Zion never disappoints - a great box of cozies:)

I've already listened to the 5 books in the Zion Sawyer Cozy Mystery series and I loved every one of them - so I can honestly and wholeheartedly recommend the box set both to those who are not yet acquainted with Zion and those who know her well:)

And here are some of my thoughts on the books in the box set (you can read my full reviews for individual books on their individual sites:)):

Book 1 - Cappuccino:
'Cappuccino' is a great start to the series. It has an interesting starting point: Zion Sawyer, adopted as a child, suddenly inherits her biological mother's coffee house and other earthly possessions - which at first she rejects, as she has never met her biological mother and has never wanted to meet her. But, as it soon turns out, that unexpected event allows her to change her life completely - a change she definitely needs, for her own good. The little town of Sequoia, California, is exactly what she needs right now, and the people she meets there are a colourful, friendly bunch... well, most of them, anyway:)
There's an intriguing criminal plot, with some good twists to it, there's also a bit of romance - or possible romance - in the air. The two main characters, Zion herself and her 'co-partner in crime', a former cop Tate, are full-bodied people, with complicated personalities, but very likeable, so it's easy to kind of keep your fingers crossed for them...:) The supporting cast are also very well developed, with a lot of quirks and a lot of warmth to them. And there's a lot of humour - Zion is a kind of character that has a healthy distance to herself and can make other people smile a lot (the reader/listener, too).

Book 2 - Cafe Au Lait:
Zion has finally found her place in Sequoia, with the coffeee house to run and friends she can talk to - that's her comfort zone. But when a new murder lands at her door, she must team up with Tate again to prove one of her friend's innocent... Zion is all for getting herself involved in the case, Tate unwilling to go back to the police work he left behind when he moved to Sequoia - but once a cop, always a cop, and so he can't refuse when he's needed...
This is a very entertaining cozy mystery, with a well thought-out plot, many leads that lead nowhere (pun intended:)), many suspects who don't really have any motives for killing a girl everyone liked and a whole bunch of colourful old and new background characters. There is also a lot of humour in the book, with Zion's mother taking up yoga (oh, her smoothies:)), with a rock star working as a barista and with Zion questioning her life choices and decisions almost every step of the way...

Book 3 - Espresso:
The third book in the series starts quite slow, with Zion and Tate dancing around with their feelings for each other, with Rebekah's unexpected visit and its consequences, and with Logan's personal problems becoming the focal points for about one third through. It's only when Tate's former 'brother in blue' makes an unexpected appearance that the action speeds up and violent incidents start piling up... Cause this time all that is happening now in the quiet town of Sequoia has its roots in Tate's past...
The fact that the pace is not as fast as in the previous two books or that the focal point is more on our favourite characters' personal lives than on the murder case at hand doesn't take away anything from the story. It's as engaging, emotional and entertaining as the other two. You just can't stop listening, you keep your fingers crossed for Zion, Tate and Logan, and you eagerly follow them in their journey to uncover the truth...

Book 4 - Caffe Macchiato:
As we visit Sequoia for the fourth time, we know exactly what to expect: a fast paced plot, a murder which hits close to home for Zion and Tate, and some good twists and turns on the way to a satisfactory ending and the solution of the crime, with yet more background stories of the personal lives of most of the characters that we've got to like throughout books 1-3...:)

Book 5 - Americano:
It's another win in the Zion Sawyer Cozy Mysteries series. Although the beginning feels a bit slower than in the previous books and it takes us a bit more time to get to the "juicy' part (that is, the murder:)), the mystery itself is again intriguing and touching on an important issue. The new characters that appear in this part quickly become familiar and feel like they belong there and the background story of Zion's personal life is as funny and heart-warming as always.

Overall thoughts:
Ms Hamilton never disappoints with her stories in the series. Her characters live - they develop, they go through their personal ups and downs, and they learn from experience, sometimes the hard way, that life means constant change, with a lot of surprises for us on the way to the end (whatever that end may be). The murder cases are engaging emotionally and make us keep fingers crossed for Zion and Tate and their investigations. And the town of Sequoia, with its colourful citizens, becomes closer and closer to our hearts with every installment in the series (I really feel like I'd like to move there:)).

Narration by Ms Hazen throughout the set is impeccable. The pace of her reading is perfect and the voices very well done and matching the personalities of the individual characters. She keeps up the fantastic balance between the narrative and the emotional... A job very well done:)

DISCLAIMER: I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

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2 people found this helpful

Good Ending

Good listen. Worth your time. I got used to the many voices. Would listen again.

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Terrible narrator

Not sure why anyone would hire narrator as terrible as this one. The pace of her speech and the beyond irritating horrid “ accent” of the sheriff makes these books not worth listening.

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Enjoyable if a little corney

Nice relaxing cozy mystery series. The author focused more on the cozy aspect of things than the mystery side which i really liked. It was nice to just be inside these peoples lives for a while. Wonderful, lovable characters that makes the story enjoyable no matter whats happening. I really liked the believability of the timeline of events. Alot of the cozy mysterys ive listened to lack imagination or ability to make a semi plausible plot by having someone move to a small town then every week theres a new murder which is highly unlikely and makes the story seem absurd 🙄. In these books however every single happening was spaced apart which made things more plausible and kinda fast forwarded peoples relationships and stuff and also had realistic events that led to someone dying. They also didnt rush into the murder part of the story. Theres always a nice gradual lead in where we're just going about their everyday lives with them and its very relaxing and enjoyable. Alot of fun, touching, entertaining, and just plain lovable characters in these books. Cant stress that enough, thats the main selling point for me. However now ill get to the reason this set only got 4 stars. The actual mystery part of the books were all pretty elementary and almost mediocre in their simplicity. Not always the actual solution to the crime would be clear but theres alot of glaringly obvious things leading up to it that it seems Mercer and Zion purposefully stuble over for a few hours until they finally have this "big reveal" and im sitting here like"😑......rly?" Then theres Tate and Zions relationship. I wasnt a big fan of how air headed the author made Zion seem in the first book when she kept having this internal dialog where its soooo painfully obvious she doesnt like the lawyer guy shes with and she really likes Tate but for some unknowable reason she kept trying to deny the obvious feelings she has for him becaaaaauussee...... i have no idea why... to make romantic tension and suspense? No. It was just annoying and made the characters seem dumb. Then when Tate finally mans up and goes for it ( in the dumbest way possible, instead of telling her how he feels he just kisses her without her permission which in turn makes her upset with him) the author creates some illogical bs reason for her to be upset with him about it. Like there were so many reasons for zion to leave the lawyer but she ignores all of them and still is planning on going on the trip even tho she doesnt really want to. I almost stopped listening after all that because i thought it was guna be one of those aggravating books where the 2 people who like each other are always destined to never let themselves try for happiness but it ended up being resolved and afterwards got back to the cozy vibes.
As for the narration i was tempted to give her 3 stars but i dont think thatd be fair but a full 4 stars seems generous. More like 3.5. Half of her voices sound like south park characters and all younger people have this nasally annoying voice that sounds really weird. She does differentiate all the character's and does a good job on some of them but others not so much. Its not so bad as to detract from the listening experience but it was just pretty weird. All in all id definitely recommend the book to anyone who may be interested, its a very good value getting all the books in one set for one credit and as i said its a very relaxing cozy kinda series.

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1 person found this helpful

Wonderful story

This was one of th best audible books I have listened too! I truly enjoyed every moment of this book.

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Great

I have read several books by Hamilton. They are good. She has a great ability to hook you.

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GREAT story lines!

These books were entertaining and kept my interest. Well written and consistent themes! I enjoyed each character and the fact that the author bright their quirks to life! Easy and relaxing listening! TEN STARS I could!

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Zion Sawyer Mystery Set

I absolutely enjoyed this whole series. It keeps your interest and it has turns in the story that makes you want to listen on for hours.

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Entertaining cozy mysteries

Great cozy mystery. Both the author and the narrator kept me invested from the first chapter. With a number of twists and turns and a result I didn’t see coming, I was hooked. Cannot wait to read and or listen to more from this author.

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A well worthy series

I enjoyed every minute of this series. It begins with Zion’s birth mother being murdered; which brought her to this adorable quaint little town. Throughout this series new characters were introduced, murders were solved and Zion fell in love. I love Zion’s mother and her shenanigans always up to some new project. Zion’s father supporting her till he’s forced into retirement and not knowing what to do with himself he got a great her understanding of her Mother’s going from one thing to another till they settled on joining a gang. This series has a lot of comedic moments and the narrator does a great job bringing the characters to life. I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

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4 people found this helpful