I’m going to be honest this book just wasn’t for me. It took me from the time I received it back in February until April 30th to finish it. I started it the day I got it and didn’t open it up again until late April.

JUST BECAUSE IT WASN’T FOR ME DOESN’T MEAN IT ISN’T FOR YOU!

It took forever for something to happen and then once something happened it was almost like to much happened and it was hard to keep up with. I loved the idea of the book I just don’t know if I completely expected it to be like it was.

This was SUCH a fun read! Rachel definitely nailed the characters voices, it really feels like you’re watching the show! I used to watch with my grandma when I was little, and reading this book, I felt like I was a kid again sitting on the couch with her.

The murder mystery aspect was very well done also. I loved reading about the antics of the women as they tried to solve the murder of Dorothy’s wedding date, a crime for which Dorothy herself is a suspect! The killer reveal had me on the edge of my seat and wasn’t too easily spotted from far away. Very excited to learn this is the first in a series and can’t wait to read the next one!

This book was a HOOT to read! It's clear the author is a true fan of The Golden Girls and captured their personalities and mannerisms. The mystery was decently intriguing but also delightfully over the top. A fun light-hearted mystery and I'd happily read more in this series!

What a treat! It's a huge challenge to live up to the over-the-top characters and sharp sense of humor that made Golden Girls a hit. I think Rachel Ekstrom Courage did a fantastic job of honoring the original show while weaving in a cozy mystery plot. The '80s of it all made it an especially fun read. I can't wait to see what trouble the girls get themselves into next!

I loved this! Was fun take on a beloved, classic group of characters. The humor was there just as I had hoped. This met all of my expectations!

BOOK REVIEW ✨

Murder by Cheesecake by Rachel Courage

“When Dorothy’s obnoxious date is found dead in a hotel freezer, it not only ruins a gorgeous cheesecake but threatens the elaborate St. Olaf themed wedding Rose is hosting.”

Rating: 4⭐️
Genre: Cozy mystery
Yes, no, or maybe: Duh yes!

Read if you like:
-hilarious one liners
-plot twist
-amateur sleuths
-Golden Girls meets Murder She Wrote

This book was everything I love in a cozy mystery! Lovable amateur sleuths, funny one liners, and a plot twist to keep you on your toes! I will 100% be continuing this series, so keep ‘em coming Rachel!!!

Dorothy, Rose, Blanche, and Sophia are at it again along with more characters to fall in love with. Rose is desperately trying to throw together the ideal St. Olaf wedding for her sweet niece and the girls are there to help. While Dorothy is helping Rose find the best venue, she is looking for a nice date to take to the wedding. But all the sudden Dorothy’s wedding date is found dead in the hotel freezer and now she’s the number one suspect! Between making the famous herring wedding balls and finding a donkey for the groom to ride (don’t ask), the girls are trying to clear Dorothy’s name and save this wedding!

Why wasn’t this book 5⭐️?
Honestly, it was just missing the “5⭐️” feel! I’m pretty picky with that final star. But this book is the ideal cozy mystery!

This book was a lot of fun! It was easy to read and very entertaining. Pick this one up when you’re looking for a good time.

When I read the synopsis I thought this sounded interesting and fun. When I started the book it took me a long time to get into it. It was really dull in the beginning with a lot of random details that I didn't think needed to be in there at the time. The story started picking up midish way, but really the last 30% of the book was the best part. It ended up being funny and cute, but it was a little bit longer than I thought it needed to be. Also the details were important to the end of the story because it all tied together.

Murder by Cheesecake is the first book in the Golden Girls mystery series and it did not disappoint. What happens when Dorthoy's date ends up dead and a St. Olaf themed wedding is threatened that Rose is hosting? Make sure to pick up this page turning read to find out. All the characters in this were great and it kept me guessing until the end. The author wrote this well and I hope that this will be a series. Overall, this is one that I enjoyed reading and would recommend to any reader who loves mysteries. Thank you to NetGalley and Hyperion Avenue for this read in exchange of my honest review of Murder by Cheesecake by Rachel Ekstrom Courage.

As a longtime Golden Girls fan, I loved getting the chance to jump back into the world of Blanche, Dorothy, Rose, and Sophia. The characters felt spot-on—true to the originals and not overly modernized or off-base, which made it easy to settle in and enjoy the ride. The St. Olaf references were a bit over-the-top at times, but it felt true to Rose’s history of wild storytelling. The writing was slower than I usually go for, and not entirely my style, but it fit the tone and gave space for nostalgia to breathe. I also really appreciated how easy it was to picture the scenes in my head - the author leaned into familiarity just enough to make it comforting, without over-explaining. All in all, a fun little return to Miami that fans will appreciate!

This was...ok. It was fun for what it was: fan fiction. It was very fun to see the Golden Girls in a different format, and come to life on the page instead of watching them on TV. I feel like Rachel captured the essence of the Golden Girl's personalities, and although the descriptions of things happening were a bit too much, I enjoyed the witty banter. That's about where the fun ended for me, I enjoy the occasional cozy mystery, but this one didn't hit like I had hoped. That being said, this isn't a frequently read genre for me, so please take my review with a grain of salt.

This is a cozy mystery, featuring the Golden Girls that we all know and love from the television show. Rose is busy helping plan a wedding in the traditional St. Olaf fashion for her niece. Dorothy has been searching for a man to bring to the wedding, but after finally going on a date with one, she finds him dead in a freezer at the hotel the wedding is being held at. As the women all work to make the wedding, and all it's absurd traditions, happen, they now also must clear Dorothy's name.

I wasn't quite sure what to expect from this book, but was pleasantly surprised. It balances cozy and mystery perfectly, and I enjoyed the comedic relief built into the story. The author did a great job with the character's personalities, and I loved the way that they all worked together to make the wedding happen while simultaneously helping Dorothy. It definitely felt unrealistic at times, but was an enjoyable read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hyperion Avenue for the ARC!

Ok, so I LOVE The Golden Girls and I'm a new-ish fan of cozy mysteries. So, when I saw this title and the description I did a total double-take. This book is a "midnight-cheesecake-snack" of a story that was engaging and made me giggle. Highly recommend to anyone who likes Golden Girls, mysteries, cheesecake or any combo of the three!

This book transports you right into the Golden Girls house! With cheesecake and all! I loved the show Golden Girls. The characters are written on the page and you can see them in the show. I loved that this was a murder mystery woven together with Rose’s stories of St Olaf (my favorite parts of the show!). If you are looking for a murder mystery with humor along the way - dive into this book! Love that this is a series and cant wait to see what the Girls get into next!

Murder by Cheesecake is a delightful cozy mystery that hits all the right notes for fans of character-driven stories with a nostalgic flair. The book delivers great character development, with a cast of charming, witty women who feel like they stepped right out of a Golden Girls episode. Their chemistry is effortless, their banter is laugh-out-loud funny, and their bond adds warmth and heart to the murder mystery at the center of the plot.

The pacing is breezy, the mystery engaging without being overly grim, and the writing has a lightness that makes the pages fly by. If you’re looking for a comforting whodunit with sass, smarts, and cheesecake, this is it. A perfect pick for cozy mystery fans or anyone who misses the magic of Dorothy, Blanche, Rose, and Sophia.

When Rose's cousin decides to elope, Rose convinces her to have the wedding in Miami, with all the traditions of a St. Olaf wedding. Things are going off without a hitch until a body is discovered and Dorothy becom6a suspect. Will the ladies get Dorothy off the hook before the wedding is ruined?

I was super excited for this book as the Golden Girls is one of my comfort shows. This debut was enjoyable, though it did have its issues. First off, I don't feel like the author got a full handle on Dorothy's character; she was too uptight and cranky. Second, I think that there should've been less of Rose's apprehensiveness (is that a word?). It got grating to consistently read that she didn't think she could do whatever thing needed done at that time. Third, there were parts where the jokes just flopped and were excessive. I know it's a cozy, but you can't have that many one-liners. I'd recommend this to fans of the show, but be prepared if you're looking for a good mystery, as that plays second fiddle to the wedding prep.

My thanks to Hyperion Avenue, the author, and NetGalley for gifting me a digital copy of this book. My opinions are my own.

A drop of the Golden Girls is what we all need in this moment. This book delivered better than I expected. The audio rendition was also surprisingly good! I very much had my doubts with such icons already in everyone's heads. I have high hopes that this will improve with subsequent works as the author hits her stride.

Why it isn't 5 stars:

1- people complained of too much wedding, but I think the real issue is too much Rose. I love the character and her contribution to the dynamic, but there is a reason why the audience doesn't spend a ton of time in Rose's head during the show. Because we had so much of Rose's inner monologue we, as an audience, we slow on the uptake.

2- there was way too much "comic relief." We love St. Olaf stories but a whole gaggle of living ones on top of Rose's normal amount is too much. What was handled well here was the point of the St. Olaf's stories. I did enjoy Rose's reflections on her experiences with Charlie and the real point of all the oddball traditions. That didn't need to be all in her head though. These transferred better than the slapstick though, which brings me to

3- they don't have Dorothy's character figured out really. She's too gruff and stodgy. It seems they tried to "fix" it with slapstick. While that worked somewhat on the show, it doesn't transfer well to the written word. The narrator's poor take on Bea Arthur's voice did not help.

Overall, it's like a pilot episode - trying a bit too hard to be all the things, not yet comfortable in its own skin, and a bit longer than it should be. I'm up for the next one!

𝐁𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐨𝐩𝐡𝐢𝐚 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐝 𝐚 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐠𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞. 𝐈𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞, 𝐑𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐥𝐲 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐤𝐞 𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞--𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐝, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐡𝐲, 𝐠𝐮𝐭𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐥, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐯𝐚𝐠𝐮𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐍𝐨𝐫𝐰𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐚𝐧.

I think we all have a handful of comfort television shows, and The Golden Girls is definitely one of mine. This book was a riot, and I easily read the whole thing in just a few hours, and I also heard each woman's voice in my head.

Rose is trying to plan a traditional St. Olaf wedding for a relative, and Dorothy throws a wrench in her plans when the man she selected from video dating turns up dead in the hotel freezer where Rose is planning the event. Add in Sophia's one-liners and Blanche's Southern drawl, and this was a promising start to a fun new series. I chuckled several times, but when I got to the club scene, Rose's inner monologue nearly took me out, especially when she wondered 'if she could get the DJ to play "I Wanna Thresh with Somebody" by Winifred Houston.'

You need this book in your life. Thank you to NetGalley and Hyperion for this early copy. This book is available now.

A wonderful read!
This novel drew me in from the very first page and kept me hooked until the end. The characters were vibrant and relatable, the writing was engaging, and the story had just the right balance of heart and humor. Highly recommend!
Many thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

3.5 stars

I’m a huge golden girls fan so I was THRILLED to not only learn there was a book being written but that I was also chosen to read an early copy! Overall, this book read almost exactly like an episode of the golden girls and it was easy to picture it as if it were playing on tv. My only complaints are that the story was a little dragged out in comparison to the ending—there was so much build up for it to be over in just a few short pages—& that some of the inner monologues from Dorothy and Rose were either a little more exaggerated than usual or not something I would picture them thinking. Aside from that, it was a cozy book and I look forward to read additional stories if it becomes a series

When Golden Girls gang are helping put together a St. Olaf-themed wedding for one of Rose's relatives at a hotel in Miami, Dorothy's obnoxious date is found dead in the walk-in freezer, forcing the ladies to investigate and clear their friend's name.

I am both a huge Golden Girls fan and a huge cozy mystery fan, so I was SUPER excited for this book. And how beautiful is the cover art? It's perfect. Unfortunately, the book was... not. I ended up not finishing this one. It's just, I'm so sad to say, poorly written. The dialogue doesn't have the same charm in writing as it does on the screen, and I found the characters annoying instead of endearing. Their grating jokes combined with my disinterest in the mystery and the length of time it took to get there made me put this one down. So disappointing.

Thanks to Disney Books Hyperion for my eARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

2 stars - 4/10