Pink Lemonade Cake Murder

 I must agree with many of the online reviews that point out the weaknesses in this latest installment of the Hannah Swensen series.  After 29 books you'd expect the books to have some formulation to them but this one just felt forced.   There are many aspects of the story that feel as though they have just been dropped into the plot with no real reason.  Stella is introduced as though we should know who she is and I don't recall her in any previous stories.  Hannah and her sisters are still involved in solving mysteries and baking which is fine.  I do wish Hannah would just hurry up and decide to marry instead of just continuing to lead him along.  I am hoping this is the outcome of the twist at the end of the story and the introduction of Stella as a character.  Hopefully the next book won't be too trite and will provide a conclusion to the series.  

Pink Lemonade Cake Murder by Joanne Fluke
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this latest Hannah Swenson novel. It felt a bit fresher than several of the more recent ones I only gave it 3 stars though because there were times the story line felt a bit erratic. The whole side plot of Mikes desire to retire was a bit odd at times. Stella is introduced into the story as though she’d been part of a previous story but I dont remember her. Also that plot line felt contrived at times. Almost like. Tv show where they are trying to write off a character and bring in new ones. The mystery is well constructed and there’s definitely a cliff hanger that makes readers anxious for the next Installment. Hopefully it wont be too long though since the teaser chapter is from a whole different series from this one

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Challenge Prompts

The Challenge Prompts I will use this for are:  

1. Goodreads and Reading by the Numbers #ReadingByNumbers2023 Book #  106
2. Library Love  #LibraryLoveChallenge  Book #  88 
3. Finishing the Series   #FinishingTheSeries2023  Series:18  Book #1
4. Stacking the Series  #stackingseries2023 29
5. Series Catchup #seriescatchup2023 3
6. What an Animal Book #40
7. Virtual Mount TBR #VirtualMountTBR2023   Book #97
8. Cruisin thru Cozies  Free choice #53
9. Cloak & Dagger  #CloakDaggerChal  Book #82
10. Craving for Cozies  Book #70
11. Medical Examiner Challenge 1 Toe Tags
12. PopSugar #popsugarreadingchallenge #32 A book that comes out in the second half of 2023
13. Diversify your reading #DYRC23  October: True Crime/Mystery
14. TBRChallenge  #TBRChallenge  October 18 - Danger Zone