Rane Aria

I was happily surprised how much I adore Lady Arianna's mystery, Sweet Revenge. With a mix of cozy and hard political mystery and a dash of romance, the book was a great mix that was hard to put down. Unlike other cozies and mysteries it's told in third person then the more popular first person. This gives you a better understanding of all the players in the game. From the main characters Arianna and Saybrook to the villains. I found the characters to very appealing almost at times putting the mystery to shame. Arianna is out to get revenge for the death of her father, by the hands of his so-called friends. Hard-shelled and at times hard-headed, Arianna at times is a hard character to truly like due to her actions and keeping clues back from the case. Arianna grew up knowing and seeing others make pawns of people playing with their lives, and trust very hard to her, but Arianna has the grace to know when she's been acting dumb and childish and when to finally let the barriers down. I loved Saybrook, a mix of gentleman and crafty fox. He holds to his own morals that are true and knows how to play the game without being an asshat but willing to get his hands dirty if need be. He tries to help Arianna out, and at times wants to lock her up and throw away the key just to keep her safe, he understands her way of thinking better then she does. He goes out to prove there are good people out to Arianna, and slowly breaks down the barriers that Arianna has around her, while having her drag him out of his own personal hell he put himself in. Everything between them is a believable with a slow build in their relationship. While the crime and mystery bring these two together, it's their love of cooking and chocolate that bind them even closer. Penrose added the cozy element at the beginning of each chapter with a delicious chocolate recipe and a little snippet from Saybrook's grandmother's diary. These sometimes have a small clue or a foreshadowing. The rich history had me reading more of the financial swindle that played a big part of the story, the author did an amazing job of interweaving everything so nicely that the book was a perfect balance. Plus had my sweet tooth crying to try one or two of the recipes! History, Mystery, Chocolate, and Romance Sweet Revenge had everything that made this a very sweet keeper.