My Nails and My Book Review - Playing With Bonbon Fire by Dorothy St. James

**NetGalley**

Title: Playing With Bonbon Fire

Series: Southern Chocolate Shop Mystery #2

Author: Dorothy St. James

Goodreads Summary: Chocoholic Charity Penn must smoke out the killer to stop her newly inherited beachside chocolate shop from going up in flames in Dorothy St. James’ decadent follow-up to Asking for Truffle.Chocolate shop owner Charity Penn is finally settling into life in the quirky South Carolina seaside town of Camellia Beach cooking up chocolate treats. She’s even helped organize the town’s lively beach music festival which has brought rollicking crowds eager to dance the Carolina shag. That is, until one of the band’s lead singers is found dead beside a beach bonfire.

While also trying to balance the amorous attention of music star Bixby Lewis, in town for the festival, and her quest to perfect a new hot flavored bonbon, Charity dives into the investigation. Though it’s more spice than sugar when she discovers a threatening note, comes across decades of age-old secrets, and Bixby comes into the line of fire when a gas grill explodes on the deck of a beachfront house.

Now Charity must turn up the heat and catch the killer before her chance melts away in Playing With Bonbon Fire, the delightful second Chocolate Shop mystery served up just right for fans of JoAnna Carl and Joanne Fluke.

My Review: **I voluntarily read this ARC**
An enjoyable addition to the series. It was a nice improvement over Asking For Truffle. The mystery was well written, although I did feel that some of the drama was unnecessary. It was a surprising ending, and I am still amazed at how horrible some of the characters were revealed to be.

My Manicure: Is there anything quite like a bonfire on a warm summer night? Or, if you live up north, a frosty spring night? As you can see, I was inspired by bonfires. My test nail didn't work quite right. I planned on doing a plain red base, but it didn't really say "smoldering coals". So I improvised on the actual manicure, and luckily it worked. I started with a base of Zoya Renee. Then I put dots of Bundle Monster Teepee Tipping and Arctic Equinox on one nail at a time and smooshed/dabbled at it with a sponge until I liked the results. After I waited a couple of hours to make sure it was completely dry, I painted a thin coat of OPI Black Shatter over each nail. Yes, crackle polish is that finicky, but it is worth it for the beautiful smoldering coals effect that it gives.

~Kelly