| Title | : | The Chocolate Bridal Bash (A Chocoholic Mystery, #6) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 045121918X |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780451219183 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 240 |
| Publication | : | First published January 1, 2006 |
The Chocolate Bridal Bash (A Chocoholic Mystery, #6) Reviews
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Like the earlier books, this one is markedly different from its siblings. It boasts the strongest start in the writing. Sadly the motives of the villains in the end were not logical. It wasn't possible that the intrigue would play out like it did. Stranger things have happened in real life. But here I believe what Joanna Carl (only now have I realized it's a pseudonym) has concocted is stranger than truth. The murders in this book had weird and nonsensical motives. I simply cannot wrap my head round it. The Sally character is the catalyst in this story, and even her importance makes no sense. I did enjoy the sad, turbulent past of Sally and the tragedy of Bill. Joanna Carl has kept adding newer characters to the series without blinking. I hope she manages to pull of this trick in her next books. Given what this book was, it made for an enjoyable read. I recommend it to both fans of the genre and the uninitiated.
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I enjoyed this little mystery. The plot was interesting and held my attention. There was nothing exceptional about this story that made it stand out. However, it is a good read. The reveal was surprising. It wasn't the ending I was expecting so that was nice.
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The chocolate mysteries are always a fun, light, quick read (this one was just over 200 pages). I like that Lee is generally a smart, independent, heroine. Of course there have been times I shake my head at some of the decisions she makes, but in this one I understood her motivation. I like that we got to know her family a bit better in this one (in the form of her mother). And I like that the story progresses. They don’t necessarily pick up right when the last ends, but there is definitely continuity, and a smooth flow. I was hoping for a bit more of the wedding, like maybe a book to itself, with a mystery around it, but maybe that would have been too obvious. I did like the ‘surprise ending’, and am interested to see where they take it in the next book (luckily, I shouldn’t have to wait TOO long, as I have that one my shelf). I think I had actually figured out the “who” of the who- done- it pretty early in this one, but it was an enjoyable read anyway. Will I read the next one? Oh yeah. I’m seeing this series through to the end. =D
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Enjoyed this cozy mystery. I love the characters of Lee and Joe. This one deals with a shock for Lee as she discovers a secret of her mother’s that she had no idea about. Busy with her wedding preparations to Joe, Lee finds time to unravel her mother’s secret past.
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Love this series. It avoids being overly cutesy, the way some cozy mysteries are, and the books always make sense. Interesting plots, good characters, and Carl doesn't overdo it on any of the annoying traits these mysteries sometimes have.
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This was a quick fun read. I originally started reading this series with a book group and had decided to give up on it. When I found this one in my shelves I decided to go ahead and read it before donating it to Goodwill. I was pleasantly surprised that the author had left out a lot of the descriptions of how chocolates are made and there was more to the story. I like the additional chocolate sections in the book though. They are interesting and you can skip over them and come back later. I still don't like the contrived things Lee says when her tongue gets tangled up but overall I liked this addition to the series much better than previous books.
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Lee and Joe are getting married, but getting Lee's mother to come to town is proving to be a challenge. It might have to do with a huge family secret. What does the past mean for the present? This was a fast moving book with plenty of twists and the usual great characters.
Read my full review at
Carstairs Considers. -
My favorite in the series so far.
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This story took me so long to get through. Yes, I started this in the middle/end of the series which I didn't realize until I was finished. Either way I just didn't care about it. I originally grabbed it off my shelf (bought at the store because it sounded interesting and was cheap, my fault!) because it was only like 200 pages, so it would have been a fast read. I was wrong. It's taken me like close to a month to finish it. That's really bad for me too.
To be honest, this story was a piece of crap. It was way too vanilla or light and fluffy and just bad. Usually when reading a story, even a bad one, I'll have vague images popping up in my mind, this one? Nothing really. It was impossible for me to get pulled in. I didn't care what the characters did or what happened to them. The fact that it seemed to take forever before I had even a hint of what Lee looked like? *Shakes her head back and forth*. For me it was pretty obvious that an older person wrote this story, just based off some of the words/phrases used.
Pretending I didn't know the title of this book, I knew on the first page after reading "It's where we plan to continue loving--I mean, living", that this probably wasn't going to be the best story.
Lee herself was a really boring, stupid, annoying, 'goody-too-shoes' type character. I didn't like her at all! haha With her apologizing when she felt she wasn't polite enough to someone in the past....I mean come on! 'Grow a pair already!' Or when she asks if suicide can be faked? Seriously? What year was this story taking place in? How old is Lee to begin with? 10? Better yet, when the author has Lee explain who "ya'll" was in reference to. OMG!
All the issues with her malapropisms, were really freaking annoying! I guess the author wanted her character to be unique or something? Like Rollie is all about his really stupid, unfunny 'joining of people's names' thing he would do. I get that, but I wasn't a fan. At least Rollie wasn't a main character. Lee on the other hand with all her 'saying the wrong words'....too much for my liking!
I wasn't a fan of the writing style either. There were several different things that stuck out to me, namely being certain things that were said; when in real life they wouldn't have been said that way, at least not in this century. Ex: "Thanks for reminding me that her life is truly sad." Or "Bill's a peach." Um...
Questions/comments:
"Street-length dress"?
Why does Lee live with her aunt and not have her own place? Or better yet, why aren't Lee and Joe living together already? They might not be married but seriously...it's the 21st century.
If Joe, was having financial issues, why when his ex-wife died did he donate her house and not sell it?
What took Lee so long to realize that Lovie and Mrs. Dykstra were the same person? First her mother tells her to stay out of it, then Netty tells her to stay away from Lovie. Um, hello?
Why does it take so long before we're given a good description of Lee? She is the main character after all. It's like every dozen of pages we're given a little piece. 'She's tall, she's blonde'...
Netty's bakery was suppose to make a bunch of Jazz bunnies. Another worker and Lee end up freaking out because they haven't received the molds yet and they're suppose to be shipped out in a couple hours. Lee eventually tracks down the UPS driver and nothing more is said. I found it strange that typically he wouldn't have gotten to the bakery for another 4 hours or so...yet, he was just down the street.
Lee goes to the library to look for info on the old sheriff. She runs into Rollie and has a talk with him about her mother and all. "I just bawled Rollie out." So because she had a few words with him meant that she couldn't go back to the library again to look for the info? "My outburst ruined any excuse I had..." How so? There's no mention of others hearing or getting involved. Who cares. Yet, not much later, she goes back again.
Lee's first husband. She says they divorced because basically she was smarter than he originally thought she was. How long had they been dating prior to marriage for him to realize that?
How did Joe recognize a doctor from Dorinda when they were at the old folks home? Is Joe a doctor? No. Are they from Dorinda or living there? No.
When talking to her mom, she tells Lee that when she left the town she was scared that 'white slaver's' might have gotten her? Huh?
When Jason came around the chocolate store (don't even remember what it was called) how did he seem to be the only person that hadn't heard of Van Hossier's death? Why does that seem highly unlikely considering they're in a small town?
How much was a pound of chocolate?
So Lee was trying to keep her wedding small, yet, it kept growing? Yeah, I guess 12 people were a ton!
The amount of years since the suicide seemed to change throughout the story. The story starts off with how 25 years prior, Lee's mom left town and Bill killed himself. YET!!! 1. Tom mentions how he's spent 30 years trying not to think about the suicide. 2. When Lee is talking to Hogen about faking a suicide, he says it would have been hard to do for 33 years. 3. Towards the end of the story it's suddenly been 35 years since the suppose suicide. ????
Bill was a student in...probably high school and Rollie was just starting out as a teacher. What sense would it have made for Bill's mom to ask Bill to look after Rollie? His teacher? An adult? He's a kid!
Joe tells Lee that Rollie is threatening to tell everyone what happened when Joe was in high school. Him and Lee make it sound like a real threat....like he could get in trouble or something. IDK, just seemed strange.
After Lee meets up with her mom at the airport and they're explaining the kidnapping attempt, her mom gives Lee a look that supposedly tells Lee she doesn't want her bringing up the runaway bride thing. Huh? Why in the world would her mom have even been thinking about that right then? How much sense would that have made telling airport cops about something that happened decades before? None!
At the end Lee said how she had blamed her mother for her parents divorce. Um...how long was it before her father married the new lady? I can't imagine long if they were already dating. IDK. -
The Chocolate Bridal Bash by JoAnna Carl is the sixth book of the Chocoholic mystery series set in a contemporary (fictitious) small resort town on the shore of Lake Michigan. The Chocoholic cozy series follows the familiar cozy recipe: female protagonist ditches big-city job and relationship, moves to small town, starts vastly different career, solves murder mysteries faster than local police.
Divorced Lee McKinney left Dallas behind to live year-round in Warner Pier on Lake Michigan, where she enjoyed childhood summer vacations. The bookkeeper for her Aunt Nettie's chocolate shop, TenHuis Chocolade, Lee's about to be married to Joe Woodyard. Lee's unique quirk (as a cozy protagonist) is her tendency to use malapropisms when she talks fast, due to stress. Adds a touch of humor as you read.
About-to-be brides tend to feel their special day spiraling out of control when others take over the planning. Lee likes Joe's mom, but wants a much smaller scale event than her future mother-in-law wants. Add the stress that Lee's own mom is unwilling to return to Warner Pier. Lee challenges her mom to attend - and learns startling news about her mother's past.
Although Lee's mother, aunt, and long-time residents of Warner Pier urge Lee to drop it, ask no further questions, Lee insists on researching the past. When she's attacked, she knows she's on the right track. Lee overcomes many obstacles to finally solve a murder in the past, and just-in-time prevent one in the present. Light entertainment, with interesting chocolate trivia between chapters. -
I really liked this book. Lee and Joe's wedding is approaching and it's spring so it's busy season in the chocolate world. Aunt Nettie: "I told Lee people in the chocolate business can't take honeymoons until the last bunny's been sold." And it's interesting that this book started out with a mystery, but not a murder.
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I actually really enjoyed this book. There were a few things I would have changed (description of chocolates, the heroine's difficulty with speaking), but overall not enough to stop the enjoyment of the story. The plot kept me enthralled and I didn't feel lost coming in mid-series as it works as a stand alone story. As the plot came to an end I had to take breaks between chapera and felt my pulse quickening. It was just enough for a good cozy mystery. I will be looking at more of the books in the series.
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While planning her upcoming wedding to Joe, Lee finds out that her own mother Sally was once a runaway bride whose high school sweetheart fiancé committed suicide right after she left town. Sally has never breathed a word of any of this to Lee, so unsurprisingly enough, Lee's curiosity gets the better of her and she begins digging into a 30-year-old mystery.
Less predictable than the previous books - mostly because the plot is extremely farfetched. Still an entertaining enough read, though. -
I loved the way this book filled in some of the dark mysteries of Lee’s family and town. Learning more about Lee’s mother and why she left Warner Pier was really enlightening to Sally’s personality and treatment of Lee. The description of differences as small-town conservativism met the new-age liberalism of the 60s was complex and well done. The mystery was a little predictable, but still an enjoyable ride.
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Lee is all excited about her upcoming wedding but worried that her mom will not come. Her mom left town right after graduation and has never came back. Things get mysterious when Lee finds out why her mother really ran away.
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I can almost smell chocolate.
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Great read and series. Love the characters and the plot and the series. I will continue to read it
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sweet love story with just the right mystery added
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different
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I liked how it wrapped up but it was so slow to get into. Also it’s not filled with chocolate trivia, more like chocolate anecdotes.
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Loved this one. Might be my favorite one yet!
