Thank you, SS Atria and NetGalley, for the free eARC in exchange for my honest review. I thoroughly enjoyed this cozy novel. The vibes were perfect for curling up with a good chai on an overcast day. Buncombe-upon-Woolly, with two hyphens, is such a charming setting, it felt like I was being pulled along with Georgie on her quest to solve the suspicious death of the chairman. I adored the banter between Sebastian and Georgie and their eventual relationship. I give this a five out of five stars! I cannot wait to read more of Martha Waters' works in the future!

Okay, first things first, the fictional Cotswolds town where this story takes place is Buncombe-upon-Woolly, our main character is Georgina aka Georgie, and one of the first murder victims is Mr. Marbles. The names!!!! This is SUCH a cute historical mystery with a twist of romance, set in 1930’s England. There are a lot of people dropping dead in good old Buncombe-upon-Woolly and Georgie is certain there is something sinister going on. Georgie sends away for an actual detective who ends up sending his secretary, Sebastian, who becomes Georgie’s love interest. This was just a fun, light, easy read to end the month. I don’t read a ton of romance and I find that the romance I do try doesn’t typically hit with me. But I was pleasantly surprised with this! I think having a murder mystery subplot helped greatly in my enjoyment. I’ve not read Martha Waters previously, so I can’t say if this aligns with her previous novels, but I’ll be keeping my eyes open for whatever she writes in the future.

Completely and utterly delightful! Georgie has been investigating a few murders I. Her small English village, when she decides that they need some outside assistance. Instead of the famous detective she asked, instead she got his secretary. Sebastian was so charming, I loved him. Georgie and Sebastian’s chemistry and banter was amazing. They had me smiling so much. The village, the people, the side characters, and even Egg were all great characters. This was a cozy mystery but it was also a romance with some comedic moments. Chef’s kiss.