I absolutely devoured Blackmail and Bibingka by Mia P. Manansala! This cozy mystery is packed with food, friends, and family drama - just in time for the holidays.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Aaannddd we’re back in Tita Rosie’s Kitchen! Another excellent little cozy mystery made even cozier by the addition of the holidays! All that holiday baking had me drooling, and, as has become a habit with me with this series, I almost immediately skipped to the end to see what recipes I could try to whip up for myself (the selection looks excellent again, I am so happy to say. Trying those salabat snickerdoodle bars this weekend, hopefully).

I really enjoy the slow burn romance going on with Jae (who just seems too sweet). The new friendship formed in this book also was a lovely addition.

I just adore this series and am absolutely delighted that it is going to continue- and you know I’ll be one of the first in line to get my hands on a copy of the next book so I can try out those recipes, too!

I have to tell you, when I received the widget for Blackmail and Bibingka, I was unsure of where this book would take me. Judging by the cover, I thought I would be reading a RomCom, but as I read the synopsis, I knew I was dead wrong. I will tell you that as soon as I realized the setting was placed around Christmas, I knew regardless I would love it, so I dove on in.....

I'm that weird woman who rocks out to Christmas music all year round, I bake Christmas cookies in July and I have a dog named Rudolph. You get the picture? YES! I love all things Christmas!!! Blackmail and Bibingka has made the cut and I thoroughly believe anyone who chooses (and they should) to pick this one up will love it as much as I did.

This is the first book I have read by Mia P. Manansala. I completely fell in love with her writing style and her ability to teleport her audience into the storyline. Everything and I mean EVERYTHING felt so real, from the people to the baked goods, I saw these people in person, and I tasted the food just on description!

The narration was done with perfection and I was head over heels consumed with this book from page one! Now, I originally told you how I thought this book would be a RomCom and although there is romance, there is just so many more layers to this book! There was family drama, friendship and even murder (YIKES!)

Blackmail and Bibingka is book three in the Tita Rosie's Kitchen Mystery series and although I have not read the two books prior, I will be now. I was easily able to read this book as a standalone but after falling in love with the characters I need more!

I highly recommend Black and Bibingka, and I would like to give a big thank you to Berkley Publishing and Mia P. Manansala, for trusting me to read and review this book in exchange for an honest review!

BLACKMAIL AND BIBINGKA is the 3rd book of the series “A Tita Rosie’s Kitchen Mystery”. Honestly, crime and mystery is not my thing but this novel has made me dip my toes more into this genre.

This is a cozy mystery novel. It’s my first time reading a novel from this series and I really enjoyed it a lot. Although it was a bit slow in the start but it started to get interested from its middle. I will also read the other 2 books in the series.

The whole plot is based on a Filipino family. That’s why you’ll get to see many Filipino terminologies and dishes. A few months ago I read a book “The boy with the bookstore”. It also contains many Filipino dishes. But this book has more mouth watering dishes such as Ube, Salabat and many more. Let alone I loved their names a lot.

“It was greed and jealousy, pure and simple. And I didn’t want that bit of human ugliness to taint what was to be a special, magical time. So I turned my attention to the things that were important to me.“

–Lila
This novel is full of amazing characters. Also the whole crew of Lila is very supportive. I liked how the author described each and every detail of Lila’s small business and thank you so much Mia P. Manansala for recipes in the end.

Again just like I have said above, thrill and murder is not the genre I’m interested in but the cover of this novel made me read this. I have heard that all the novels in this series had amazing showdown endings. Well this novel also has the same case. There were many revelations. I was honestly astonished at the end of the novel.

What I liked :
The family drama, as well as the friendship, the recipes, introduced me to the Filipino culture , and that it was a culturally diverse book. I also loved how the author put in a trigger warning at the very beginning of the book as well as a index of words ,how to say them and their meaning. the mystery it's self .
What I didn't like : was the main character, and how she treated her cousin,
Over all it was an enjoyable read , would I go on with the series probably not , it could be because it's book 3 in a series and that makes this not only a new to me series as well as a new to me author, but it also means at times I felt a bit lost, or it could be that this series is just not for me , Even though what I liked over ruled the problem of not liking the main character and I did find it enjoyable, and it does deserve the 4 stars I'm give it. Its just not a series I will be going on with, but that's not to say that later on down the road I won't decide to pick it up again and starting with the first book instead of this one. With all of that said I would love to thank Barkley for inviting me to read and review Blackmail and Bibingka .

This is probably my favorite of the series so far! I loved the continuation of Lila’s story and her relationships with family, friends, and her love interest. This story really showed how messy family can be, but ultimately love wins over. I thought the character development was excellent and I enjoyed the mystery aspect. It definitely had me guessing until the end. Looking forward to more of this series!

I just love this series so much. Tita Flor’s shoe stole the show for me!!!! Anyhooo, in this round of mysteries in the making, Lola’s cousin Ronnie is suddenly back in town after fifteen years. Everyone is side-eying him because he’s always been up to no good. Not to mention their worried about him breaking his mothers heart again (Tita Rosie). This time around he’s invested in the local wine company and with his comes a cast of new characters, and almost right away an unexpected death. Could it be murder? Lola is sure if it is, then Ronnie’s involved. Along with her besties and boyfriend, (and always some help from family and the Calendar Crew) Lola is determined to get to the bottom of everything.
Loved the threads of romance in this one!!! And as always the recipes. My goodness the food sounds amazing and thank goodness Mia P. Mansala gives us recipes lol. Thank you to the publisher for my gifted copy of this e-arc.

This book made me so hungry - both for all of the delectable Filipino treats and the next book! These cozy mysteries are the perfect solution to a reading slump (or if you need to work up an appetite). Blackmail and Bibingka reads more similarly to Arsenic and Adobo than Homicide and Halo-Halo, which I'd say was for the best. The mystery wasn't too obvious, though I did guess it before the ending, and has many fun elements that will keep you guessing. We also get to meet her estranged cousin Ronnie and delve into the family dynamics. Alsooooo THE RECIPES - I'll be making those snickerdoodles for sure. I feel like I want some development into Jae and Lila's relationship in the next book, but we do get some delightful tastes in this book.

*Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review*

This was another fun addition to the Tita Rosie’s Mystery Kitchen series. It was a nice cozy mystery filled with delicious food and fun characters.

I really liked getting to know the family more and meeting some new people. I loved the descriptions of all the food and honestly felt so hungry reading. I loved watching Lila try to solve the mystery and work on digging for clues.

There were some stylistic writing choices that I didn’t love, but they didn’t take away from my enjoyment of the book.

Overall a really entertaining read and surprisingly one that is good for the holidays as it’s set around Christmas.

Thank you to Berkley Publishing and NetGalley for my advance digital review copy!

Lila and co. are back in Mia P. Manansala's latest installment of the Tita Rosie's Kitchen Mystery series. This installment sees the return of Lila's troublesome cousin, Ronnie. Ronnie has purchased a winery in Shady Palms after a failed startup in Florida in an attempt to escape his troubles, but after Tita Rosie receives a blackmail letter, it becomes apparent that Ronnie's problems have followed him all the way home.

I was excited to get approved for another advance copy of Manansala's latest cozy mystery. I love reading about Lila and Longanissa's exploits, and Lila's recipes (inspired by food from my own culture) always leave me hungry. The reader is introduced to a large cast of characters at the start of the novel, and it definitely took me a while to learn who everyone was/keep them straight as I was reading. I sometimes think the dialog sounds stilted or too chipper, but it could just be because this is a cozy, and I read so few of them.

Overall, this was another great installment from Manansala. I really love all the recipes she included at the end of the novel and can't wait to give the Salabat Snickerdoodles a try.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4 for Goodreads

As much as I tried, I just can’t get into this book. Thank you NetGalley for giving me the chance to read it.

Another fantastic story in the series - this one with an extra serving of family drama and holiday cheer! Love seeing the gang all together again, the yummy sounding recipes, and the pop culture references.

Is this the most groundbreaking book of the year? Nope. Is this a book that educates me on cultures outside of my own while offering cozy Hallmark style mystery and intrigue. Absolutely.

Lila Macapagal, Adeena, Elena, and the Calendar Crew strike again! What are the chances that this sleepy town of Shady Palms, Illinois would be hit by another murder again? This time, it hits a little closer to home as it involves Lila's own prodigal cousin, Ronnie, who had disappeared 10 years ago and suddenly comes back with some new business scheme. Though he seems sincere about starting anew and being close to family again, suspicions fly high when one of his investors dies suspiciously at their newly-acquired Shady Palms Winery. With Ronnie as prime suspect, Lila and the rest of the detective gang get into digging for clues and tidbits of information hoping to shed light on the mysterious killer and blackmailer. The mystery gets wrapped up neatly just in time for Shady Palms townspeople to get into the spirit of the Winter Bash where Tita Rosie's Kitchen serves their special holiday treats of bibingka and hot chocolate.
I love reading Mia's books as they always remind me of the little things from home. Aside from the food, in this book, I am reminded of how no other country in the world celebrates Christmas the way we do it back home. Though Shady Palms is lucky to have a solid Filipino community for Simbang Gabi to happen, to quote from another book, "There is no place like home." I love the mystery, but more than anything, I love how it transports me to a little enclave of Filipiniana in Midwest America.
Thanks for the recipes that always come at the end of the book, and I love the announcements found in the Acknowledgements section. I will not put spoilers up here.

P.S. I got an uncorrected version of this book..

Calling all foodies in the third installment in this cozy Filipino American murder mystery (recipes included)! Tita Rosie is thrilled with the return of her prodigal son just before for Christmastime, but Lila knows that wherever Ronnie goes, trouble follows. A light-hearted and breezy read, Lila Macapagal guides us through the novel with thoughtful commentary and a fierce love for her family. Her experimental recipes never fail to make my mouth water.

Super grateful to get this ARC! The two previous books had me HOOKED. Unfortunately, this junior novel didn't hit the same way for me as the other books. It felt slower and confusing; I didn't register anything that interesting until the penultimate chapter. I kept reading because I feel attached to the characters, a rapport established in the prior books. I assume the slowness is because of some other exciting news 🤭 I will definitely be reading more from this author.

Blackmail and Bibingka is a fun and culturally diverse book for cozy mystery lovers.
Thank you Berkley for the digital review copy.

Thank you to the publisher, NetGalley, and Mia P. Manansala for allowing me to read an advance copy of Blackmail and Bibingka in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this third installment of the story of Lila, her family, her friends, and of course her dog, Longanisa. This story flows more seamlessly than the previous two as the author hits her groove. I am very excited to see that the author has signed a contract for a further three books! I can't wait to continue the story with my new friends!

I've been DYING to read this since Ali Hazelwood mentioned it and it lives up to the hype. I hate when I'm disappointed by a hyped up book. This book is also perfect for fans of Jesse Q. Sutanto!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the review copy of this book!
This was just what I needed, home sick from work the other day. I liked the first two of these and this one is also fun! It's Christmas, a rogue family member has returned, there is LOTS going on for Lila, naturally someone ends up dead, and I gained weight just reading about the food. A fun romp and a good addition to an enjoyable series. I'm glad there are more Lila books coming!

I would recommend this to those who love cozy mysteries with a side of food, family, and friendship thrown in.

One thing I found distracting was the slang the author had in this book (e.g. "sus") which I don't remember reading in her previous books.