REVIEW: Live and Let Chai

 Live and Let Chai
Author: Bree Baker

Everly Swann is back in Charm, NC after a bad break-up. She's looking forward to a new start. Opening a sweet tea shop inside her new home to help cover the mortgage, she just wants to move on with life. But town politics, a grouchy councilman, and a murder start things off on a rocky road. Can she prove she isn't a killer? 

I live in NC, so I really love cozies set in my home state! This cozy is set at the NC coast near Nag's Head. The island town is fictitious, but the general area (Nag's Head, Kitty Hawk) is all real. And lovely! My favorite place to go to the beach! 

The mystery is nicely paced. It kept me guessing until the end. I like the characters, especially Lou the gull and Maggie the cat. :) Everly is a determined main character. She does the best she can in a bad situation. And like most main characters in cozy mysteries her amateur sleuthing gets her into trouble with the local detective and the killer. 

I listened to the audio book version of this story. The audio is just shy of 9 hours long...nice listening length. It kept me company on my commute to and from work for several days! Therese Plummer narrates. She does an excellent job of bringing the story and characters to life! 

I had to smile as Everly discussed sweet tea multiple times throughout the book. The character stressed how important and special it is in the south to be able to brew sweet tea just right -- not too sweet and never bitter, etc.  And that is perfectly true. Sweet tea is a staple in the south. One I do not enjoy myself. I was born in the midwest...so I find southern sweet tea gaggingly sweet and nasty. Where I come from iced tea is served unsweet, maybe with lemon or mint and the drinker sweetens their own or drinks it plain. For me, southern tea tastes like sugar with a little bit of tea added. Terrible stuff. When I first moved to NC almost 20 years ago, asking for unsweet tea at a restaurant got you blank stares and mumbled apologies that it wasn't available. Now, unsweet tea is served everywhere. I do remember being very very confused as a fresh transplant that people just assumed you wanted a huge dose of sugar already mixed in your drink....lol. In the midwest nobody would presume to presweeten or put additives in anybody's drink....it would be considered rude. Sweet tea was quite the memorable dose of culture shock! 

I love tea -- I have a extensive tea stash and brew myself a cuppa several times a day. I read this book as part of a book club with other tea lovers. This was a fun tea themed cozy! The story definitely had enough suspense to keep my attention and I like the characters!

I enjoyed this book and will definitely be reading more of this series!