Three Tainted Teas (Kitchen Witch Mysteries)

I’m still a bit torn on this series. I keep feeling like there’s a lot missing, but Cahoon is finally starting to do more world building, which is necessary for even this level of fantasy. I liked how this installment brought in a new type of magical folks, but there was still a lack of depth in the information we got about them.

Mia has been working hard to grow her new business Mia’s Morsels which has experience its share of hiccups both normal and paranormal. Yes, paranormal, as Mia is a kitchen witch like her grandmother, and is a newish member of the Magic Springs community, most likely named for its magical community which resides right along-side with the non-magical folks who have no idea for the most part. So now you know that Mia is a very determined small business owner and devoted granddaughter, so determined that she lets someone convince her to try her hand at wedding organization. Now, I can see how she would make one fantastic caterer for a wedding, her first adventure in sleuthing involved catering an adult birthday party (One Poison Pie). A master organizer, Mia jumps in with two feet, or four if you include the help she receives from boyfriend Trent (yep he knows, and he has his own magic as well). Since this is a magical wedding couple there are more than the usual challenges and it seems that some sabotage is involved as well. Mia will need more than just a notebook to keep track of this project and the suspects. This series has a great set of supportive crew, a cozy/furry companion Mr. Darcy who has his own set of challenges (Murder 101), and a semi-resident ghost who has seems to be part of a bigger mystery that is yet to be solved.

I am a big fan of Mia’s familiar, Gloria, a kitchen witch doll, whose laughter sounds like bells tinkling. I am also a fan of Ms. Cahoon’s for adding a recipe at the end of her books, this time we get a yummy sounding peach cobbler. I wouldn’t mind if more recipes were added, hint hint!

If you think paranormal cozy mysteries are not for you, Mia Malone and the other residents of Magic Springs will quickly change your mind! Three Tainted Teas is the third book in the Kitchen Witch series and it does not disappoint When we first met Mia, a Kitchen Witch, she was establishing her catering business in an old schoolhouse in Magic Springs, with her grandmother Grans, also a kitchen witch, and her ex's sister Christina helping. Business has been booming for Mia and in Three Tainted Teas we find Mia taking over the role of wedding planner after the current wedding planner was fired....and then murdered. Of course this is not a normal bridal party - the bride's family are witches and the groom's are shape shifters, and they have been feuding for years. Mia, with the help of her boyfriend Trent, his brother Levi, mother Abigail and Grans are able to throw the magical wedding of a lifetime and solve the crime.

This book, and the whole series, has everything a cozy lover could want - great, complex characters that develop more with each new book, a cozy little town who's magical history is revealed with each book, some romance that never becomes the center of the story, and a complex mystery with many twists and turns that keep you guessing until the end. There are also 'side stories' that add to the enjoyment of the book - Christina's journey through culinary school and decisions for the future, Grans many attempts to release her boyfriend's spirit from Mia's cat, the mystery surrounding the schoolhouse itself.... This is a perfect book in which to get lost - but make sure you have plenty of time when you turn to page 1, as you will want to read the book in one setting!

I highly recommend Three Tainted Teas, as well as the others in the series, and will look forward to further adventures in Miracle Springs.

It was tough to follow for a bit when I hadn't read the first two books, but it was still enjoyable. I will now order the first two.

Three Tainted Teas " is the 3rd instalment in the "Kitchen Witch" Mystery series by Lynn Cahoon. I LOVE this series, just the perfect amount of magic and mystery. Aspiring witch and culinary entrepreneur, Mia Malone, must dispel a deadly plot to wreck her clients’ wedding

I love visiting Magic Springs, Idaho and catching up with Mia, Grans and Christina! I also enjoyed getting to know more about Trent’s mum Abigail and hope to see her more in future instalments. I love the sense of caring and encouragement that the main characters have for each other and the community. This is something I enjoy in all the authors series.

I found the mystery very interesting as well as entertaining, full of twists and turns that kept me guessing till the very end. I can’t wait to learn more about the schools past and see what happens next for Mia and her friends in book 4.

I highly recommend this new series to all my cozy loving friends.

I requested and received an Advance Reader Copy of this book from Kensington Books and NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my OWN.

Three Tainted Teas by Lynn Cahoon is the third full length book in the paranormal cozy Kitchen Witch Mysteries series. The Kitchen Witch Mysteries also have three novellas in the series along with the three full length novels which include a prequel to open the whole series. As with most cozy mysteries though each of these books does contain it’s own mystery that will be fully solved within the book so they can be read as a standalone or in any order if choosing to do so. There is character development that carries over from book to book for those that follow the series from the beginning.

In the prequel novella in the series readers were introduced to Mia Malone who had traveled back to her hometown of Magic Springs, Idaho at the urging of her grandmother who Mia fondly calls Grans. Magic Springs is a place where magic is out in the open and Mia’s family is far from normal with Mia inheriting her Grans magical abilities and she now uses that witchcraft to create her tasty culinary treats.

Since that trip back to Magic Springs though Mia’s world had fallen apart with Mia finding herself single when her boyfriend left her and also became unemployed. Mia decided that the best thing to do was to return to Magic Springs for good where she could use her magic in a gourmet dinner delivery business. Now that Mia’s business is running she has been asked to help with a wedding when the wedding planner needed replaced. When Mia goes to meet the previous planner to get the details she instead finds the woman murdered so to keep the wedding on track Mia knows a murderer needs to be found, fast!

Lynn Cahoon is a cozy author that I know well having read several of her series from the beginning, including the Kitchen Witch Mysteries series. The Kitchen Witch Mysteries series is a little different from the others I’ve read with it being paranormal with a witchy lead but it’s just as much fun and plenty of laughs that I’ve come to expect from this writer’s cozies. The characters are likable and the mystery in this one was fitting the paranormal theme and interesting to follow so I’ll definitely be interested to returning to this series again in the future.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

This is the best one of the bunch of these (so far...) and by far the heaviest on fantasy and magic.

Mia Malone is doing quite well with her catering business, Mia's Morsels. When her assistant, Christina gets roped into standing in for an absent bridesmaid at the wedding of the season in Magic Springs, Idaho, Mia is intrigued, especially when she becomes the new wedding planner. The wedding is between a member of the local witch coven and a shape-shifter, the magical equivalent of the Hatfields and McCoys, and Mia is caught in the middle. However, she is determined to grow her business and get this wedding done and done right, except someone is trying to sabotage things, and then the original wedding planner ends up dead. Mia is wondering if she is next.

I love these characters in this series and the way the reader feels like they are part of the story rather than just a spectator. I felt like I was sitting on Mia's shoulder as she is going through the wedding plans and I felt her stress. I liked the emphasis on the magical community as it shows up some in the other books but this one was front and center.

I do hope there will be many more novellas and cozies in this group. They are such a delight to read but I read them so quickly!

Three Tainted Teas was a fun read. I have read this series from the beginning. The story takes place in a town called Magic Springs. Mia Malone is the main character who owns Mia's Morsels, a catering company. She is also a witch who can see ghosts. The supporting characters add a lot to this story. Cassandra Uzzi asks Mia to take over as wedding planner for her daughter's wedding as they have fired their planner, Chelsea Bachman. Their daughter, Amethyst is marrying Tok McMann. Mia has never been a wedding planner but says she will do it. This is a wedding between two families one a witch and the other is shape shifting wolves (werewolves). The wedding takes place at The Lodge. The two families don't seem to get along. There is someone who does not want this wedding to happen. Mia goes to the lodge to meet with Chelsea to get the papers needed of things that have been done. Mia goes to her room at the lodge and finds Chelsea murdered in her bed. Things start to happen wjith spells, arrests, suspicion, poisons, threats, etc. The wedding comes to a surprised conclusion.

To thank everyone who helped her with the wedding, Mia takes them to Time for a Cuppa for tea owned by Mahogany Medford.. While there Mahogany asks Mia if she can find out why her mother died. This is probably the next advent;ure in this series

Thank you NetGalley and Kenington Publishing Corp for this ARC.

Mia's got her hands full when she agrees to take over planning a wedding where the wedding planner has been fired! To complicated things her assistant Christina is standing in for a bridesmaid, a cousin of the bride who takes off, and oh yeah the bride is a witch and the groom is a shift changer. When the women she replaced is found dead, Mia must work with family and friends to make sure the wedding takes place and no one else is harmed! A real page turner!

I really enjoyed Three Tainted Teas, although the mystery of "whodunit" was pretty easy to figure out before it was revealed. The "why" it was done wasn't as simple to decipher.
When Mia Malone is hired for her first job as a wedding planner, she quickly discovers that it isn't as easy as it looks. Then, of course, the feuding families of the bride and groom make it more difficult. When Mia tries to get the contracts from the planner who was fired for embezzling, she finds the woman dead in her hotel room, looking as if she were attacked by a wild animal.
Mia decides that she must help solve this mystery, because the sheriff is clueless about the paranormal lives of both families. If she doesn't help, he will never figure it out - and she may be the next victim.

I am happy to say that the author kept me entertained and wanting to finish the book.