Can a couple of baristas chase down a car thief without spilling a drop of their favorite drink?Plans for a Valentine’s Day grand opening of a small town coffee shop go awry when the first customer is killed. Evidence points toward the victim being mixed up in a car theft ring, but shop owners Tandy and Marissa have reason to believe he was framed. An assortment of suspects–from a pink-haired … pink-haired heir to Tandy’s charming ex–all seem to know a little too much about grand theft auto.
Without approval from either their boyfriends or the gum-chewing FBI agent in charge, the shop owners go on stakeouts, plan stings, and pursue justice in a high-speed car chase. If they don’t find the killer soon, it might be more than their love lives in trouble.
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Grab a cup of coffee and a comfy chair! Tandy and Marissa are back and as funny as ever!
A Cuppa Trouble was filled with witty banter, animated characters and excellent comedic timing! The suspense really amped up towards the end, with the culprit remaining a secret the entire time! I was genuinely surprised with the reveal!
This book was a super fun read and positively the definition of a cozy mystery! It’s also quite “punny”! I was excited to read an excerpt from the next book in the series, A Latte Difficulty – I can’t wait for its release!
I highly recommend this book to fans of romance, suspense, mystery and caffeine!
To learn more about other books by Angela Ruth Strong, visit Mountain Brook Ink.
I received a complimentary advanced electronic copy of this book from Mountain Brook Ink. A positive review was not required. All opinions expressed are completely my own.
A Cuppa Trouble by Angela Ruth Strong, book 2 in the CafFunated Mysteries series, is an enjoyable read full of some what quirky characters who find themselves in some, well, quirky situations.
Tandy and Marissa are best friends and together they’ve decided to open a coffee shop together. Wait, make that a coffee and tea shop for one only drinks coffee, the other tea. The coffee shop is on the first floor while tea shop will be in a quaint loft still undergoing construction.
Somehow, without really meaning to, Tandy and Marissa find themselves in the midst of, yet again, of trying to solve a crime. When one of the customers turns up dead, just moments after stopping by the tea shop, the two can’t help but to get involved. A long the way an old beau shows up in town, a gum-chewing no nonsense FBI agent and a charming character with pink hair. Despite being warned to refrain from investigating, Tandy and Marissa seem to kind of discover little tidbits that lead to another bigger tidbit which in turn leads to one of them ending up in the trunk of a speeding car!
With a cozy mystery feel, A Cuppa Trouble is an entertaining read; I highly recommend it!
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Just Read Tours and am not required to write a positive review. All thoughts and opinions therein are solely my own, and freely given.
I absolutely love this series and this second book was perfect. Romance, mystery and a roller coaster ride of suspense kept me hooked from the beginning to the very last page. I love the humor in the midst of suspense, as well. The characters are lovable and believable, though there are some pretty crazy moments that made me laugh out loud. I absolutely love the authors authenticity and writing style. If you are looking for humor in the midst of romantic suspense, Angela Ruth Strong is the author to read! Good to the last drop…and that’s a Cuppa humor for you! The battle over coffee versus tea will definitely have you chuckling:-)I was provided a copy of this book by the author with no expectation of review. All thoughts are my own. This is my honest review and I honestly loved it.
Let me start with a disclaimer: I didn’t read A Caffeine Conundrum (the first book in the series). I know, I know. All of you who are shaking your heads at me right now have the right to do so but there are only so many hours in a day and even more books!
With that said, it took me a little while to get these two main characters straight in my head (but not so long a while that it became annoying). I’m sure part of that was because I was picturing their personalities opposite of how the author wrote them. These are two ladies who, despite their differences, have each other’s backs when the going gets tough.
Angela Ruth Strong gives readers a cozy mystery bursting with the perfect combination of suspense, romance, memorable small town characters, and plenty of relationship conflict sprinkled with a dash of humor on top. And, like the cookies Marissa serves, there’s a lesson for every reader in any kind of relationship served on the side to sweeten the story.
Grab your favorite brew and settle in with Marissa, Tandy, their boyfriends, and the rest of Grace Springs for a delightful read.
Disclosure statement:
I receive complimentary books from publishers, publicists, and/or authors, including NetGalley. I am not required to write positive reviews. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
A madcap mystery
My rating is 3.5 stars
Marissa hated the snow boots Conner gave her. After all, they were ugly. If only they were pink, they would have been much better! And of course, these practical yet undesirable boots ended up playing a significant role in this madcap adventure!
As the cars began disappearing, the mystery increased. Author Angela Ruth Strong mastered misdirection as the myriad of murder suspects multiplied. I enjoyed seeing each person and their potential motive and means.
I don’t often feel strongly that the first book of a series needs to be re-read before reading the ensuing stories, but I certainly wished I had read A Caffeine Conundrum more recently. I actually appreciated this as too many books try to retell the highlights of the previous story and waste too much time on it. In this case, I just didn’t remember some of the backstory and while it didn’t take away from my enjoyment, it did mean that I kept finding myself wondering what had happened.
I wasn’t as much a fan of Marissa and Tandy this time around. They struck me as immature, shallow, and insecure. Both were so afraid to admit that they liked the other’s beverage of choice and found ways to sneak it instead of confessing their newly discovered preference. Tandy went so far as to help Conner swap the tea Marissa gave him with coffee so he wouldn’t have to admit he didn’t like tea. There was another situation where Marissa found she liked something that was out of character for her and so she wasn’t willing to tell anyone.
Overall, A Cuppa Trouble is a fun story for anyone who enjoys reading sweet mysteries.
Read my review of A Cuppa Trouble by Angela Ruth Strong at AmongTheReads.net
This is a light-hearted, fun little cozy mystery. The tea shop/coffee shop is a great setting for the reader to “meet” the people of this little community. The main characters, Tandy and Marissa, are quirky, but that’s what gives them their charm. The mystery was an interesting one, and the ending was worth reading the book. The author, in a very entertaining way, addresses throughout this story the problem that couples sometimes have communicating well with each other. She gives some good tips for better communication in her author’s notes, so be sure to read those. This book has a good combination of laughter, suspense, and faith. I had not read the first book in this series, but after I had read the first couple of chapters I had a good grasp on the characters and how they related to each other. I’ll be interested in reading more of this series.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions are my own.
“The flowers would die, but coffee was forever.” Any of you who know me know how intriguing I would find this new book from Angela Ruth Strong, A Cuppa Trouble. First, it’s a cozy, full of sprinkles of faith, light-hearted fun, and two young ladies who are exact opposites. Tandy and Marissa are working at being civil business partners. Each drinks only one hot beverage and despises the other’s drink of choice in their shared store.
What a perfect set-up for snarky, zingy, one-liners traded faster than the speed at which Marissa can trip over her ugly boots to the neon open sign.
And the juxtaposition and competition begin!
While this is second in the series, this book stands alone. In the last book, the girls almost didn’t secure the store site due to murder. This time, they barely open before…
And before you think all is fun and games, there are some serious relationship issues going on, not to mention some other rather important issues involving clothing, vehicles, and generally, staying alive. Can I say being from Iowa and Michigan makes this book a little scarier and more real to me than otherwise might be?! Will you correctly guess each girl’s choice of man? Tandy really surprised me.
I will have to stop looking down on Tandy for her Goth look. She explains it perfectly:
“Black is the color of coffee. You can’t go wrong with black.”
Marissa is an energizer bunny. “Everyone needs espresso to keep up with you.”
Susan’s character was a hoot!
“Perhaps her pink hair came from being a hot-tempered redhead who’d tried to bleach the color out.”
Other great quotes:
“Why would one need to be vulnerable with God if He already knew everything?”
“He drew closer to God to really see things from God’s perspective. And that, my friend, is how I believe you define a man after God’s own heart.”
Finally, you have to find this hilarious one for yourself: “Friends don’t let friends…”
A great cozy you will want to devour with EITHER coffee or tea.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author. This in no way affects my opinions, which are solely my own.
‘The sheriff always seemed to aim at his own foot when he fired off his mouth.’
Angela Ruth Strong continues her super fun ‘The CafFUNated Mystery series with this absolutely delightful offering. Featuring Tandy and Marissa, one a coffee drinker, the other a tea drinker, who open up a part coffee/part tea shop, this one is just so much fun all the way to the very end.
People just seem to fall dead right near Tandy and Marissa. Then they think they are the best ones to solve the case. And they are mostly right. After all, didn’t they solve the murder of the last person who fell dead right in front of their very eyes? Well, here they go again when a car theft ring brings their dastardly deeds to the small town of Grace Springs. But they have to manage to solve the crime without either of them landing in jail this time.
I love these gals. Despite the fact that they couldn’t stand each other when they first met, they really are great together as amateur sleuths. And I love Marissa’s near constant klutziness. The entire cast of quirky characters (minus the bad guys, of course) have just endeared themselves to me. And Strong’s wit is so refreshing! There was nothing NOT to like about this book. And….there is some seriously good wisdom about relationships on these pages. A wise person would heed them.
*My thanks to the author for a preview copy of this book. The opinions expressed here are entirely my own.
This book was such a joy to read! I love how the author brings the people and places to life. It will keep you guessing until the end. I can’t wait to see what this author writes next. I received an ARC copy of this book and was not required to write a review. All opinions expressed are my own.
I’ve read a couple of Angela Ruth Strong’s books and they are so fun and entertaining. I was given the opportunity to read the first in this series. A Caffeine Conundrum came out at the end of last year and it was such a joy to read.
We were introduced to Tandy and Marissa. Two very different fun women who each LOVE their choice of drink. They decide to open a shop and one thing after another happens to them, including a real live murder. They solved the case and became great friends. Now in this story, A Cuppa Trouble, the trouble still seems to continue to find them.
This story was so full of events which will make your head spin! With another murder, car thief, almost kidnapping, and through it all bit of romance and relationship issues.
From the very first chapter to the end there are so many twists and turns. These two women are like a magnet for mystery and trouble.
Throughout this story, the author has woven in some really good quotes and thoughts which I think we could all benefit from. Here’s one quote:
“We should listen to hear someone else’s voice to get to know them better, not just to get what we want. In that same way, we should listen to God.”
So true!
If you like to read “who done it” stories, then you’ll love this newest book series by Angela Ruth Strong.
It’s entertaining, suspenseful, and just plain fun!
I highly recommend you pick it up!
Love this one! A “who done it?” that kept me on my toes throughout the whole story. The characters are very interesting people. I laughed and I held my breath at times wondering if all would work out well. Great read. I received a complimentary copy of the book. No review was required.
A Cuppa Trouble is the second book in Angela Ruth Strong’s CafFunated Mysteries series. With a strong emphasis on caffeine in both coffee and tea, the series also contains a wealth of quirky characters, plenty of mystery and danger, and of course fun by the bucketful. It is imperative that you pick up a copy of the first book, A Caffeine Conundrum, in order to become acquainted with Tandy, Marissa, and some of their friends as you await the release of A Cuppa Trouble which takes up where the first book left off.
As Tandy and Marissa prepare for the grand opening of their coffee/tea shop, there is a good deal of friendly competition about their personal favorites. When their very first customer is murdered nearby, the duo are determined to solve the mystery. After all, they have one successful case to their credit. What ensues is a delightful mixture of action, hilarity, danger, mystery, and romance. I was kept guessing along with our intrepid “sheroes” (I ran across that word recently and loved it) as several possibilities for the guilty party present themselves. Don’t you know, it’s always the one you least expect!
Loved this book and catching up with favorite characters and meeting new ones. The author has a wonderful sense of humor and is able to mix it seamlessly with mystery as well as blend a touch of spiritual wisdom in for good measure. Don’t miss out on this one!
I voluntarily reviewed an advance digital copy of this book provided by the author. A favorable review was not required. All views expressed are my own.