Second in the series and so good. ( )

Sugar and Vice by Eve Calder has Kate McGuire and her best friend, Maxi planting some vegetable gardens behind Maxi’s flower shop in Coral Cay, Florida. Kate’s dog, Oliver suddenly begins digging frantically and uncovers a skeleton with pirate clothes. They wonder if the skeleton is Sir George Bly, the pirate who founded the town and the reason they have the annual pirate festival. Kate has enough on her plate with baking unique items for the pirate festival and the unknown skeleton. But then her ex-fiancé, Evan arrives in town with an agenda. Kate keeps herself busy (aka avoiding Evan) by investigating the legend of Sir George Bly with the book club hoping they can learn the truth about the gentleman pirate and his long-lost treasure. What happens when they learn the skeleton is more recent than a four-hundred-year-old pirate? Sugar and Vice is the second A Cookie House Mystery. It can be read on its own for those new to the series. Kate is a likeable young woman with a talent for baking. I love her dog, Oliver with his exuberance. Kate loves to bake, and she creates delicious items for the bakery. I enjoy the interactions between Maxi and Kate. I did find the chapters too short and there were too many of them (68). It made the book choppy. The mystery was simple and could easily be solved long before the reveal. But the mystery does suit the book. It is a lighthearted cozy mystery with the focus on baking and friendship than the whodunit. There are lovely descriptions of the town which has friendly residents. I could have done without the Spanish words or phrases used by Maxi. They are not explained which is frustrating (I was never able to master Spanish). I did enjoy the humor and the descriptions of Kate’s baked items. Sugar and Vice is a fun cozy mystery with a peppy pooch, tasty treats, pirate plunder, a bothersome ex-beau, and a screwy skeleton. ( )

Sugar and Vice by Eve Calder has Kate McGuire and her best friend, Maxi planting some vegetable gardens behind Maxi’s flower shop in Coral Cay, Florida. Kate’s dog, Oliver suddenly begins digging frantically and uncovers a skeleton with pirate clothes. They wonder if the skeleton is Sir George Bly, the pirate who founded the town and the reason they have the annual pirate festival. Kate has enough on her plate with baking unique items for the pirate festival and the unknown skeleton. But then her ex-fiancé, Evan arrives in town with an agenda. Kate keeps herself busy (aka avoiding Evan) by investigating the legend of Sir George Bly with the book club hoping they can learn the truth about the gentleman pirate and his long-lost treasure. What happens when they learn the skeleton is more recent than a four-hundred-year-old pirate? Sugar and Vice is the second A Cookie House Mystery. It can be read on its own for those new to the series. Kate is a likeable young woman with a talent for baking. I love her dog, Oliver with his exuberance. Kate loves to bake, and she creates delicious items for the bakery. I enjoy the interactions between Maxi and Kate. I did find the chapters too short and there were too many of them (68). It made the book choppy. The mystery was simple and could easily be solved long before the reveal. But the mystery does suit the book. It is a lighthearted cozy mystery with the focus on baking and friendship than the whodunit. There are lovely descriptions of the town which has friendly residents. I could have done without the Spanish words or phrases used by Maxi. They are not explained which is frustrating (I was never able to master Spanish). I did enjoy the humor and the descriptions of Kate’s baked items. Sugar and Vice is a fun cozy mystery with a peppy pooch, tasty treats, pirate plunder, a bothersome ex-beau, and a screwy skeleton. ( )

Sugar and Vice is the 2nd book in the Cookie House cozy mystery series. I've read books one and two in this series and enjoyed them both. The thing that I enjoy about this series is that in book one (slight spoiler although not really much of one) Kate moves to Coral Cay to get a fresh start in her life. I really enjoy that in these two books we have gotten to see her work towards that new life. I can't help rooting for her because of it. I also really enjoy all of the characters in this series! Maxi especially is a great secondary character so I liked the fact that this book focused on her and her business so much. One of the things that surprised me most about this book though was the ending. I didn't see it coming which really added to my enjoyment. I fully admit that there are many times with cozy mysteries where you can guess the ending early on (even though I find that still doesn't affect my enjoyment too often). That did not happen here as I didn't see the ending coming from a mile away! I loved how surprised I was by the ending of this one and also where the author went with it. I'll leave it at that because I don't want to spoil anything for others.
Overall, I enjoyed this book and will continue reading more of this series with future books! This book was fun and a good way to keep my mind off of everything that has been going on in the world lately. I'm curious to see where the author goes next with this series. It should be interesting and I will definitely be there for it! I think that readers that enjoy cozy mysteries or are looking for mysteries that are on the lighter side (meaning not dark and gory) would enjoy this one. I do think that this book can be read out of order, but I would recommend reading the books in order if possible. There's only two currently so you have plenty of time before the next book releases! Recommended.
Bottom Line: A fun addition to this cozy mystery series!
Disclosure: I received a copy of this book thanks to the publisher and NetGalley. Honest thoughts are my own. ( )

Sugar and Vice is the second book in the A Cookie House Mystery series.

Kate is settling in nicely in Coral Cay and is part owner of the cookie shop where she works. Her cookies have brought the shop back to being the bakery to shop at.

Her friend Maxi has a flower shop next door and they are busy putting in a raised beds in the yard behind the flower shop while discussing the upcoming Pirate Festival that is coming up soon. Oliver, who likes to spread his doggy adorableness around town, starts digging where they are working and they soon find that he has unearthed a human skeleton. Also found were some apparel items that suggest this might be the body of a pirate. Maxi is sure they have found the body of Gentlemen George, a legendary pirate of Coral Cay, who was reportedly buried with his share of the treasure they had accumulated. Soon it will be confirmed that it isn’t Gentleman George and Kate and Maxi will set off to try and determine who the skeleton was.

I am enjoying this new series. The story is well-told and plotted. The community of Coral Cay has very believable and interesting characters. The cookie store has some very delicious sounding products, no wonder the business is doing well. My least favorite character is Kate’s ex-fiance, Evan. He needs to wake up and smell the roses. He’s been told no way are they getting back, yet he continues to stalker her. I hope he will soon get the message. My favorite character is Oliver, who thinks he is the “town dog” going about town visiting everyone. He seems to have found a home with Kate, but then he realizes the comfort he brings by being close to Kate.

I will be watching for the next book in this yummy series. ( )