A clever and charming cozy mystery with dual timelines that tie together beautifully. Annie and Frances make a great sleuthing duo across decades, and Castle Knoll continues to be a delightfully murder-prone village. Some timeline jumps needed close attention, but the twists were worth it. A solid 4-star read for fans of layered mysteries.

How to Seal Your Own Fate falls squarely into the cozy mystery category: light, quick, and generally enjoyable without being too intense. There were a few moments where I found myself confused about who did what, which pulled me out of the story a bit. Still, if you’re looking for an easy, low-stakes mystery to unwind with, this one might be worth picking up. Thanks to NetGalley and the Penguin Group for the ARC!

How to Seal Your Own Fate is a compelling, dark fantasy that explores themes of destiny and consequence with gripping intensity. The characters are well developed, and the story’s pace keeps you hooked from start to finish. A few plot twists felt a bit predictable, but overall, it’s an immersive and thought provoking read. Ideal for fans of morally complex fantasy tales.

How to Seal Your Own Fate has a quirky, intriguing setup with plenty of potential, and Kristen Perrin’s writing style is breezy and engaging. There’s a nice mix of humor and mystery, but the plot felt a bit uneven and the pacing sometimes dragged. While the concept is clever, I didn’t feel fully invested in the characters or the stakes. It’s a light, entertaining read, but I found myself wishing it had dug a little deeper.

I really liked this one!! I liked that we continued to learn more about Frances and that the format stayed the same as the first one, it's a fun take on the current cozy mysteries! I also really liked Annie's character growth, I'm excited for what's next in this series!

This is the second book in a series and after loving How to Solve Your Own Murder, this book did not disappoint.
I feel like, much like the first book, I found myself so infatuated with the story that Francis told but I did find the current day story to be even more interesting in this book. I am so entertained by the dry humor and the quirky dynamics between all of the characters. Definitely enjoyed this one!

Thank you to Net Galley, Penguin Group, and Kristen Perrin for giving me an eARC of this story.

I enjoyed How to Solve Your Own Murder, and was excited at the potential for further mysteries set in Castle Knoll. So, I was pretty pumped for How to Solve Your Own Murder, but this was a bit disappointing. My biggest issue is how Annie solves the mysteries. We never know what is happening in her head, so when she solves the mystery, it all seems a bit convoluted. I also don't particularly enjoy Annie as a lead. Frances is a fantastic character, but Annie is missing something. I wish I could pinpoint what it is. I think her possible romance might help. I will definitely read more as the series continues, but I would like a little more insight into Annie's solving abilities.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin | Dutton for a gifted copy in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely loved the first book; it was so clever, smart [with excellent dialogue], and had a very good mystery with an excellent reveal and ending, and to be honest, I wasn't sure why there was going to be a second book [because this one stood firmly on its own, and I am a girl who LOVES a series LOL], but was still looking forward to it because hey, book one was amazing right?

Unfortunately, this one just didn't work for me. What was excellent about the first book just didn't flow here. The mystery [fairly transparent], Annie's side of the story [Frances' story, while almost completely unrelated to what was going on in the present time, was the best part of the book as it really delves more into her life and her musings and her romances], the addition of an supremely arrogant and unlikable lead cop [who EVERYONE makes excuses for and by the end thinks he's "kind of okay"..ugh], and the list goes on and on and on [OH! Also, one of the narrators has changed as well and that was a bit disconcerting, but that is probably because I read them so close together. I did find I missed the first book Frances narrator quite a bit though], and I found myself checking out again and again [while doing everything BUT listening to this]. After completely loving book one, I am left very disappointed. I am not sure I will be reading book three.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and PENGUIN GROUP Dutton/Dutton for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely adored the first book in this series, so I came into this one with high hopes—and it delivered in all the right ways.

This sequel keeps the momentum going with another clever, twisty mystery that had me hooked from the start. Just when I thought I had things figured out, the story took a turn I didn’t see coming. It’s smart, engaging, and seriously hard to put down.

The plot picks up where the first book left off, but with a new layer of intrigue: who is the mysterious woman connected to the great-aunt’s eerie inheritance, and what’s really behind it all?

The narrative switches between the main character’s perspective and her great-aunt’s old journal entries, and I found both timelines equally compelling. The transitions felt seamless, and each piece of the puzzle added depth and momentum. It captured the same magic as book one, and I enjoyed every second of it.

A great whodunnit to escape into!

Thanks PENGUIN GROUP Dutton | Dutton and NetGalley for the ARC.

Synopsis-

Annie Adams is just getting used to village life in the quaint charming town of Castle Knoll. When Peony Lane, the elderly fortune teller shares a cryptic message with her just before getting murdered inside Annie’s residence of the Gravesdown Estate, Annie has to once again get her hands dirty to dig into what Peony was trying to tell her, not to mention the new bodies that are cropping up.

Review-

I admit I haven’t read the first book in the Castle Knoll series, but that didn’t hinder my enjoyment or understanding of this one.

Perrin has done a wonderful job in building this little world in the idyllic fictional village of Castle Knoll, with it’s classic British vibes, interesting characters, who can be eccentric enough to generate suspicion and a dual timeline narrative which adds to the good old charm and evokes intrigue.

We have Annie in the present who is trying to decipher the fortune Peony was trying to get through to her and inadvertently gets too tangled up in the town’s age old secrets, especially those concerning her great aunt Frances Adams.

Interspersed is the POV of Frances from 1967, that delves into her romantic involvement with Ford Gravesdown, hailing from a wealthy powerful family, her friendship with Archie Foyle - all leading upto her own big secrets while she tries to battle with fate and fortune.

Annie’s unearthing of her great aunt’s past can be vital for everything Peony seemed to have predicted for Annie’s future. If Annie has to interpret her own destiny, she needs to brave all odds to find out how fate played out with her great aunt.

With a small town involving big wealthy families, too many murders, dark buried truths and the aura of fortune telling, #HowToSealYourOwnFate is a suspenseful, immersive cozy mystery novel, that will keep you sleuthing all the way!

Definitely worth forgetting your problems while you try to solve Annie’s!

I loved book one of this series, but this one was very boring to me. Maybe I wasn't in the right head space for this, but I was just rushing through wanting it to be over.

Thank you to Netgalley & PENGUIN GROUP Dutton | Dutton for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

How to Seal Your Own Fate by Kristen Perrin

When I read How to Solve Your Own Murder last year, I was interested at the prospect of a sequel because I wanted to revisit the characters and the writing. Here’s a little problem though: I forgot every single character and how they were connected. I found myself overwhelmed by characters that I should have already known, but I couldn’t remember what they did in the first book. At one point, someone is talked about being someone else’s great aunt, and I legitimately have no idea how they’re related. This is why I don’t read a lot of series that I have to wait for the next book.

Nevertheless, I kept on reading and hoping I would either remember these people, or get hooked enough to not care. Unfortunately, I did not get hooked enough. This felt like a filler episode. Neither past or present felt completely fleshed out, and the characters seemed to have less personality than they did last time. It just missed the mark for me.

Will I read another book in this series if there is one? Maybe. But I’m going to have to let the reviews come in first and decide. It might not be worth the time.

Read this if you liked the first one, but wanted the characters to have less personality.

Loved having another Castle Knoll book to read from Kristen Perrin! The first one was a 5-star read for me last year, so I was stoked to get this book here for review. This was a really solid follow-up read to the first book in the series, although I had to Google some aspects of the first book (that I had forgotten), which were helpful in following along with the first few chapters of this book. Lots of characters to keep track of and back and forth with the diaries, but a good mystery that was nicely tied up by the end. Looking forward to future titles in this series!

thanks to NetGalley for the eARC

⭐️=3 | 😘=2.5 | 🤬=2 | ⚔️=3 | 15+

summary: sequel to How to Solve Your Own Murder ; a murder mystery in a small English town alternating between today and diary entries from the 1960s

thoughts: the desperate attempts to make the main character an actual character with a personality are very funny to me. like bestie this is a cozy mystery series, the detective doesn’t need to have a character arc throughout the book, but tbh the MC has very few quirks, which is unfortunate? like there’s nothing interesting about her?? good mystery though!! nice twists et cetera, and the diaries are fun!

The second book of the Castle Knoll Files brings us back to Annie Adams, a few months after she solved her first mystery - the murder of her Aunt Frances. Along the way she gained a fortune, Gravesdown Hall, and files on decades of secrets about Castle Knoll residents. Feeling a bit unmoored, Annie runs into Peony Lane, the woman who first gave Aunt Frances her fortune. Peony piques Annie's interest with talk of her fortune and mentioning the death of Olivia Gravesdown decades prior. After finding Peony's body in her solarium, Annie again delves into the mysteries of Castle Knoll and past collides with present as Annie tries to figure out what happened to Peony and how it relates to the deadly crash involving the Gravesdown family almost fifty years prior. Again the reader gets to learn more about Aunt Frances though peeks into her diary entries that drop bread crumbs that lead to the final solution Annie reaches about the present murders and what they covered up about the past. Characters from the first book make a reappearance and the reader gets to know them better as Annie learns who she can trust - and who she can't. Her best friend Jenny also stops by to be Annie's Girl Friday. As the clues come together, Annie's life is in danger - as the person behind it all attempts to set her up to take the fall. I recommend this to anyone who enjoys mysteries - cozy or otherwise, but do not jump in before reading the first book.

“How to Seal Your Own Fate” is yet another charming chapter in the Castle Knoll Files series by Krestin Perrin and the story follows directly after the events of the first book. Annie is now living in the village of Castle Knoll after inheriting Gracesdown Hall and she finds herself embroiled in yet another investigation. Unfortunately, Peony Lane, the fortune teller who foretold Great Aunt Francis’ death, is discovered murdered in the mansion’s greenhouse, making Annie a suspect.

Narrated from Annie’s viewpoint and through the old journal entries of Aunt Frances, the tale fluidly shifts between two eras: Annie’s present-day life and the 1960s, the time when the journals were composed. The plot is filled with hidden family mysteries, controversies, clandestine love affairs, and the revelation of a long-standing murder.

Krestin Perrin delivers a complex mystery that spans multiple decades. The story is filled with suspense, featuring numerous twists and turns, and there are many secrets waiting to be discovered. This is an incredible follow-up, and reading the initial book in the series will offer more context and understanding of the characters and the overarching story-line.

I highly recommend this delightfully quirky cozy mystery and look forward to more Castle Knoll mysteries, along with the hope for a little romance between Detective Crane and Annie.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dutton Books for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

Cute coz y mystery with appealing lead character and fun supporting cast - my only complaint was needing more info on previous book and a more development of love story with policeman. At times the huge cast lost me but it ultimately pulled me back in. Enjoyable.

The second book in the Castle Knoll Files is much like the first one.

The book is a murder mystery that spans a couple of decades and includes several mysteries and conspiracies that need to be solved. I liked how the timelines were interwoven, with most of the past reveals being through journal entries. I also really liked the main cast of characters.

I would consider this to be a bit more of a detail heavy cozy mystery. It's not quite as trope-y as a regular cozy but I also don't think it's quite as dark as some other straight mystery books. It kept me entertained and I like how everything was tied together, including the prophecies.

Once again, the main character was just way too much to be believable. She literally told the cop "you better just let me into the victim's house right now because if you don't I'll sneak back in later." Excuse you? That is a crime, ma'am.

But other than that I enjoyed the second installment in this series.

I thought this was a very enjoyable read and good followup to the original, but it did fall into some of the same pitfalls of the original, mainly that the "solve" at the end felt kind of like an info dump rather than a conversation between real people. I also felt the conclusion felt a little forced. Still a fun book overall.

I like the premise of this series and really enjoyed the first book. I think my issue with this book was that the story picked up where we left on in the last book without any specific reminder of what happened in the first book. With dozens of characters and many intertwining and convoluted storylines, some kind of map outlining everything would have been helpful. I was so busy trying to remember what happened in the first book that I couldn’t fully invest in this book.

With that being said, it’s a murder mystery where the whodunnit isn’t revealed until the very end, which I like. I think it would be best to read this book series all in a row…and the author has now set us up for a book three.