This is the second book in the series. A friend (CC) gifted me a number of books from this series and I am using them to distract me at the moment. I liked this book slightly better than the first book.

The retreat event this time is a cooking/cookbook event. The "headliner" is Sugar Worthington, a cookbook author and reality TV star. I was glad to see that other cookbook authors were also included in a book signing. ( )

Bitter Words is the 2nd book in the Secrets of Castleton Manor Library series. The series is published by Annie's Fiction (part of Annie's Attic) as part of their fiction subscription service. Readers sign up and receive one book in the series each month for $14.99 plus tax, shipping, etc. Luckily, an awesome reader donated quite a few books in this series to my local library! :)

This series is written by various authors. This second book is authored by Jan Fields who has written several other books for Annie's. Castleton Manor Librarian Faith Newberry is settling into her new job and preparing for a retreat week filled with cookbook authors and enthusiasts. Guest of honor for the retreat is Sugar Worthington. Sugar has authored several cookbooks and stars in her own television show, Sweet & Sassy. Sugar might be sweet, but she has left a bitter taste in someone's mouth. The retreat barely gets started before someone starts trying to kill her. Faith, her faithful cat Watson, and the members of the Candle House Book Club are on the case once again. Who is trying to off the cookbook guru??

This book is a fun, light read. It's definitely a cozy mystery -- no spurting blood, no cursing, no sex. The book is appropriate for all ages. While the book has 205 pages, it's a bit padded with a blank page at the end of each chapter. The story is really only about 180 pages long. So, it's a nice short length for travel reading, or for carrying along to appointments, etc. Don't expect a heavy plot....this is a cozy, so it's mostly light with a bit of suspense here and there. I like Faith as a main character. She is intelligent and inquisitive. She's not afraid to investigate when things start going wrong. I like the background theme of a literary resort that is pet friendly. Guests of the retreats bring along their pets which adds a bit more of the cozy feel to these books.

The books are attractive and well-written. The cover art is colorful, engaging and cute. And each book has a cloth ribbon built in as a bookmark. The paper and binding are high quality. The set would be very attractive displayed on a bookshelf. I can see why the Annie's Fiction titles are popular with crafty readers. I just balk at the expense for books I am only going to read one time. So, I will be checking these out from my local library rather than purchasing them. Definitely a fun, engaging cozy series though! I'm glad someone was generous and donated their collection to the library! ( )