I realized this was book #2 in the series a couple chapters in. I did have to google a synopsis of the first book - more for my own need to know everything - but I think that the highlights were summed up enough to follow the book without having to read the first. It does make me want to go back and read the first one though!

Daisy specializes in baking pies and using family magic to bake feelings of hope, nostalgia, clarity - whatever feeling she would like the recipient to have - into her pies. She also has the ability to bake a darker magic. She started a side business Pies Before Guys that kills the eater without a trace. She only uses the dark magic against men that she had deemed deserving - they are beyond changing and are abusive and dangerous men. I don’t normally enjoy books with magic, but this book did a good job of make it subtle enough that it didn’t overwhelm the plot.

Daisy finds herself on a pilot of an American baking show that is in line with the Great British Bake Off.

I enjoyed the details similar to the Great British Bake Off. I watched the show while on maternity leave and got so invested into the lovely atmosphere. It’s a great contrast to the environment that Daisy is experiencing with the show she is filming for. This is especially true when Daisy realizes that one of the judges for the show is a man she is supposed to deliver a pie to!

This was a fun read and I loved Daisy’s character. It was a great blend of murder, magic, baking and building friendships. I want to go back and read the first book now!

Thanks Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for the ARC!

This was a lot of fun, but probably has a tighter, more niche readership than the first book in the series.

This is cooking show narration with a dash of mystery. The majority of the book narrates the main character's cooking show competition, the actions and dialogue of other characters during the competition and her own internal monologue. Baking show enthusiasts will love it! I've never gotten around to the Great British Baking Show, which is referenced several times, but I was definitely getting strong Nicole Byer vibes from the show's host. There are a few flubs, but it's not a Nailed It -type show.

The cast is HUGE-- too big for me to remember much about any except the ~3 who ended up being more important. With a competition pool of 12 (including the main character), 3 judges, 1 host, 1 producer, 1 production assistant, and 1 make-up artist-- who all have names, lines, and recurrent appearances! A friend, a boyfriend, and a dog from the first book all reappear for bit parts. Additional one-off characters with lines, some with names, but without reappearances, also popped up. The cast seemed to be handled pretty well, or at least I didn't notice any conflicting info. In what may be a meta-joke, one of the other contestants says early in the competition that they each are a "type" or fit into a role (villain, diva, etc.) for the show, and most of them don't move much past this during the book.

One thing that bothered me a bit is that the main character spends a fair bit of time thinking about her guilt and her status as a "murderer," thoughts brought on by the deaths both in the book and in other characters' backstories. An important distinction that is glossed over is that the character doesn't use magic to kill-- her magic forces abusers to "stop," and it's the unconscious choices of the abusers and their previous life choices that choose for them how they are going to interpret that directive.

Readers should start with [book:Magic, Lies, and Deadly Pies|58896183] to properly establish the character and her powers, but broad strokes only are needed for reading this book-- ok to read much later, having forgotten a lot of the fiddly details. eARC from NetGalley.

I will be the first to admit, the pun in the title alone took me longer to realize than it should have. This book is filled to the brim with puns, some corny but all were great. This book is like one of those days at home where you decide you are going to binge watch a baking series in an embarrassing amount of time. This is the second book in the series, but I found this book fine to read as a stand alone although I will be going to read the first Pies before guys book now. The book follows Daisy, a one-of-a-kind pie baker who sometimes also uses her pies to murder deserving men. Daisy is part of a baking competition when an accidental death on set begins to look more like a murder. She uses her detective skills and magic pies (not the murder-y ones) to solve the mystery. I gave this book a solid 5 stars for the plot, the puns, and the overall need to binge finish in one sitting.
Thank you Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books for my gifted ARC copy.

4 ⭐️

This was very interesting to read, I have never read anything by Misha Popp and I’m not disappointed

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle, from Crooked Lane Books and #NetGalley. Thank you for the opportunity to preview and review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.


A cozy mystery series with pizzazz, suspense, entertainment and likable characters

Though I did not read the first book, I did find this novel quite enjoyable. I liked the way the author (Misha Popp) described the different things that were being baked. Though this book fell flat in the magical aspect, which I was looking forward to, but in the end, I loved the idea of a murder mystery with a bake-off. Overall, I think the author did a good job of incorporating baking and murder mystery, which I never thought would be a combination that worked, But I was proved delightfully wrong.

Ah, yay! My girl Daisy is back with her delicious and delightful pies 🥧. Some with a side of murder. Can I just say I couldn’t get the first book out of my brain for days? I had the biggest book hang over. So I was very excited to be able to get my hands on this ARC!

Daisy is ready for some more pie competitions, and some more magical murderous pies. Our girl has her hands full! You may be wondering why murderous pies? But don’t fret, these pies are for the lowest of scum bags. Along with her flourishing business, she is set to be part of a televised baking competition! She just has to deliver the newest murder pie between filming. Now things get strange…the pie is meant for one of the judges? But he dies before he even receives the pie! Now Daisy needs to find out who is behind the murder. Can she solve it with out exposing her magical murderous pies?

What I enjoyed:
- LGBTQI+ representation once more. Loved the real Ace of Cakes pun.
- This one made me giggle many times. I love Daisy as a character. She is super relatable and I wish she could be my friend.
- I enjoyed all the new side characters (otjer bakers) a lot! They had some great personalities, and a few made me laugh a lot.
- The murder plot was a really fun one. I was kept guessing the whole time. The pacing was also excellent! I finished this book in less then 25 hours


On a side note: I was also excited to see the mention of an ube flavored baked goodie! My filipina heart rejoicing whenever I see ube mentioned anywhere 😂💜.

I cannot wait for more Pies Before Guys books! This one did not disappoint, and was a fun cozy mystery. I surprisingly liked the change of scenery. Even though we didn’t see much of the characters from book one, I still enjoyed it! I think it will add more depth to future books. 4 stars out of 5! Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

The great British baking show meets murder and a serial killer in this action packed story from Misha Popp. The main character runs a mobile Bakery called Pies Before Guys, she takes out bad men through her magical murder pies, and lands a spot on a baking competition show where... deaths happen... but not from her murder pies! I wanted to give this book 5 stars badly. I mean, all those mixed in one story brought my excitement for this book to a 10! The writing is great, the story is fun and quick, and the characters make a lasting impression! Seriously fun read if this is your genre!!

Now, the reason I couldn't give it the 5 stars I wanted to was because I didn't understand how the magic happened in the murder pies. It reads like Daisy just thinks about an action (like honesty, death, do-the-right-thing) and maybe it just comes out of her hands? Was it done with a spell, is it genetic, how did she get the magic? I didn't actually understand how the magic worked in what seemed like a relatively normal/non-magical world otherwise. I would have liked more insight into that.

The other reason is there were too many situations in which I felt like the authors political beliefs seeped into the characters or situations. I personally don't enjoy current divisive events in my fun reads. I know some people like that, but I'm trying to escape all that when I'm reading a book like this. Maybe that's just me!

#ARC #agooddaytopie #piesbeforeguys #mishapopp #greatbritishbakingshow #bakingshow #freebook #murderpies #PBG #ebook #bookstagram #booksofinstagram #bakingcompetition #murdermystery #mobilebakery #cookingtv #magic

I enjoyed the building of characters and their relationships. It was taut, fast-paced and addictive read to the end.

A Good Day to Pie was adorable, thrilling, and magical. Following Daisy on her side business of pies before guys and the baking show you’re shown first hand that everything is not black and white. It’s a cozy mystery with a fun twist.

I went into this so excited when I saw the second book was already out.

If you're a diehard, obsessive fan of The Great British Bake Off you might love this book. A murder mystery at a GBBO inspired baking competition. Unfortunately, the quirky, unique, magical charm of the first book was gone replaced with what felt uncannily like reading weekly episode recaps of GBBO. The main characters beside Daisy only made quick appearances at the very beginning and very end of the book. Which is disappointing to say the least.

If a third book is released I hope the author goes back to what made the first book so unique and spunky in the cozy mystery genre. This felt like I was reading a book from another series.

***I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books in exchange for a review. ***

two stars ⭐️⭐️

while i didn't read the first book which in hindsight i probaby should have done, i did feel that you could read this book as a standalone as while there was some background missing, misha popp does provide the essential information.

the way popp describes the diffrent items that daisy and the contestants bake is postitively mouthwatering and the contestants personalities and their responses to the situations do seem believable from the information that the popp gives us. the information given to us is believable based in the context that they are given in. i do applaud daisy's morals and values as they do seem quite rigid and while there are challenges to them, they never falter.

the murder mystery at the centre of the book is quite interesting and i really did not expect how popp developed it. as the book devoloped, i did guess who it was and it the motives for the perpetrator seemed to be quite believable.

one thing in the book that i didn't think was quite believable was the romance between daisy and her boyfriend. it could be down to the fact that i didn't read the first book but throughout the book there wasn't really a mention of how she missed him. while i do understnd that they may be quite independent people, it is hard to understand that they do care for one another romantically if there is no real mention that they did miss each other. in fact, i was rooting for daisy to date one of the new characters introduces because she seemed to care more about them than her supposed boyfriend. however there was romance as a side plot between two of the side characters which was quite cute.

all in all, this was quite a nice book but there really wasn't anything that special about it. maybe if i had read the first book, i would've seen the best of the second but i do doubt it.

What a fun read! Loved it! I love cozy mysteries. They're cute, have a fun side story and this one was just perfect. The first chapter already got my attention.

I think I would have liked this book better if I had read the first book in the series.
I chose to read it because I liked the concept of the book. I had a hard time getting into it, but I did finish it. I can't put my finger on why I didn't care for it.

Full disclosure I’ve not read the first novel in the series. Having said that this is one of my new favourite cosy mysteries. Their was a great balance of the two plot lines: mystery and cooking tv show. Both were handled well. Plus the recipes at the back of the book was a great touch.

I enjoyed this book even though I hadn’t read the first one in the series.
I liked the descriptions of the items baked for the competition.
Thanks to NetGalley for an advance copy of this book.

A Good Day to Pie is right up my alley!! The premise reminded me of Penny Reid's Solving for Pie series with a reality show thrown in the mix, so I was elated to be able to read it. This book was funny and engaging, and a good comfort read. All the characters were likable, especially the protagonist, and the plot line was easy to follow. I haven't read any other books from this author, but I definitely will pick them up now that I've finished this novel!

3.5/5

Daisy Ellery has entered an elimination baking competition where all the episodes will be filmed in a two week period. Along the way, she will deliver her specialty pie to some clients - only the intended subject will die after consuming the pie. When she reaches the site of the competition, she is surprised to discover that the intended subject for the pie she is to deliver on the way back from the competition is one of the judges. When the competition begins, one of the competitors dies from an accidental fall. However, the show must go on. As the competition continues and contestants are eliminated, the judge is murdered. As Daisy is aware her pie is not responsible, who among the competitors or television crew wanted the man dead?
#NetGalley #Crooked Lane

4.5 stars

This is the second book in the Pies Before Guys Mystery series but can easily be read as a standalone. This book feels more like a traditional cozy mystery than the first one. That being said, book one (Magic, Lies, and Deadly Pies) is outstanding and I really loved it.

My only complaints about A Good Day To Pie:
- not nearly enough Zoe, Penny & Noel
- a lot of characters that I sometimes got confused between

I really hope that this series will have many more books to come.

I received Magic, Lies and Deadly Pies as a complimentary ARC but purchased it once it was published. I will do the same for A Good Day To Pie.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Crooked Lane Books through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you, Crooked Lane Books!!!

I want to thank Netgalley and the author for gifting me the ebook. Wow... Liberal feminist propaganda much? Unreal. 👎