Book Review (and a Giveaway!): Rest, Relax, Run for Your Life by Katherine H. Brown

Posted March 27, 2021 by meezcarrie in contemporary, cozy mystery, giveaway, Katherine H. Brown, mystery/suspense, romance, YA / 1 Comment

REST, RELAX, RUN FOR YOUR LIFE
SERIES: Ooey Gooey Bakery Mystery #1
GENRE: Cozy Mystery / New Adult / YA
PUBLISHER: Katherine Brown Books
RELEASE DATE: March 1, 2019
PAGES: 182

Two best friends & a bakery!
Piper and Samantha are in heaven. Well, close. More like a long weekend at the O Heavenly Day Spa.
A few mysterious notes start appearing everywhere, things get uncomfortable. As spa treatments go awry things get dangerous. A threatening message convinces Piper and Sam that they have to find out who is behind all of these disasters. When the smoke alarms go off and the spa erupts into panic, the chaos separates the friends and Piper stumbles into trouble. Will someone help her before it is too late?

Other Books In This Series

Rest, Relax, Run for Your Life is a cute, light cozy mystery by a new-to-me author that I will definitely continue to follow. Piper and Samantha are a dynamic duo, best friends & business partners who have each other’s backs, and I loved hanging out with them on the pages of this book. Their relationship is endearing, and so is their banter – and the yummy desserts they make at their Ooey Gooey Bakery had me hunting in the pantry for brownie mix. A poor substitute, but an emergency supply of chocolate requires desperate measures some times. Just ask Piper 🙂

No murder in this cozy mystery, but several attempted murders via cleverly timed ‘accidents’ which are enough to get the pulse racing & keep readers solidly invested in the outcome. The spa setting adds some interesting layers to the mood of the book, as well as a host of people who could be responsible for the threatening notes & situations Piper stumbles upon. Some may be friends, some may be foes, and some may be entirely neutral parties – figuring out who is who will keep you guessing.

I thought it started a bit abruptly, as though I were missing some backstories, so I felt a little adrift at first. But I quickly got involved in the story & the main players and couldn’t put it down until it was finished. And then I immediately bemoaned not having time to start reading book 2 right away lol.

I appreciated the subtle faith undercurrents to the story, as it’s always fun for me to find that connection to an author when I don’t expect to. But don’t worry, it never gets preachy or overpowers the book and may not even be noticed by most people because it’s so organic to the plot. I also admire the author for tackling the very important issue of human trafficking and, given some of the events toward the end of the book, I’m curious to see if it continues to play a role in the series.

Bottom Line: Rest, Relax, Run for Your Life is a fun read with engaging characters and surprising twists & turns. While it’s labeled a young adult cozy mystery, I would actually consider it geared for the new adult age group, given Piper & Sam’s ages and stage of life. Either way, though, ‘just plain adults’ like me (who haven’t been ‘young’ or ‘new’ for quite some time) will love this book, too! The mystery is well-crafted, and the setting nicely complements the plot. I personally also was quite happy with the sweet romance thread tucked into the story and definitely hope to see more of it in future books in the series.

(I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from the author. All views expressed are only my honest opinion.)

My Rating: 4 stars / love it!

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Also available to read for FREE with Kindle Unlimited

Katherine Brown is a Texas girl, book lover, and weaver of words. Katherine enjoys creating relatable and lovable characters and is recently occupied by crafting a number of cozy mysteries. When not writing or reading, you can often find Katherine eating chocolate or enjoying time with family.

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