes described for the Brew-ha Cafe, are particularly enticing and fun to read about.

This book had a more serious tone than the first, and while it would still definitely qualify as a cozy mystery, I did appreciate the depiction of Lila privately struggling with the aftermath of the events of the previous book and her reluctance to seek help from mental health professionals. It is one of many things that really make Lila seem like a real person.

I'm already looking forward to the third installment (and another alliterative title involving murder and Filipino cuisine!)

Great follow up. Nice blend of mystery, food, culture, and a deeper look into grief and trauma, especially within a family's set of expectations.

After reading and loving Arsenic & Adobo earlier this year, I was so excited and I even felt a tad honored to have received this ARC. Unfortunately - this was a major let down.

In the first, I felt we had a glimpse into an authentic Filipino family, their history, background, culture, food, family dynamic - it felt so genuine and real and the cozy mystery story was delightful. In this sequel, it felt very stereotypical and forced - both the Filipino representation and the mystery. I honestly was shocked to learn there will be a third, because it just feels very unnatural, forced and a bit unnecessary.

I just never felt the pageantry pull, the fact that Lila was not excited about the Brew-ha opening, after that being the focal point goal in the first.

I just feel bummed out! I wanted to love this so much, and it fell incredibly flat for me.

I hope you’re hungry! Lila is back with all things food and all things cozy mystery. This is the second in the series, comes out 2/8/22, and 💯 read the first before jumping in. I think this book needs the context of that book.

Also, that book was amazing.

Pretty sure there will be more in the series and I loved the first a lot and this was alight so hopefully the next is a super win.

TYSM for this gifted arc!

Thank you so much to the author for endorsing my request to her publicist so I could have an eARC of Homicide & Halo-Halo via NetGalley in exchange for an honest feedback.

Our heroine, Lila Macapagal is back in town with the Calendar Crew! And with a lot more to offer-- more Filipino delicacies, food, drinks, and a new murder mystery! I honestly had big expectations with the book since it was the first time that I read a cozy mystery book written by a Filipino author which does not only focused solely on the mystery part but also on culture, culinary, familial relationships, and mental health.

The main plot of the novel revolves around the Miss Teen Shady Palms Beauty Pageant contest where Lila won the crown a couple of years back. This brought back a lot of memories (and insecurities) to Lila where we see a glimpse of how her childhood was shaped by her mother who pushed her a little too much to everything ( I guess that's just a norm in an Asian household). Through this pageant we were introduced to new set of characters- Valerie, Beth, and Sana whom I wouldn't go exactly into details about their characters BUT these women just scream EMPOWERMENT to me!

In the second book installation of this series, we can also see Lila and Bernadette patch up their cousin rivalry and be able to reconnect. I'm a bit disappointed that the love triangle or the whole romance part of the book was not given a spotlight but I also trust the author's process on these things! (after reading the part where Lila said "wait for me"). I am soooo hooked and excited for book 3!

I know we rarely read a lot of books that normalize something but I just want to applaud this book for giving THERAPY importance and for normalizing that "it's okay to need help". To quote one of my favorite lines in the book, "It doesn't have to be what you do. You can choose to seek help if you want it, you know, it's not up to them."

It has been an amazing adventure, I love the heartwarming conversations and the character developments. I'm looking forward for the next book.

I absolutely love this series! From the mouth watering descriptions of Filipino food to the "who done it" mystery, this is the ultimate cozy murder mystery! Lila is an amazing heroine and I enjoyed watching her emotional growth. I like how this story shows the very real aftermath of the traumatic events of the first book on Lila. This story is as much about healing as it is a murder mystery. The calendar crew, as well as the residents of Shady Palms, are always a joy to read about as well! What ultimately makes me love these books are all the interesting characters along side Lila. I cannot wait to catch up with everyone and see what mystery they will need to solve in the next installment of the series!

Readers who enjoyed Arsenic and Adobo will definitely want to read this second book in the series. The perfect cozy mystery, but with the expanded appeal of a multicultural cast of characters. I can't wait to recommend this to readers who enjoy cozy mysteries with a culinary theme.

Lila helps out in her aunt's Filipino restaurant, and runs a coffee shop with her friends. She is asked to judge a teen beauty pageant in her hometown of Shady Palms, and reluctantly agrees. When one of the creepiest judges is murdered, she and her friends and family are determined to help clear her cousin's name. The descriptions of the different foods are very appealing, and recipes are included. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Lila is back, and her second adventure does not disappoint. Homicide and Halo-Halo is filled with more quirky small town fun, plenty of familial love and drama, and lots of yummy food descriptions. I'm pretty sure murder isn't supposed to be funny and delicious, but you wouldn't know it from this series!

3.5 stars but rounding down.
TW: Death, murder, suicide, threats and PTSD

The family, food and cosy elements in this book continue to grow, and if you need a book to satisfy that need, then this book is for you!
While I did enjoy this book, I found it wordy, and the romance was lacking even though it was mentioned a few times that there is a love triangle occurring, but no development was made on it, so I didn't understand why it was discussed so much!
However, props to the story and another for talking about therapy and mental health and how just because something isn't discussed or done in a family or community doesn't mean it should continue. I hope that Lila will deal with her trauma from her parents' deaths well before the books and her PTSD from being almost killed TWICE now!

And YES, I will be attempting to create the recipes for this book release... pray for me!

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I adored the first book in this series (Arsenic and Adobo), so when I saw the sequel pop up on NetGalley, I couldn’t hit request quickly enough. This book absolutely does not disappoint, it had been awhile since I read the first one, but this sequel did a good job of jogging my memory about the events that occurred and the characters that were introduced without being overly expository.

And the FOOD. The author’s descriptions of the food once again were brilliantly done and had me salivating into my Kindle. This is definitely NOT a book to read on an empty stomach.

The mystery was well also well written and had me guessing until the last couple chapters. (I might have figured it out sooner if I hadn’t been so distracted trying to Google where I could get Filipino food nearby, of course.)

And, as someone who tried and LOVED both the ube crinkle cookies and salabat spiced banana bread recipes that were included at the end of the first book, I can not wait to get back into the kitchen with the new recipes included at the end of this one!

I’m already looking forward to the third book and the expansion of this world (and the recipes that will come with it!)

For the love of my watering mouth and my extra stimulated taste buds: Food, sweets, even descriptions of drinks in this book made me famished and pushed me search local Filipino restaurants!

The first book of the series was so entertaining, smart, delicious example of cozy mysteries! I’m so happy to see Calendar Crew and lovely heroine Lila Macapagal are back for new murder mystery!

I wish this adventure was a little longer. I finished it in record time and I realized I truly needed more!

Mostly I’m not big fan of pageant contests and when I see the murder mystery centered on this organization and Lila is chosen of a judge, prying around the momazillas of the contenders, ambitious competitors and other judges who may be related with the tragic incident, I was semi intrigued but the promising start of first installment pushed me to expect more!

And I was so right to expect the great things: the author has amazing way to develop vivid and interesting characters that drawn you to the story so you don’t care where the entire events take place. You just focus on smart dialogues, embellished and detailed characters, stop thinking the rest!

Lila Macapagal is back! And at this second book, I enjoyed to see how she grew, how she learned to deal with her insecurities. She’s still having second thoughts to open her brand new cafe business because she thinks she lost her mojo for creating original sweet recipes!

And now she finds herself in the middle of Miss Teen Shady Palms Beauty Pageant contest which is resurrected and modernized by town’s most respected and the wealthiest family: Thompsons who funded the entire organization.

That’s the same competition her long gone mother pushed her to win the crown when she was a little and nervous child. Most of her memories are not encouraging and Valerie Thompson emphasized too many times she’s been chosen for this position because she’s a woman of color which is truly irritating!

Did I also mention Detective Perk who tried to put her behind the bars at the first book requested her help for threat letters written to the organizers of contest? Now, I did! And detective is absolutely right because one of the judges is found death and Lila found the body!

So buckle up for another juicy, entertaining, riveting adventure!

I am honestly happy to see how Bernadette and Lila patched things up and reconnected after seeing their meaningless beef at the first book!

And Lila’s hesitancy about her two charming candidates also pissed me off before but finally at this book she made a choice: the relationship didn’t start yet but at least she showed her true colors and I know he will wait for her as he promised which gave me hope!

I was about to give four stars because mystery didn’t pick my interest so much but emotional growth of the main character and meaningful dialogues changed my mind! Im rounding up 4.5 to 5 I’m soooo hungry and I’m incapable to cook those amazing recipes added at the end of the book so I have to hire a personal cook for me stars!

Special thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.

The pages just flew by while I devoured this second installment of this mystery series! It was filled with great characters and great food all dabbed atop a plot that is a very believable and satisfying murder mystery. Delicious!

A delightful follow-up to Arsenic and Adobo. A recommended purchase for collections where the first title was popular and the many collections needing to diversify their cozy offerings.

(full review posted to linked socials after embargo is lifted)

I have been waiting for this book since I read the first one, and it did NOT disappoint. Manansala is writing exactly the kind of cozy mystery I’m interested in reading: a diverse cast of characters, a lead who acknowledges 1 - how freakin’ weird it is that they keep finding bodies and 2 - (eventually) that finding murder victims and solving their deaths is kind of traumatizing, a cop who’s increasingly critical of cops, and friends who aren’t afraid to call you out when you’re being a jerk.

There’s a lot of growth for Lila in this book: I will admit to being annoyed a bit in the last book with the way she strung her love interests along and how she treated her cousin. That continues in this book, but is thankfully called out by her friends and family, and Lila does some introspection there. I love a fully fleshed out main character, and Lila never feels like a Mary Sue or a random citizen who happens to be really good at figuring out crimes.I’m particularly interested to see how Lila’s relationship with her body progresses: there’s a lot of thinking about exercise as a holistic benefit in this installment, which I didn’t find problematic, but there’s still comments here and there about Lila’s weight. I’d love to see her changing relationship with her body become a larger piece of the book.

Anyways, I really love this series and Lila in particular. The only bad part about reading an ARC is that now I have to wait even longer for the third one!