Wedding bells are ringing - but people are dropping. While the bride seems distracted people close to the wedding are dropping fast. Can Mrs. Claus figure it out before the wedding?? And is there still romance in her marriage? Great read!

I adore this quirky series. To be honest, while the mystery is always intriguing, I'm there as much to lose myself in the fantasy world of SantaLand as for the mystery. I mean, cranky flying reindeer feuding over Flouncy, a flirtatious female reindeer from the Vixen herd, naturally. A stuffed up, talking snowman. A police station jail cell that is more hotel room than cell. Flying sleighs, with or without reindeer power, note. I mean, the are quite up-to-date there. Cut throat candy competitions. And, oh, so many other fun, quirky bits of this North Pole that don't quite match up with the long time traditional image. Heck, Santa is even not only young but hot. Sorry, ladies, he's married. April Claus is an amateur sleuth who always seems to find herself in the middle of some wrong doing, even murder.

That's the case here. Who killed elf fireman Sterling Redwinkle just as he seemed about to pop the question to his elf girlfriend Juniper? With a poisoned rose, no less. That's just the beginning. April is on the case but also caught up in preparations for BFF Claire's upcoming wedding to private detective Jake Frost. Yes, related to Jack Frost. Even better (well, maybe....you'll see) she's to be married at Castle Kringle, home of the extended Claus Family. Current Santa Nick is simply holding down the job while waiting for his nephew Christopher to reach adulthood but has proven a caring, wise Santa. April often wishes she had his way with words. Well, when she isn't fretting that the romance is fading this go-round. She even resorts to taking one of those generic magazine quizzes to determine if he's drifting away from her. Yes, they read those magazines in SantaLand, too, it seems. In any case, given her busy schedule, which involves lots of chocolate (a woman after my own heart) and snooping, er, looking into the murder, she barely has time to focus on anything else. She's even desperate enough investigating to descend into Hades. Nope. Not explaining that one. You'll just have to read. Honest, it isn't what you're thinking. Grin.

Bottom line, as noted, I thoroughly enjoy this series and the various novellas that pop up periodically. The characters, many of which are elves or.....nah, not telling, are quirky and have personalities all their own. the Dowager Mrs. Claus is a force in her own right and harbors no nonsense but, well, we get to see another side of her here, too. Claire has a surprise for April, too, not to mention Jake. Yikes, is the wedding off? Murder does have a way of dousing one's enthusiasm. In any case, if you're looking for a fun mystery with quirky characters, even if it involves talking reindeer and snowmen, this one is for you. Heck, I normally don't read stuff in the fantasy realm, either, but this one has me hooked. Thanks #KensigntonPublishing and #NetGalley for allowing me to time travel and have this early peek at how SantaLand celebrates Valentine's Day. I'm already waiting impatiently for the next chance to drop in on April Claus and the whole crew. Hope she doesn't eat all the chocolate before I get there.

Dress fittings for Claire's wedding becomes a deadly affair in Christmas Town. Claire and Jake Frost are getting married on Valentine's Day, but someone is not happy about it. Even Claire seems to be having second thoughts. Mrs. April Claus, as her best friend decides to get very involved when fellow bridesmaid, Juniper's boyfriend, Sterling drops dead during what should be the final fittings for the dresses. As festivities for both the wedding and Valentine's Day progress, April is investigating and aggravating elves and snowmen alike. By the time we reached the end of this one, I decided to just avoid Valentine's Day next year though or at least skip the Chocolate Festival and it's many competitions!
This series is always a fun read. The characters invariably make me laugh. At the very least I usually have the culprit on my radar screen, if I haven't identified them by the reveal, but I have to say this one caught me completely off-guard! I had pretty much zeroed in on someone else. Overall this was an entertaining way to spend an afternoon. I ended the day having some laughs and an intense craving for all kinds of tasty treats!
Thanks to NetGalley and Kensington for the opportunity to read this in exchange for my honest review.

I love the clever premise of this series. In this 6th book, April Claus, ex-pat American and wife of the current Santa Claus, is helping her best friend plan her Christmastown wedding for Valentine’s Day. The wedding is only a few days away but Claire and Jake Frost seem to be having a few challenges before the big day. Claire, in particular, has suddenly decided to leave almost all the decisions to April’s mother-in-law and seems completely uninterested in everything.
While doing the final fittings at Madame Neige’s dress shop, Juniper’s new boyfriend appears and suffers a fatal event. The local florist is implicated in his death and April wants to help get this resolved before Claire and Jake’s wedding.
April’s also feeling her own marriage might be in a rut after four years, particularly when there’s so much evidence of Valentine’s Day romance all around her.
Once again, the author does a lovely job of tying all loose ends as April solves the crime just in time!

April is helping Claire get ready for her wedding. During this time, preparations for Valentine's day are going on. Suspicious things start happening and then a death occurs. There is enough confusion that it is unknown who is the target for all of this evil. It is a good read to find out and a good surprise ending. The author is able to come up with another surprising way to create a mystery in Santatown

It's almost Valentine's Day in Christmas Town and April Claus's best friend is getting married at the castle. But first there's a murder of one of her friends. He dies right in front of April and the rest of the bridal party at the fittings for their wedding dresses. Then there's an attempted murder and a bride who seems to be having second thoughts. April knows she has to help solve the murders so that the wedding can take place.

Not my favorite in the series and I'm not particularly fond of April's meddling but overall not a bad addition to the series.

Valentine's Day is a special occasion, even in snowy Santaland, and April Claus is also looking forward to her friend Claire's wedding to Jake Frost at Castle Kringle on the most romantic of days. It's four years since her own rather low-key marriage to THE Santa Claus, who seems more of a workaholic than ever, and this time her mother in law is going all out. Feeling a little bereft April throws herself into a murder investigation when a much loved and respected elf suffers a fatal collapse in front of the wedding party! With murmurings of bad luck and suggestions of postponements can she save the day while putting a little passion into her own special relationship?

I was able to read an advanced copy of this thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, Kensington Publishing, Kensington Cozies, but the opinions expressed are my own. I have read and enjoyed all the Mrs Claus short stories but this was my first full length novel and I loved it. Santa was much more a part of the story and I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know Pamela, April's mother in law. I will definitely be going back to read the previous books in this fun series which has everything I want in a cosy.

This was a very entertaining cozy mystery! I love how the author created a series around the Claus family in the North Pole with a variety of different characters and personalities. The fun elf names were also a welcome addition as well as living snowmen and talking reindeer.

The mystery was definitely an original one; no overused plots exist in this story and by the end, everything is neatly wrapped up. Santa makes a few appearances; he's more of a supporting character, while his wife takes center stage.

I hope to read more books in this series.

It's finally time for Jack Frost and Claire's wedding, and love is in the air throughout Santaland. That is, until Juniper's sweetheart is murdered at a dress fitting by a poisoned rose in the midst of proposing. Mrs. Claus is determined for Claire's wedding to be perfect, and it can't be with a mysterious death hanging over everyone's heads--especially when there's a possibility a member of the bridal party was a real target.

I love this series so much, and will continue to read about Mrs. Claus solving crime for as long as it runs. It's just such a fun concept that never gets old, with each book introducing new fun tidbits about Santaland, the elves, and the other creatures that live there. Not to mention, the intriguing mysteries at the center of each book, with this one being no exception. There plenty of potential targets and suspects that kept me guessing.

Thanks to Kensington for my eARC! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

5 stars - 9/10

Thank you NetGalley and Kensington Publishing Corp. for the opportunity to read "Mrs. Claus and the Very Vicious Valentine" in exchange for my honest opinion.

This is the 6th holiday that the reader gets to spend with Mrs. April Claus in Christmastown. This time everyone is all excited because Claire's wedding to Jake Frost is just a few days away. Most of the time is spent at Madame Neige's shop with dress and veil fittings. Claire, who like April moved from Cloudberry Bay to Christmastown found true love with a relative of Jack Frost's. There is an interesting new character called Dolly Frost - a cousin of Jake's who has a weird fixation with him and becomes rather dewy-eyed when she sees him and is more enthusiastic about the upcoming wedding than the bride.

Of course, what Mrs. Claus mystery would be complete without murder and mayhem. April and Jake join forces once again to solve a complicated puzzle. Flowers start appearing and framing Ivy for attempting to kill someone in the wedding party. Claire is acting odd leaving all important wedding decisions to Madame Neige and April's mother-in-law , the dowager Mrs. Claus. When someone does end up dead - Constable Crinkles and Deputy Ollie (who couldn't catch anyone if they tried) are not taking called from the doctor or the coroner because they are busy with a chocolate contest.

It's up to April (as always) to put the pieces together and solve yet another murder in Christmastown.

I am not a huge fan of holiday-themed stories, but while this technically is (I guess), I just love this quirky series. April’s friend is about to get married, but she’s not acting right. Add to that, a poisoned rose was delivered to the wedding party’s fitting. With the standard cute and funny Christmas-related humor, a well-written plot, and a whodunit sure to please mystery fans, this is a well-written, amusing, and cute tale sure to please fans of all types. Highly recommend. I was provided a complimentary copy which I voluntarily reviewed.

I have read several books in this series and found myself caught up very quickly with the story and all the characters. Reading these books in order is probably a good idea but I still would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys paranormal mysteries with a touch of romance. I received an e-book from NetGalley in return for an unbiased review.