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kariniwonderland's review
4.0
A dark murder mystery with a little bit of magic. Lots of twists and turns that keep you guessing till the end. You really feel for the Rowan siblings who each in different degrees have suffered because of their mothers cruelty and controlling behaviour. And who even after death continues to keep tormenting them. The book has some trigger warnings (child abuse, assault, suicide, murder and bullying), but i definitely recommend this one if you like a good murder mystery with family drama.
I got this arc in exchange for an honest review.
I got this arc in exchange for an honest review.
lifeinthebooklane's review
5.0
From the blurb I was expecting something a little more paranormal, a little more fantasy, for want of a better word. It turned out to be a much more contemporary, a murder mystery with minor magical elements, and I was surprisingly very OK with that. I really liked the author's voice and could connect with the main characters, so that their feelings were my feelings.
We experience the entire story through the eyes of Victoria (Vic) Rowan, a headstrong and impulsive character with a complex history. There are many truths to be uncovered in the town of Grimsby and at times it felt as though each time we discovered the answer to one question two more mysteries were spawned. The author had many different threads to weave into the story and whilst I loved the richness this provided some elements did feel a little underdeveloped.
In the story, Vic is joined by her siblings, Pip and Liam, as well as a couple of ex-boyfriends and several suspicious, and unwelcoming, town folk. The romantic element is very minor, a second chance from the protagonists teenage years. However, I felt there was a missed opportunity to convince the reader of the depth of Vic and Reed's feelings, particularly given the huge time interval that had elapsed since they had last seen one another. Whilst I could find myself believing in the emotions Victoria was experiencing it was more difficult to imagine that those feelings had survived fifteen years apart.
I very much enjoyed the mystery element. There wasn't a huge amount of foreshadowing, certainly no obvious pointers as to the culprit even with hindsight. We are aware of all the main players within the story, though some feature more heavily than others. All in all the story readily held my attention and left me wanting to read more of the authors work.
We experience the entire story through the eyes of Victoria (Vic) Rowan, a headstrong and impulsive character with a complex history. There are many truths to be uncovered in the town of Grimsby and at times it felt as though each time we discovered the answer to one question two more mysteries were spawned. The author had many different threads to weave into the story and whilst I loved the richness this provided some elements did feel a little underdeveloped.
In the story, Vic is joined by her siblings, Pip and Liam, as well as a couple of ex-boyfriends and several suspicious, and unwelcoming, town folk. The romantic element is very minor, a second chance from the protagonists teenage years. However, I felt there was a missed opportunity to convince the reader of the depth of Vic and Reed's feelings, particularly given the huge time interval that had elapsed since they had last seen one another. Whilst I could find myself believing in the emotions Victoria was experiencing it was more difficult to imagine that those feelings had survived fifteen years apart.
I very much enjoyed the mystery element. There wasn't a huge amount of foreshadowing, certainly no obvious pointers as to the culprit even with hindsight. We are aware of all the main players within the story, though some feature more heavily than others. All in all the story readily held my attention and left me wanting to read more of the authors work.
cathyatratedreads's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 stars
A Spell of Rowans is an interesting mystery given a twist with touches of magic, but it’s more a compelling story of family, of three adults who were abused while growing up but who find their way back to each other and to overcoming what they went through. I enjoyed it.
Read my full review, including a rating for content, at RatedReads.com:
https://ratedreads.com/a-spell-of-rowans-fiction-book-review-magic-magical-realism-mystery/
*I received an ARC in exchange for my honest review.
A Spell of Rowans is an interesting mystery given a twist with touches of magic, but it’s more a compelling story of family, of three adults who were abused while growing up but who find their way back to each other and to overcoming what they went through. I enjoyed it.
Read my full review, including a rating for content, at RatedReads.com:
https://ratedreads.com/a-spell-of-rowans-fiction-book-review-magic-magical-realism-mystery/
*I received an ARC in exchange for my honest review.
leasey23's review against another edition
4.0
Okay so this book is really good. It is NOT a fantasy book, it just has a few magical elements that help the story along - if you are expecting a magical and mystical story, you'd be wrong. What this is, is a family thriller and crime drama. It's incredibly well written, well paced and thoughtful. It tackles hard subjects, but only uses them to aid the story, not for shock value. It's the tale of a broken, messed up family struggling through a death, trying to heal and escape the past. But the past is catching up, and they have to embrace their talents and rekindle old relationships to save themselves.
This is a great book, but please for the love of god commission a new cover. The font is bad, and the cover doesn't do the story justice at all.
This is a great book, but please for the love of god commission a new cover. The font is bad, and the cover doesn't do the story justice at all.
othersideoftherain's review against another edition
2.0
I have to say I was incredibly excited for this book — a suspenseful thriller with magic, murder and romance? It’s all a bookseller could dream of! Unfortunately, I was not nearly as enchanted by this book as other readers. It fell enormously flat for me, particularly by the stale and vaguely eye-roll inducing conclusion.
The world-building was half-finished instead of being delightfully vague, leaving me with questions about how magic works in this world — or, just this town? — that drew me away from the plot.
Characters were one-note and frequently felt stilted as puppets. The setting should’ve been an important anchor — the childhood house, the strange little town all gentrified — but instead it felt like a middle school theatre backdrop.
All in all, the blending of genres is so much fun and I think the depiction of abusive parents (and the characters surviving such a household) is enormously important, but as a story, I just simply struggled to enjoy it.
The world-building was half-finished instead of being delightfully vague, leaving me with questions about how magic works in this world — or, just this town? — that drew me away from the plot.
Characters were one-note and frequently felt stilted as puppets. The setting should’ve been an important anchor — the childhood house, the strange little town all gentrified — but instead it felt like a middle school theatre backdrop.
All in all, the blending of genres is so much fun and I think the depiction of abusive parents (and the characters surviving such a household) is enormously important, but as a story, I just simply struggled to enjoy it.
merricats_cuppa_tea's review against another edition
5.0
~ I was given an ARC Copy of this Book from the Author, but all thoughts in this review are my own ~
A few years ago, I was very fortunate to get my hands on one of Byrd's Books [b:Never Date a Siren|52961933|Never Date a Siren (College Fae, #1)|Byrd Nash|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1571234057l/52961933._SX50_SY75_.jpg|73791617] and from that moment on I have been hooked to her writing. When it comes to A Spell of Rowans I am even more hooked than before. Starting off, yes this is somewhat different than her other books, but that doesn't make it any less as good if not even better than the others.
From the first page of this book I instantly was hooked by Vic and as the pages turned and I kept reading, the more I was falling under the spell of the Rowans and the mystery surrounding the family. The way the sibling relationships were shown and portrayed, to me, was spot on, because no family is perfect, I also saw an absolute ton of my Step-Mother In Law surrounding the Rowan matriarch. I think some of the darker themes in the book were handled very well and I was hung on every word. Do yourself a favor and get your hand on this book ASAP. (Bonus is you can get your hands on a physical copy directly from [a:Byrd Nash|19182817|Byrd Nash|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1627571610p2/19182817.jpg]'s website store, or in ebook format, and if your feeling lucky, and want a little magic, you can always try to enter my giveaway for a copy on my instagram, tiktok, or facebook page. Enjoy and Happy Reading!
A few years ago, I was very fortunate to get my hands on one of Byrd's Books [b:Never Date a Siren|52961933|Never Date a Siren (College Fae, #1)|Byrd Nash|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1571234057l/52961933._SX50_SY75_.jpg|73791617] and from that moment on I have been hooked to her writing. When it comes to A Spell of Rowans I am even more hooked than before. Starting off, yes this is somewhat different than her other books, but that doesn't make it any less as good if not even better than the others.
From the first page of this book I instantly was hooked by Vic and as the pages turned and I kept reading, the more I was falling under the spell of the Rowans and the mystery surrounding the family. The way the sibling relationships were shown and portrayed, to me, was spot on, because no family is perfect, I also saw an absolute ton of my Step-Mother In Law surrounding the Rowan matriarch. I think some of the darker themes in the book were handled very well and I was hung on every word. Do yourself a favor and get your hand on this book ASAP. (Bonus is you can get your hands on a physical copy directly from [a:Byrd Nash|19182817|Byrd Nash|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1627571610p2/19182817.jpg]'s website store, or in ebook format, and if your feeling lucky, and want a little magic, you can always try to enter my giveaway for a copy on my instagram, tiktok, or facebook page. Enjoy and Happy Reading!
waywordxwitch's review against another edition
4.0
~ ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion ~
This is the first book I've read by this author and I wasn't disappointed. Although more contemporary than I anticipated I must say I really enjoyed it. Deals with a range of aspects - and I've come to find that I like magical realism and this book displayed that well; abuse, trauma, family - healing and no over the top romance. If you find yourself like me, enjoying this type of magical realism genre I totally recommend.
This is the first book I've read by this author and I wasn't disappointed. Although more contemporary than I anticipated I must say I really enjoyed it. Deals with a range of aspects - and I've come to find that I like magical realism and this book displayed that well; abuse, trauma, family - healing and no over the top romance. If you find yourself like me, enjoying this type of magical realism genre I totally recommend.
piperkitty's review against another edition
5.0
This is a magical book from page one I could just tell it would be amazing.
Vic she's such a witty and abrasive woman I loved her manner and just how she is.
This is a magical world full of magic and human monster. Anyone can be a monster right. This is more of a dark fantasy novel and in all honesty right up my street.
Rachel Rowan, the mother was a controlling and abusive when it came to her children due to thier ability.
I will admit there a few things that could trigger people. A brilliant book in all.
Vic she's such a witty and abrasive woman I loved her manner and just how she is.
This is a magical world full of magic and human monster. Anyone can be a monster right. This is more of a dark fantasy novel and in all honesty right up my street.
Rachel Rowan, the mother was a controlling and abusive when it came to her children due to thier ability.
I will admit there a few things that could trigger people. A brilliant book in all.
vivienned's review
4.0
A wonderfully weird contemporary murder mystery with a touch of magic, and I was on edge for all of it! It took a couple of chapters before I got used to the writing style. Once I did, I couldn’t put this down and pretty much read it in one sitting. The story follows Victoria Rowan from the time that her mother dies until they solve the mystery of her death. Vic left home 15 years ago with the excuse to attend college and must come back to help her siblings – Phillipa & Liam – wrap up the loose ends that their mother left behind.
While Vic is back, she’s haunted by her memories and her brother Liam gets accused of another murder. The writing style kept the characters interesting and relatable even though there’s not a lot of immersion with the depth of the character’s own emotions. This is the only thing that was off to me and I’m surprisingly not mad about it. Vic is an empath who can pull and transfer other’s emotions, but the way the book is written, everything felt like a 3rd party POV, so I was kept interested but not so much so that their feelings were mine – if that makes sense. Romantic relationships are there for each sibling but it’s not the main focus of the story.
Overall, I enjoyed all the suspense and thought the pacing was perfect. As I read, I was uncovering each truth at the same time that Vic was. And as an artist myself, the way Vic’s profession was woven into the story was well done. We use a lot of emotions in our work, and I felt that the descriptions of re-making the brushes and her studio were realistic. I was so prepared for the healing and that they’re all able to realize that they deserve happiness.
This book comes with a few trigger warnings: murder, suicide, child abuse, and a sexual assault scene.
Thanks to NetGalley and Rook & Castle Press for a digital copy in return for an honest review. All thoughts are my own. #ASpellofRowans #NetGalley
While Vic is back, she’s haunted by her memories and her brother Liam gets accused of another murder. The writing style kept the characters interesting and relatable even though there’s not a lot of immersion with the depth of the character’s own emotions. This is the only thing that was off to me and I’m surprisingly not mad about it. Vic is an empath who can pull and transfer other’s emotions, but the way the book is written, everything felt like a 3rd party POV, so I was kept interested but not so much so that their feelings were mine – if that makes sense. Romantic relationships are there for each sibling but it’s not the main focus of the story.
Overall, I enjoyed all the suspense and thought the pacing was perfect. As I read, I was uncovering each truth at the same time that Vic was. And as an artist myself, the way Vic’s profession was woven into the story was well done. We use a lot of emotions in our work, and I felt that the descriptions of re-making the brushes and her studio were realistic. I was so prepared for the healing and that they’re all able to realize that they deserve happiness.
This book comes with a few trigger warnings: murder, suicide, child abuse, and a sexual assault scene.
Thanks to NetGalley and Rook & Castle Press for a digital copy in return for an honest review. All thoughts are my own. #ASpellofRowans #NetGalley
ari_reading_'s review
4.0
Thanks, Net Galley for the arc in exchange for an honest review.
This is really good, the characters felt so real and the magic system was written wonderfully.
They seemed so real that I felt their pain, cried for them, cried with them, felt for them.
I felt so much sympathy for Liam.
The cover is amazing, the plot, the magic system.
I reccomend
This is really good, the characters felt so real and the magic system was written wonderfully.
They seemed so real that I felt their pain, cried for them, cried with them, felt for them.
I felt so much sympathy for Liam.
The cover is amazing, the plot, the magic system.
I reccomend