I really wanted to love Pomona Afton Can So Solve a Murder, but it missed the mark for me. The concept—a spoiled heiress turned amateur sleuth who learns to fend for herself while solving her grandmother's murder—is undeniably fun. However, the execution left a lot to be desired.

Pomona is a character who could have been endearingly flawed, but her over-the-top entitlement felt grating rather than charming. While there are glimpses of her growth, the transformation felt rushed and unearned. Gabe, her grumpy-but-hot roommate, had potential as a love interest, but their romance lacked chemistry and depth, leaving the rom-com aspect of the story feeling undercooked.

As for the murder mystery, it felt predictable, with obvious clues and a resolution that wrapped up too conveniently. The stakes, which should have been high given the frozen assets and family drama, didn’t carry the tension I was hoping for. Instead, much of the plot relied on repetitive banter and forced comedic moments.

That said, Bellamy Rose’s writing does have a certain charm, and I can see this being enjoyable for readers looking for a lighthearted, low-stakes read. Unfortunately, for me, it just didn’t live up to its intriguing premise.

The perfect cozy mystery meets rom-com. Perfect light read that had just the perfect amount of romance, mystery, humor to make you want to keep reading. Pomona is like Cher from Culeless. This is a debut book for Bellamy Rose however this is the pen name for Amanda Elliott who wrote Sadie on a Plate and Best Served Hot. I haven’t read either of these rom-coms but definitely will after readying this.

I really enjoyed this book! It’s a super cute mystery (I wouldn’t categorize it under cozy) with fun characters trying to solve a murder in NYC. This book had a few twists and turns that kept you guessing the whole time who the murderer was. I loved Pom, the main character, even though she slightly drove me crazy in the beginning but I grew to love her. I do love a flawed main character. Highly recommend if you need an entertaining, silly, and well written mystery!

This rom-com-meets-murder-mystery offers an entertaining premise with Pomona Afton—a spoiled heiress forced to step out of her comfort zone to solve her grandmother’s murder and reclaim her trust fund. Pom’s journey from privileged socialite to amateur detective has its share of humorous and heartfelt moments, especially as she navigates life without luxury and grows closer to Gabe, her grumpy yet endearing roommate. While the quirky premise is fun, the plot occasionally feels predictable, and the mystery's resolution lacks the punch needed for a stronger impact. Still, Pom’s character growth and her budding romance with Gabe make it an enjoyable, if not groundbreaking, read. A light, breezy story for fans of comedic whodunits.

OMG, this book is so fun! I literally loved everything about it. A little Clueless, a little Gossip Girl, a smidge of Legally Blonde, and a whole lot of heart. I want to read more about Pom and Gabe, baking treats and solving crimes. Thanks to Emily Bestler Books/Atria for the ARC.

We love a murder mystery - rom com combo! While I like a rom com, I prefer a little more intrigue than will they or won’t they (or more, when will they). The main character has a sweet growth arc and who can resist the drama of the uber-rich set in NYC? I hope the author writes more like this one!

Pomona Afton CAN So Solve A Murder!!
This was short and so much fun! After a fall from grace due to her grandmothers death, Pomona takes on the task of solving her murder to gain her inheritance back.
I had so much fun with this book!
- Pomonas effort to get her life back on track, and even improve in her life
- Her journey to being a better person and finding things she loved in baking
- Watching her grow as a better person as she learned to be a good roommate, friend, and cousin
- I loved their detective skills, how they pieced things together through out, and how they eventually solved the murder

I really had no complaints about Pomona! I am looking forward to her next shenanigans.

Pomona Afton Can So Solve a Murder by Bellamy Rose
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🚫

Two books in one week with no spice? I'm clearly losing my edge. Going to have find something with Carolina Reaper level spice for my next read- any recommendations???


This was a cozy mystery that @netgalley and @atriabooks were nice enough to let me have a digital ARC of.

Pom is the wealthy socialite with no idea how good she has it until her grandmother is suddenly murdered and her trust fund is frozen until the murderer is caught. Turns out grandma suspected someone close to her might do her in and changed her will. When it seems like no one else is going to step up, Pom decides that she is going to solve the murder along with the help of Gabe- her former nanny's son and now roommate.

The mystery side of this novel was fun, but nothing in depth or sophisticated. I did like how there were several legitimate suspects, and that the final reveal wasn't super obvious from the beginning. The romance was PG, but sweet. The thing I really enjoyed was Pom's character development and her sense of humor. Even when she was just making fun of herself, it was entertaining and made the book fly by.

I absolutely loved Pomona Afton Can So Solve A Murder! From the start Pom is giving all of the Alexis Rose vibes you can imagine. We see a once absurdly wealthy NYC socialite fall from grace when she loses her inheritance after her grandmother’s untimely death and are privy to her at times infuriating, almost always hilarious, inner monologue as she starts to learn how to make it in the real world, all while attempting to solve the mystery of the murder. Pom and Gabe make a fantastic duo and it was great to see their relationship and really all of Pom’s relationships grow and develop as she comes to realize her rich and famous lifestyle may not have been all it was cracked up to be. If you’re looking for a lighthearted and minimally gruesome murder-mystery this is the book for you!

My first 2025 book! Imagine Only Murders in the Building, but with Paris Hilton as its lead detective. The first novel by Bellamy Rose (a pen name for a romance writer) does indeed blend the Rom Com and Cozy Mystery genres for a fully enjoyable, wholly engrossing read. Pomona is a heroine you want to root for, as she leaves the clouds of her privilege and takes to the (she thinks) mean streets (they're fine) of Manhattan (and, much to her dismay, Queens). This mystery is fun to watch unfold, is breezy, and will make you never want to leave a pair of high heels in your home ever again. Add into the mix an enemies-to-lovers romance, plenty of hilarious hi-jinxes, and dysfunctional family dynamics, and you have the great start to what could be a rather exciting new series.

This is a comedic mystery that will certainly find its audience amongst lovers of cozy mysteries with heartfelt stories and laugh out loud humor at the heart of the story. We follow Pomona as she aims to uncover the mystery behind her grandmother's death, which also triggered her trust fund being frozen as well. In order to access her money, this spoiled heiress must unravel the clues to find her grandmother's killer.

While the humor didn't land with me most of the time, I know this will definitely be a hit with someone that appreciates the Schitt's Creek rich-girl-coping-without-her-money vibes.

A fun read…that feels like a modern cozy…think Finlay Donovan, Dial A For Aunties, & Vera Wong! I need to do some sleuthing myself to see if this is a first in a series and if there is plans for more murders to be solved by Pom & Gabe.

What I loved…
* Hotel heiress
* Trust funds
* The upper East side
* Galas
* Son of the former nanny
* Sleuthing buddy’s
* Delicious baked goods
* Major characters growth for Pom

An amazing debut and I could see many more opportunities for more shenanigans with this socialite💖

Thank you Atria/Emily Bestler Books
Release 3/18

Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Lyon.brit.Andthebookshelf/

What a fun premise, who doesn't love a socialite that is taken down and has to live in the real world? Well, if you give your character no personality, is some sort of savant at baking since she's making up recipes despite never cooked once in her life, and continues to rely on others to raiser her, then you've got a bad book.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC for an honest review.

I LOVED how this book flowed throughout the entirety read. I loved the suspense, the characters and how put together this book was. The development and the book in general kept me reading it as much as I could until it was over. Definitely recommend this read!

I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Pomona Afton Can So Solve a Murder by Bellamy Rose is a first-POV mystery inspired by Paris Hilton. Pomona Afton is a socialite heiress to the Afton Hotels and has a robust career as an influencer. When her grandmother is murdered and the assets are frozen, Pomona loses her safety net and moves in with Gabe, the son of her former nanny. Her grandmother's will says everything will get returned to Pomona and her family if the murderer is found, but Pomona only has a year to do it.

I recently realized that I strongly prefer mysteries that are character-driven with a strong voice and this was the book that helped me understand that. Pomona's voice reads a lot like Paris Hilton circa her That's So Hot era. Bellamy Rose did more than take the voice and the hotel heiress aspects: she also took the complexity of realizing that you're kind of alone once the party stops and the emotionally distant family that we've started to see now that the layers of Paris’ life are peeling back. It's not a perfect recreation of Paris’ life, but if you're a fan of hers, I think this will be a fun read.

Gabe and Pomona's relationship gets off on the wrong foot, mainly because Pomona doesn't even remember his name or really cares about him at first. She's still quite self-centered and Gabe is, rightfully, cautious about a young woman who has never had to work for a living taking up space in his apartment. They soon find mutual admiration for each other and Gabe supports her newfound love of baking and her investigation, though he also does some stumbling on the way. I love it when a romantic arc is two people trying their best and I really liked this one. If there is a sequel, I want them happily in love and getting through things as a couple because that could be so interesting given their very different POVs as individuals.

Pomona has a lot of growth but never loses what makes her Pomona. She loves fashion, she cares a lot about how things look, she's kind of spoiled and doesn't want to go to Queens without a really good reason. But she also learns how to admit when she's wrong, be more proactive, and to start standing up to her mother's criticism. The last thing I would have wanted was for her to do a complete 180 and start to say that fashion is shallow and that she hates make-up now; it just wouldn't feel like an authentic arc. I really liked how she both could grow and change emotionally and in how she treats people, in how she finds a love of baking, but I still fully believe that the woman who woke-up in chapter one with a hangover after a party and is planning on going to a gala is the same person that we end the book on.

I would recommend this to fans of voicey mysteries and readers who love Paris Hilton-esque characters

If you’re under 30, yes, otherwise read something with a little more substance. The cover is the best thing about the book, the rest of it is sophomoric.

I devoured this book! The humor reminded me of *Schitt’s Creek* and *Only Murders in the Building*—two shows I absolutely love. But what really kept me hooked wasn’t just the laughs, it was the mystery. I couldn’t put the book down until I solved the murder myself!

What I really appreciated in this story was how Pomona and Gabe are both amateurs when it comes to detective work. As Pomona digs into the case with Gabe by her side, it’s clear she doesn’t really need him to crack the case. This not only allows Pomona to prove to herself that she’s more than capable, but it also shows she can solve the problem on her own, without a hero swooping in to save the day.

This is a fantastic story about the power of surrounding yourself with people who truly support you, realizing that money can’t buy kindness or happiness, and showing everyone—including yourself—that you can rise to the occasion when others underestimate you.

This book was different form the type of books i usually read, I don't think I've actually read a murder mystery before! But this book was so fun and a good time. Like trying to figure out who killed your grandmother so you can get your families back? Such an intriguing plot and it worked well

In the interest of full disclosure, I received an ARC of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an unbiased review.

This is a very cute, cozy mystery that is exactly what is says on the tin - a temporarily broke hotel heiress tries to solve her grandmother’s murder in order to gain back her trust fund while growing as a person. Props to Bellamy Rose because Pomona Afton could easily have been an annoying, insufferable, poor little rich girl character, but instead she Rose crafted a character that was not only somehow relatable despite her circumstances, but someone you’d actually want to be friends with. The plot was engaging, and while I guessed the murder weapon and its original owner pretty much right away, I only figured out the murderer and motive around the time that Pom did. In my experience, most mysteries are either too clever, making it almost impossible to identify the murderer on your own, or too obvious, making the characters seem stupid and annoying for not figuring it out earlier, but Bellamy Rose did a great job balancing the mystery so it was solvable without giving it away too early.

If I had to nitpick, it might be that the themes of growth, class differences, and income inequality were a little heavy handed and might benefit from a bit more subtlety, but Pom isn’t exactly a subtle character anyway, and for such a short, light novel the heavy-handedness was probably unavoidable. It still gets 5 stars, not because it’s the next great American novel (and let’s be real, those are usually dreary and depressing anyway) but because it is an excellent example of what it is - a cute, cozy mystery, with an engaging plot and sweet romantic side plot. 10/10 would recommend as a beach or vacation read, and I really hope Bellamy Rose keeps the series going.

Things I loved: Gabe, oh Gabe. What a solid, cinnamon roll of a love interest, and a his grounded ness was such a perfect foil for Pom’s everything. I especially liked how we got to skip the whole animosity and “teasing” Pom for having no life skills, because Gabe just doesn’t do that. He supported her from the beginning without giving her grief, which was refreshing to read. I also love Grandma, who was a total bitch but a killer character. And, honestly, Pom. I was prepared to enjoy the book but hate the narrator, and it was refreshing just how likable she was. Also, her disdain for Queens (sorry not sorry).

Things I didn’t: Nah, it all worked for me. The Vienna storyline was again, a little heavy handed and could have used some more development as it didn’t add too much to Pom’s inner growth arc, but again, that’s just a complete nitpick.

Perfect for fans of: Deux Moi (even gets name dropped a couple of times), cozy mysteries, The Simple Life and Cow Belles, family dramas, Starbucks, pastries (I’m craving coffee and brownies right now, at 11pm), and NYC

This was such a lovely mix of genres! I'm a huge fan of Amanda's romances, and this has all the same character development of those books infused with the mystery and humor of ONLY MURDERS IN THE BUILDING!