Review: Bakeries and Bones: A Westford Bay B&B Cozy Mystery Prequel

By: Nic Roberts

Available on: Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

Overview:

Blurb: This novella is the kickoff point for the Westford Bay B&B Series! Ten chapters of Ally Wescott going from nearly-wedded bliss with her very French fiancé to investigator! Two letters bring about loss, but as this is book zero on the series, I assume they bring Ally much more!

Trigger Warnings:

Death, Emotional Abuse, Food, Murder

Body Count: 1

The Specs:

• Series 
  • Series Name: Westford Bay B&B Cozy Mystery
  • Book Number: 0 of 3
• Genre
  • Technical Genre: Mystery, Thriller, & Suspense
  • Theo’s Genre: Fluffy Mystery, Murder-y Fluff
• Page count: 53 pages
• POV:
  • Limited 3rd.
• Publication information:
• Paperback page count: 53 pages
• Publisher: Amazon Digital Services
• Language:  English
• ASIN: B075KLPDDZ

Other Fun Stuff:

To Read or Not To Read (Again):

Bedside Bookshelf Donated      Furniture Support

Rating out of five: 2.0 out of 5

Representation and Sexism Tests:

Bechdel–Wallace Test: PASS

Do two female characters talk about something other than a male character? YES NO

DuVernay Test: FAIL

Are there fully actualized characters of color? YES NO

Ellen Willis Test: PASS

Would two related characters still work to carry the story if their genders were reversed? YES NO

Mako Mori Test: PASS

Is there a female character? YES NO

Does she get her own arc? YES NO

Does it do anything other than support a man’s story? YES NO

Sexy Lamp Test: PASS

Would the plot fall apart if the female character was replaced by a sexy looking lamp? Absolutely Maybe? No.

Vito Russo Test: FAIL

Is there a character on the LGBTQIA+ spectrum? YES NO

Are they a character beyond their orientation? YES NO

Do they affect the plot? YES NO

Overall review:

Thoughts:

It’s a good introduction to the series, I’m sure, but not at all a stand alone story. It genuinely feels like it was half of a book. I would likely read the series, though, as I enjoyed Nic’s style and voice.

Smutty moments/smut review: None!

Favorite passage:

Was it engaging?

Yes     No At times Room for improvement Had to fight through it.

Favorite Character:

Tim the baker.