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A review by meezcarrie
Murder's No Votive Confidence by Christin Brecher
4.0
I love scented candles, and the art of mixing different scents into something pleasing that makes you think of your favorite season or memory or book, etc. fascinates me. So when Murder’s No Votive Confidence came across my radar, it was a no-brainer for my TBR pile.
The Nantucket setting complements the candle-making hobby nicely – there’s something about a seaside island town that seems to just encourage you to make candles. Stella’s keen nose for scents – and her ability to match people with scents that represent them – not only makes her business successful but also her sleuthing. The author does a great job of incorporating this aspect to the plot without stopping the story to go into the step-by-step details of candle-making. Instead, these notes are tucked away at the end of the book, where I prefer them to be.
Stella is a very likable heroine, and my friends-to-more kissingbook senses are on high alert around her childhood friend (and town’s sexiest cop) Andy … even though new-in-town reporter Peter seems to have temporarily stolen her affections. Peter has his good points, to be sure, but he just kept showing up too frequently out of the blue for my tastes. And I’m partial to best friends falling in love, so my vote is for Andy! All of the secondary characters are likable, for that matter, but they also could have been developed a bit more – something I’m looking forward to in the rest of the series!
Bottom Line: Murder’s No Votive Confidence is a great debut for the author as well as the series. Delightful characters (including & especially Tinker the cat) keep the story moving at a steady pace amid the chaos of a festival, a wedding, and a murder. There’s a slight romantic angle involving the heroine Stella – and two possible love interests (I’m pulling for Andy!) – and I’m curious to see how that plays out. A clever niche as well for the series, the candle making aspect of the story was lots of fun!
(I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.)
first seen at Reading Is My SuperPower
The Nantucket setting complements the candle-making hobby nicely – there’s something about a seaside island town that seems to just encourage you to make candles. Stella’s keen nose for scents – and her ability to match people with scents that represent them – not only makes her business successful but also her sleuthing. The author does a great job of incorporating this aspect to the plot without stopping the story to go into the step-by-step details of candle-making. Instead, these notes are tucked away at the end of the book, where I prefer them to be.
Stella is a very likable heroine, and my friends-to-more kissingbook senses are on high alert around her childhood friend (and town’s sexiest cop) Andy … even though new-in-town reporter Peter seems to have temporarily stolen her affections. Peter has his good points, to be sure, but he just kept showing up too frequently out of the blue for my tastes. And I’m partial to best friends falling in love, so my vote is for Andy! All of the secondary characters are likable, for that matter, but they also could have been developed a bit more – something I’m looking forward to in the rest of the series!
Bottom Line: Murder’s No Votive Confidence is a great debut for the author as well as the series. Delightful characters (including & especially Tinker the cat) keep the story moving at a steady pace amid the chaos of a festival, a wedding, and a murder. There’s a slight romantic angle involving the heroine Stella – and two possible love interests (I’m pulling for Andy!) – and I’m curious to see how that plays out. A clever niche as well for the series, the candle making aspect of the story was lots of fun!
(I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.)
first seen at Reading Is My SuperPower