Jordaina Sydney Robinson

I actually enjoyed this much more than I expected.
But I didn't get a typical Cozy Mystery vibe at all even though I can see why it technically fits.

I had one huge issue with the book that sadly threads through the entire book and is part of at least the next one in the series as well.
Everyone treats the MC like shit.
She is being patronized, disrespected and her basic human dignity is trampled underfoot.
The MC is obviously mad about it and gripes and whines about it constantly but she never actually does anything beyond an initial token effort against it and just keeps on taking it.
It completely contradicted the personality she displays otherwise and makes it really hard to take her seriously as a person which in turn makes it almost impossible to take anything else seriously either.
This is supposed to be part of the humor. It's as funny as light-heartedly getting your toenails ripped out by particularly funny pliers to me.
This is something I see a lot in books that try to be humorous but it just ends up compromising any and all integrity of the MC instead.
This is not to say that there isn't a lot of different and enjoyable humor in the book. There is. I just can not enjoy this particular brand of humor at all.

This would've been a 4-star rating otherwise.… (mer)