I listened to the audio of Death by Chocolate Marshmallow Pie by Sarah Graves, narrated by Susan Boyce. Susan did a skillful reading of the story. You could tell the character changes and follow easily. I didn't know it was a series but that didn't make a difference to listening to this as it could be a stand-alone.
The story was about a bakery owner moving in on the territory of a well-established bakery and spreading some lies to seal their business. When he turns up dead the owner of The Chocolate Moose, Ellie, who is also the owner of the gun that killed him, and “Jake”, as she's known by, and Ellies partner, set out to prove her innocence. The story has lots of cute humor, a mystery to solve, and charismatic characters. It's a story that has twists and ties to the past that gets explained in the end. It also has a wholesomeness that a reader who objects to racey-type books will find refreshing. I do recommend this book and I like the audio version so I can drive, clean it just sit to listen. Thank you, NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for this advanced audio for my honest opinion.

5 out of 5 stars

Thank you to Dreamscape Media and Netgalley for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review.

I have found a new favorite cozy mystery series! This is rather late in the series to discover it but I will be buying all of the books that came out before this.

The narrator Susan Boyce was great! I loved Jake and her family and friends. I kind of really like all of Jake's quirks and her past made her more interesting. There is humour in this but it was one of the few cozies that I have read where there felt like some very real stakes here for the characters. I just loved everything about this book!

I think I was missing a lot of prior information with this one and that's probably what I get for starting the series in the middle. Part of me feels like this could have been like an hour shorter. It just felt like it took a while to get to the conclusion. It was still a good story, but I'm not sure if I'll go back and read the others in the series, it just didn't catch my attention like other cozy mysteries do.

Death By Chocolate Marshmallow Pie is a fun cozy mystery. I requested this audiobook on NetGalley simply because of the fact that it is set in Maine. It was a fun treat to hear the accent and style of talking in the narration that reminded me of growing up in coastal Maine. The Yankee way of life and the setting of the small town, Eastport, was also a nice element.

The main character, Jake, was a relatable character in her extreme clumsiness and stubborn nature. Ellie was pleasant enough as her coworker and close friend. The other characters were mostly interesting and unique.

The storyline was entertaining and fun to listen to, yet it was a little predictable when it came to the ending. This didn’t detract from my enjoyment of the audiobook but I would have rated it a little higher if it wasn’t as easy to determine the end.

I have not read the other books in this series but I feel that it works perfectly as a stand-alone.

I loved the narration and rate it ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 stars. The change between characters was subtle and pleasing to the ear. The inflection caused me to smile or let out a little laugh that I don’t think a simple reading of the physical book would have caused.

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My true rating is 3.5 stars

I just finished this audio book. While I enjoyed it I did find some of the characters forgettable forgettable. I found myself having to rewind it and register a few times to keep up with what was going on.

This one was just too sappy for me... I couldn't get into it and actually ended up DNFing it! I thought the story was flat and couldn't get excited about the characters.

I enjoyed this one I was afraid I would be lost when I saw that this was actually a book #6 but they did a nice job of re-capping the back story and that she has been involved with other cases without spoiling them.
I liked that she wasn’t the perfect little housewife solving murders. I enjoyed all the characters and would read this series again!

This was a fun cozy and I would recommend this series for folks who enjoy a good cozy I wished there was more about the food though.

Narration by Susan Boyce was really well done.

3 stars

I received this book form the publisher Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for a fair and honest review.

Unfortunately, this book was not for me. I couldn't stand the characters and the writing and I was very glad when it was over.

When Jake and Ellie find themselves at the center of a murder they begin their own investigation to clear Ellie’s name. Death by Chocolate Marshmallow Pie is a good wholesome murder mystery.

Much better than book 5. Overall this series is great and I really love Jake, Ellie and the rest of the crew. Hope there is a book 7.

Excellent cozy mystery I enjoyed listening to this one and had a great time. May have to try hand at making a chocolate marshmallow pie lol but will definitely stick to just solving crimes from my armchair. Much safer🥰

🎧 Audiobook Review 🎧

If its one of those days when you need a cozy mystery to suppress every other mood - hop on the ride

East Port Island is a place where people usually come to escape their busy lives. But Jake and Elie can't find peace when the neighbour constantly tries to degrade their bakery. The cherry on the cake is that the neighbour turns up dead soon and the prime suspect turns is Elie.
Now it's up to Jake and Elie to find the actual killer and solve the mystery before they get convicted of the charges.

Though predictable the book had a smooth overall pace with cozy setting. There was a part where they were trying to figure out a dish with marshmallows, n I kind of got the vibe that they were not its biggest fan. I would like to call out that the audiobook had great narrators that kept me going, the story however didn't have a lasting impression. A good read for a mood change

Thankyou @Netgalley @ for the Audiobook ARC. The narrators did a great job

Genre: #murdermystery #cozymystery
Rating: 3/5 ⭐️

This was my first introduction to The Chocolate Moose and its owners, Jake and Ellie, but I found it to be an entertaining read. I especially like Jake's droll delivery of some of her musings.

When the competition next door suddenly drops dead, it's up to Jake and Ellie to clear Ellie's name off the suspect list. The problem is, many things aren't what they seem, and everyone they speak to seems to wind up with a head injury soon after.

The question is, can they solve the mystery before anyone else gets killed or Ellie gets hauled off to jail?

I really enjoyed the characters, setting and storyline of this book and have already gone out to purchase one of the earlier books in the earlier books in the series so I can dive back into this sweet treat.

Thank you to Sarah Grave, Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for an advance review copy.

I usually love a great cozy mystery, and this narrator, but not this book. The definition of a cozy mystery, or unofficial, is that it is clean. No cursing (or extremely little), no sex, or anything untoward. I was listening along and the author dropped in a term I will never use and I feel is over the line, and that was GD. That IMMEDIATELY took me out of the book and just ruined the whole thing for me. I actually could not enjoy the rest of the book because of that and thinking, what is coming next? That is not me being a prude, or, you know what, maybe it is, but I did not like it at all. I just felt it was inappropriate for the series. That literally ruined the book for me. I will continue to read the series, as I am not caught up to this yet, but I hope and expect better.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A fun cosy mystery and an easy read. Although this is a slightly darker mystery you still get the nice small-town feel and I read this in one sitting. The characters were really interesting and I'm looking forward to seeing where they'll go in this series and learning more about their pasts. I also thought the narration was great with a clear distinction between male and female which let me sit back and enjoy the mystery.

Sarah Graves "Death by Chocolate Marshmallow Pie" was a fast, fun, cozy mystery full of interesting twists. While there were a couple of little aspects of the story that I didn't love (i.e., you don't need to explain that someone said it "the Maine way of saying it" every time, This story has some interesting red herrings and was generally a fun ride :)

My first read by Sarah Graves, Death by Marshmallow Pie was more of a darker cozy mystery than I was used to, but I liked the bit of change of tone in this genre because it was different for me.

Jacobia “Jake” runs a bakery with her best friend Ellie in the island village of Eastport, Maine, where Ellie finds the owner of the competing bakery across the street, murdered in his shop. Because of previous occurrences, Ellie becomes the top suspect in the murder investigation, and so, Jake has no choice but to put her sleuthing hat on and do some investigating herself to clear Ellie’s name.

First off, I’ve never read a character who got themselves wrapped up in so many vines, scratched up by trees and plants and bit and stung by so many insects. Only to go back and end up getting “attacked” three more times because the area she scoped out made it difficult to spy or hide. Those moments made me laugh out loud at how she could just pick up herself, and go back to focusing on finding the real killer.

The darker edge of the story was due to Jake’s criminal past. Typically the amateur sleuths are squeaky clean in cozies, but Jake proves that you can still be sleuthing it in a cozy sphere with some grit.

I figured out who the killer was about half way through the novel but it was not obvious who it was and I found the story was well paced. Also, narrator Susan Boyce’s way of verbalizing the audiobook was wonderful.

Love this book. Great narration and main characters. The ending was really good. Shout out to netgalley and publishing for allowing me to listen and review this story!

4 stars!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
I have read some of the other books in this series and this one was enjoyable too.
I love cozy mysterious and this author.
Another light and enjoyable listen. Narrator great as always!
You really don’t even need to have read or listened to the others in the series to enjoy this one too.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Sarah Graves for providing me with a complimentary digital audiobook ARC for Death by Chocolate Marshmallow Pie coming out April 25, 2023. The honest opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Summer in Eastport means lobsters and blueberries, though tourists and locals celebrate the baked goods from The Chocolate Moose. This year’s arts festival, features food, games, and local musicians, means even more customers clamoring for desserts. But it’s also bringing competition from a new rivaling store Choco’s.

Choco’s owner, Brad Fairway, is pulling sneaky tactics to lure Moose patrons to his own shop, and Ellie finally confronts him about his stunts. But when Brad is found killed next day. The weapon that was used is a gun that belongs to Ellie. Facing charges, Ellie has to clear her name.

Working through the victim’s connections, Jake and Ellie know they’re getting close to the real culprit. Can they find the solution before the killer serves up another helping of murder?

I haven’t read the other books in the series. I know cozy mysteries are dark because of murder, but I still think of them as lighthearted with the amateur detectives solving the cases. The title felt like a fun food related mystery like some of the other ones I’ve read. I wasn’t expecting some of Ellie’s very sad, dark backstory and relationships. I really enjoyed listening to the story, but I was expecting something a little more cozy. The story also seemed to feel like it was dragging in some parts. I thought the narrator was great. I would check out other books by this author.

I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys darker cozy mysteries.