This was such an interesting new addition to the cozy mystery world! I loved that the MC was neurodivergent and I thought the author did a good job navigating that within the story. This had so many surprises and I actually thought the ending lending itself more towards a true mystery/thriller than a cozy. There's lots of secrets flying around and it'll be interesting to see what happens next. I think I just need an entire book with her grandma's backstory!

I thought the narrator did a great job voicing Bird, but you could tell she struggled with other accents. I think the grilled cheese shop owner was supposed to be British and he ended up sounded more like he was from Boston. Other than that, the narration was great!

This was so cute!!! I listened to the audiobook while driving and while resting a back injury.
I love the representation (fellow autistic girlie here) and all the puns.
Super cozy listen 💖

This was a hilarious story with great character representation! I loved all the characters and the mystery was captivating. Thank you!

A captivating and enchanting cosy mystery with a protag that you can't help love as soon as you meet her. There is a brilliant balance of humour and heart to this story that makes it completely irresistible and and an enjoyable ride from start to finish. Thoroughly enjoyed.

Bird Nichols, a cheese enthusiast with autism, is starting over in her grandmother's house after her grandmother was presumed dead in a swimming accident. Bird is trying to make her special interest in artisanal cheese her career by setting up charcuterie boards for special events in her local town. However, some still see Bird as her grandmother who stopped at nothing to bring bad guys to justice. Now, there's been a murder, and Bird's only remaining family, Grizz, is the prime suspect. Does Bird have what it takes to help the police find the true killer, or will she be the next victim in a murder investigation?

Cheese, murder mystery, small-town setting, autism representation, and more cheese? YES PLEASE! 🧀

The best thing about this book is that it made me feel guilty for buying store-bought shredded cheese. Authors who bring food to life make reading more fun. Wherever Cato did her research, she should include Cheesemonger in her resume because the author did a fantastic job describing the taste and origins of the food mentioned while never breaking away from the main plot.

In Cheddar Luck Next Time, we see Bird as someone facing the loss of her family, her ambition to get her business off the ground, her effort to clear her friend's name, and making new friends in a new city. Cato, who also has autism, does an amazing job developing Bird's character throughout the story. While I listened to the audiobook, I enjoyed Dominique Salvacion narration as she brought Cato's characters, from friendly Grizz to trouble-making Chase, to life. If Cato writes another book soon, I hope Dominique narrates it! 😁

Thank you NetGalley and Brilliance Publishing for sending me the audiobook ARC. 📚

I loved this book! More autistic and neurodivergent cozy sleuths PLEASE! Bird was such a fun character who I instantly connected with. I love her passion for cheese and all the research done for this story. I also love cheese and this book made me so hungry. The mystery was so intriguing. I never knew who to suspect and there were lots of great characters and twists and turns. The ending was SO good and I can’t wait to read more (hopefully) in this series!

Note: I listened to the audiobook and it was so well done!

I love a fun cozy mystery, bonus when it has an autistic female main character who LOVE cheese as much as I do. However, after that this book kind of loses the mark. It was just okay. Nothing super memorable or clever that will standout after I finished. I thought the audiobook narration was decent but again, nothing particularly special. Will I keep up with this new series when the next book comes out?? Maybe....In any case, many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early audio copy in exchange for my honest thoughts. I definitely love seeing more neurodiverse main characters in fiction! Keep em coming!!!

This was a fun, short listen! I thought Bird was an interesting main character to follow, and I loved the autism representation. I thought Bird’s reactions to things and inner thoughts were interesting and honestly very relatable (especially at the end, if you know you know!). My main gripe with this book is that I found it very predictable. I’ve not read a cozy mystery before, so that may be a misunderstanding on my part! But I enjoyed listening to this book.

I also kept forgetting that there’s a British character and thought the narrator just gave him a speech impediment, which I found it slightly distracting but it’s nothing I’m really considering as a negative.

Final note, as a Black reader, I appreciated that the lead detective was a Black man but written just like any other character. I think that with side characters, it’s easy to add representation and I thought it was done very nicely in this book.

Overall, a cute and fun read!! I’d recommend!

Bird Nichols is attempting to make a new life following the death of her parents and the likely death of her grandmother who was declared missing after a swimming incident. She has inherited her grandmother's estate and home. Her love of cheese has evolved into a new business, creating cheese boards. Despite her recent losses Bird's life is moving in a good direction until a man is found dead on her property. When her grandmother's friend Grizz becomes a suspect Bird decides to get involved in the investigation.

This was such a fun start to a series. I really enjoyed Bird as a character. I love seeing autism representation in books so I also liked that aspect of the story. The mystery was entertaining and had some good twists. There is also a pretty big reveal towards the end that will play into future books so I can't see where this story goes. I will definitely be watching for the next book! I highly recommend the audio version of the book. Dominique Salvacion did a great job with the narration.

Thank you to NetGalley and Brilliance Audio for the ALC in exchange for an honest review.

Publishes April 8, 2025
Written by Beth Cato
Narrated by Dominique Salvacion

This book was written for me, cheese, cats, mystery what more could a girl want. I really loved the main character Bird who has an adult diagnosis of autism and how she was working her way through life after loss. Bird knew so much about cheese, and her cheese business. After her parents loss and a year later loosing her grandmother it was really hard on her and cheese seemed to get her through it. Bird inherited her grandmothers home after her death and the first day she is there she kicks Chase the town nuisance off her property. But little did she know he would be found dead soon after. This put her right in the middle of the murder investigation, so much motive and no alibis, even for Bird.

This was such a cozy murder mystery book. Every character had something that just made me smile. i was really surprised at the end to find out who the killer was. I didn’t see it coming and I was shocked. I really hope that Beth Coto writes a sequel or another book with Bird, her cheese and her cats in it. Last the name had me immediately I knew I needed to read it.

Thank you Netgalley and Brilliance Publishing for this ALC audiobook. All opinions are my own.

Love neurodivergent heroine Bird whose obsession with cheese has led her to a unique career creating cheese boards for festive events. True confession: I might have deep dived into cheese boards on the internet — and oh my, but they are glorious works of art! Colour, texture, taste, arrangement — Bird has a talent and a passion that’s etching out a niche for her burgeoning business. And inheriting her deceased grandmother’s property has provided her with the perfect home/buisness base…except for the body in the woods. Bwahahaha!

Cato has achieved the perfect balance between the cozy elements (foodie descriptions to drool over) and the amateur sleuthing. All in a quirky town full of interesting (and sometimes aggravating) characters to provide depth and intrigue. Plus, there’s a potential for romance. Eeep! I am so on board for more Bird stories…even after that jaw-dropping , whhhaaattttt-just-happened?! ending. What is Bird going to do with that?

A compelling and captivating compulsive read…or listen in my case. I totally enjoyed Dominque Salvacion’s narration. She brought Bird’s personality to life along with a myriad of secondary characters which made for an entertaining ‘reading’ experience.

My thanks to Brilliance Publishing and Net Galley for providing me with an audio edition of this book.

Purely picked this book up for the cheesy title and ended up absolutely loving it. A fabulous cover too for this book.

After not reading much mystery lately, I really enjoyed this cozy mystery. Fun characters, great autism representation, plenty of cheesy fun, and plot twists to keep you engaged. I thought the writing was easy to listen to, a great reader on the audio book too. This book which was exactly what I needed and I loved every moment.

I really liked the relationship between Bird and Dale, and of course, Bowser was an absolute star. Would love to see more adventures starring Bird.

I saw a cozy mystery wrapped in a pun and was immediately sold.
When I started and realized our main character was autistic I was floored! It took me a while to adjust to how it was portrayed because it felt like it was being shoved down my throat with every mention, BUT a friend pointed out that that is likely due to being autistic myself and feeling like it was all obvious and didn't need to be pointed out. And after getting going in the story I never noticed it again.

This was super cute and exactly what I am looking for from a cozy mystery but with LAYERS. We have not only one busy body main character but TWO because it runs in the family and she takes after her grandma which was super cute. We had a goofy love interest who fits the bill and a somewhat grumpy but accepting detective who I will never stop hoping will become the actual love interest as we continue along with these characters.

This was such a good book. I loved the story and the writing so much. The characters were great and the story flowed smoothly. Will definitely read more books by this author in the future.

I enjoyed getting to know Bird and her new friends as well as following along as they tried to unravel the truth behind the murder of Chase Perkins. All of the characters were likeable and fun and I loved how no matter what they were doing, the author managed to bring the story back to cheese, including many interesting tips and making my mouth water as they were described, particularly the grilled cheeses. There is a twist in the end which most people should see coming as it’s somewhat mentioned a few times but it does surprise you in the way it plays out. Looking forward to more from this author and hopefully Bird also.

Audio was well done, no issues

"Cheddar Luck Next Time" by Beth Cato has the makings to be a great first book in a series if it gets more in the same story world. Bird Eakles is moving into her grandmother's home after her grandmother goes missing and is presumed dead. It's been a rough year for Bird from not only that loss but she also the loss of both her parents to a car accident. She also is finally getting established in her cheese board business. All with navigating the world as an autistic.

Being autistic myself, I found Bird quite relatable. The need to know why behind things especially. Maybe that's why cozy mysteries are a special interest of mine. They do a lot of solving the why of things. This one is all about the odd death of the town's local problem person and one of Bird's close family friends is a suspect. Bird might be as well. So, with the strong sense of justice that comes with being autistic (also very relatable to me), Bird does what she can to clear herself and her friend.

I do want to point out that though this book does fall in cozy mystery territory for the most part, there is one chapter that does get a tad on the overly detailed side for how the victim died. It's more from a medical sense. Totally worth it from my point of view but may make some truly hardcore cozy mystery readers squirm a bit. So, if detailed medical explanations of a how a death happened aren't your thing, skip chapter 16.

Tempted by the title, stayed for the story...

First, I loved that the leading lady is autistic. And that no one treated her poorly. Bird Nichols is still mourning the loss of her grandmother so soon after the death of her parents in car accident. She has reluctantly moved into her grandmother's home. Second, cheese boards. There are cheese based mysteries but this is my first one based around a cheese board cottage business. I like learning more about that. Third, diverse cast of characters. There are different nationalities and ethnic groups represented. 
Grandma's mystic floats throughout the story. She was seen in distress and presumed drowned. But her impact on her town persists. This both helps and hinders Bird as she tries to the solve the murder the local troublemaker she found dead on the side of the road.
Dale was charming and of course a good match, being the owner of a Grilled Cheese restaurant and all.
I was surprised about the killer but not the reason. There was a clue early on that I thought was strange so it stuck with me. While the murder was solved I was left wondering, who was Grandma Lucille? This story was a reminder that no one is all good nor all bad, we’re made up of layers. I hope there is another book in the works so Bird gets to learn more about the person her parents kept her away from.

Thank you to #NetGalley, #DaturaBooks and #BrillianceAudio for the opportunity to do an early read and share my thoughts on the story.

Happy Reading!

First and foremost, thank you to Netgalley and Brilliance Publishing and Audio for the aARC of Cheddar Luck Next Time.

Format: Audiobook

Review:
Cheese, cats, and murder? Yes, please!

What an absolutely awesome palette cleanser! Cheddar Luck Next Time is a fun and cozy murder mystery centered on Bird, an autistic small business owner who, after the death of her parents a year ago, and the death of her grandmother less than a year later, is moving into her grandmother's home in the tiny town of Foghorn California with a permanent population of less than 100.

Within her first 24 hours of moving, Bird kicks the town nuisance, Chase, off her property, immediately making herself an enemy. Not long after the heated meeting, she finds his car crashed in a ravine and Chase dead. But it wasn't the car crash that killed him. Now, cheese loving and autistic Bird is thrown into a murder investigation where everyone has a motive and no one seems to have an alibi, including herself.

There wasn't a single character in this book that I didn't adore.
I found myself reflected very heavily in Bird.
Dale was adorably sweet with his cheese sandwiches and kittens.
Grizz was comforting.
Rita gave off the perfect 'HOA Karen' vibes (which while I hate, made her character perfect for what it was there for).
There were of course, more characters, but the true star of the show was Bowser, the cat Bird unexpectedly found herself caring for in the midst of the murder investigation.

There's a couple reasons I couldn't quite give it five ⭐'s
Despite it being a cozy mystery, I still would have liked a little less predictability. It felt like everything was kind of given away a bit too early on.
Why did this audiobook censor the word 'sexy'? I rewound three times to verify that when Bird thought Dale asking if he wanted him to help her or let her handle an injury on her leg was 'sexy', that word was definitely cut out. I have never experienced this in an Audiobook before, but this is my first NetGalley audio. I listened to this via the NetGalley app and wonder if this had something to do with it. Will absolutely update my review if this turns out to be the case.

All in all, it was fun, it was cozy, it was cheesy, it was everything you'd expect from a book titled 'Cheddar Luck Next Time'.

My monthly reading breakdown for March will be posted on Tiktok and IG during the first week of April.

A lot of telling not showing. Bird is annoying and I couldn't take most of it seriously
I know it's a cozy mystery... maybe it would've been better if I read it instead of listening

Thank you.NetGalley for the ARC opportunity!

This was an interesting story. It kept my attention throughout but still fell a little short for me. There were some areas that were left unanswered or unexplained, and i think it would have benefited the story to include them.

Also i understand the cheese focus and her hyper fixation from her autism but it became alot.