Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen

Wow, if you liked Practical Magic, you will really enjoy this book as well. The Waverly family is well known in Bascom, North Carolina as being a little strange. The apples from the tree in their back yard will show you the most significant happening in your life. If it's good, the rest of life pales in comparison and if it's bad... you spend the rest of your life trying to avoid it. That's what happened to Claire and Sydney's mother. She ate an apple and spent the rest of her life running. It affected the way both Claire and Sydney grew up. Claire clung to the town while Sydney couldn't wait to get away. But now Sydney's back with her young daughter.

I would definitely compare this to Alice Hoffman, not least because of the mystical elements, Claire is a fantastic gardener and can cook emotions into the food she serves up in her catering business. Sydney's daughter knows where things belong. And Clair and Sydney's cousin Evanelle always knows when to give people things (including giving condoms to a married woman whose husband is known to be impotent). Great read, would love to read it again.

Four and a half stars

This book came out August 28, 2007

Waverly Family #1

Followed by First Frost

Borrowed as audiobook from Audible Plus catalog

Opinions are my own

A Werewolf's Guide to Seducing a Vampire by Sarah Hawley

While we've met Ben in previous books in the series, I don't think it's necessary to have read them before diving into this book. It will help keep track of secondary characters to have read the other books. 

Ben is fairly content in his life. He has good friends, a great family, and a business that's expanding. He could use someone to fall in love with though. And the wedding that opens this book makes him especially maudlin. Which is how he ends up buying a plastic rock that supposedly contains a vampire succubus. For 99 cents (plus shipping), why not?
Eleanora has been trapped in that plastic rock off and on for over 600 years. She knows a little bit about the real world since the witch who imprisoned her, Isobel, lets her out every once in awhile. Mostly to sic Eleanora on Isobel's enemies but there have been opportunities to learn more about the real world. Still, it's been nearly 60 years since she was last out. But her new owner, Ben, seems like a nice guy. Which is very confusing since this not what she's used to. She's certainly attracted to the man though and that is helping while she tries to navigate the contemporary world and free herself from the stone. 

Glimmer Falls #3

Three and a half stars

Follows A Demon's Guide to Wooing a Witch

ARC kindly provided by Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Joyful Recollections of Trauma by Paul Scheer

I really enjoy "How Did This Get Made" but wasn't sure I wanted to read about someone else's trauma. I did like that Paul Scheer read his own book. And it was spliced together with clips of Paul reading sections at various podcast shows. 

There was quite a bit of trauma but Paul tells the stories with a bit of humor (thus the title). But there are also a lot of stories just about Paul's life.

Four stars

This book came out May 21, 2024

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Slow Productivity by Cal Newport

Technology was touted as making our lives easier but that is often not what has happened. Instead, we are working harder than ever, often, without considering what it's doing to our mental health. there is an overwhelm of emails.
Newport brings together the works of many other authors who have written similar themes. There are stories of people who have worked both slowly and productively. He also presents ideas on how achieve productivity without burning yourself out.
This book was fine but it felt like a lot of filler- references to other similar books or the author's own writings.

Three stars

This book came out March 5, 2024

Borrowed as hard copy from library

Opinions are my own

The Revenge Club by Kathy Lette

This book is very much an updated First Wives' Club (the movie) if Stockard Channing had lived. There's even a reference to "Sisters are Doing It for Themselves." 

Four women are in their late fifties. Three of them think they are at their pinnacles. They are about to find out that that is the opposite of the truth. But they are willing to fight their way back up to the top. 

Three and a half stars

This book comes out August 6, 2024

ARC kindly provided by Aria & Aries and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Big Witch Energy Molly Harper with Amanda Ronconi (Narrator), Teddy Hamilton (Narrator)

The Wiltons can't leave Starfall Point or they will die. This has been true for generations. And it was true for Caroline Wilton's brother. Once he died, her family fell apart. Her father has been depressed since then, her mother took on most of the burden of the family bar (the Wilted Rose) and allowed her to take on the rest of it. Her other two brothers do the bare minimum. Or even less than. So it's mostly up to her. Thank goodness she has her two friends, Alice and Riley, her coven, to keep her sane. But could she also have someone from her past?

Benjamin Hoult has just moved back to town with his two teenagers. He's not expecting to see his old flame so quickly. So when he sees her, it's more awkward than he ever thought possible. It doesn't get better, especially when his daughter rides her moped into Caroline. But that opens up the door for his whole family to spend more time with her. And it's weird how they seem to fit. Which is good because the three witches will need the help of a new generation to take on a generations-old bad guy who is still trying to pull strings.

I really liked that both Mina and Josh were real characters; not just kids dropped into the story.

Four stars

This book came out

Starfall Point #2  

Follows Witches Get Stuff Done

Borrowed as audiobook from Audible Premium Plus

Opinions are my own

The Trouble with Hating You by Sajni Patel

This is one of those books where, if the characters had just TALKED to each other, there wouldn't be nearly so much drama. Patel navigates this terrain more deftly than most authors but it's still quite a bit of sturm and drang where there doesn't need to be. There are also some really HEAVY topics that I wasn't expecting based on the cover or the description. 

Liya Thakker has a reputation in the Indian community. It's (mostly) undeserved but her parents believed the source of the rumors and have treated her badly ever since. But that hasn't stopped her father from simultaneously treating her badly but also trying to get her married off. Liya most definitely does NOT want to be married and has expressed that but he lives in a mysoginistic world and he keeps trying to force it on her as well. So, when a man shows up to what was explicitly promised to be a family dinner, she bolts. 

Jay Shah doesn't want to get married either but he's willing to go along with what his mother wants if it will make her happy. He's not happy to be literally bowled over by Liya. When he sees her out and about and then at work, he makes his displeasure very known. Because what he knows that she doesn't is that her company is about to go under and he's their best chance of it being saved. 

Really more like three and a half stars but rounded up for Goodreads.

Three and a half stars

This book came out May 12, 2020

The Trouble with Hating You #1

Followed by First Love, Take Two

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own