Pomona or Paris Hilton? This took me a bit to get into but overall fun. I struggle a bit with characters I absolutely cannot relate to and that’s how I felt about Pomona.

I loved being in Pomona's world, and really just feel like the second book got its legs. The world was set, and we got to just enjoy! The mystery of course was fun too.

This was fun. I will say, though, that it was slow going at first. Without the fish out of water theme this time, with Pomona back in her element with all of her money, her thought process and inflated sense of self is a little off-putting. I know it's supposed to be fun, but that snobby, overly entitled attitude hits a little differently right now. That aside, the mystery was intriguing, and the story overall was well-paced. I had a good time reading this book, which is always a good thing. Disclaimer: I received an advanced reader copy from NetGalley for an honest review.

I really enjoyed the first book in this series, so I was so excited to see it got a sequel!

Sadly, I really did like the first book quite a bit more than this one.

This sequel still has that Only Murders in the Building quality to it that makes it so much fun (silly wealthy people murder-solving situations) though.

This is a cozier mystery story but set in the world of strange rich people. And these rich people are chaotic troublemakers.

This sequel follows Pomona as she sets up a nonprofit, except her main donor ends up dead. And she has to solve it. She also has some relationship drama to deal with as well. She is busy.

This was fun, but I wanted more from the mystery. This book follows more of Pomona's personal struggles and situations than the murderous one. I also wanted more from the ending, it wasn't as climactic and dramatic as I wanted it to be to match the rest of the story.

Thanks to NetGalley for the e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review! My Goodreads review is up and my TikTok (Zoe_Lipman) review will be up at the end of the month with my monthly reading wrap-up.

This was such a fun book but I feel like it is kind of slow paced and maybe Pomona just isnt for me!

Pomona Afton Can Totally Catch A Killer is a fun and fast-paced follow-up filled with glitz, chaos, and an entertaining murder mystery. I enjoyed diving back into Pom’s world and loved the mix of high-society drama and sleuthing. While I struggled a bit with Pomona’s character this time around, the mystery itself kept me engaged, and the supporting cast brought plenty of charm and intrigue.

Pom is back and more fabulous (and frazzled) than ever! This sequel is witty, clever, and packed with charm, like if Clueless and Knives Out had a very fashionable baby.

The stakes are higher this time: her charity, her romance, her reputation… and oh yeah, another murder. I laughed out loud, gasped at the twists, and rooted for Pom every step of the way. She’s sharp, stylish, and unexpectedly heartfelt. The kind of heroine you want to solve crimes and grab cocktails with.

The perfect mix of high society hijinks, mystery, and glam. I need book three immediately.

Pomona Afton Can Totally Catch A Killer is the follow up to Pomona Afton Can So Solve A Murder. In this book Pomona is working to revamp herself and help those in need by launching her nonprofit. At her first gala surrounded by friends, family, and donors someone is murdered.

This book started off very well. It did a good job of easing the reader back into the world of Pomona Afton and giving gentle reminders of what happened in the first book which I appreciated. As the story continues our feisty FMC seems to be worse than she was in book 1. It felt like all of her character growth was erased. She seemed meaner, less considerate, and entitled, more so than where she ended in book 1. I am sad to say I actually ended up hating Pomona in this book. It was hard to root for her in any aspect as she seemed to not only revert back to her old privileged way, but she just seemed worse.

Unfortunately I did not enjoy the FMC in this book, and I wish she had more character growth. Overall the murder mystery itself was fun. The characters were interesting and the story was engaging.

I was so excited to see a second book to the Pomona Afton series!! I love the characters and Bellamy Rose has me literally laughing out loud at them. I hope there's more to come!!

Pomona Afton Can Totally Catch a Killer is the second book in the series by Bellamy Rose. Pomona once again has to solve a murder and while she’s still a charming character, the book feels like a retread of the first one. I wish there was a different kind of mystery Pomona was solving or more of a focus on the business she started. I really enjoyed the first book in the series but I was looking for something more from the sequel. Fans of the first book should still check this one out to see more of Pomona’s story.

I love Pomona! She reminds me of a mixture of Cher from
Clueless and Alexis Rose. She still has some room for
personal growth but she’s coming along nicely. Maybe in the next book she will realize Gabe is perfect despite not fitting perfectly into her world.

Thank you to NetGalley, Atria Books and Emily Bestler Books for providing this book, with my honest review below.

I adored Pomona Afton Can So Solve a Murder and was excited to hear that Bellamy Rose was following that book up with another. Pomona Afton Can Totally Catch a Killer was a perfect follow up, and Pomona’s Alexis Schitt spirit was present and as lovely as it was in the first book.

This time around we catch up with Pomona as she tries to project a more serious image as she gets her foundation off the ground in order to fulfill her genuine commitment to serve underprivileged teens in NYC. Gabe, her boyfriend, is still there supporting her - including through a new murder that takes place at her first gala. With her own image on the line, her foundation’s success (and a place for the kids), as well as Pomona having to question her own family and friend’s innocence once again, you know you’re in for a good time.

I loved catching up with Pomona and equally enjoyed her peeks into her way of thinking and her very unique lifestyle. Pomona has grown since the first book and grows even more in this one, and you can’t help but fall in love with, and cheer on, this character.

I hope we have another book about Pomona to continue the series, I can’t help but smile every time I read about her!

I was invited by the publisher to review this book. This is the second installment to the Pamona Afton series and a really fun follow up. Pamona is throwing a party for her non-profit. While planning her extravaganza, she must navigate the uppity world of non-profits, her boyfriend that doesn't quite fit the mold, and juggle her family. Then, during her charity's party, a body of one of her biggest donors is discovered. Pamona must then figure out who murdered the donor - and who doesn't want her to succeed.

I really enjoyed this second installment with the character of Palmona. She has really proven to have evolved from the person readers initially met. In this book, she struggles to maintain her more mature persona, and so works to solve the murder to ensure people look at her as more than a socialite. This book was full of smart characters and a good mystery, too. I am excited for more with these characters!

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books/Emily Bestler Books for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

2.5 bumped up

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

If there is anything Pomona Afton is known for it’s for throwing parties and solving murders. When her big donor is murdered at her fundraiser, it’s up to Pomona to figure out who the killer is in order to preserve her reputation.

I didn’t read the first book in the series, but there’s enough background that I don’t think it’s necessary. Pomona seems to be inspired by Paris Hilton, and to be honest it was really hard to connect with her as a character. I did appreciate that she was earnestly trying her best to be a better person, but the motivation seemed to stem more about appearances than a true desire to be a better person. Her internal monologue was cringeworthy at times. I just didn’t feel that her motivations were entirely altruistic. Perhaps I could have appreciated her character arc more had I read the first book.

The mystery itself was fairly easy to solve and there weren’t really any surprises. I felt the pacing dragged, and I didn’t find the crime solving very engaging. Overall, this wasn’t really to my taste, but I can see there being an audience for it.

a quick, mostly charming read about a former party girl socialite who wants to become a charity board socialite and keeps finding herself involved in murder investigations. the writing is very much a sophia kinsella vibe, a bit of silliness and flashes of heart.

pomona has only just wrapped up the solving of her grandmother's murder when she finds herself hosting a gala (that unfortunately does not include peacocks) where another murder goes down. with her ragtag team of insanely wealthy frenemies and a boyfriend who is A Poor (as she refers to him), they manage to do what the entire nypd couldn't and solve the crime themselves, with a few hijinks along the way. the author included a ton of fun references to deeply insane rich people things; i elected not to look them up because i don't really want to know if they exist but it was a super amusing way to scene set & character build.

i kept trying to imagine pomona as alexis rose, and it made her more awful personality aspects a bit easier to handle, only the issue is we don't see as much warmth and charm in pomona as we did of a little bit alexis, and it made her harder to handle. for example—does she even LIKE gabe? she repeatedly, over and over, many MANY times thought to herself and said aloud to him and others little tidbits that made his not being born into an amoral amount of wealth sound like a personal failing. the lie about the ring at the end made it so clear she did not grow at a person whatsoever and has no intention to. also—there's no way that a socialite would open a bakery. sorry, but she's insanely shallow and in no world would she work this closely with carbs. finally, at least three times throughout the story she had an internal thought along the lines of "everything does revolve around me, after all," which. ew, david.

it took me just a quick couple hours and was an easy afternoon read on a sunny day. pomona isn't going on my list of very favorite characters but we had a laugh together!

some notes i made while reading:
- lol i see you with your "greystone" ms bellamy
- the names are killing me. basil & parsleigh & millicent & vienna & POMONA hahahaha
- eat the rich, man. go gabe.
- i never realized rich folks snorted so often

3 stars! great sequel to the series. thank you netgalley & the publisher for the ARC, in exchange for an honest review

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Pom and Gabe are back, and this time they have detective hats! It was fun to rejoin the ridiculous cast of characters from book one for another murder. Like the first, this is a silly, ridiculous, and light mystery read that is fun from start to finish.

These remind me of a mix of Findlay Donovan and the Shopaholic books. The mystery is less hard-hitting and more of a fun romp. I’d definitely read the next one!

3.5 stars. While I didn’t read the first book in the series, it was easy to get engaged in POMONA AFTON CAN TOTALLY CATCH A KILLER. With both a catchy title and likable main character, it didn’t take long for me to become engaged in the plot.

Twenty-five-year-old hotel heiress Pom is trying to reinvent herself from a superficial party girl into a more mature philanthropist after having been accused of murder in the first book. She hosts her first charity gala where, surprise—one of her donors is murdered. Since she solved the murder in the first book, she decides to do it again.

Think of Pom as a more likable Paris Hilton-type who can solve murders. Along with her fish-out-of-water boyfriend, Gabe, Pom starts following the clues.

Despite her enormous wealth, Pom is a likable gal. She’s idealistic and good-natured, and also more astute than you would believe. The plot was entertaining, and the tone throughout was lighthearted and fun.

I’ll definitely read more of this series!

🌟Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.🌟

Pomona Afton Can Totally Catch a Killer is one of those chaotic cozy mysteries that we've all come to love in the past couple of years, but this one is wrapped in designer labels and rich people getting caught doing bad things. Pom’s back and this time she's trying to prove she's more than just a party girl by launching a philanthropic nonprofit. Unfortunately, but as expected, things go awry and her main donor/guest of honor ends up dead. Pom (and Gabe) slip back into detective mode, while tackling their rocky relationship.

This follow-up leans more into social satire, and I enjoyed Pom's inner monologue just as much as the first book, BUT the mystery itself was subpar. Plus this book promised relationship drama and Gabe fades into the background too much. The way the mystery wraps up is a TWO THUMBS DOWN. It also didn't make complete sense. I was confused. I mean I guessed who the murderer was and I was correct, but the way it's unraveled makes no sense. There were a lot of gaps that could've been filled, and the archive/break-in scene should have been longer to assist in this.

Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for the eARC!

Rounding up to 3.5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and to Atria for the ARC of Pomona Afton Can Totally Catch a Killer by Bellamy Rose.

I would recommend reading the first book before this one (the second in the series). Pom does talk about the previous case and reveals the killer, so anyone starting late may then have trouble enjoying the first book.

This remains a very fun, light, cozy mystery series and I really enjoyed Pom's second unintended adventure in murder solving that takes place a year after the first book.

I was a bit surprised at the plot direction for this book. I was SO sure when I finished the first book that the second would involve some sort of murder at Pom's bakery and a mystery would grow from there. I had imagined that Pom got her money back and ran the bakery and maybe hired world renowned pastry chefs to teach her more skills, while finding other ways to use her regained wealth to take charge of her life on less extravagant terms. Instead, we return to Pom and yes, she has her bakery and she still experiments with baking, but she has people to run it for her and spends very little time there. Instead, she's launching a non-profit to launch herself as a reformed bad girl into a society do-gooder and to elevate her social sphere while raising money for young professionals to pursue their careers without massive debt and insecurity. When her largest donor is murdered at the event, Pom takes it upon herself to investigate.

I thought the mystery was going a few different directions, and while I started to piece it together, the ending still surprised me. I liked the new cast of people we got to interact with, especially Bibi. The ending was also very cute, and, can see where the series can expand from here with new settings and new life events.

Pom has reinvented herself from being 2003 Paris Hilton in the 2020s to being more of an early season Alexis Rose from Schitt's Creek who randomly drops snippets from her life like Tahani from The Good Place. There is definite growth in her as a person, and her internal monologue can be really funny, but she is still a bit selfish and mischaracterizing the life of the poors or being overly accepting / appreciative of the whims of the rich. I think, even though she does have her own epiphany later in the story, that Pom still has lots of room to grow in future books of the series, and I'm still hoping she grows a bit more grounded and appreciative of the people in her life. The first book spent such a time focusing on her loss of friendship with Vienna, but in this sequel Pom straight-up ignores Vienna even when she knows Vienna is worried about something or wants to talk to her. We really don't get to spend time with Vienna as a person the same way we do Millicent, Coriander, and even Persimmon. The same goes for Gabe -- he's MIA or background character until we get closer to Pom's epiphany time and then things are great - but so much of what made the first book special was seeing Pom find joy in small things with Gabe and him making her more down-to-earth, and in this book she spends a lot of time recognizing he's distracted or maybe upset or "oh, right, he works" and it feels so dismissive especially after she knows Gabe and Vienna are two people who genuinely care about her and not her money. I just hope we see more positive from Pom in future books.