Series: A Charmed Pie Shoppe Mystery, #4
Publisher: Berkley
Release Date: April 7, 2015
Source: Paperback purchase
Rating: ★★★¾

Ella Mae LeFaye’s Charmed Pie Shoppe has become a phenomenon beyond her wildest dreams, providing the enchanted town of Havenwood, Georgia, with spellbinding desserts and magical pies. Her personal life is also heating up as she takes on the responsibilities of leadership within her magical community. In fact, the only thing weighing her down is the fact that handsome Hugh Dylan won’t return her calls…

Still, when Havenwood is rocked by a series of mysterious deaths, Ella Mae must put romantic longings aside—especially when she realizes that the mystical symbols left at each crime scene are dangerously personal. Now she will have to whip up all her supernatural skills to uncover a killer out to settle an ancient score—before the murderer devastates everything Ella Mae is determined to protect…

Book five in the Charmed Pie Shoppe Mystery series comes out in just a couple of weeks, so I needed to get caught up by reading book four. This sweet series is part culinary cozy mystery and part Urban Fantasy light. LEMON PIES AND LITTLE WHITE LIES was an enjoyable continuation of the series, with Ella Mae balancing her duties as leader of the magical community and owner of a popular pie shop.

The world-building in this series is impressive, with all the magic practitioners and an ancient curse going back to the time of Merlin. The baddie in this book was particularly evil, putting Ella Mae’s powers to the test. I don’t think the murder mystery in this book was as strong as the earlier ones, as it seemed to get lost in everything else that was going on, though the conclusion was very exciting. Also, I still haven’t decided how I feel about her romance with Hugh. He wasn’t my favorite in this book.

This is a fun series, especially if you love magical themes like I do. Now, onto book five!

We’re on “Spring Break” next week, so I won’t be around the blogosphere much. No big plans, mainly doing things around town with my kids. I do have one post scheduled for St. Patrick’s Day to celebrate my 6th blogoversary. :-) Have a wonderful weekend!