Soft cozy mystery with a side of sizzling romance and sweet delectable recipes. ( )

Cute start to the Goldy Bear series. Really liked Arch and Goldy's relationship in this one. ( )

This is going to be one of the shortest reviews I've ever done, because I just couldn't stand Goldy. So, instead of a traditional review, I'm just going to list the talking points that lead up to the reason I gave this book one star only, instead of leading in with an intro:

Goldy is a whiny, self- absorbed protagonist who allows her abusive ex-husband to continue to abuse her; she has an eleven-year-old son who is being bullied at school and she leaves him to work it out himself (and, I'm guessing, continue to be bullied) instead of informing the school to take measures or speak to the other boys' parents; she does nothing at all.

I found it odd that the recipes are in the middle of sentences! Not at the end of chapters or even paragraphs - but in the middle of sentences. Oh. My. God. Also, who on earth puts mayonnaise in guacamole? You have to wonder how far she'll go as a caterer with this recipe.

Her ex-husband is a well-heeled doctor but she doesn't make him pay child support on a regular basis even though she's struggling as a caterer to make ends meet. She'd rather keep the peace than pay the bills! She's never taken him to court about paying support on a regular basis, gotten a restraining order against him for physically assaulting her, nor told him never to speak to her that way again. Her name should be on doormats sold countrywide. But it's contradictory when she just tells people what to do, like taking her ex-mother-in-law's car and refusing to give it back.

She's not even conscientious as a caterer. She runs out of supplies. I'm a home cook and I check my cupboards and refrigerator on a regular basis, and if I'm running low I replenish, and if I use a can of anything I replace it the next time I go to the store!

She allows her son to call his grandparents by their first names because apparently neither she nor her husband could teach him otherwise. It might not bother others, but I find it disrespectful, the same as if they wouldn't call a teacher by their first name. Her son also speaks and acts like he's twenty, not eleven. It makes you wonder if the author has children of her own.

She's only investigating because her business is on the line, she doesn't really care otherwise, and she has no problem breaking into Laura's home and taking things, including smoking the dead woman's cigarettes; nor going through confidential patient files.

She's a horrible human being and unlikable in the extreme. It makes you wonder how there are so many books in this series. No, I will not read any more of them and I'm sorry I even read the first one. ( )

Fun start to the series. The narrator did a good job with the voices. ( )

Godly Bear is a caterer, and sometimes cleans houses. She can’t rely on child support from her abusive ex John Richard Korean, aka the Jerk. The Jerk is an OBgyn docter in a practice with his father Fritz. Goldy’s son Arch is having a rough time at school and with his parents divorce. To make things worse, his favorite teacher recently committed suicide. Arch helps Goldy cater events. While catering Miss Smiley’s wake, someone sneaked rat poison into Fritz’s coffee. Goldy’s catering was shut down by Investgator Schulz. She desperately needs to clear herself, as bills won’t pay themselves. In the process of snooping around with her best friend MRla, who is the Jerk’s second ex, she finds dark secrets from her ex’s parents past that are part of the police investigation headed by Schulz. To top it off, Tom Schulz seems interested in Goldy as more than just a suspect in attempted murder of Fritz. Being the first of the series, the author overloads the reader with back stories and a large cast of local Aspen Meadow, Colorado characters. Thus the story bogs down at times. However, it reaches a fairly satisfying conclusion, after a series of twists and turns. ( )