Two best friends & a bakery!Piper and Samantha are in heaven. Well, close. More like a long weekend at the O Heavenly Day Spa. A few mysterious notes start appearing everywhere, things get uncomfortable. As spa treatments go awry things get dangerous. A threatening message convinces Piper and Sam that they have to find out who is behind all of these disasters. When the smoke alarms go off and … go off and the spa erupts into panic, the chaos separates the friends and Piper stumbles into trouble. Will someone help her before it is too late?
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Enjoyable book, great narrator!
The narrator did great variation. The southern accent fits the book perfectly. And she sounds young, which fitted the main character perfectly also. And she did the emotions very well and even had me yawning along with her. She does speak a bit in an abrupt manner. And also fast, but not too fast, a nice pace with a good flow to it. A five star performance for sure.
The story was lovely! I loved Piper. Not a murder mystery, but a sabotage mystery. It does get suspenseful! In all honesty, I would have liked the story to focus more on the mystery, there was maybe too much about massages and nails and stuff, girly stuff, but I thoroughly enjoyed it and it totally deserves 5 stars IMO.
Well wrapped up at the end. No loose ends. Lovely!!!
I am definitely going to be reading / listening more by this author and listening to more by this narrator!
Rest, Relax, Run for Your Life is a cute, light cozy mystery by a new-to-me author that I will definitely continue to follow. Piper and Samantha are a dynamic duo, best friends & business partners who have each other’s backs, and I loved hanging out with them on the pages of this book. Their relationship is endearing, and so is their banter – and the yummy desserts they make at their Ooey Gooey Bakery had me hunting in the pantry for brownie mix. A poor substitute, but an emergency supply of chocolate requires desperate measures some times. Just ask Piper
No murder in this cozy mystery, but several attempted murders via cleverly timed ‘accidents’ which are enough to get the pulse racing & keep readers solidly invested in the outcome. The spa setting adds some interesting layers to the mood of the book, as well as a host of people who could be responsible for the threatening notes & situations Piper stumbles upon. Some may be friends, some may be foes, and some may be entirely neutral parties – figuring out who is who will keep you guessing.
I thought it started a bit abruptly, as though I were missing some backstories, so I felt a little adrift at first. But I quickly got involved in the story & the main players and couldn’t put it down until it was finished. And then I immediately bemoaned not having time to start reading book 2 right away lol.
I appreciated the subtle faith undercurrents to the story, as it’s always fun for me to find that connection to an author when I don’t expect to. But don’t worry, it never gets preachy or overpowers the book and may not even be noticed by most people because it’s so organic to the plot. I also admire the author for tackling the very important issue of human trafficking and, given some of the events toward the end of the book, I’m curious to see if it continues to play a role in the series.
Bottom Line: Rest, Relax, Run for Your Life is a fun read with engaging characters and surprising twists & turns. While it’s labeled a young adult cozy mystery, I would actually consider it geared for the new adult age group, given Piper & Sam’s ages and stage of life. Either way, though, ‘just plain adults’ like me (who haven’t been ‘young’ or ‘new’ for quite some time) will love this book, too! The mystery is well-crafted, and the setting nicely complements the plot. I personally also was quite happy with the sweet romance thread tucked into the story and definitely hope to see more of it in future books in the series.
(I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book)
REST, RELAX, RUN FOR YOUR LIFE is the first book in the OOEY GOOEY BAKERY MYSTERY series and there was lots of delectable ooey gooeyness throughout since Samantha (Sam) and Piper own a bakery. When Piper’s stressed she bakes with whatever she has on hand and she loves to eat. I don’t think she’s ever seen a dessert that she doesn’t like! Sam’s brother, Griff, plays a nice part in the story and Piper always seems to get tongue-tied around him and says nonsensical things.
Gladys, a new elderly, widowed customer, becomes friendly with them and invites herself along when they win a stay at a local spa due to their fundraising for Breaking Chains, an organization through a local church for the prevention of human trafficking along with support for its victims. Human trafficking was woven throughout in an interesting way. Gladys adds another layer to the story and definitely has some quirks. The story has a nice flow to it with a lot of strange happenings and mysterious notes. Who’s sending them to Piper and why? There are twists and turns throughout that helped weave the different storylines together. I liked the scenes set at the spa but their three personal assistants and some of the other staff seemed a little creepy. There were vivid descriptions of the treatments and activities they could partake in while there and the addition of the non-food menus from the spa at the back of the book were a nice addition. The ending was abrupt and didn’t give closure but sets the stage for what could come next. At the back of the book, there was an excerpt from the next book in the series. I’m looking forward to reading it. I loved the title and series name along with the colorful cover.
Ms. Brown is a new to me author. I look forward to reading more of her books.
An entertaining cozy mystery
Ooey Gooey Bakery is a great name for a bakeshop! The friendship between Piper and Samantha provides a good basis for this fun book and the supporting characters add humor, a hint of romance, a little drama, and some mystery. All-in-all this was an entertaining afternoon read that also addressed some real-world issues. I thoroughly enjoyed it and look forward to reading more of this series.
MY BOOK REVIEW FOR YOU
Rest, Relax, Run for Your Life by Katherine Brown – Katie – Author
This was an enjoyable cozy mystery! I really enjoyed the characters and the story. Piper and Samantha are best friends. They take a break from their bakery for a weekend spa getaway. But soon strange things start to happen. The story was full of humor and fun. And the story also had drama and excitement in it. And there was a little romance too!
4 Star review Rest, Relax, Run For Your Life (Ooey Gooey Bakery Mystery #1) by Katherine H Brown
Audio Review:
Both the author Katherine H Brown and the narrator Kati Schwaber are new to me. Piper and Sam are best friends who run a bakery together. Firstly, this book ends with a bit of a cliff hanger so you have been warned. I enjoyed this book; it’s a cozy mystery and one that I found entertaining.
Enjoying a weekend at the O Heavenly Day Spa Piper and Sam are perplexed when they start finding threatening messages and decide to investigate. Not only are there notes, but strange things start occurring and things start to get dangerous.
Told from Piper’s perspective, the characters are quirky and the southern drawl of the narrator was easy to listen too. There are some surprising twists and turns as Piper and Sam investigate.
This review is for the audio book.
This is the first book I have listened to or read by this author but it won’t be the last. I enjoyed the quirkiness of the story and how the story unfolds and with a fun cast of characters it was very enjoyable, even with the absence of a dead body (very unusual for a cozy mystery). I hadn’t worked out who was behind it, so was surprised when the mystery was unveiled, well done Katherine H. Brown. I think the book is a good start to a new series and look forward to the next book, especially as the author gave you a tease of what might be coming in the next book.
While trying to raise money for a worthy cause breaking chains, Piper and Sam raise the most money and In the process win an all expenses paid for trip to the local spa. The girls are excited but strange messages claiming Piper “can’t have everything” are left lying around for her to find. It gets even weirder when strange accidents start happening and treatment go wrong but Piper believes they are no accidents and are actually connected to the letter. She keeps catching glimpses of a blonde woman. Is she behind it? And what are the messaged trying to tell her?
I liked the narrator she did a good job with lots of different voices for the characters.
Piper and Sam win a spa weekend after raising the most money for a charity drive at their bakery. While there, things start going wrong and strange notes appear in different places. Piper decides to investigate what the notes mean and who is sending them. With Sam’s help they do get to the bottom of the notes
To me, this is a unique cozy that addresses some heavy topics – mainly human trafficking. I have to give the author major points for coving a heavy issue in this book and I definitely appreciated the information that was shared in relation to a friend of Piper’s from when she was younger. It was thoughtfully addressed and well explained. To top it off, it created quite a twist at the end, which I sort of expected but won’t tell you what it is in case you don’t guess! Then there is the spa, which I inferred was created by a church, and the employees are volunteers but are doing this all for a good cause. Hence the competition to raise money and Piper and Sam winning the spa weekend by raising the most funds for the charity.
Piper and Sam are each other’s yin and yang when it comes to their friendship and their work environment. They make a great team in the bakery and many of their desserts sound delicious. Even the name of the bakery makes the desserts sound sinful. Piper is a chocolate fanatic and a woman after my own heart. She even brings chocolate to the spa just in case of an emergency. Definitely someone that I would want to be associated with in case I needed some of that emergency chocolate.
The mystery is a little different – Piper and Sam are trying to find out who is leaving these threatening notes and what do they really mean. They are threatening but vague and it takes some super sleuthing to get to the bottom of this mystery. I was surprised at the antagonist as it wasn’t someone I suspected but some clues fell into place when everything was revealed.
As I mentioned, there is a twist at the end, a cliffhanger if you will, that wasn’t surprising but I am curious to see how this plays out in the next book. I also read in the author’s bio that this is a YA cozy and I don’t think it fits in the YA category. It is very clean, as all cozies should be, but I am not sure where the YA comes into play since the characters are at least in their 20s.
We enjoyed this book and give it 4 paws up.
This was a fun read. The characters are quirky, the bad person was unexpected and the storyline kept you reading. If you’re a foodie with a sweet tooth you will love this book even more. I really loved that a very real world issue is addressed and placed into the forefront as human trafficking is mostly ignored in the mainstream news. Very good story-telling. I look forward to the next book in the series.
A great mystery with wonderful characters. A really great start to a new series. The author developed an interesting and suspenseful storyline that kept you guessing to the end. I found the information about human trafficking was eye-opening and something we should be aware of. Having the problem worked creatively into the plot showed how talented the author is. This is a wonderful cozy mystery that includes everything one would expect and more, including mystery, romance, humour and charming characters. I can not wait for the next book in the series.
Who is sending these weird notes?
Rest, Relax, Run for Your Life by Katherine H. Brown is a different kind of cozy. We have our main sleuth, her friend, but not a crime except for these weird notes popping around. It was pretty entertaining though.
What I like:
• Written in the first-person with Piper, our sleuth, being the narrator.
• A different kind of cozy with not having a murder victim in it but a string of notes.
• Piper co-owns the bakery called Ooey-Gooey Bakery and does most of the treats
What I don’t like:
The one thing that I didn’t like is that I am unsure of what the crime was until the climax of the story, but I am happy with the ending. It was a good book.
Five Star
Rest, Relax, Run for Your Life by Katherine H. Brown is a cozy mystery with a different kind of a crime as it doesn’t deal with a dead body. It was good, and I was enthralled with the story and the mystery. I am giving it a five-star rating and recommending it to anyone that likes cozy mysteries.
Anyways until the next time enjoy this review brought to you by,
Baroness Book Trove.
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy from the Author. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
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