Reviewed by annieb123 on
Honey Roasted is the 19th book in the Coffeehouse mysteries by Cleo Coyle. Released 1st Feb 2022 by Penguin Random House on their Berkley imprint, it's 368 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.
This is a fun very light shopfront cozy with an ensemble cast: Clare's a barista and coffee shop co-owner with Matt, her ex-husband, along with a crew of employees, friends, and acquaintances including a mobile beekeeper unit of the NYPD (which really exists). The story is engagingly told with lots of side plot threads which are wound together into a satisfying denouement and resolution.
Despite being the 19th book in the series, it's a self-contained mystery and works well as a standalone. There will be some character related spoilers to earlier books in the series if read out of order. The writing is very light and absolutely full of puns on bees and honey. There is a strong romance/drama subplot thread. The language is PG rated (a few damns, nothing worse). There is some consensual implied sexual content between Clare and her fiancè, but nothing explicit. I do confess to some eye-rolling over the unrelenting punny humor; but overall it's a fun read.
The authors have also included a short primer on varietal honeys along with links to some honey themed recipes at the back of the book.
Four stars. It's a very light enjoyable cozy and will delight fans of this long running series.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
Reading updates
- Started reading
- 6 February, 2022: Finished reading
- 6 February, 2022: Reviewed