In the Company of Witches (Evenfall Witches B&B #1), By Auralee Wallace ~ 4.5 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Coping With Loss and Grief, Cozy Mystery, Paranormal Fiction

Thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Books for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: October 5th, 2021

336 Pages

Synopsis: When a guest dies in the B&B she helps her aunts run, a young witch must rely on some good old-fashioned investigating to clear her aunt’s name in this magical and charming new cozy mystery.

For four hundred years, the Warren witches have used their magic to quietly help the citizens of the sleepy New England town of Evenfall thrive. There’s never been a problem they couldn’t handle. But then Constance Graves–a local known for being argumentative and demanding–dies while staying at the bed and breakfast Brynn Warren maintains with her aunts. At first, it seems like an accident…but it soon becomes clear that there’s something more sinister at work, and Aunt Nora is shaping up to be the prime suspect.

There’s nothing Brynn wants more than to prove Nora’s innocence, and it hurts her to know that even two years ago that might have been easier. Brynn, after all, is a witch of the dead–a witch who can commune with ghosts. Ghosts never remember much about their deaths, but Constance might remember something about her life that would help crack the case. But Brynn hasn’t used her powers since her husband died, and isn’t even sure she still can. Brynn will just have to hope that her aunts’ magic and her own investigative skills will lead her to answers–and maybe back to the gift she once thought herself ready to give up forever. (Goodreads)

Once upon a time I used to be addicted to cozy mysteries, and juggled too many series to count on my tbr and then for some reason I drifted away from them. When the publisher contacted me and offered me an advance copy of In the Company of Witches however, the cover and premise proved to be too tempting to resist.

Although I found the mystery a tad predictable there were a couple of things regarding the whodunnit that did catch me by surprise. The characters are marvelously written and have all the quirkiness and idiosyncrasies that I love to see in this genre. The relationship between Brynn and her aunts and uncle was particularly enjoyable, and the way the family tried to help Brynn deal with the tragic loss of her husband was heartwarming even if their efforts didn’t always go smoothly. The New England small town setting is charming and I was so enchanted with Faustus the cat and Dog, the crow, that I wanted more of them. The ending satisfyingly brought closure to not only the mystery of the murder of Constance, but also to Brynn’s grieving for late husband.

All in all, this was a lovely beginning to The Evenfall Witches B&B series, and I’ll definitely be sticking with it. Coming out the first week of October makes this perfect timing for Halloween, and I highly recommend this to cozy mystery fans who are looking for a quick, entertaining tale filled with likable characters.

Broken Heart Attack (Braxton Campus Mysteries #2), by James J. Cudney ~ 5.0 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Cozy Mystery, Humor

I’d like to thank the author for providing an ebook in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: Available Now

272 Pages

Synopsis: When an extra ticket becomes available to attend the dress rehearsal of  Braxton’s King Lear production, Kellan tags along with Nana D and her buddies, sisters-in-law Eustacia and Gwendolyn Paddington, to show support for the rest of the Paddington family. When one of them appears to have a heart attack in the middle of the second act, Nana D raises her suspicions and asks Kellan to investigate who killed her friend. Amidst family members suddenly in debt and a secret rendezvous between an unlikely pair, Kellan learns the Paddingtons may not be as clean-cut as everyone thinks. But did one of them commit murder for an inheritance? 

Kellan’s back in his second adventure since returning home to Pennsylvania. With his personal life in upheaval and his new boss, Myriam, making life difficult, will he be able to find a killer, or will he get caught up in his own version of stage fright?

Oh my goodness! I said in my review of the first book in this series, Broken Heart Attack, that Jay hit it out of the park. Well Academic Curveball is even better! My one critique of the previous book was that I thought it slowed down a bit in the middle. Well, that certainly didn’t happen here. I started reading this after supper and finished it an hour and a half later. It’s fun, amusing, full of strong and quirky personalities, and the mystery is twisty and unpredictable and will keep you guessing. It’s amazing how much Jay packs into a cozy that’s under 300 pages.

Broken Heart Attack is the fourth book I’ve read by Jay and I’ve loved all of them. It’s not often you have the privilege of seeing someone start out at the beginning of their career and watch them develop into a superstar. Jay is a brilliant author, one of the best I’ve come across in my many years of reading and I just cannot recommend his books highly enough!

Academic Curveball (Braxton Campus Mysteries), by James J. Cudney ~ 4.5 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Cozy Mystery

Thanks to the author for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: Available Now!

290 Pages

Synopsis: When Kellan Ayrwick, a thirty-two-year-old single father, is forced to return for his father’s retirement from Braxton College, he finds the dead body of a professor in Diamond Hall’s stairwell. Unfortunately, Kellan has a connection to the victim, and so do several members of his family. Could one of them be guilty of murder? Then he finds a second body after discovering mysterious donations to the college’s athletic program, and a criminal attempting to change student grades so the star baseball player isn’t expelled. 

Someone is playing games on campus, but non of the facts add up. With the help of his eccentric and trouble-making nana weeding through the clues, Kellan tries to stay out of the sheriff’s way. Fate has other plans. Kellan is close to discovering the killer’s identity just as someone he loves is put in grave danger of becoming victim number three. And if that’s not enough to wreck havoc on his family, everything comes crashing to a halt when his own past comes spiraling back to change his life forever.

In this debut novel in the Braxton Campus Mystery Series, readers discover a cozy, secluded Pennsylvania village full of quirky, sarcastic, and nosy residents. Among the daily workings of Braxton College and the charming Ayrwick family, Kellan weighs his investigative talents talents against an opportunity to achieve a much sought-after dream. When this first book ends, the drama is set for the next adventure in Kellan’s future…and it’s one you won’t want to miss.

This is the third book I’ve read by our fellow blogger, Jay Cudney, and once again he’s knocked it out of the park! (I know. Sorry for the dreadful pun). 

The story is told from the first person POV of Kellan, a widower with a sweet six-year-old daughter. I really liked him and found him thoroughly engaging. I loved his musings and interactions with the other characters, especially his eccentric irrepressible Nana D and the snarky sheriff upon who his charm continually fails. I did find the story a little slow in the middle, but it wasn’t enough to spoil my enjoyment. The mystery itself kept me guessing right up until the reveal and all the loose ends were satisfyingly tied up. The end of the book has a whopper of a cliffhanger and I can’t wait to jump into the next book, Broken Heart Attack, which is coming out (Thank God!) December 15th. Overall, I think Academic Curveball is an excellent beginning to this new cozy mystery series. It’s full of the memorable quirky characters that Jay is so wonderful at creating, and that, combined with a twisty mystery and cozy college town setting, makes for a delightful read.