Allie McMurphy and Rex Manning are planning their wedding and counting the days until the big event. Her mother unexpectedly arrives in town two weeks before the wedding and tries to change their wedding plans. But what her mother wants for her daughter’s wedding isn’t what Rex and Allie want. Her mother’s meddling has Allie stressed out and not as happy as a bride to be should feel. Then Allie finds a dead body near the library to add her stress. She begins to get involved with the investigation hoping to help the police clear Myrtle Bautita from being the main suspect for the murder of Velma French. Who would want to kill an old lady and why would they want her dead?
I love these Candy - Coated mysteries. Fudge and Marriage is book 13 of the series. The location for these mysteries is Mackinac Island. I had the privilege of going to Mackinac Island with my husband for our honeymoon 55 years ago. Being familiar with the location makes it easy to visualize what the characters are seeing every day. I think these mysteries are witty and cute. Not the murders but how the characters go about solving who the real killer turns out to be. I was totally shocked by who the whodunnit turned out to be. Didn’t see it coming. I love it when the ending of a cozy mystery surprises me. There are recipes and a sneak peek into the next book in the series. Can’t wait for the next book.
I highly recommend this book to readers of Cozy Mystery. If you haven’t read the other books in this series you will be able to read this book without feeling like you are missing something. You might want to read the other books in the series because you enjoyed reading this one. This book is scheduled for release on 4/1/25.
I voluntarily read an advanced readers copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are solely my own.
#FudgeandMarriage #NetGalley

✨ Book Review: Fudge and Marriage by Nancy Coco ✨

This was such a fun and charming cozy mystery! We’re here to celebrate Allie and Rex’s wedding, but of course, things don’t go as planned. On her way to a dress fitting, Allie stumbles upon a dead body, setting off a whirlwind of mystery, chaos, and family drama. With just weeks until the big day, she has to juggle wedding plans and solve a murder—no big deal, right?

I loved the mix of romance, humor, and suspense, and the wedding mayhem made it even more entertaining. If you love small-town mysteries with quirky characters and a dash of murder, this one’s for you!

💍🔎🍫 Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

We are back on Mackinac island with Allie and the Hotel McMurphy. Allie and Rex are getting married in two weeks. When Allie is returning bridal magazines she happens upon two older ladies fighting over crafting books. When she leaves the library she finds one of the ladies dead. Allie's family descended on the island two weeks early. Putting a wrench into the investigation and the wedding planning. Allie's mother is pretentious and really annoying. Luckily her Aunt Ginny is wonderful and helps her deal with her mother. This book was so much fun to read and follow the clues. I love this series and I can't wait to see what happens next.

In FUDGE AND MARRIAGE, written by Nancy CoCo, Allie McMurphy, owner of the Mackinac Hotel and Fudge Shop, is getting married in two weeks to Rex Manning of the Mackinac Police. Allie leaves the Mackinac Library and finds Velma French dead on the ground with a rock, the murder weapon, next to her body. Who killed Velma and why?

This cozy mystery is number 13 in the Candy-Coated Mystery series, but it can be read as a stand-alone novel. I like that the murder victim appears early in the story, in the first chapter. The addition of recipes within the text is appreciated. I do think there are a lot of characters to keep track of. Allie’s personal problems are accentuated by her mother (a Momzilla) and her extended family arriving two weeks ahead of the wedding. I find the Mackinac setting inviting, perfect for this mystery, and I look forward to reading other books in the series. Thank you, Kensington Publishing and NetGalley, for the chance to read and review an advance reader copy of FUDGE AND MARRIAGE.

Allie and Rex are soon to be married, but first a murder outside the library. There seem to be no real suspects, but the book club and Allie are busy trying to find the killer. Allie's family shows up two weeks early for the wedding and her mom leads her on a merry chase of preparation. It all gets to be too much. Allie finally stands up to her mom and extended family. Luckily before the wedding begins, the real killer is apprehended. An engaging story of crime and family. I love that we finally hear Rex's family story. Love these characters and this series! This book will keep you reading to discover what could happen next!

Confectionery cozy
Fudge maker and hotelier Allie is running her businesses and prepare for her quickly coming wedding day, when she comes across the newly murdered body of an acquaintance and is drawn into the investigation, irritating her cop boyfriend. He wants her safe. Her mother comes in early with an entourage for the wedding with her own ideas, frustrating Allie. The tales moves quickly with a lot of twists and turns. Greta characters, wonderful descriptions of clothing and places. I highly recommend.
I requested and received a NetGalley arc gratis and offer my opinion in the same.

I've only read a couple of the Candy Coated Mysteries. Allie's life as a fudge maker on Macinac Island and her chocolate shop in a historic hotel really appeal to me, but I hadn't made time to go back and read the dozen or so books I'd missed. This is the one that's going to change that. I LOVED it. The mystery element is intriguing, but even more than that, I loved the drama leading up to Allie's wedding. The conflict with her mother was established in previous books, but wow did it escalate here. The wedding her mother wants is nothing like the community wide celebration that Allie and her husband-to-be have planned. This book is everything that's wonderful about small town cozy mysteries.

This is a fun cozy mystery series that takes place on Mackinac Island and also involves candy. I think this book can be read as a stand-alone. I enjoyed re-visiting this small town and these characters.

I didn't finish the book because it was less of a mystery and more of a romance novel in my opinion.

This book is part of a series, but this can be read as a standalone novel. However, it would give the reader a greater appreciation for the characters and storylines to read them in order. As expected with this author, the characters are well drawn and relatable, and the reader is made to feel a part of the small-town setting. And the family drama definitely holds the reader's attention. The chocolate fudge recipes are a wonderful addition!

A great addition to the series with a clever mystery, the arrival of way too much family and the wedding of the protagonist. Curl up with a treat and enjoy!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to read this book!

Ah, how I love to go back to Mackinac island and solve murders with Allie! She really is one of my favourite female sleuths. Her love story with Rex is also the focus this time around, if only Allie to get time with him between planning her wedding, keeping her mom at bay and solving the island’s latest crime.

This series is one that you can read out of order, but I do recommend going back to previous books to keep track of all the characters. It helps give a background to the small town atmosphere of the books. They follow the usual cozy genre staples; small town, themed, murder mystery, female sleuth, police man love interest. But what they do is all of these things well, in that you remember them amongst the many cozies out there. You fall easily back into the familiarity of the island!

As always I had a fantastic time with this author. I can’t wait to see what happens next. Five stars.

Another fun trip on mackinaw island. These books are getting a bit tried, but I keep coming back to see what happens. This one was much .ore about the marriage than the murder, but there were good parts throughout.

"Fudge and Marriage (Candy-Coated Mysteries #14)" by Nancy Coco has Allie and Rex finally getting married. Everything is going as smoothly as it can until Allie's mom, yet again, shows up unannounced two weeks early with Allie's snooty rich aunts and uncles. Of course her mom expects Allie to put them all in rooms at the McMurphy for free (kicking out paying guests) and drop everything she's doing to join them/her for lots of spa sessions, wedding planning (that's already done) and other activities. Nothing of which Allie even wants for herself or wedding.

Allie keeps saying she'll told her mother off about her behavior but she really doesn't. This is why her mother keeps taking over Allie's life whenever she's around. Allie may occasionally saying something but never backs it up with actions. She finally does a smidge towards the end of the book but not enough to really make her mom realize how overbearing she is.

That all being said, it just emphasizes that this book was overly dominated by the plot between Allie and her mother about the wedding. I think the mystery over a woman found dead with the supposed rock that hit getting kicked in the lake by her ex-husband was very overshadowed.

The victim finding scene seemed extremely familiar. I haven't figured out what book I read an almost identical body finding scene in but it's for sure been done before. Victim found dead with rock nearby that was clearly the weapon. Significant other is overly distraught and kicks the rock into nearby body of water. Amateur sleuth jumps in to retrieve it before evidence can be washed off.

Overall, I was kept in the story. Despite my extreme frustrations with Allie's lack of actual action towards her mother.

I’ve read several other books in this series and enjoyed them as a light, easy read. This one? Too light on the mystery, More complaining about Allie’s mom taking over the wedding, how Allie didn’t live up to her mom’s millionaire family, and condescending remarks made by her aunt. The murder was an afterthought with no real attempt at solving it. I will try to read another one, but can’t recommend this one.

Wow, lots going on in this book. Not only is Allie already frazzled trying to plan her wedding to fiance Rex Manning, the police chief of Mackinac Island, but her mother has arrived two weeks early with a large entourage of relatives pretty much trying to take over and change everything. Oh, and there's been a murder, too. That said, I'm not sure I wasn't more focused on the chaos unleashed by a woman who could model for some Mom-zilla bride's magazine than the murder. At least that's my excuse for not figuring it out.

As for the murder, it was a stunning one to most in Mackinac Island. Although victim Velma Frank and Myrtle have been sniping and arguing for years, no one can understand why it would have suddenly lead to murder, even if Myrtle was found beside the body near the bloody weapon. Heck, most thought they rather enjoyed their sniping routine, so what might have changed? But, it it wasn't Myrtle, who did it? As it turns out, there are several suspects and since Myrtle has turned to Allie for help, never mind Allie is only two weeks out from her wedding, Allie finds herself investigating between bridal chores, demands from her mother, and trying to carve out time for Rex and herself. Oh, and let's not forget her pets, Mella the cat and Mal, her surprisingly good at sniffing out clues Bichonpoo. Luckily, employee Roxanne is doing an excellent job picking up the slack making fudge and doing the presentations that Allie normally so enjoys doing for tourists. Somehow Allie manages to find time to questions suspects, not to mention take part in a bachelorette party that rather steals the show from everything else. Rex is about to discover that Allie is an entertaining drunk. Speaking of Rex, readers will learn a bit more about his background and family, info even Allie wasn't aware of until his big reveal. All this, mind you, while investigating, attending endless fittings and make-up sessions Allie is dragged to by her mother, who you're going to cringe at when you meet her.

Bottom line, whether entranced more by Mom-zilla or the murder, you'll find this a fun, relatively quick read. Lots of fun characters, well, aside from snobby family members, critters, carriage rides (motorized vehicles are restricted on Mackinac Island), a clever murderer, wedding day hiccups, and, well, much, much more. I adore this series. Thanks #KensingtonPublishing for allowing me this early virtual visit to see how Allie's wedding plans were going. I'm just glad she didn't murder her mother and Rex was forced to arrest his bride-to-be at the wedding. Now that would have been a twist, not that the big one wasn't shocking enough.

Nancy Coco brings us another entertaining installment of the Candy-Coated Mystery series in "Fudge and Marriage". As her wedding day is fast approaching, Allie McMurphy finds another dead body. If that isn't bad enough, her demanding and manipulative mother arrives two weeks early. The result is an enjoyable read with several twists and turns sprinkled with family drama.

Allie McMurphy’s hotel and fudge shop on Mackinac Island are her happy places, where her family history and personal future happily intertwine. With just two weeks to go before she marries fiance Rex Manning, Allie is shocked to find a body outside the library after returning her latest batch of wedding magazines. When her family turns up far too early for Allie’s liking she throws herself into the murder investigation while also trying to avoid her mom's plan to reorganise the wedding to one befitting her only daughter. Can Allie find the killer before her big day or will her and Rex's story have a far from happy ending?

I was able to read an advanced copy of this thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, Kensington Publishing, Kensington Cozies, but the opinions expressed are my own. Book 13 in this great series has everything I want in a cosy! A murder to investigate, a romance with hugs, hiccups, and misunderstandings, and a mom/daughter relationship to test the patience of a saint! I loved it.

Oh the joy of being back in my happy place! Even if it's only by reading Coco's cozy mysteries.
Once again, I didn't want to leave this magical island.
Here comes.the twists and turns that I never see coming which makes these books exciting
The delicious fudge oh my. Mackinac has the best fudge ever!
I was hoping to see another one and I hope that she never quits writing them.

This author NEVER disappoints. Fudge and Marriage is a fantastic cozy mystery and one I highly recommend.

Allie has chosen June on Mackinac Island for her wedding to her fiancé, police officer Rex Manning, but her plans quickly become complicated by her mother’s overbearing behavior. While Allie is excited for the big day, her mother—whom she dubs "Momzilla"—and the rest of her extended family arrive two weeks early, making the wedding preparations a chaotic experience. Allie, who’s far from a Bridezilla, now has to navigate the stress of managing her wedding while dealing with her mother’s intrusive demands and overwhelming presence.