I truly don't understand the great rating...4.3 stars ?? Unoriginal, uncreative, and boooorrrrriiinnngggg. I guess I'm missing something cause ooofff this was such a miss.

The mystery felt incomplete and the ending felt abrupt. I liked Maddy and the other characters but they really suck at connecting the dots and once they were connected it was just over?? It was also kind of boring tbh. It's only getting 3 stars because there's a dog.

It was funny, fluffy, and cozy. There was mystery and romance while incorporating important messages on racism and motherhood. While I enjoyed it, it just felt like there were more plotlines than there should've been and it made it a bit muddled. Also, I should not have done the audiobook because the voice of Trisha gave me a visceral reaction. 3.5 stars.

I was so confused when I started this. Everything seemed muddled and I had to keep coming and seeing what people were saying because I felt like I wasn't understanding. I'm walking away from this knowing I don't completely understand but what I do understand, is beautiful and painful and chilling. The trauma is examined in a way that felt hazy but it hurts and it feels real.

There's something so addicting about how light and fun these are. They have a very basic cozy mystery setup and investigation, the basic amateur sleuths and the obvious person who's guilty but they're just so...good. Lila is adorable and I love the calendar crew and the yummy treats make me hungry everytime. I'm just obsessed with this series.

Girly, get some therapy and cut him loose.

I'm fairly indifferent about this one. Didn't love it or hate it. It gave the sensual, sapphic relationship I craved. It gave pretentious art student vibes which I hoped for. It's just...there was nothing super deep or captivating about it BUT I also couldn't stop reading about it. The actual writing was lovely.

The way this punched me in my heart, made my heart soar, and then left me in a puddle of my own tears should be illegal. This was a book that made me feel so much, so much more than many other books I've read. It made me want to reach through the pages and give Hazel a hug. The last time a middle grade made me feel this way was when I read "Some Kind of Happiness" by Claire Legrand. Just absolutely perfect.

I'm not always a fan of the second book in a series but this was a home run! We learned even more about Tess, Gertie, and our cast of characters and we even got a fairly unique mystery for this one. Was Tess's grandfather a murderer? That definitely pulled me in! I just grew to love everything even more and while the mystery was executed in a similar way as others, the actual mystery itself is what set it apart for me.

While this wasn't my favorite, I did enjoy it quite a bit. I wasn't a big fan of Izzie but Chloe was fun. The setting was neat and I liked the idea of a painting shop/murder mystery. My biggest issues was that it felt a bit drawn out and a lot of the dialogue was soooo cheesey! It made me cringe a little...