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3.45 AVERAGE
3.45 AVERAGE
slow-paced
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
slow-paced
It is a truth universally acknowledged that I will forever say, "Yes, please!!!" to a new Molly Harper book. So reading the first book in a new Molly Harper series? A no-brainer.
Witches Get Stuff Done (love that title!) kicks off the author's new Starfall Point series. Starfall Point--a small town on a small island in Michigan--is a place where ghosts and witches exist, but vampires and werewolves do not (seems like blasphemy in a Molly Harper book, but she's with a new publisher so I guess it's a necessary evil?) It's a fish-out-of-water story with a touch of antagonists-to-lovers at the outset.
Our heroine, Riley Everett, is quite Jane Jameson-like in that she too is thrust into a world that she barely knew existed and is not at all prepared to navigate on her own. Unlike Jane, she's not a librarian, former or otherwise--but her hero, Edison is. (And for the record, *this* librarian does not condone what they eventually do together in his office.) We share her frustration at the beginning, not quite knowing what is going on or what is expected of her.
To an extent, some of this frustration continues throughout the rest of the book for the reader, or at least it did for this reader. Time behaves somewhat oddly, with jumps here and there that aren't always explained. We only see *some* of Riley's learning to master her powers and uncover the secrets of the house she's inherited, which is a bit of a letdown. Riley's relationships with Edison, Caroline, and Alice seem to develop almost out of nowhere, which was also not quite satisfying. And don't get me started on the villains of the piece...
I really do like the ghosts, though, and the idea of Shaddow House. I will absolutely be keeping an eye out for the next book, in the hopes that some of the sparkle of a typical Molly Harper book will be back in it. Maybe the author's own move to Michigan distracted her from her writing this time around? Fingers crossed!
Rating: 4 stars / B
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.
Witches Get Stuff Done (love that title!) kicks off the author's new Starfall Point series. Starfall Point--a small town on a small island in Michigan--is a place where ghosts and witches exist, but vampires and werewolves do not (seems like blasphemy in a Molly Harper book, but she's with a new publisher so I guess it's a necessary evil?) It's a fish-out-of-water story with a touch of antagonists-to-lovers at the outset.
Our heroine, Riley Everett, is quite Jane Jameson-like in that she too is thrust into a world that she barely knew existed and is not at all prepared to navigate on her own. Unlike Jane, she's not a librarian, former or otherwise--but her hero, Edison is. (And for the record, *this* librarian does not condone what they eventually do together in his office.) We share her frustration at the beginning, not quite knowing what is going on or what is expected of her.
To an extent, some of this frustration continues throughout the rest of the book for the reader, or at least it did for this reader. Time behaves somewhat oddly, with jumps here and there that aren't always explained. We only see *some* of Riley's learning to master her powers and uncover the secrets of the house she's inherited, which is a bit of a letdown. Riley's relationships with Edison, Caroline, and Alice seem to develop almost out of nowhere, which was also not quite satisfying. And don't get me started on the villains of the piece...
I really do like the ghosts, though, and the idea of Shaddow House. I will absolutely be keeping an eye out for the next book, in the hopes that some of the sparkle of a typical Molly Harper book will be back in it. Maybe the author's own move to Michigan distracted her from her writing this time around? Fingers crossed!
Rating: 4 stars / B
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It’s a nice cozy read. A bit too fast paced in certain areas to really appreciate the story and romance between the FMC and the love interest.
I love a good romance but this book is a sisterhood meets witch type thing. The romance is such a c plot. It's amazing.
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
When Riley arrives in Starfall Point, the magic inside her gets activated. She inherits her late aunt's Victorian haunted house, along with a live-in ghost butler and journals, to guide her through this new chapter in her life.
It took me a while to get into this one, but omg I loved the haunted house so much!! It was easily my favourite part about this book. I know it's blasphemy coming from a romance reader, but this book truly did not need romance. In fact, it would have been 10 times better without the romance. I really did not care about Edison, the librarian.
I liked that Riley has her own coven, although it felt like Alice and Caroline quickly accepted the existence of ghosts. But I just went along with it for fun. I loved the chapters dedicated to solving ghosts' problems and deciphering Riley's aunt's journals and letters. The overarching plot doesn't get resolved. I assume Alice and Caroline will each get their own story and we will further explore the plotline.
Overall, this book has a great concept, but the execution could have been better. There were some odd hiccups here and there, the pacing was a bit odd, and the romance was superfluous. But the paranormal aspect was a lot of fun and I just love ghostly stories. This book is a mixed bag, but I had fun reading it.
When Riley arrives in Starfall Point, the magic inside her gets activated. She inherits her late aunt's Victorian haunted house, along with a live-in ghost butler and journals, to guide her through this new chapter in her life.
It took me a while to get into this one, but omg I loved the haunted house so much!! It was easily my favourite part about this book. I know it's blasphemy coming from a romance reader, but this book truly did not need romance. In fact, it would have been 10 times better without the romance. I really did not care about Edison, the librarian.
I liked that Riley has her own coven, although it felt like Alice and Caroline quickly accepted the existence of ghosts. But I just went along with it for fun. I loved the chapters dedicated to solving ghosts' problems and deciphering Riley's aunt's journals and letters. The overarching plot doesn't get resolved. I assume Alice and Caroline will each get their own story and we will further explore the plotline.
Overall, this book has a great concept, but the execution could have been better. There were some odd hiccups here and there, the pacing was a bit odd, and the romance was superfluous. But the paranormal aspect was a lot of fun and I just love ghostly stories. This book is a mixed bag, but I had fun reading it.
medium-paced
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
I almost DNF'd this book, but the bones of the story kept me going. I'd like to learn more about Starfall Island and Riley and her magic. It was mostly hope that it would get better which pushed me through, and the ending was worth it.
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Setting - Harper created an interesting setting for her book and I want to know more. I wish she'd spent a little more time world building.
Ending - The ending was fun and I'll forgive a lot of the flaws from the rest of the book because I enjoyed it.
⭐️⭐️
Characters: Riley feels like a purely reactionary character. Almost everything she does is in reaction to someone else's actions. What does Riley actually want from her life? Edison felt underdeveloped for a POV character.
Plot: The pacing of this book really bugged me. The plot had such interesting bones, but it felt like the relationship building part of Riley and Edison's relationship was completely skipped over (to the point that I went back to see if I had actually skipped something). More on this behind the spoiler tag.
⭐️
Writing: I counted at least four times a character thought or said something to the effect of "that's a sentence I never would have thought I'd say/hear/think". This book could have used a much stronger edit.
OMG Why did Harper introduce the whole dad/ half sibling sub plot at all? What was the point?! She could have just as easily been an only child and it wouldn't have impacted the plot at all. I thought this was going somewhere when she mentioned the pain that Riley felt hearing how easily her dad had welcomed his other kids back into his life, and then... nothing. Also, what's the backstory there? Did Riley's dad leave his first wife for Ellen? Wouldn't Ellen have different feelings about him if that had happened? This just felt like 1/3 of an interesting plot line that really didn't serve the larger story at all. A better editor would have done something with this (either pulled it, or asked. Harper to do more with it).
The pacing bugged me to the point that I almost abandoned this book. 1. I don't understand why everyone thought Edison behaved so abominably towards Riley at first, and 2, if that was the case, why did she forgive him so easily? Where's the character development for both of them to support that? I generally don't mind instalove, but this one bugged me.
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Setting - Harper created an interesting setting for her book and I want to know more. I wish she'd spent a little more time world building.
Ending - The ending was fun and I'll forgive a lot of the flaws from the rest of the book because I enjoyed it.
⭐️⭐️
Characters: Riley feels like a purely reactionary character. Almost everything she does is in reaction to someone else's actions. What does Riley actually want from her life? Edison felt underdeveloped for a POV character.
Plot: The pacing of this book really bugged me. The plot had such interesting bones, but it felt like the relationship building part of Riley and Edison's relationship was completely skipped over (to the point that I went back to see if I had actually skipped something). More on this behind the spoiler tag.
⭐️
Writing: I counted at least four times a character thought or said something to the effect of "that's a sentence I never would have thought I'd say/hear/think". This book could have used a much stronger edit.
The pacing bugged me to the point that I almost abandoned this book. 1. I don't understand why everyone thought Edison behaved so abominably towards Riley at first, and 2, if that was the case, why did she forgive him so easily? Where's the character development for both of them to support that? I generally don't mind instalove, but this one bugged me.