Review: A Fatal Autumnal Stew by Dahlia Donovan

A Fatal Autumnal Stew (The Skeleton Crew #2)
by Dahlia Donovan

My Rating: 4 stars

Genre: Paranormal Cozy Mystery
Age Category: Adult
Type of romance: gf/f

Blurb:
Welcome back to the Skeleton Crew. Keep your knitting needles sharp and have a strong brew in hand for their next adventure.

Life for gender-fluid, autistic vampire Hyde Snodgrass has never been better. Her cosy village bookshop is thriving as is their new relationship with witch and taco bus owner, Teresa Vega. Autumn is in full magical tilt in their corner of the Scottish Highlands.

Everything is beautifully perfect right up until a tainted meal ends with Hyde sick and someone dead.

The police immediately suspect the restaurant owners. Hyde and Teresa find themselves drawn into yet another investigation, trying to save their friends from arrest and themselves from a murderer. The situation becomes even more complex when family feuds become tangled in the midst.

Can they find the killer?

Or will everything Hyde loves go up in flames?

My Review

I received a copy through Gay Romance Reviews and voluntarily reviewed it.

I really liked the first book in this series and was so excited to see this one pop up on GRR, I requested, it, got approved and started it as soon as I finished my previous read. I really liked this one, the characters are great and I enjoyed reading about them and seeing the mystery develop.

I really like how this author writes autistic characters. Main character Hyde is a genderfluid autistic vampire and I really like reading about them. They have the space to be themselves as well as a whole town of supportive characters around them. It’s just wonderful to read about. They’re a very relatable character and I like seeing how their autistic traits pop up throughout the story.

The romance is great too. I like reading about Hyde and Teresa now that they are together. They are a great couple. There is this sweet scene were they’re reading research books together in a cozy setting that was just so sweet. I also appreciated how Hyde tried to understand Teresa’s emotions in a situation were they didn’t feel the same. They are just so cute together and I like how much they care about the other. Teresa’s anxiety is well written too and relatable.

The mystery isn’t the strongest part of this series, but I still enjoy it and think it ads to the story. There aren’t a bunch of suspects as in most cozies, instead it’s more focused on what happened and figuring out who of the few suspects are the murderer. I wasn’t too surprised when I found out who the murderer is, but there was an interesting twist along the way. There is some magic involved as well, which I liked. I like reading about the various paranormal species.

To summarize: I really enjoyed the first book and book 2 is just as good. I really like reading about Hyde, a genderfluid autistic vampire. They are so relatable and I enjoy reading about them. I like how this author writes autistic characters. The romance is really sweet and I enjoyed reading more about Hyde and Teresa. Teresa’s anxiety is well written too. The mystery isn’t the strongest part, but I still enjoy seeing it all play out. The magic and paranormal creatures are a nice addition to the series. I already look forward to the next book!

Links:
– Goodreads
– Bookbub
– Amazon
– B&N
– Kobo

You can also read my review on Goodreads and Bookbub.