Scan barcode
A review by oomilyreads
Homicide and Halo-Halo by Mia P. Manansala
emotional
mysterious
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Homicide and Halo-Halo (Tita Rosie’s Kitchen Mystery #2) written by Mia P. Manansala
PUB DATE: Feb 8, 2022
Last year I really enjoyed Mia Manansala’s debut cozy mystery, Arsenic and Adobo. So I was pretty excited to be offered to read the 2nd book in her series.
In Arsenic and Adobo,amateur sleuths in a small town solving murder mysteries and usually getting into trouble by bending the rules. That book was a bit more light-hearted than this one.
This sequel is still very much cozy although deals with tougher topics while MC 25-yo Filipina Lila Macapagal is still mentally recovering from the last book’s event that happened a few months ago in the best way she knows how…avoidance. The events in this book revolves around the small town’s teen beauty pageant, which she won many years ago, an event that was one of many wedges between her and her cousin, Bernadette. But now these two must patch up their rivalry when Bernadette becomes the main suspect when the head judge is suddenly murdered.
This story was really fun & well-paced, and I really appreciated the author pointing out the trigger warnings in the author’s note in the beginning. Mental health, PTSD, familiar expectations, importance of therapy. I really liked the diversity in characters and women empowerment in this story.
Thank you @netgalley @berkleypub for this ARC! I plan to make a recipe from the back of the book!
PUB DATE: Feb 8, 2022
Last year I really enjoyed Mia Manansala’s debut cozy mystery, Arsenic and Adobo. So I was pretty excited to be offered to read the 2nd book in her series.
In Arsenic and Adobo,amateur sleuths in a small town solving murder mysteries and usually getting into trouble by bending the rules. That book was a bit more light-hearted than this one.
This sequel is still very much cozy although deals with tougher topics while MC 25-yo Filipina Lila Macapagal is still mentally recovering from the last book’s event that happened a few months ago in the best way she knows how…avoidance. The events in this book revolves around the small town’s teen beauty pageant, which she won many years ago, an event that was one of many wedges between her and her cousin, Bernadette. But now these two must patch up their rivalry when Bernadette becomes the main suspect when the head judge is suddenly murdered.
This story was really fun & well-paced, and I really appreciated the author pointing out the trigger warnings in the author’s note in the beginning. Mental health, PTSD, familiar expectations, importance of therapy. I really liked the diversity in characters and women empowerment in this story.
Thank you @netgalley @berkleypub for this ARC! I plan to make a recipe from the back of the book!