This…was not for me, to put it lightly. I have been in a mystery mood and thought this one looked very cute. I love food references in cozies and thought the cat would play an actual role in helping to solve the murder. But the main character - Marci Beaucoup - I kid you not, was a complete and total dunce for the entirety of the story. Being in her thoughts was like listening to the most idiotic Reba McIntire impersonator talk about their daily lives. She pointed out the most inane details that had no value to the story or to build character. The mystery was boring and bland and Marci had zero connection to the victim. Her inner monologue about detective Maverick was the absolute worst. She refused to admit her “feelings” but also wouldn’t shut up about how “dreamy” she thought he was. It was a chore to get through this. I gave myself a migraine from rolling my eyes so hard every third line.

Thanks for the opportunity to listen to and review this audiobook.

I love the narrator for this book. She has a great accent and a wonderfully dramatic voice, wel suited to this type of book.

The story itself is very typical of this type of story. Takes place in a small shop. Involves a bakery. A body is found. The bakery owner gets to work trying to solve the crime. But honestly, this is why we love these stories. They are quite a fun and easy listen.

Overall, I found this to be an enjoyable story for this genre.

I normally like a nice cosy murde mystery story, but within the first few chapters, I knew that this wasn’t going to be the audiobook for me.

There is nothing really wrong with this story. It’s just very meh. It feels like it’s trying too hard to be cosy and I couldn’t help feeling that this was the second book in the series, rather than the first. We kept getting told so many details from events that the main character assumes that we know, but we don’t.

Plus, our lead character is so undecisive. We would lose good chunk of a chapter as she painstakingly tried to decide what to do. She overanalysed and, while fine at the start, this got old very quickly.

Not for me, I’m afraid.

Macarons Can Be Murder is the first in a new series by Rose Betancourt- the Paris Kentucky Bakery Mysteries. I thought that this was a decent start to a new series, I really liked the Parisian bakery setting and the Paris, Kentucky community. I thought that the main character was likable and that the narration in the audiobook worked well with getting her inner thoughts across. I also thought that the light mystical/magical element was done in an entertaining way. Overall, this cozy mystery was lighthearted and I will probably continue to read this series. A couple of things that didn’t work for me: I wish that the mystery was more difficult to figure out, and I’m also not a big fan of love triangles. I also wish we had spent more time at the pumpkin festival!

Thank you to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an ARC of Macarons Can Be Murder by Rose Betancourt Fluke. My comments are an independent, honest review.

3.75 rounded up to 4 stars

2.5 stars rounded up

In this cozy murder mystery Marci Beaucoup is obsessed with all things French. She owns a cat named Pepe Le Pew and is the owner of La Belle Patisserie located in Paris, Kentucky. Everything is going well in her bakery with customers believing that her pastries will help them find love. Things take a turn for the worse when a women is found murdered in front of her shop and the women’s ex-boyfriend, Antoine, being the lead suspect. Not only is Antoine the new man in town, he is also the potential new landlord for Marci’s bakery. Without him, the building will be torn down and everything Marci has worked towards will be gone. Marci is determined to find the killer and clear Antoine’s name. Will she be able to find the killer in time and without having feelings for both Antoine and the lead detective on the case?

I really wanted to love this book. I thought the concept was great but the execution was lackluster. I found some comedic and romantic aspects to this book that I thoroughly enjoyed. I also enjoyed the “investigation” into finding Kelly’s murderer. However, this book was often repetitive saying the same sentence multiple times throughout a chapter and some aspects of the investigation didn’t really make sense to me. I almost found that the author was throwing events in there to prolong the conclusion. Although this book was not my favorite murder mystery, I would probably read book 2 just to see how things progressed between Marci and the detective.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to review the audiobook of Macarons Can Be Murder.

I took one look at this cover and knew that it was going to be a cute cozy mystery. While it is in fact a cozy mystery it fell a little flat for me.

You really have to suspend your disbelief very early on simply for the name of our main character, Marci Beaucoup. It sounds absolutely ridiculous every single time she is named in the text. An Marci herself is a bit annoying. She is wishy-washy and continuously made increasingly dumb choices while saying she's not going to again.

Then there was Aunt Barb who's strong personality grated on my nerves. I especially didn't love her constant badgering of Marci to date a man who she has said multiple times that she doesn't want to, and then punishing her when she doesn't.

The love triangle was fine, though it felt forced. I really don't know how we ended up with her having feelings for two men at the end when she's spent eons ignoring one of them and has actually only spent a total of a few days with the other.

Overall, the story was just okay. It didn't really grab my attention in a way that would make me want to continue on with the series.

Thank you to Netgalley and Dreamscape Media for the audio-arc of this book!

Marci Beaucoup is the amateur sleuth at the center of this new series set in Paris, Kentucky.

The narrator really brought this audiobook to life. The story is filled with quirky characters and (intentionally) mangled pronunciations, and Nan MacNamara did a wonderful job with them all.

That said, as you can see from other reviews, this book is one that isn't for everyone. Personally, I enjoyed the nonsense. But if you prefer a more serious sleuth (by that I mean less neurotic), then you may want to pass this book by.

However, if you like quirky characters and ridiculous situations, you may want to take a chance on this book.

I do agree with one of the other reviewers that there's way too much internal dialogue and that Marci would be better off with a sidekick. But the best option for a sidekick is Aunt Barb, and her character is great, but not one that's sidekick material.

Because of the excessive internal monologue, I think I wouldn't have enjoyed reading the story as much as I did listening to it. This is one of those beautiful instances where the narrator truly creates the magic the author had intended all along.

Thank you to Rose Betancourt, Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for an advance review copy.

This is a very unique cozy. I don't know if it was really for me & I'm not sure of I will give book 2 a try or not. Time will tell - maybe if I listen on audio again.

The audio was nice & helped with all of the French in the story. The narrator did a wonderful job.

Pros:
Good narration
Quirky, fun characters
Pleasant setting
Unique addition to the cozy genre


Cons
Inner monologue/dialogue & stream of conscious style writing
A little overdone with the French/Paris vibe.

Thank you so much for approving me for the alc.

Macarons Can Be Murder is book #1 in the Paris Kentucky Bakery Mystery series by Rose Betancourt.

Marci Beaucoup has a bakery in Paris, Kentucky. She has a dog, Fifi, and a cat, Pepe Le Pew. When there is a murder, she jumps in to investigate.

I really struggled with this book. Marci needs a sidekick to talk to instead of the internal dialogue. She was so back and forth and questioning herself on everything - when the phone rang, should she answer it or not, what did the person want, etc. Her aunt was very pushy and clearly had a boyfriend in mind for Marci while Marci was infatuated by a man that came into her shop. It felt to me that it was trying hard to have the characters be quirky and for me, a little goes a long way. The premise and the location were interesting and if you like quirky characters with a lot of inner monologue, this may be the book for you.

I thought Nan McNamara did a fine job with the narration.

Thank you to the author, Crooked Lane Books, Dreamscape Media, and NetGalley for the Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) copy of this book and I am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

Thank you Netgalley and Dreamscape Media for the ALC.

Story: 🌟🌟🌟
Narration: 🌟🌟🌟
Overall: 🌟🌟🌟

Macarons Can Be Murder is a start to a new cozy mystery series about a baker who finds herself in the middle of a murder investigation and a love triangle. While it has all of the staples of a great cozy, I could never get fully invested in the story. The narrator used very distinct accent that I didn’t love and it took me out of the story. Overall, this was sadly a miss for me.

I was drawn to the story from the cover and description. I requested the audio version from Netgalley. The narrator did a wonderful job.

Unfortunately, the story just didn’t grab me and I tried. I listened to the entire book and had a hard time with the intentional mispronunciation of almost all the French words Marci uttered. I’m sure this is a gimmick but I just cringed at all of it.

I also had a hard time connecting with the characters. Marci fell in the TSTL category. She only survived through the grace of god. She intentionally went out of her way to put herself in danger and keep the police out of it.
I have no patience for this type of sleuth.

I saw so much potential from the description. I will not be continuing this series.
I was given an advanced audio copy and these are my own opinions.

⭐⭐⭐

Marci Beaucoup (yes that is her real name) is the owner of a french bakery in Paris, Texas. She is also obsessed with all things French. Marci has been informed by her landlady that the building is going to be sold and she had two potential buyers lined up. The first buyer, and the landladys preference, is a French man named Antoine. Antoine had promised he will allow Marci and her bakery to stay, while the other buyer wants to tear down the building and construct a strip mall. Antoine is the obvious choice except for one little thing: he is a murder suspect and may end up in prision. Marci is determined to prove Antoine's innocence and keep her bakery by solving the murder.

As evidenced by the entire setup, the story is very cheesy as far as cozy mysteries go. Especially since the obvious suspect is introduced early and there are not even red herrings to lead us astray. The love triangle also feels very forced. The main character, Marci, is more annoying than cute and definitely things she knows what she is doing despite making constant bad choices. As a quick pallet-cleanser better heavier books i can see a niche for this series, it is not one i will be continuing.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for my advance reader copy of this book.

I wanted to enjoy this book, but I just found it lacking. The story-line wasn't engaging or thought provoking in my opinion. The main character continually put herself in harm's way ignoring everyone else's advice. There is also a love triangle-eque romance that is building (assumedly for up coming books) but it was just wasn't interesting.

Note: I listened to this and personally struggled with the reader a bit and the pronunciation of various words.

Overall I really enjoyed Macarons Can Be Murder and I'll likely continue the series if it pops back up when more are released. I think what frustrated me most about this book was the way the fmc talked herself into everything so willy nilly. There wasn't any basis in fact just a thought popped into her head and she ran with it.

Possible spoilery comments...

What was up with that "love triangle"? She got sort of attention from one man but the other was very obviously into her. I guess this is one reason to continue the series, right? Eventually we have to find out what the heck happened on prom night.

#MacaronsCanBeMurder #RoseBetanCourt #FourStars
#NetGalley #ALC #Audiobook #DreamscapeMedia
#CozyMystery #LoveTriangle #WhatTheHeckHappenedOnPromNight

A story based in Paris- the one that's far away from France, in Kentucky. The cozy mystery starts with our protagonist Meric, who brings all her love for French baking to her bakery - which some say has a magical touch 😉. But when a lady is shot right outside her bakery, the gossipmongers have more than just the food to talk about.

A fast-paced plot in a cozy setting gets you into a very easy breezy mood. I gravitate towards them when I get to overwhelmed with heavy reads or even life! I have a thing for sassy response characters which was infused in Merci, perfectly. A good one-time read if you want to freshen up the mood. Though I don't think the story has a lasting impression once you finish the book, I do recall all those discussions around butter and the fragrance of dough rising in the oven.

Thank you @netgalley @dreamscape_media @authorrosebetancourt for the Audio ARC. It was short, sweet and simple.

Genre: #cozymystery
Rating: 3.5/5 stars

Macarons Can Be Murder
Book 1 in the Paris Kentucky Bakery Mystery series
by Rose Betancourt
Narrated by Nan McNamara

I received an ARC (advanced reader copy) of this audiobook through Netgalley.

I really enjoyed this cozy mystery. Marci Beaucoup is a french pastry bakery owner in Paris, Kentucky. She discovers a murdered woman in front of her bakery and assigns herself to be an amateur detective.

Her detecting skills include watching crime tv shows, stubborn bullheaded tenacity, anger, and a terribly wonderful way of finding trouble.

Rose Betancourt is a new author for me, and I find her writing delightful. All of the characters, places, and the town are charming and full of character.

I found all of the people to have a real personality that was brought to life by the charming voice of Nan McNamara!

I love cozy mysteries like this one. There is a delightful southern small town grace that is so easy to love.

I definitely recommend this book to lovers of small town cozy mysteries with romance!

Macarons Can be Murder

⭐️⭐️⭐️

“ Living in Paris, Kentucky, and having a sidekick cat named Pepe le Pew gives Marci Beaucoup’s life a certainje ne sais quoi. Combining her love of baking and France, Marci opened La Belle Patisserie to bring her small Southern hometown a bit of French flair and lots of croissants. Everything is sunshine and macaronsat the bakery until her landlord calls to tell her she’s selling the property. Marci’s relieved to hear that if the top bidder, an enchanting Frenchman named Antoine Dubois, gets the property, he’ll renew her bakery’s lease. Charmed by Antoine, Marci figures this development isn’t half bad and sees a handsome new landlord in her future—but then Antoine’s estranged ex-girlfriend Kelly turns up dead in front of her bakery. Sacrebleu!”

I am a cozy mystery junkie but this one just didn’t grab me like others do. I had a hard time finishing it because of the writing just being a bit flat. The narrator was great though. It was a little too cutesy with Marci’s name and the being in Paris and making Parisian pastries.

Macarons Can Be Murder is the first book in a new series by Rose Betancourt featuring amateur sleuth Marci Beaucoup and her patisserie in Paris, Kentucky. When the future of her beloved café is on the line Marci throws herself into her own investigation as she fears that the cops will go after her future landlord in error.
The story had a solid base and the side characters were delightful but there was nothing extra special that made this cozy stand apart from others. While I liked the idea of a Francophile living in Paris, Kentucky, it felt like this was taken a bit too far with no explanation beyond the name of the town. Nan McNamara did a fantastic job narrating this cozy and I do feel to a certain extent that is what kept me going when Marci’s monologues ran long. My favorite part of the whole story was Marci’s aunt and her no-nonsense attitude. Overall, an okay start to a new cozy series.
Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for early access to this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Review: I was able to follow this and stay engaged in the audio and typically I can only listen to non-fiction. The narrator was excellent. The story was engaging, often too corny and heavy on southern cliches for my liking. But overall, a cute cozy murder mystery.
Recommended For: Cozy mystery fans.

Marci Beaucoup lives in Paris - just not the Paris you're thinking of. Paris, Kentucky, Marci's hometown, is a small, peaceful community with all the usual suspects: the town gossip, sassy older women, and elderly men you can set your watch to. But that all changes when Marci finds a dead body in front of her French bakery. As the town starts to talk, Marci realizes her business may be in danger and there's only one thing to do...find out who in the town is a murderer.

This was my first "cozy mystery" and it was a pleasant departure from the suspenseful, violent thrillers/whodunnits that dominate the genre. Betancourt's characters are sweet, smart, and reminiscent of small town America. If you've lived in a small town, you'll feel right at home with this novel. Are some elements of the story unrealistic? Sure. Are some characters a little "extra"? Of course. But that is exactly what I was looking for when I decided to pick up this story. Despite the nefarious topic of the book, Macarons Can Be Murder escapes from graphic scenes of either violence or intimacy and can be seen as a palate-cleanser for readers searching for a lighthearted, easy read.

My experience with this story came in the form of an audiobook, narrated by Nan McNamara. I felt it quite easy and enjoyable to listen to McNamara's interpretation of Betancourt's work. Through the story, I found myself utilizing not only physical written descriptions but also McNamara's audio to determine my visual of what the characters looked and acted like. I fully enjoyed this audiobook and would be interested in listening to more from both McNamara and Betancourt.