The Lavender Thief

Essentially Sweet Romance #1

by Elysian Hunt

A laugh-out-loud cozy rom-com with a twist of mystery and a heart full of charm!
🏆 Foreword Indies Finalist

All Stephanie Pierce wanted was a quiet night with her essential oils... not a murder in the hallway and a detective who makes her forget how to breathe.

After a long day managing the chaos of her millionaire boss, Stephanie Pierce just wants peace, lavender, and maybe a little control over her perfectly ordered life. Instead, she finds the apartment caretaker dead, her essential oils mysteriously tampered with, and a irresistibly attractive detective determined to keep her safe.

Between her nosy neighbors, a thief lurking in the shadows, and her Goldendoodle with terrible timing, Stephanie’s world has officially lost its balance. And as she and Detective Mark Wellborn dig deeper into the case — and into each other’s hearts — she starts to wonder if she was the real target all along.

To survive (and maybe fall in love), Stephanie will have to loosen her grip on perfection, trust her instincts, and face a few things that don’t fit neatly on a to-do list — like passion, danger, and God’s sense of humor.

⭐ What You’ll Find

Amateur sleuth × hot detective 🔥

Cute dog chaos 🐾

Essential-oil intrigue 💜

Clean romance with sizzling chemistry 💋

A heartwarming HEA guaranteed! 💕

Spice 2 (sizzling kisses)
Thriller 4 (suspenseful but cozy)
Dog 10 (certified scene-stealer)

If you love romantic comedies with cozy mystery twists, quirky heroines, and clean-but-swoon-worthy love stories — grab your copy of The Lavender Thief today and fall for this delightfully funny, faith-tinted romantic adventure!

Genres: Romance, Audiobook, Rom Com, Suspense

179 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 5, 2024

About the author

Writing across multiple pen names, Elysian Hunt has sold more than 1.4 million books, won multiple awards, and been a best seller many times over. With over 35 novels in print, she enjoys many genres as long as they are fast-paced and engaging.

She never wanted to be a writer, but she couldn’t ever find that one book, the perfect one for her. So, she wrote it, and the rest is history. With fresh story ideas churning and a deep love for sharpening her writing skills, Elysian’s work gets better with time.

There are a few things you can count on with her rom com and cozy mystery books: sweet romance, happily ever after’s, and don’t forget the dogs! Fall in love with vivid characters, intriguing settings, and mysteries that will keep you turning the pages.

Reviews

[Ulrika Gustafsson · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story starts out as one of those books about dog owners who are crazy about their pets and find true love because of something to do with the dog.

The hunk enters the pages and the girl shivers.

Then all of a sudden it’s a commercial for essential oils - or rather some kind of pyramide game.

Next there’s a neck breaking hostage situation, jada jada… and we’re back to the pyramide game.

I finished the book, hoping for it to come together in the end, but no.

I can’t recommend it, unless you have a burning desire to start selling essential oils.


I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Sheryl Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

How about some lite, earthy reading? Here we have lite romance, lite murder mystery, lite dog lover and lite aromatherapist. In other words, nice, cozy reading.

I am not a fan of romance in books. If it's part of the description I move on. I'm not sure what compelled me to put this on my book shelf other than the fact that it has aromatherapy as a central theme. I have worked with essential oils for 30 or more years and it's not a common topic, so my curiosity must have been piqued.

It turned out to be a fun book to read. It wasn't too intense in any direction, but had enough substance to keep me engaged. The main character was a woman who was easy to identify with. She carried the story well, along with her best friend and her little dog. Right off the bat, though, she stumbles over a dead body and then the detective turns out to be pinup quality.

The attraction is mutual and he turns out to be a nice guy and a good cop. The only thing that pushed the plausibility factor was him saying he'd been a cop for years and he had made detective, but he's only 25 years old. Between academy, probation and earning the qualifications to become detective it's a bit hard to swallow. My son is a police officer and he's 26, so of course I compare the two and our fictional detective seems older than his stated years. But that's easy enough to overlook.

I like the cute romantic bits and that they didn't get too heavy or get carried too far. I absolutely hate play by play sex scenes.

There was just enough danger and just enough surprises to keep me interested and turning the pages. For a bit of lite reading to escape the day this is the perfect book.

[Jill Rey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stephanie’s life is upended one day as she walks up the stairs to her third-floor apartment and finds a dead body along her route. A kind man with no obvious signs of a homicide, “The Lavender Thief” is the story of a girl and her furry best friend who stumble into a life altering discovery. Coping with her discovery, Stephanie turns to her relaxing Essential Sense oils as the police investigation, and hot responding officer, threaten to further upend her life.

I’ve never read anything quite like author Elysian Hunt’s series opener as the power of oils and the loyalty of woman’s best friend lead the charge. Ever by her side, the furry and loveable Bugle provides Stephanie the perfect protector, unwavering sidekick, and romantic pull to keep this story moving full tilt - even if her heel has other ideas. Housing horrible bosses, hunky law enforcement, and female friendships, “The Lavender Thief” is a suspenseful romance that hits all the right notes.

The Essentially Sweet Romance series promises to showcase more of Hunt’s passion for oils, dive deeper into the loveable characters she’s crafted, and investigate more mysterious crimes along the way. Readers instantly fall for Stephanie, Bugle the Goldendoodle, and the handsome, blue-eyed Mark as this cozy crime mystery ensnares you in its folds.

[Sanvi Speaks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Have you ever had a day that made you want to curl up with coffee and essential oils? Me too, but all I get is a body in the stairwell, and a handsome detective who makes putting a full sentence together an impossibility.

Someone is after my beloved essential oils. Or are they after me? The real question is, will I survive long enough to make that detective fall for me?

I enjoyed this book very much. It has suspense, thrill, romance, murder, friendship and everything you need in a book. I thought it is going to be a detective romnace but it turned into a murder mystery and then it turned to a suspense thriller with stalker threat, later theiving bombing and what not. You would never expect what is coming for you in the book. I was amused at the turns it took. Also if you love essential oils or want to know about it, it has a lot for you to learn about them 🤩✨

This is a laugh out loud, cozy romance, with an amateur sleuth x hot detective, and a heartwarming HEA ending!

Thank you @booksirens for this eARC copy 🤗

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to this since it was offered for free from Chirp. I was looking for a light story, and this fit the bill. Overall, I would give this book a 3.5*, but have rounded up. Normally, I read mysteries or police procedurals, so it was more noticeable where this story was lacking. For example, when they referred to the Witness Protection program, WITSEC, they kept spelling it out, W-I-T-S-E-C. Due to the series' theme, there was a wealth of information about essential oils. Another reviewer referred to it as a Ponzi scheme that the characters were involved in, related to the essential oil business, and I found it to be a bit too much.

[Jessica Lee · Rating 1 out of 5]

The narrator is AWFUL. It’s not narration but just reading out loud. No different voices for different characters. No inflection, no feeling. Just bland ok I’m reading this in front of my class vibe. Bad.
The writer also had some bad moments of describing characters and using g fat phobic terms. She honestly said, my best friend is so beautiful she could be a model even though she’s over weight. Cringey and not ok. She references weight a few times for different characters. I will not read another book by her and absolutely never listen to another audiobook from the “narrator”.
Oh and like other reviewers have said - it’s so essential oil pitch heavy. Pass pass pass.

[Delphia Von Heeder · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Lavender Thief is Book 1 in the Essentially Sweet Romance by Eylsian Hunt. The Lavender Thief is a cozy mystery and the story is fantastic. I think the characters are interesting and well written. The story is excellent… there is an interesting mystery, excellent characters, and surprising twist and turns. I thought the romance between Stephanie and Mark is romantic and left me wanting more of these characters. Give this new author a try and you will not be disappointed. I received an arc for free and am leaving my review voluntarily.

[Rick Farlee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a book that I would typically read, but for a change of pace, and something different, I started this one…. To my surprise, it was really good, with many humorous moments. Plus, I now know way more about “essential oils “ than I care to ever admit… (Chapter 8, however, was way too long and the storyline sort of lost its charm… It would have been better to break it into 2-3 chapters and kept the plot going with more quirky and humorous scenes.)
Overall, it’s a pretty good story from a very talented author. RECOMMENDED

[Danette Fowlie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really great read for a nice Sunday afternoon. Such a wonderful sweet Romance with a little mystery thrown to keep it entertaining. Steph and Bugle are fun and easy to love and Mark is a great cop. Also learn about essential oils which is an added bonus.I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The premise sounded interesting but by the end, the story got lost in all the preaching about the benefits essential oils. While I occasionally use oils and part of the plot resolution pertains to them, there was way more lecture than plot when the essential oils were concerned. The characters were okay and the beginning of the book was quite interesting, but I just can’t get past the rest.

[Elizabeth Leleux · Rating 5 out of 5]

Essential oil and a thief mystery

This was a great book. I am also into essential oils, specifically essential oils from Young Living only. I loved the characters, the plot, and the sweet romance.

[Jacque · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good audio performance. Likable characters and an interesting storyline. While I liked the essential oil bent, there was a bit much of it sounding more like a sales pitch.
Overall, a pleasant read with a sweet HEA.

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

I listened to the audiobook, the narrator was not my favorite. This felt like one big ad for essential scents. All the essential oil talk took away from what might have been a good mystery. It felt like that was all the FMC was focused on.

[C.R. Fulton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pure fun!

I enjoyed this so much. Can't wait for the rest of the series! This book left me smiling and happy!

[stephanie huntington · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting and entertaining

[Linda]

DNF at 20% I felt like I was reading an essential oil infomercial, which was annoying.

[Susan Siorek · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story

Connected with the characters and the story line right away. Read the entire book in six hours….had to make lunch! Good read….will look for more by this author.

[Karen M · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love essential oils, so this was a fun read for me.

[Toni Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding

Suspense, drama and love. A great read. You won't see the end coming.

Exciting thrill ride. You won't be disappointed.

Elysian Hunt, is a great writer!

[Jen Fox · Rating 2 out of 5]

not impressed with the audio reader.
very little inflection in the reading

[Jennifer Hollandbeck · Rating 2 out of 5]

Free on chirp. Dumb plot.

[Catherine · Rating 2 out of 5]

Did the audio, not the best reader. Easy read. Predictable.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was short and sweet. So cute and just makes you smile. The references to essential oils was pretty funny and just adds to Stephanie's personality. An all around feel good romance.

[Mel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not terrible, just cheesy clean listening

[Rebecca Carlson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good Story

It was a good dirty with lots of action. But way too much with the essential oils. It got kind of old after a while.

[Teri · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun cozy mystery combined with a sweet romance. You’ll probably like it even more if you’re into essential oils. Note: I listened to the audiobook and wasn’t wowed by the narrator.

[Florence Witt]

Not a great narrator..