Cookies and Clairvoyance by Bailey Cates

Title: Cookies and Clairvoyance

Author: Bailey Cates

Narrator: Amy Rubinate

Series: #8 in The Magical Bakery series

Genre: Cozy Mystery

Publisher: Berkley (August 27, 2019)

Source: Library Find

Rating: ☕☕☕☕

Synopsis: Baker Katie Lightfoot serves up enchanted delicacies and tracks down a malicious murderer in the newest installment of this New York Times bestselling series...

Hedgewitch Katie Lightfoot is juggling wedding preparations, a visit from her father, and home renovations on top of her long hours at the Honeybee Bakery, where she and her aunt Lucy imbue their yummy cookies and pastries with beneficial magic. But when firefighter Randy Post is accused of murdering a collector of rarities, and his prints are on the statue that was used to kill the man, Katie steps in. 

Randy is not only Katie's fiancé's coworker, but also the boyfriend of fellow spellbook club member and witch Bianca Devereaux. Bianca and Declan are both sure Randy is innocent, and so is Katie. However, to prove it she'll have to work with ornery detective Peter Quinn again—and this time around he knows she's more than your everyday baker.

My Thoughts: Another great installment of this series!

The Good, The Bad, and Everything Else: Honestly, I didn't care for Katie's attitude this time around. I know her circumstances with her trying to finish the carriage house and planning her wedding and running a business and helping clear a friend's name kind of justifies her being grumpy. However, she was unnecessarily snarky to Declan who was super understanding and kind to her when a spell backfired changing her magical life. With that said, in the past I was on the fence about Declan because I didn't think he fully supported Katie and her magic. In this book I was completely in his corner because he proved he accepted her with everything in her life. 

The mystery was pretty good with multiple suspects, and I liked that Katie did her best to solve the mystery without the aid of her magic. The ending was satisfying but we'll have to wait another book for a wedding to happen. Also, poor Conal! 

I listened to this book as I've listened to all of the previous books and once again Amy Rubinate did a great job narrating. I'm so used to her as Katie I don't know if I could get used to another voice by this point. Her voice work for the other characters are just as good especially Conal's. 

In a Nutshell: I love this series and I can't wait for to get to the next book!

The Unfortunate Miss Fortunes by Jennifer Crusie et al.

Synopsis:
"You're invited to spend the weekend with three extraordinary sisters..."  When she was sixteen, Dee Fortune kidnapped her two younger sisters and ran from danger. Now twenty-nine, she's still trying to control her shape-shifting power--no easy task when Danny James shows up one Friday morning with his deadly smile and dangerous questions about the past.

Lizzie is determined to save her family from financial ruin by turning straw into gold; now if she could only stop turning forks into bunnies. Then Elric, a sorcerer, appears one Friday--annoyed with the chaos Lizzie is creating in the universe "and" in his heart. . . .

The youngest Miss Fortune, Mare, towers above her sisters but her telekinetic power is dwarfed by their gifts. She spends her days at Value Video!! and her nights contemplating the futility of her existence. But then a gorgeous Value Video!! VP "and" Mare's long lost love turn up. . .and they all turn up the heat on a weekend that no Fortune will soon forget!

My Thoughts:
I thought it was ok but honestly it would have been better as a trilogy. Where each sister had their own book with the third book being the big showdown between the sisters and their evil aunt. I would have liked to get to know the characters better. As it is the book was written as a full book with each author contributing something but it read like an anthology whereas each sister's love story was told very quickly making it feel rushed.

There were some humorous things in the book that I enjoyed a lot and one of the couples had some great banter between each other. One of the sisters is a meek woman afraid of her own shadow and within a few hours suddenly developed a backbone. It felt as if she was a completely different character than what we were introduced to. I did enjoy the pop culture sprinkled in the book which felt right with one of the sisters. That particular sister actually felt more fleshed out than the other two to me however I liked the connection between the meek sister and her love better than the other two.

Collaborations are becoming quite popular and I'm not sure it worked here. I couldn't really tell when one author ended and another one started which was good but once again I really felt this book would have been better to have each sister have their own book.