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3.39 AVERAGE
3.39 AVERAGE
This books was not what i expected at all. The character development was well written. I would have like it to be more of ther paranormal persuasion but it jusr felt like a normal mystery. Not that the book was bad, the story flowed nicely.
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
What I thought would be a cute "supernatural" cozy turned out to be a disappointment. There were a few cute descriptions of the main character's hometown and the fall season in which the book takes place. There was a lot of potential for a good tale, but it fell flat. Too many scenes were spent trying to get across the same point, too little to the actual murder mystery, and too many occurrences of the word "susurrant". There were unclear relationships between characters that left me questioning the author's intent throughout the whole book. I might pick up the next in the series just to see if it improves, but this first entry in the series left me annoyed.
An interesting cast of characters! It took me a while to get used to the main character, who could be very opinionated sometimes, but I enjoyed the mystery.
I loved this book. As a person who converted from Christianity to Pagan Witchcraft I can definitely tell you that the inner monologue of castigating yourself is something you have to work through. It was a fun read, and the killer wasn't completely obvious until near the end. Can't wait to continue the rest of the series.
This seemed disjointed. I couldn't sympathize with the characters and a lot seemed over-explained (yes! I get it, Indiana is a bible thumping, hick, small town) and the other stuff was under-explained (after one meeting Maggie insta-trusted Felicity was her new-bestie calling her by a nickname).
While I found the writing sub-par, it felt like a guilty pleasure. Not in a gooey caramel brownie way but more of a "I know I shouldn't be eating this gross, greasy, fast food. I hope no one sees me" kind of way.
If second book isn't better, I'm moving on.
While I found the writing sub-par, it felt like a guilty pleasure. Not in a gooey caramel brownie way but more of a "I know I shouldn't be eating this gross, greasy, fast food. I hope no one sees me" kind of way.
If second book isn't better, I'm moving on.
Book 1 in a Bewitching Mystery series.
Maggie O'Neill is going through a bit of a rut. She hates her job (collections) and she hates her boss (The Toad) and she is tired of her mother ragging on her and comparing her to her perfect little sister. While driving to work one day she sidetracks and takes the long way just to prolong her freedom from her icky job. She parks her VW and heads down to the shoppes on old River Street. As she is strolling along looking in the windows of antique shoppes and sighing the sky opens up and there is a downpour. Feeling like a drowned rat she quickly ducks into a doorway with an awning to try and stay dry. She leans back against the door of the shop to avoid as much rain as possible and suddenly the door gives and she finds herself sitting on her butt on a wood floor in a dark shop. And that is how she meets Felicity Dow - the owner of Enchantments: Antiques and Fine Gifts.
Needless to say this is a turning point for our heroine Maggie. Felicity - a practicing Wiccan - offers Maggie a job and after being fired for coming into work late - Maggie accepts. She's not sure what to think of Felicity's proclamation of being a witch - but she likes her and decides to trust her instincts.
On her first day working at the shop Felicity is called away by her sister and Maggie is on her own in the shop. Hours pass and Maggie begins to worry. When officer Tom Fielding shows up (and it sounds like he is the hotness - even if he is ice cold) with the keys and a warning about Felicity being questioned in the murder of her sister - Maggie must decide if her new friend and boss could be guilty of such a crime - and what can she do about it?
I thought this was pretty good for a Book 1 in a series. It did get a little preachy at times though. The Wiccans are good and the non-wiccans are closed minded sort of thing. Also I thought the denial Maggie was in for most of the book was kind of stupid. For example - She describes the meeting of her good friend Step as "our eyes met and I saw fireworks - in my head, at least." and then she crashed her bike into a tree and they had been friends ever since. She has an imaginary friend growing up who is an older British woman who told her lots of stories. And yet she is freaked out by a Wiccan and the idea of anything paranormal? Either she is in denial or she is so NOT introspective about herself. When Felicity asks her is she believs in ghosts she says she doesn't know. Really? You are almost 30 and you don't know if you believe in ghosts or not? Hu. OK. I'll play along.
I am hoping that most of what irritated me in this book was just the crap that is your standard mystery set up. It irritates me to be conscious of the set up - but still - I read the book in one day so it couldn't have bothered me too much. Oh - and I knew who did it about half way through the book. Here is hoping the next one can by-pass the setting up the characters stuff and be a little more focused on plot development.
(I know it doesn't sound like it but I did enjoy the book! :)
Maggie O'Neill is going through a bit of a rut. She hates her job (collections) and she hates her boss (The Toad) and she is tired of her mother ragging on her and comparing her to her perfect little sister. While driving to work one day she sidetracks and takes the long way just to prolong her freedom from her icky job. She parks her VW and heads down to the shoppes on old River Street. As she is strolling along looking in the windows of antique shoppes and sighing the sky opens up and there is a downpour. Feeling like a drowned rat she quickly ducks into a doorway with an awning to try and stay dry. She leans back against the door of the shop to avoid as much rain as possible and suddenly the door gives and she finds herself sitting on her butt on a wood floor in a dark shop. And that is how she meets Felicity Dow - the owner of Enchantments: Antiques and Fine Gifts.
Needless to say this is a turning point for our heroine Maggie. Felicity - a practicing Wiccan - offers Maggie a job and after being fired for coming into work late - Maggie accepts. She's not sure what to think of Felicity's proclamation of being a witch - but she likes her and decides to trust her instincts.
On her first day working at the shop Felicity is called away by her sister and Maggie is on her own in the shop. Hours pass and Maggie begins to worry. When officer Tom Fielding shows up (and it sounds like he is the hotness - even if he is ice cold) with the keys and a warning about Felicity being questioned in the murder of her sister - Maggie must decide if her new friend and boss could be guilty of such a crime - and what can she do about it?
I thought this was pretty good for a Book 1 in a series. It did get a little preachy at times though. The Wiccans are good and the non-wiccans are closed minded sort of thing. Also I thought the denial Maggie was in for most of the book was kind of stupid. For example - She describes the meeting of her good friend Step as "our eyes met and I saw fireworks - in my head, at least." and then she crashed her bike into a tree and they had been friends ever since. She has an imaginary friend growing up who is an older British woman who told her lots of stories. And yet she is freaked out by a Wiccan and the idea of anything paranormal? Either she is in denial or she is so NOT introspective about herself. When Felicity asks her is she believs in ghosts she says she doesn't know. Really? You are almost 30 and you don't know if you believe in ghosts or not? Hu. OK. I'll play along.
I am hoping that most of what irritated me in this book was just the crap that is your standard mystery set up. It irritates me to be conscious of the set up - but still - I read the book in one day so it couldn't have bothered me too much. Oh - and I knew who did it about half way through the book. Here is hoping the next one can by-pass the setting up the characters stuff and be a little more focused on plot development.
(I know it doesn't sound like it but I did enjoy the book! :)