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A Fresh Brew: A Dragon Cozy Mystery (Hill Country Mysteries Book 1) Kindle Edition
Have you ever experienced a moment of pure perfection?
You know the one—where you find yourself thinking, life couldn't get better than this.
And then the next moment, BAM . . .
The ultimate tragedy shakes you to your core.
That’s the exact moment where my life changed.
Within the span of a few days, I found myself the owner of a cafe, first time cat wrangler, and trying to solve the murder of my great Aunt Tona!
The town may think there’s no hope for me, but with enough coffee I can accomplish anything!
A Fresh Brew is the first book in the Hill Country Mysteries. A complete cozy mystery series set in the heart of Texas. Each novel is a clean, snarky mystery, with no romance, that doesn't always involve death.
★★★★★ Fast and Snarky "Cute fast read. Good characters and love Azure!!!"
★★★★★ Excellent Read! "This cozy mystery was easy to get lost in. I loved the characters and the dragons."
★★★★★ LOVED this book! "You quickly fall in love with the characters as they emerge and grow in the story! A++"
- LanguageEnglish
- Publication dateFebruary 3, 2021
- File size1.2 MB
Shop this series
See full series- Kindle Price:$14.97By placing your order, you're purchasing a license to the content and you agree to the Kindle Store Terms of Use.
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This option includes 3 books.
This option includes 5 books.
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From the Publisher

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A Fresh Brew: A Dragon Cozy Mystery (Hill Country Mysteries Book 1)
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Murder in LBJ Cove: A Midlife P.I. Cozy Mystery (Firedrake Investigations Boo...
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Homicides and Hedgehogs: an Animal Cozy Mystery (Dusty Paws Mysteries Book 1)
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Azure and the Case of the Flocked Yards: A Dragon Cozy Mystery (Azure's Hill ...
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Customer Reviews |
4.3 out of 5 stars 549
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4.4 out of 5 stars 240
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4.1 out of 5 stars 182
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5.0 out of 5 stars 6
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Price | $4.99$4.99 | $4.99$4.99 | $2.99$2.99 | $2.99$2.99 |
Character Crossover | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Romance | no data | ✓ | ✓ | no data |
Clean Read | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Animals | ✓ | no data | ✓ | ✓ |
Editorial Reviews
Review
"Cute fast read. Good characters and love Azure!!!Quick one night before bed entertaining read. Looking forward to the next in the series"
★★★★★ Such a Great Start!
"An adorable and amusing beginning to a series. Great characters who I feel like I know already. I love Azure and his sass! I can usually figure out the "whodunit" before it's revealed, but this time I had a little trouble and that was great. I love being surprised. Can't wait to read the next book!"
★★★★★ Magical read!
"I highly recommend this fantastic book, and the series in which it begins, to all readers who love dragons and mysteries. I am buying the 2nd book now to see what happens next. Enjoy!"
Product details
- ASIN : B08VWXN7T8
- Publisher : Aconite Cafe
- Accessibility : Learn more
- Publication date : February 3, 2021
- Edition : 3rd
- Language : English
- File size : 1.2 MB
- Simultaneous device usage : Unlimited
- Screen Reader : Supported
- Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
- X-Ray : Not Enabled
- Word Wise : Enabled
- Print length : 322 pages
- Page Flip : Enabled
- Book 1 of 5 : Hill Country Mysteries
- Best Sellers Rank: #377,329 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #2,450 in Witch & Wizard Mysteries
- #5,982 in Cozy Animal Mystery
- #8,083 in Cozy Animal Mysteries
- Customer Reviews:
About the author

Verena DeLuca is the author of the International Bestselling book A Fresh Brew: A Dragon Cozy Mystery.
Get your FREE copy of Coffee, Dragons & Poison (Hailey's Poison of the Week secret menu)
https://dl.bookfunnel.com/hh9yeemifj
Verena DeLuca is a pen name for the life partner duo Sabetha Danes, and N.A.K. Baldron.
When we’re not homeschooling our artistic daughter, we spend our afternoons arguing the finer details of books. Failing that, we can be found walking the many nature trails around our home.
Marble Falls is an actual tourist destination an hour west of Austin, Texas, that we’re proud to call home. While Aconite Cafe isn’t an actual coffee shop, it is the name of our publishing company.
We love coffee nearly as much as Hailey, though we’ve been known to break the cardinal rule and drink tea. (Azure is based on our cat James, who’s just as snarky.)
Customer reviews
Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.
To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.
Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonCustomers say
Customers thoroughly enjoy this cozy mystery book, praising its well-laid-out plot with multiple suspects throughout. The book features wonderful characters, with one customer particularly appreciating the banter between Hailey and Azura. Customers find the book funny and light-hearted, with one noting the clever dragon character, and another highlighting the clean paranormal elements.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
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Customers thoroughly enjoy reading this book, finding it entertainingly told and part of a fabulous fun series, with several mentioning they loved the first two books in the series.
"...Especially for someone whose middle name is sarcasm! A nice read, fun, light, easy to get lost in this world...." Read more
"I enjoyed this book. The characters are quirky, fun and in a lot of ways surprising...." Read more
"Fun, light hearted mystery with lots of surprises. The illustration on the cover is perfect portrayal of the little dragon." Read more
"This was a fun read. I like the characters and the dragon is very clever. A good mystery with lots of clues to ponder." Read more
Customers enjoy the storyline of the book, describing it as an intriguing tale with a well-laid-out plot and several suspects throughout.
"...A nice read, fun, light, easy to get lost in this world. Looking forward to following the future exploits with just a touch of whimsy." Read more
"...The plot is straight forward, and the premise is finding out who killed the beloved aunt. I most definitely recommend this book!" Read more
"Fun, light hearted mystery with lots of surprises. The illustration on the cover is perfect portrayal of the little dragon." Read more
"...I like the characters and the dragon is very clever. A good mystery with lots of clues to ponder." Read more
Customers enjoy the characters in the book, with one specifically appreciating the banter between them.
"I enjoyed meeting the characters in this book. The level of snark is entertaining. Especially for someone whose middle name is sarcasm!..." Read more
"I enjoyed this book. The characters are quirky, fun and in a lot of ways surprising...." Read more
"This was a fun read. I like the characters and the dragon is very clever. A good mystery with lots of clues to ponder." Read more
"This was an enjoyable read. There are several interesting characters. A cat that's really a dragon is unique to any of the books I've read...." Read more
Customers appreciate the pacing of the book, finding it adorable and whimsical, with one customer particularly enjoying the coffee house setting and another noting the clever dragon character.
"...The illustration on the cover is perfect portrayal of the little dragon." Read more
"This was a fun read. I like the characters and the dragon is very clever. A good mystery with lots of clues to ponder." Read more
"...The cat is not a cat but a dragon. Cute but not a cat. The author loves coffee a lot. I like good coffee and I like tea...." Read more
"...Now we have to read the whole series! So good! It’s witty, fun, and full of whimsy...." Read more
Customers enjoy the humor in the book, finding it witty and entertaining, with one customer specifically noting the enjoyable banter between characters Hailey and Azure.
"I enjoyed meeting the characters in this book. The level of snark is entertaining. Especially for someone whose middle name is sarcasm!..." Read more
"...There are some very funny moments" Read more
"...But, the characters, while likable with witty dialogue, consider tea to be a curse word...." Read more
"I enjoyed the story, and the snarky dialogue. But there were quite a few editing issue that made it difficult at times to follow...." Read more
Customers appreciate the lightness of the book.
"...A nice read, fun, light, easy to get lost in this world. Looking forward to following the future exploits with just a touch of whimsy." Read more
"...Oh, my! This is a very light, quickly moving, mystery and I look forward to the next book...." Read more
"Fun and light...." Read more
Top reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on March 21, 2024I enjoyed meeting the characters in this book. The level of snark is entertaining. Especially for someone whose middle name is sarcasm!
A nice read, fun, light, easy to get lost in this world. Looking forward to following the future exploits with just a touch of whimsy.
- Reviewed in the United States on August 23, 2020when i say the plot is a little (or a lot) thin - i mean that as a huge compliment. if you are reading this book, you are not reading it because you are desperate to unravel the mystery of who killed the paramour of a man we never even meet on the page. you are reading it because you want to spend time with veronica and stoker, to go on this adventure with them and revel in their charming and somewhat strange domestic routines, to suffer the slow burn of their exquisitely well-portrayed partnership and to understand where the revelations of "a curious beginning" will take veronica and where the revelations of "a perilous undertaking" will take stoker, and how they will answer those questions of character together.
ms. raybourn has done what i so often wish writers would do - and that is put in just enough plot to give the story an engine and a purpose and not a jot more. i mean this, again, as an accolade, because i have lost count of how many times i have read a book centered around a great relationship (platonic or otherwise) and suffered through the feeling of, "oh, man, i wish we could just hang out with these people and not have to care whodunnit to get to the 2 pages of character interaction that will make it worthwhile". for those who prefer a more balanced approach, this book will not exactly disappoint but it definitely won't thrill.
- Reviewed in the United States on March 9, 2024I enjoyed this book. The characters are quirky, fun and in a lot of ways surprising. The plot is straight forward, and the premise is finding out who killed the beloved aunt. I most definitely recommend this book!
- Reviewed in the United States on October 15, 2021Fun, light hearted mystery with lots of surprises. The illustration on the cover is perfect portrayal of the little dragon.
- Reviewed in the United States on March 1, 2023This was a fun read. I like the characters and the dragon is very clever. A good mystery with lots of clues to ponder.
- Reviewed in the United States on June 29, 2022No spoilers, but cats play an important role. I can't express how thrilling and lovely this book is. I did cry at the emotions displayed because i recently lost my mom and could feel the loss of the characters. Tona sounds as nice as my mom and it was hard not to compare them.
Great read and i would recommend to both mystery and cat lovers. May make you see your furball in a new light.
- Reviewed in the United States on August 6, 2022This was an enjoyable read. There are several interesting characters. A cat that's really a dragon is unique to any of the books I've read. The plot is well laid out with several suspects.
- Reviewed in the United States on May 17, 2023The story line is excellent, with a bug was surprise at the end. There are some very funny moments
Top reviews from other countries
- cassieReviewed in Germany on July 14, 2020
2.0 out of 5 stars boring
too much use of cutsy phrases. overuse of "tea" for about anything. senseless story progress. i never encountered a main character that reacts so passive to finding out about paranormal things. i thought a cat-dragon mustbe a sure winner. i was wrong.
- Amazon CustomerReviewed in Australia on October 1, 2021
3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting premise
I liked the dragon guardian aspect, but there wasn't much depth to the story and tea was used as a swearword to excess.
- Zachary SpencerReviewed in Canada on July 19, 2020
5.0 out of 5 stars A well written cozy mystery
Honestly I'd say this has a Veronica Mars feel to it, but of course with a touch of magic. I'm looking forward to more adventures of Hailey and the Aconite Cafe.
- DallassReviewed in Australia on February 9, 2021
3.0 out of 5 stars A quirky little cosy.
Interesting premise with the added twist of small dragons. I liked this well enough, but the author didn’t really give the characters much depth (not unexpected in a shorter book) and I found my attention wandering at times.
3 stars ⭐️
- Sue-Dee NumbReviewed in the United Kingdom on September 21, 2020
4.0 out of 5 stars Well written fresh concept
We first meet Hailey at her Great Aunt Tona's funeral. Or as Hailey thought of her, her chosen mother (not having been close to her own parents since high school it had been Tona who had seen Hailey through college, supporting her where her scholarships didn't, and it was with Tona Hailey came back to Marble Falls and Aconite Cafe where you can buy the best cup of coffee you'll ever taste (just don't ask for tea, it's literally a bad word inn the Aconite!)
After the funeral Hailey discovers there was a lot more to her Aunt than small town cafe owner! I'm not spilling it for you but a the blurb and title indicates it involves dragons!.
With a flee in her ear (or dragon) she must discover who murdered her Aunt even if the local police force don't even suspect foul play in the first place.
This is a good interesting read, it's not without it's flaws, Hailey's acceptance and lack of questions of her new really being probably my main issue that and the liberal use of tea as a cuss word a couple of times would have been fine and conveyed the point but it became over kill.
It's not a heavy plot and it's a very easy read probably even younger readers will enjoy.
However as i said it's an interesting concept and I will read more books in the series.