The contest and the murder mystery were intriguing, but the romance was a bit too much for me, there were a few other things that pulled me out of the story...

Overall, it was enjoyable, but it could be way better.

The book begins with a history teacher being chosen to be part of a long running baking show. I like baking, even if I am not into the more fancy lingo that are referred to frequently in this book ( as well as baking shows) . I have actually enjoyed a few seasons of the British Baking show because I found them to be less mean than their American counterparts.

Once at the show, a woman is found dead and the death is a throwback to an old unsolved local case. I know it wasn’t realistically possible but I thought we could get closure to both cases and this was not to be. If one doesn’t build such unrealistic expectations, they would definitely enjoy this book more than I did.

I was a big fan of the swearing in the book. It was childish but ingenuous in its own way. The food related words helped ease the protagonist’s stress without actually resorting to the same tired language that is constantly being used.

The romance in it was natural and made sense even with the amateur investigation. I felt like the book could have been a little shorter given the final reveal.

I would recommend it to fans of the genre, there are even recipes at the end for those interested.

I received an ARC thanks to Netgalley and the publishers but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience

What do you get if you mix The Great British bake off with a murder mystery? The Crime Brulee Bake off.
We follow amateur baker Clair in her journey through a bakeoff reality show. Here she meets Jonathan Ainsley Lord of the Manor a grumpy but likeable character who have agreed to let the bakeoff be filmed on his property.
A property where there's been a historic murder and when that history repeats itself it's up to Clair and Jonathan to help the police figure out who's behind the murder before more contestants lives are in danger.
While it delivers on the cozy mystery vibe, some parts fell a bit flat for me. I especially wasn’t a fan of how curse words were swapped out for dessert names — it made the dialogue feel childish and took away from the realism.

Oh this was such a fun story! I absolutely fell in love with the MMC and the FMC was just delightful! I love a book where the main characters truly compliment each other! I loved watching their relationship grow and through solving a mystery, found each other! I loved it!

Thanks to Shadow Mountain and NetGalley for this story, all opinions and thoughts are my own.

I've read (and own) every one of Rebecca Connolly's historical fiction books, and loved every one of them. I've read some of her sports romances as well, and enjoyed those. I wasn't sure how a mystery would be, but I needn't have worried. It was really awesome and I loved how it read so much like The Great British Bake Off. It was a fun book and I look forward to more.

he Crime Brûlée Bake Off by Rebecca Connolly is a delightful blend of cozy mystery, slow-burn romance, and baking show charm. Set in a historic English estate during a televised baking competition, the story follows Claire, a history teacher turned contestant, and Jonathan, the estate's viscount, as they navigate a murder that echoes a centuries-old family tragedy. While the mystery is straightforward, the engaging characters and detailed baking scenes make this a sweet treat for fans of culinary cozies and light-hearted whodunits

A great beginning to a cozy mystery series that takes place in England and is basically the Great British Bake-off under another name. Our sleuth is a contestant in the reality show but when one of the contestants is found dead in one of the historical areas of the estate the contest is staged in, our sleuth and the police inspector and the owner of the estate need to find out who wants to cause the baking show to fail. There is a little love interest in the story and their are some quirky characters you can engage with.

I wanted to love this book. Bake off inspired cozy? YES. Unfortunately, it just didn’t quite work for me. It suffered from trying to be both a mystery and a romance - both aspects suffered from the split focus. I still enjoyed it overall, but the promise of the concept didn’t quite meet the reality of the book.

Rebecca Connolly has done it again! This book was fantastic. It’s full of plenty of twists and turns! I highly recommend this fun, clean, and cozy mystery. Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley.

Such a fun and delightful book! I enjoyed it from page 1! We have mystery and intrigue with swoony romance! It was a perfect combination! It is a Claire Walker Novel, so I'm really hoping there will be more!! Loved it!

I wrote about this on Goodreads and the Storygraph and shared a link on various social media sites. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7514983544

A murder mystery set during a GBBO-style baking competition? I didn’t even know that was my niche, but here we are. The Crime Brûlée Bake Off serves up murder, pastries, and a dash of romance—and I ate it up.

The setup is irresistible: contestants baking under pressure while someone in the tent might be a murderer. It’s cozy crime with high-stakes piping bags and just enough tension to keep you guessing. But what really stole the show for me? The slow-burn, banter-filled romance between Claire and the Viscount. Baker’s kiss, truly. Every glance and awkward moment was pure serotonin.

This was such a fun read—light enough to breeze through but layered enough to keep me hooked. A solid four stars from me.

I let my ARC expire (life was too busy) so I had to get my own copy, and I’m glad it did. This is a great addition to the cozy mystery genre. While there are several books & comic books mixing a Great-British-Bake-Off series and cozy mystery, this is a particularly well done version. The mystery was intriguing, the romance was compelling, the setting was well-wrought, and the characters were extremely likeable. The baking reference were well-done and charming though some might find them heavy-handed. But the best part was the banter between our FMC and MMC. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this quick read and was happy to discover it’s the first in a series.

I really enjoyed the concept of this book, it had that mystery element that I was looking for and was hooked from the first page. It uses the genre perfectly and was hooked and thought the overall storyline worked with the characters. The characters had that development worked in this storyline and was glad it was so well done. I enjoyed the way the romance element that I was looking for and thought the overall feel worked with this story. Rebecca Connolly has a strong writing style and I hope to read more from this series.

2.5 stars 🌕🌕🌗🌑🌑 - just...fine

Thank you to Net Galley & Shadow Mountain Publishing for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Genres, settings, categories, themes: mystery, cozy mystery, baking, baking show competition, history, England

💗 Tropes: 💗
> Competition / Reality TV
> Danger
> Forced Proximity
> Slow Burn

Series/Sequencing Style: standalone, no major cliffhangers (one minor one in that a side cold case mystery does not get solved)

Format: ebook (e-arc)

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Overall ratings

Heat level: 🍓 0/5 sweet 🍓
(from Ampersand’s guide to heat levels in romance novels – (0) sweet, (1) mild sizzle, (2) sensual steam, (3) spicy seduction, (4) red hot, (5) erotic)

~ MC/Heroine (Claire) ~ 2/5 🌕🌕🌑🌑🌑
~ MC/Hero (Johnny) ~ 2/5 🌕🌕🌑🌑🌑
~ Other characters ~ 2/5 🌕🌕🌑🌑🌑
~ Plot ~ 2/5 🌕🌕🌑🌑🌑
~ Pacing ~ 2.5/5 🌕🌕🌗🌑🌑 slow
~ Romantic connection ~ 1/5 🌕🌗🌑
~ Mystery ~ 2/5 🌕🌕🌑🌑🌑
~ Writing ~ 3.5/5 🌕🌕🌕🌗🌑
~ Reading enjoyability & fun ~ 2/5 🌕🌕🌑🌑🌑

~ Depth & tone (1 light & fun --> 5 more serious, addresses heavier topics?): 2

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❗CW/Triggers:❗attempted murder, murder

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📝 Review/Notes 📝

Before Reading
Going into this I am excited, but wary. I love Great British Bake Off and I love crime thrillers, and I love romance, so this seems like it was written for me. My hesitancy comes in because I read The Golden Spoon and it was a huge letdown. Off we go...

After Reading
I wanted to love it, I did, but I’m so sorry to say I was overall just bored. I didn’t get caught up enough in the story to want to keep reading, and honestly, it was a bit of a chore for me to get through it all. It wasn’t bad, just underwhelming on every front for me, sadly. The romance was lackluster, and I didn’t really buy their dialogue - something was weird in their interactions. Maybe something overall felt kind of immature? Other reviewers have pointed out the overly cutesy baking “cursing” which was admittedly lame, but I think maybe a symptom of a larger vibe I felt throughout the book that made it a bit twee and *meh* for me. Hard to pinpoint what was missing or wrong, but it just fell flat.

The detective needing their help was pretty ridiculous, like him calling them for help and asking what to do next? Come on.

There’s this whole thing about how the death could be accidental - she slips and falls in the mill water, scarf gets caught, strangles, drowns. Why is no one mentioning that she was found “alongside the bank of water…on the gravel”? How tf would she have gotten there? This was a plot hole that bothered me.

I don’t want to hate on this book, and I really hope it finds its crowd, but it just wasn’t for me, despite having multiple elements that are bang on for me. Maybe too cozy mystery for me.

P.S. I would have liked for them to have solved the historic murder of his relative

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🤠 Recommended for: cozy mystery readers; fans of The Golden Spoon

When Claire Walker gets selected to be a contestant on the cooking show, Britain’s Battle of the Bakers, she’s excited to pursue her dream of being a baker. Summoned to the historic Blackfirth Park where the show is to be filmed, Claire meets Jonathan Ainsley, viscount and owner of the estate. Struggling to keep the estate solvent, Jonathan hopes details of the 250-year-old murder of the viscountess doesn’t come to light. When a contestant is found murdered and thrown into the pond like the viscountess, Jonathan and Claire have to team up to solve the murder before the show is shut down. Will they succeed?

The plot is engaging, well-developed, and full of twists and turns. The characters are likable, authentic, and realistic. The dynamics between Jonathan and Claire are memorable and draw the reader into the story. Readers who like mystery, cooking, and cozy romantic mysteries will want to pick this one up. Recommended for most library collections.

Crime Brulee Bake Off is a delightful read, murder and all! Romance, mystery, and yummy baked goods create a great mix. I adore cooking shows like Master Chef and The Great British Baking Show. This book was clearly made for me.

The story unfolds in the UK at Blackfirth Park. Jonathan Ainsley, Viscount of Colburn, is the estate's owner. Britain’s Battle of the Bakers picks Blackfirth to host this year. Claire Walker, a contestant, is thrilled to be on the show. Soon, she and Jonathan find the show turns into a scene of murder and danger.

Here are some things I loved:

-The English estate setting.

-A baking competition with so many yummy baked goods.

-The story of friendship and betrayal.

-The instant attraction turning into something more.

The Crime Brulee Bake Off has great characters and lots of suspense. The long-awaited kiss is amazing. Dive into this romantic suspense quickly, grab your favorite baked good, and start reading.

This book is over a very nice read. I liked the characters, but didn't feel fully drawn into the plot. The premise is great, and it was enjoyable to read.

✨Audiobook Review - The Crime Brulee Bake Off✨

Rebecca Connolly has ventured into a beloved genre with impeccable accuracy, delivering the ultimate balance between all the ingredients for a fulfilling story. The combination of a whodunit cozy murder mystery and a competition baking show, with a sprinkle of romance, set in England gave the perfect vibes for satiating read.

Claire is a likable amateur baker and is sequestered on an estate for this contest. Viscount Jonathan Ainsley wants nothing to do with the show and is very stand-offish, but an unlikely bond begins to form between these two and when one contestant ends up dead, they join forces (with others) to solve the mystery. I enjoyed the natural progression of their relationship, as well as the way an age-old mystery involving the estate along with the current mystery, are revealed.

There are a slew of twists and turns that keep this story interesting and the narrator is phenomenal. It was exciting to see what dishes these chefs came up with and the way the friendships and rivalries developed. I’m anticipating what will come next with this series.

Content: death/peril (not graphic); mild romance

This was an enjoyable story and a nice distraction from heavier books. I would definitely watch this if this was a tv show! The descriptions were great and the writing style/pacing were also great.