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Today’s topic is all about food, which brings me back to one of my very favorite genres: cozy mysteries.  So many of them are focused on food or mention food often.

Tita Rosie’s Kitchen Mysteries by Mia P. Manansala.  These are set in a Filipino family restaurant.  I’ve only read the first in the series, but I enjoyed the characters, the recipes, and the family togetherness.

Tea and Read Mysteries by Joy Avon.  While not fully food-related, this series is set in a tea room, with lots of fabulous teas and pastries.

French Bistro Mysteries by Daryl Wood Gerber.  Set in a French Bistro in Napa Valley, there is plenty of food and wine – and murder – in this series.

Deep Dish Mysteries by Mindy Quigley.  This series takes place in a mobster-themed pizza parlor, which made it an instant winner for me.   Add in Delilah’s sassy, fat cat, and I couldn’t ask for more.

Cheese Shop Mysteries by Korina Moss.  I stumbled into this series accidentally, but you had me at cheese.  I love all the interesting tidbits you learn about cheese and cheesemaking in this series, even if it did cause me to go out and buy a bunch of blue cheese at one point.

Pancake House Mysteries by Sarah Fox.  These take place in a pancake house in a small coastal town.  Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day, so I loved reading about all the various crepes.

Java Jive Mysteries by Caroline Fardig.  I loved this series mainly because it’s set in a coffee house in Nashville, but also due to the friendships Juliet has and forms throughout the series.

Spice Isle Bakery Mysteries by Olivia Matthews.  This was a new setting for me. Although it’s centered around a family run restaurant, I’d never read about a Caribbean family or food before.  All I can say is that it sounded delicious.

Pies Before Guys Mysteries by Misha Popp.  I love a bit of magic with my mysteries, so this was the perfect series for me.  I’m not a big pie baker, but this series wants me to pull out the pie pans and dive in.

Noodle Shop Mysteries by Vivien Chien.  While I haven’t started this series yet, it’s been on my TBR for a long time now. I’m a sucker for noodles of any kind so this series is a longtime draw for me.

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Whenever I’m in the mood for a long read, I love digging into family sagas and ideally following the same individuals and their descendants for decades if not even longer than that. With that being said, shorter periods of time are okay, too.

It doesn’t matter if the characters are fictional or based on real people. Either way there is nothing like getting to know a large extended family well and seeing what happens to their children and grandchildren.

Here are some fantastic family sagas which is my topic of choice for this week’s relationship freebie post.

1. One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez

2. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

3. The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan

4. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

5.Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel

6. A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley

7. Roots: The Saga of an American Family by Alex Haley

8. A Place for Us by Fatima Farheen Mirza

9. The Good Earth (House of Earth, #1) by Pearl S. Buck

10. Legends of the Fall by Jim Harrison

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I love spending time on and near bodies of water. It’s such a relaxing way not only to enjoy your free time but also, when possible, to travel around.

Here are ten books that include scenes with boats, ships, and/or other vessels you can use on lakes, rivers, and oceans.

1.Life of Pi by Yann Martel

2. The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway

3. Scuffy the Tugboat by Gertrude Crampton

4.The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame

5. Jamrach’s Menagerie by Carol Birch

6. The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman

7. The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea by Yukio Mishima

8. A High Wind in Jamaica by Richard Hughes

9. Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

10. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (Chronicles of Narnia, #3) by C.S. Lewis