Book Review and Giveaway: Something Borrowed, Something 90% Dark

SOMETHING BORROWED,
SOMETHING 90% DARK
Bean to Bar Mysteries, #6
by
Amber Royer
Cozy Culinary Mystery
Publisher: Golden Tip Press
Date of Publication: September 12, 2023
Number of Pages: 288 pages 
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Felicity Koerber’s bean to bar chocolate shop on Galveston’s historic Strand is hosting the friends and family coming into town for her best friend Autumn’s wedding. As matron of honor, Felicity has a ton of tasks to complete – including making chocolates for the gift bags. She doesn’t have time to solve another murder. But when one of the bridesmaids becomes a prime suspect in the death of a visiting real estate agent, Felicity has to put her detecting skills to use again to keep the wedding plans from getting derailed.
She’s already nervous about the impending deadline she’s given herself to finally choose between her two love interests – and figuring out where life goes once she makes her choice. But add in a missing Pygmy goat and a new coffee shop that wants to partner with her, and she’s frazzled.
She begins to discover that not everything is as it seems among the wedding guests. Can she handle the wedding preparations, pull off turning her shop into a concert venue, and unmask the killer before anyone else dies?
Review Header
The time is nigh! The time for Autumn’s wedding, that is. Felicity is tickled to be serving as Autumn’s maid of honor. Wedding preparations are underway, and Felicity is in the thick of them. But she soon finds herself in the thick of another murder investigation, too, when one of the bridesmaids is under suspicion of killing a real estate agent that was once a friend.

Amber Royer does it up big here! There are so many things going on in this book, but like the perfect recipe for a good chocolate, they all work well together. Wedding things go wrong, including the custom-designed groom’s ring going missing and the jeweler nowhere to be found. Arlo’s old flame, Pam, asks Felicity to look into her father’s disappearance. He’s an insurance investigator and may or may not have fled his family and headed south of the border.

And then there’s a kidnapped goat. I simply adore Royer’s inclusion of animals in her stories. Felicity’s bunny, Knightley, is in every book, and he’s a dear. Here we also get to meet Princess Buttercup, a darling goat taken from a wedding expo and held captive. Let’s just say she doesn’t take well to being held against her will, and I am reminded of why I enjoy the cuteness of other people’s goats! The goat shenanigans add an extra touch of whimsy to the story.

In the middle of all the goings-on, Felicity is still trying to decide: Arlo or Logan? Her self-imposed deadline to choose is drawing ever nearer, and sometimes she seemed like she was no closer to making a decision than she was in the last book. But huzzah and hurrah, the choice is made! (Don’t be silly. I’m not going to TELL you who she picked. Go read the book if you want to know!) I felt myself swayed back and forth as Felicity weighed the pros and cons, the good and bad of each choice. But in the end, I am well pleased with how things turned out. As another reviewer said, the man Felicity chose needed her more than the other did, and she needed him, too. Romance may not be the focus of Royer’s books, but it is on point here, and I adored it. Can’t wait to see the relationship unfold in future books!

We get to learn more about characters who don’t always play a major role in Royer’s books, most notably Ash. I liked that we got to see new facets to his character here. I hope we see more of this side of him in the future – maybe more collaboration between him and Felicity? And we get to see Felicity slowly making her peace with being known for her sleuthing abilities almost as much as for her designer chocolates.

It’s another five-star read for me! If Amber Royer is writing it, I’m reading it, no questions asked.


Keep scrolling and enter to win an autographed copy of the book!
Amber Royer writes the Chocoverse comic telenovela-style foodie-inspired space opera series and the Bean to Bar Mysteries. She is also the author of Story Like a Journalist: A Workbook for Novelists, which boils down her writing knowledge into an actionable plan involving over 100 worksheets to build a comprehensive story plan for your novel. She also teaches creative writing and is an author coach.
Amber and her husband live in the DFW Area, where you can often find them hiking or taking landscape / architecture / wildlife photographs. If you are very nice to Amber, she might make you cupcakes. Chocolate cupcakes, of course! Amber blogs about creative writing technique and all things chocolate.
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TWO WINNERS:
Each receives an autographed paperback copy.
(US only; ends midnight, CDT, 9/21/23)

FOR DIRECT LINKS TO EACH POST ON THIS TOUR, UPDATED DAILY, 
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4 Responses to Book Review and Giveaway: Something Borrowed, Something 90% Dark

  1. Hall Ways says:

    Your reviews are always such a breath of fresh air, & they always make me want to read the book (MUST know about Felicity’s choice!). Thanks for sharing.

  2. Amber Royer says:

    Thank you for such an enthusiastic review. Glad you enjoyed getting to meet Princess Buttercup. And yes, there will be more Ash in the next book (tentatively titled A Chocolate is Announced, which will have Felicity announcing a new bar amidst a murder mystery dinner — which means you’ll get to see Ash and his fiancé co-hosting the party’s mystery together). That one will be arriving sometime in the spring.

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