Picture it, Sicily...
Actually no, picture it... a St Olaf wedding in Miami with murder! This is what the first Golden Girls mystery dishes up and I was hanging onto every page in delight!!

Rose's niece is getting married, and rather than elope Rose promises to arrange the wedding plans... in Miami! It's going to be a very traditional St Olaf wedding in Miami, with donkeys and ostriches and everything! That is until interfering in-laws get in the way and a murder victim, that is none other than Dorothy's date!!! What follows is mystery and mayhem and the kind that only the Golden Girls can solve!

Ever since I discovered cozy mysteries I feel like I've been dreaming about this book! I grew up watching Golden Girls episodes on re-runs. Now in my 40's I absolutely love curling up with a blanket and a tub of ice-cream and re-watching episodes. There is something about these women that is absolutely timeless and also perfect for cozy mystery mayhem!

The mystery was splendid. The reader gets caught up with all the antics that happen during a wedding [because it can never run smoothly], especially with Rose Nylund as wedding planner!! Add in a murder, with multiple suspects, including Dorothy, and I couldn't put it down for a second!!

If you love cozies you need to pick this one up. Grab a cheesecake or ice-cream and settle in for a walk down memory lane with the Golden Girls. You will feel like you're back in the 80's with this timeless read!

As a HUGE Golden Girls fan (it's my comfort show that I've rewatched countless times), I was so excited when I first saw this book pop up! I want to get a hard copy to put on display with my other Golden Girls memorabilia because the cover is GORGEOUS too. Jumping into reading this it was impossible not to read every character in their voices from the show. I think the author did a great job keeping true to their personalities, and it made the reading experience so nostalgic! I really hope that there are more books planned, because I think they will only continue to get better. Now I will admit it is very hard for me to tell if someone who has never seen the show would enjoy this book, because there are so many easter eggs and if-you-know-you-know moments throughout, from mentions to details from famous episodes to Rose's many St. Olaf traditions. However, for fans, I felt like this was getting a bonus episode never aired.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hyperion Ave. Publishing for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

This was such a fun cozy read! I highly recommend if you are looking for an easy fun book to kick back with!

I genuinely love what this book and series could become! It’s something that while this first one felt a bit repetitive and slow for my liking, the characterisation of the Golden Girls was great. Really looking forward to the next books!!

I liked it. I think it was a fun light read. I really appreciated the humor. The author did so good with staying true to the characters we’ve grown to love. I do think that there was so much focus on the wedding that it took away from the main storyline of the murder mystery. I feel like the author should’ve picked one or the either to focus on. Is it a romcom or it is it a mystery? I think books like this work when done right. For example Dial A For Auntie‘s - it was a rom-com with a bit of mystery. Since this is marketed as a mystery than the romance should have been a side plot with not as much focus on it.

I scrambled to toss my ring in the hat for this one when I saw it pop up on Netgalley and was lucky enough to get an arc. I couldn't imagine how the author was going to successfully marry GG and Murder, She Wrote, basically. The answer was, not entirely successful. This was a 3.5 read rounded up.

Let me deal with the characterization first. I think Sophia and Blanche were pretty spot on (though Blanche is relatively easy) and none of this was nearly as funny as I would have wanted it to be. Dorothy was much more of a sad sack than I'm used to, about being alone and wanting a date for the wedding of one of Rose's 'nieces.' Rose was actually more intelligent/had more agency than we often see her as she arranges this wedding last minute. However, there are so many St. Olaf traditions that was worked into this that they aren't funny; they're annoying and Rose is too trying to enforce them on her young niece.

Now for the wedding and the murder. The hotel in St Olaf suddenly couldn't be used so Rose had everything shifted down to Miami vs oh I dunno going there to the next town over with a hotel which is silly enough (and not in the fun way) but now expects to pull off all the St Olaf traditions like the welcome tuna tea ceremony, riding a donkey, riding an ostrich etc etc etc because she firmly believes this is the only way for the wedding to be happy. (the bride and groom wanted to elope especially since his family runs a chain of hotels in Miami and are the type to take over everything in a miserable way). This was not funny or enjoyable. Honestly I think it would have been nicer to see her niece want a beach wedding with the St Olaf traditions because it was still all that work to do.

Part of this is making a ton of cheesecakes and stuffing them in the family hotel freezer. Hold that thought.

And then there's Dorothy trying to go on a video date which ends badly. Two guesses who the dead guy in the cheesecake is.

I think the balance of this needed to work better. It's way too heavy on the St Olaf wedding traditions and not enough about setting up the red herrings and clues. Dorothy was a bit depressing. Rose was a bit annoying. Sophia was the most amusing. Blanche was just sort of there. The police are not looking much further than Dorothy.

Don't get me wrong it wasn't horrible but I'm not sure it was entirely successful either.

I had to dnf which breaks my heart as such a big Golden Girls fan but honestly the writing is so repetitive and empty it was hard to stay invested.

I really enjoyed reading this book! For the most part, the author stayed true to the characters' personalities. The murder part does get a little overwhelmed by the wedding. I did enjoy all of the idiosyncrasies of the St Olaf wedding traditions! The ending wrapped everything up nicely. One of the best parts is the recipe for cheesecake at the end!

I was provided a complimentary copy of the book from Hyperion Avenue via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book was cute, however it dragged a lot. I wanted to solve the murder and details of this crazy, unorthodox wedding kept getting in the way. 🤪

2.5 stars

First off, thanks to NetGalley and Hyperion Avenue for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Sigh. I was pretty excited for this one for the nostalgia alone. Did I expect a masterpiece? No. But I expected a cozy mystery and that was barely there as well. This focused so much on the wedding that the actual murder in that title felt like an afterthought. Also, I’m not sure if this ARC was before more editing, but some parts were almost unreadable with all the grammatical errors. I actually feel like this kept removing me from the story, so my opinions may be moot. Was it fun seeing the ladies I used to watch on TV? Yes. Was this book something I needed? No. This is part of a series, so if you loved Golden Girls and just want to read it for them regardless of the writing and the plot? This may be for you. Sadly, this just wasn’t it for me.

Thank you for being a friend.... The cover is spot on. Loved the idea of giving the Golden Girls there own mystery. I love how the writer captured each of the women's personalities that we watched daily and didn't change it up. The story played out as if I were watching a GG TV movie. Literally pictured every word. The plot was good. The banter was fantastic. The ending wasn't what I expected but it worked. Overall I really enjoyed this book. Looking forward to more from this author.

Thanks Netgalley and Hyperion Ave. Publishing for the ARC.

I was so excited to have the chance to read an advanced copy of this book! I’ve been a fan of the Golden Girls for years! This was also my first “cozy mystery” novel and I can see the appeal of the genre.

I think the author truly captured the heart of the characters! I’m not sure if the transition from a 22 minute show plot to a full novel plot worked entirely. We’re so used to Golden Girls plots wrapping up so quickly and cleanly, so sitting with a long, drawn out murder plot and complex St Olaf wedding adventure felt a little tedious. I will absolutely read more in this series and feel confident the concept will find its stride!

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

I can’t wait to gift this book to my 3 best friends.
They will love so many part to this book. From the nod to Golden Girls and the story line.

thank you to Rachel Ekstrom Courage and NetGalley for the free eARC in exchange for my review.

I really enjoyed Murder by Cheesecake by Rachel Ekstrom Courage. As a fan of the Golden Girls, I loved how the book captured the charm, wit, and unique personalities of these iconic characters. The St. Olaf-themed wedding and the chaos of Dorothy’s VHS date becoming a murder suspect added a delightful layer of nostalgia and humor. The combination of a cozy mystery and beloved characters made it an entertaining read.

The storyline brought a fresh perspective to the Golden Girls universe while staying true to their spirit. I especially appreciated the creative premise of a cheesecake-laden crime, which tied perfectly to the theme. Overall, Murder by Cheesecake was a fun and heartwarming book that I’d recommend to fans of cozy mysteries and anyone who cherishes the Golden Girls. I’d give it 3.5 stars rounded to 4 for its charming concept and nostalgic appeal.

I enjoyed reading about my favorite group of women. With that being said there was so much going on about the wedding that I honestly forgot there was a murder mystery. Maybe that was the intent though. It was a joyful read and I feel the women were described very true to the television character. Just I didn't feel the mystery in it. I am excited to see how this series plays out

Golden girls and a murder mystery….yes please. The characters were true to their original personalities on TV. Throw in wedding planning and I dead guy in the freezer and you got yourself some fun.

The author really captured the voices of the main characters making it a fun read. The story felt like it could have been an episode in the series. Overall good but, it felt a little long.

Thank you NetGalley for the advance read. 😌

Thank you NetGalley for the loan of the book forr my honest review. A very enjoyable revisiting the Golden Girls. I hope this is the start of a series. I’ve missed Blanche, Dorothy, mama Sophia and of course innocent Rose. The author brings them all back. This time to arrange a wedding for Rose’s niece Nettie. Sadly the wedding can’t take place in their home town of St. Olaf because of a fire but thanks to the groom’s parents’ generosity in footing the bill it can now take place in Miami only glitch the groom’s parents want to make all the arrangements but this will never do for there are certain foods, events and procedures that must be followed for a proper St. Olaf wedding. To add to the dilemma a murder is discovered and Dorothy is a suspect. All in all an enjoyable read, hopefully there’s more Golden Girls.

Perfect for any golden girls fan.it was fun to be in their world in a different story and setting than I'm used to in the million of rewatches. The mystery was fun, the characters were silly but it felt like they belonged with the group. I would love a whole series of our girls solving crimes!

As someone who grew up watching The Golden Girls, I was thrilled to be granted early reader status for this title. Unfortunately, I feel like the book missed the mark a little. It felt like it tried too hard to make it a GG episode with a mystery built-in, resulting in the mystery feeling second-hand to the plot.

What was done well: Courage was able to truly meet the women where they were at when we left them. You're able to fall into the quick humor of the ladies and feel their friendship just as lovely as ever. Courage made sure she understood the roles each woman played in the TV show and applied that to the story. I found myself laughing at various jokes and falling easily into the chaos of the wedding. The wedding was also such an easy fit for the gang. I loved the various roles each lady took and how it really fit their MO as characters. If we left it as that story, I think I would have enjoyed it a lot more.

What I didn't enjoy: The mystery. I felt like it was so underdeveloped and I didn't understand why we needed it. The character involved in it were not in the forefront of the story, so it felt like you really had to pay attention in order to follow this. Additionally, the descriptions and set-up for the wedding took up so much detail and space that it grew hard to fall back into the mystery/suspense aspects of the story.

I'd suggest it as an individual read or independent reading, but this isn't a text I'd suggest as a curriculum read. I will still purchase a copy for our library to have for a cozy, mystery read.