Hello dear reader 
, today I have a list of 5 cozy mysteries for Valentines Day. If you have read my previous post on My Top 5 books to Read in 2018, you will know I have a slightly embarrassing love for cozy mysteries (well sometimes anyway). For this list I have developed a new ranking system in addition to my usual 1-5 star ratings. Cozy mystery novels have a tendency to be really….sweet, even for Valentine’s Day. Sometimes the sweetness is too much to handle, but sometimes there isn’t enough. The sugary or sappiness of the book will be measured by lollipops, so one these
is not so sweet and 5 is super sweet. By adding this new ranking system I hope to give you a better idea of whether you would enjoy this book or not. Also, this list is in descending in order so number 1 is my most highly recommended book. Now that we understand that lets get started!
Top Sweet Cozy Mysteries for Valentines Day
5.) Chocolate Covered Murder By Leslie Meier
We are starting our list off with Leslie Meier’s Chocolate Covered Murder. Lucy Stone is covering a news story at a local chocolate shop. Her town Tinker’s Cove is launching a a Valentines Day travel promotion to attract tourism. While she is there she discovered the dead body of a an unpopular cashier and attempts to solve who has committed the murder. I will be honest and say I am not the biggest fan of the main character Lucy. Her character doesn’t make sense to me; she is a reporter yet she constantly seems surprised by how much evil there is in the world. It may just be a personal preference, but it did affect my enjoyment of this book. So why is it on this list at all you may ask? Well honestly it may be nostalgia, it was on of the first cozy mystery books I ever read. Also, I did enjoy the story just not as much as the next 4 books.
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4. Peach Cobbler Murder By Joanne Fluke
The next book on our list has a sweetness rating of !. Joanne Fluke is one of the recognizable authors of the cozy mystery genre. Most notably for her Hannah Swensen series which this book is apart of. The gist of this book is a new baked goods competitor arrives in Lake Eden that takes business away from Hannah’s store. This new competitors dead body is eventually found by Hannah on Valentines Day and she tries to discover who has murdered her. I have bit of mixed feelings about this book. Overall its a pretty god story, but the dialogue can be cringe inducing sometimes. However, even though this is true for most of Flukes novel I still find myself returning to them. So my final review is to proceed with caution. This story can be really fun if you have the stomach for it.
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3.) Caramel Crush By Jenn Mckinlay
OK so this isn’t exactly a Valentines Day book, but it does involve a wedding and many of the same themes as a Valentines Day cozy would have. Angie and Mel run a small shop called Fairy Tale Cupcakes. While Angie is preparing for her wedding Mel is getting ready to end one. Mel’s friend Diane suspects her fiance is only marring her for money. To retaliate Diane sends Mel to personally deliver a batch of break up cupcakes, when she does this she discovers his dead body. This book was a lot of fun to read. I really enjoyed the characters and the structure of the story. While not necessary, I would suggest reading the other books before this one. This will allow you to better understand some of the characters and some plot points.
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2: Strawburied in Chocolate By Lyndsey Cole
This story focuses on our protagonist Annie, who is excited for her Valentines Date with her neighbor Jason. All is going swimmingly until her aunt Leona finds the dead body of Lacey, a woman Leona has a personal grudge against. Leona becomes the prime suspect and Annie has to prove her aunt’s innocence. This book really surprised me with its in depth story. There are some grammatical and spelling errors, but honestly they are very minor. I highly recommend this book as well as the others in the series!
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1:) Death of a Chocaholic By Lee Hollis
My number one pick for best Valentines Day cozy mystery is Lee Hollis’s Death of a Chocaholic. Hayley Powell is fed up with the dating scene and is only interested in relaxing at home with some delicious chocolate treats. That is all until she discovers the body of the local chocolatier. This book was an absolute joy to read. I found the humor in this to be surprisingly good and the story kept me engaged the entire time. I finished this in one sitting and couldn’t believe how much fun I had while reading it. The sweetness factor is still there, not as intense as some of the other books on this list. I highly suggest you give this book a shot for Valentines Day this year!
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That will just about do it for today’s post. Thank you for taking the time to read this post. What books do you like to read around Valentines Day? Does seasonality affect your reading choices at all?
Thanks again for reading and have a fantastic Valentines Day!
Such a cute post! Thanks for sharing Stephanie!
Thank you so much! 🙂
I love that you posted about mysteries with Valentine’s Day and not romance! And all of the titles are food-themed.
Lol, what can I say I guess murder mysteries and and food is just more my pace. I’m not sure what that says about me, but what can you do ;).
These look like some great recommendations!
Thank You 🙂
I love a good cozy and I think I have some of these on my cloud. Thanx for the post
Thank you! I hope you are able to check some of them out!
You weren’t kidding when you said swett. I think I got a toothache just from the covers alone. I love the selection that you’ve chosen, they are sure to fill anyone appetite for reading.
LOl thank you, I think so as well!
I like how they all contain food in the titles too.
This is an awesome post. It’s all about food! Cozys are fun to read. I like to read them after a heavy book sorta like a way to “cleanse my palate”.
Lol of course food and books are my two favorite things! I know what you mean! they also make me happy during the winter times when it is so cold!
Okay now I’m hungry, I could use some chocolate or peach cobbler right about now. These are perfect Valentine’s choices.
Yes they are quite hunger inducing arent they? Lol its even worse when you read them as almost all of these have recipes in them.
Suddenly i’m craving peach cobbler 😀 Hehe.
Season kind of influences me, but in a way that for example during winter i tend to read more nordic noir than any other part of the year.
This year i’m doing a reading challenge, so during Halloween i will read a halloween themed book.
Ah yes that does make sense to want to read that more in winter time. I used to to read more Scandanvian/Nordic Noir back in the day like “Ice Princess” By Camilla Lackberg. Perhaps I should pick it up again.
What a sweet post in time for Valentine’s Day!
Thank you I appreciate it!
Great post and picks. I have not read none of these books yet, but I do love to read cozy mysteries from time to time. All the books looks and sounds absolutely great. Thank you so much for sharing and putting these books on my radar!
Thank you so much, I tried to include something for everyone!
Adorable! I didn’t realize that ‘cozy’ mystery was a sub-genre, but these sound so cute. Much different than the grittier crime novels and sci fi that I tend to run across, but sometimes you just wants something fluffy! I love your rating system.
Thank you! I actually didn’t either until someone else introduced me to them. Totally agree its good to mix it up every now and then. Especially if I just read a depressing memoir or wartime based fiction a cozy is just the ticket.
These look cute and I like your sweetness rating system 🙂 I haven’t read many cozy mysteries but I have plenty on my TBR.
Thank you so much :)! I do as well, in addition to around 30 other books that I hope I have time for one day -_- lol.
Seasons don’t influence my reading much but when I keep seeing some books repeatedly on others blogs I can’t help but check them out. So if everyone else keeps posting based on season, eventually I might be reading more according to the season.
That’s an interesting point, I think when it comes down it we are influenced one way or another whether by seasonality, other bloggers, advertising, etc.
This is great! So many new books I need to grab!
Thanks, I know so little books so little time lol!
Thanx – I do love a clever cozy
Me as well, they are just the ticket sometimes 🙂
I love the food theme. I don’t love that’s it’s 9 AM and I’m thinking about whipping up a peach cobbler. But great post anyway.
Lol! I know what you mean and thank you!
Such a sweet post! <3
Charlotte | https://charlotteidek.com
Thank you so much!
that’s so cute piece of writing. I could recall some good old times 🙂
Thank you very much!
I’ve never read cozy mysteries. I’m not sure I’d like them or not… maybe I’ll give one of these a try just to see!
They are definitely an acquired taste lol. I think you should you will never know until you give it a try :).
This is such a cute post! Looks like good books to read on vday! 🙂
Thank you Heidi, I think so as well! 🙂