I kept reading, but I didn’t really enjoy. The murder motive came along pretty early on, but was pretty much ignored by Jade until towards the end of the story when she stumbled across it. In the mean time she was mostly busy running her store and trying to find out about a mysterious blogger.

I kept wondering how large that beach cottage turned into shop is:

<blockquote> We have over three hundred decorated trees, and today, we have thirty artisans in our multipurpose room showing off their handmade holiday specialties.</blockquote>

Thirty people and their goodies take up a lot of room. So do 300 christmas trees. Particularly if you consider that browsing customers need room to manouver.

While the geometry pulled me from the story, the narrative failed to pull me in. The story is very much dialogue driven. Most of the information is convayed through dialogue and dialogue is rarely broken up by action tags. Which gave the impression that quite often the characters were rambling.

<blockquote> “Glad to be here. We retired and sold the place in New Jersey to my nephew and moved down here to be closer to my daughter and her kids. And thanks to you for having all those events at your store that drive the hungry customers over here. The bus tours are great! Though I see you did have a bit of unwanted action earlier.” </blockquote>

It’s the third book in the series, and I felt like I was missing some information. Jade has solved a couple of mysteries before and everyone - including her boyfriend the sheriff - expects her to solve, if not at least look into the murder of the man she found in the neighbouring lot. But Jade seems a bit of a home body; she does most of her sleuthing on the internet. Or people just happen to present themselves to her. Other than ‘she’s done it before’ there didn’t seem to be much urgency for Jade to investigate. Jade doesn’t come off as particularly nosy or curious and she did not know the victim or his family or their business rivals.

I didn’t feel the Jade-must-investigate-this vibe. I didn’t even get that when Jade nearly got run over, another body was dumped at her store (a live one), or shots were fired. Is someone threatened by her internet research? And why are the feuding families making her store the gravitas of their feud? Do they consider it as some sort of neutral ground?

And why were all the fireworks companies hanging around town for weeks? To check out the competition they say. But it’s December. Don’t they have any shows to prepair for New Year? This would have been so much more believable if the story had been set months away from typical fireworks events.

The story also needed more actual sleuthing, i.e. sleuth talking to people (without them popping round to her store because that’s convenient).

I could not get into this book at all. I'm not sure if I was in the wrong mood for it though as it is heavy, but I ended up not finishing it after only a couple of chapters.

I enjoyed the book the mystery was good, great characters and warm town. I am looking forward to the next adventure with this cast. The only small criticism that I have was some scenes were drawn out a little long.
Excitement is in the air as everyone in Mermaid Bay is preparing for the Christmas season. This year promises to be more dazzling than ever when the business council sponsors a competition for the town’s lucrative summer fireworks contract. The quaint little beach town is ready to be wowed with choreographed shows and drone action that light up the night sky.
Instead of goodwill and sparkles, two of the teams take the competition to new lows with corporate espionage, feuds, and sabotage, and Jade and her team at ‘Tis the Season are ground zero for all the explosive action. When one of the competitors turns up murdered near Jade’s shop, she has to solve the mystery before the holidays are ruined.

#ATisketATasketNotAnotherCasket #NetGalley

A fireworks competition had more than just pyrotechnic sparks flying. When one of the competitors is murdered near Jade's shop, she can't help but get involved. Mermaid Bay is another of my favorite fictional places to visit. With a couple of side plots and the main mystery, I was hooked until the very end!

An interesting story about the holidays in a beach town. This novel gives you mystery, romance and holiday celebration. There are locals and out of town visitors to choose from in solving the mystery. Behind the scenes peeks into small business, police work and fireworks planning and execution are included. The interactions, relationships and daily life of the locals adds a bit of color and relatability.

Overall, it was a great read: a pleasant writing style, a compelling investigation, lovely festive vibes with some Italian flair. And also, it was fun and refreshing to read a plot about a different topic, in this case the world of fireworks. Recommended!

Christmas in Mermaid Bay is looking rather exciting this year. There's a competition for the firework contract which has two teams being very ugly and combative. When one of the competitors is murdered by Jade's shop, she gets pulled into solving the crime. Well developed characters with a solid mystery. Thanks #Netgalley and #LevelBestBooks for the eARC in exchange for a honest review. All opinions are mine.

Murder and mayhem during a firework competition, involving some dodgy competitors. If I have a criticism, it is how the owners of businesses in cozy crime novels ever have time to actually run their business whilst solving crimes and generally being nosy!

This was my first visit to Mermaid Bay. A delightful cozy mystery. Many light moments along with the murder mystery and other problems. A fireworks challenge kept things lively. Thanks to the publisher for providing a copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary.

Such a cute cozy mystery! Definitely not my usual cup of tea, so I wouldn't say it was for me, but that doesn't take away from it being a good book! It was well written and super cute. I would recommend this to people who like hallmark movie type books... plus a little bit of murder. I loved that there was a full cast of characters, but I felt that some of the dialogue was dragged out unnecessarily. A bit frustrating at times (which is my own personal problem) because I kept wondering why this person is solving so many small town mysteries. Also felt it was a bit predictable, but that is to be expected with this type of book - not necessarily in a bad way.

Bonus points given because I loved that the end of the book had recipes!

Thank you for the read, NetGalley!

I really enjoyed this book. It's part of a series and could be read on It's own. Jade and her dog Chloe finds a dead body in the empty lot next to her Christmas store. I would recommend this book and series.

3.5 stars rounded up. This mystery book was a fun, cozy Christmas read. Mermaid Bay sits on the coast of Virginia. Three different groups of pyrotechnicians are participating in a fireworks contest over the holidays. The winner of the contest will provide the ultimate fireworks display for the town’s July 4th festivities. Along with the firework displays, the town finds itself surrounded in pure chaos and murder.

Pros:
*Fun characters and small town vibe with the rumor mill
*The author made it easy to imagine scenes
*Great surprise to see the recipes provided at the end of the book

Cons:
*Quite a few redundant scenes and conversations
*Long, drawn out scenes at times
*Zero chemistry between Jade and Nick - I don’t necessarily need hot and steamy scenes, but I would have enjoyed some innocent passion between the two
*Very predictable outcome

All in all, I would recommend this book. I’m looking forward to reading about Mermaid Bay’s next adventure.

Thanks Netgalley!

"A Tisket A Tasket Not Another Casket (A Mermaid Bay Christmas Shoppe Mystery #3)" by Heather Weider is Christmas Time setting with a Fireworks competition. Honestly, I thought it might be Fourth of July timing because of the cover but it is Christmas Time. There are three fireworks companies in town to put on their displays as a competition for who does get the Fourth of July contract though.

Unfortunately, with every competition there's going to be drama between some of the contestants. Especially if there is already a family feud going on. Things get a bit Shakespearean. There's a forbidden love, families fighting and someone ends up dead. Of course this all seems to keep happening on/near Jade's shop 'Tis the Season.

This is my first time reading this author. I enjoyed the setting, and the characters. I found the mystery entertaining. Some of it I figured out, but not all of it.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for my eBook in exchange for an honest review.

Set in Mermaid Bay, Virginia, Christmas is fast approaching. In order to drive tourists, the town is having a fireworks competition. Three companies have been invited and the winner will get the contracts for Memorial Day and the 4th of July. Jade and her shop ‘Tis the Season seem to be the site of the action. The firework companies may have great displays but their corporate behavior is lacking. I really enjoy the characters in this book and it was an interesting story. I think her boyfriend Nick is a little slow to react to Jade’s calls. The recipes at the end are not to be missed! #netgalley

Not only do I love a good Christmas themed cozy, I also love a location that takes me back to a place in time. This book series does both for me. I have spent several years in the Williamsburg area and this series makes me feel like I’m visiting again. There are so many quaint towns in the area That it makes me want to find one and move back.

Add in a solid murder mystery, the cutest puppy, and some quirky, fun, and lovable characters and you have yourself one heck of a murder mystery. And in the fireworks and it is spectacular. Don’t miss the recipes at the end of the book! I plan to make several of these for Galentine’s Day gifts for friends.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Heather Weidner for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC for A Tisket A Tasket Not Another Casket. The honest opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I’ve read another book by this author. I really love her cozy books! The writing was great. I really enjoy the characters. I haven’t read the other books in this series, but I definitely want to go back and read them. I love Christmastime cozies. Mermaid Bay was definitely giving off cozy small town vibes. I would for sure check out other books by this author!

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys Christmastime cozy mysteries!

This books brings plenty of fireworks as firework companies compete in Mermaid Bay. All the while a "mermaid" is running around spilling the tea. Jade Hicks, the FMC of this series, relies on her connections to the town to help for boyfriend, Sheriff Nick find justice and find the town gossip. The cast of characters sound like they would make good friends, they are a great group of eclectic characters. We can't forget the importance of a dog or cat or both to the story. Chloe, Jade's cat, even helps solve the mystery that ignited when the fireworks companies came to town.
This book is a super example of why I enjoy cozies, from the charming town vibe to the fun cast and the mystery. Poor Jade, she and her Christmas shop, sounded like trouble magnets in this story. However, it was that trouble that kept the story moving. We also had plenty of LOL moments such as Sebastian commenting about Jade's murder wall. I recently enjoyed a series on Hallmark Mysteries and after reading this book can't help but this it would make a fun series.
Heather Weidner definitely tops my list of cozy authors and this book is a terrific example of why. I would definitely recommend it. In addition to recommending the book, I would recommend the recipes in the back of the book. YUM.
Thanks to NetGalley and Level Best Books | Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), Members' Titles for the opportunity to read this ARC.

I loved this story! Jade, Chloe, and the rest out the crew really kept me guessing throughout the story.
Christmas is getting close, and the fireworks show competition is really heating up. The 3 different companies are hoping to win, but unfortunately for two of them, there's no such thing as friendly competition.
Jade and her shop are mixed up in the mess, but she's determined to get the answers and settle things once and for all.
Chloe, her dog and side kick, is one of the best things about the book.
I really like this series and the author does an amazing job of creating wonderful stories for her readers.
Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for selecting me to read an advanced copy of this book.
This is a strong 5 star review.