Blue Christmas Bones by Carolyn Haines

Sarah Booth Delaney and her friends are in Tupelo. While there, a fabulous replica of Elvis's belt is stolen and she and Tinkie are called in to help. This isn't their home turf so it's definitely harder than usual to figure out what is going on. There are a number of musical opportunities and no end to who might have stolen the belt. 

I wasn't sure that the final suspects were really believable as such. There are a number of Elvis-related puns that were fun to read but did get to be a lot to wade through. 

Three stars

Sarah Booth Delaney #28

This book comes out October 15, 2024

Follows Lights, Camera, Bones

ARC kindly provided by Minotaur Books and Edelweiss

Opinions are my own

Haunting License by Carol J. Perry

Maureen is on her beach run one day when she discovers a body. It's Eddie Manuel. She didn't know him but she finds a newspaper article proclaiming him the winner of a fishing tournament that was to have been an annual event. Instead, it only took place once; in 2000. But it does spark an idea. Maybe she can do that again and earn some money for her inn. 

And that money would come in handy. She needs to any number of repairs and needs to add on. Because this inn, and these people (and ghosts) are becoming dear to her. As is the larger Haven, Florida community. And that's why she willing to help the local police (specifically Frank Hubbard) in various investigations. In fact, Hubbard asks her for her help because her "feelings" have been accurate in the past. But does that mean Maureen will go to far? 

Not as many ghosts in this book but I did not miss them much. 

Haunted Haven #3

Four stars

This book comes out June 25, 2024

Follows High Spirits

ARC kindly provided by Kensington Books and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Winter Lost by Patricia Briggs

There are a lot of threads in this story, the main ones being that Mercy is still unhealed from what happened in the least book and now her brother has landed on their doorstep, unable to communicated. It turns out that he too has come in contact with a fae artifact and the owner of the artifact is wreaking havoc with certain weather patterns until it is recovered. The storm is centered around a lodge outside of Libby, Montana where there are hot springs. A lodge that is supposed to be hosting a billionaire's wedding but is, instead, snowed in with thirteen people, not all of whom are human. 

There are some side stories about other wolves in the pack. Mary Jo has broken up with her boyfriend Renny, Darryl is protecting a group of white witches in New Mexico, someone has tried to push Sherwood in front of a train. Most of these are small vignettes showing that there are things going on outside of Mercy and Adam. It could be a build up to a bigger story but it is also proof that their pack can take care of themselves and don't need their leaders to rush in and solve everything for them. 

And Bonarata is still tormenting Mercy though that ends up being a smaller part of the story. 

A somewhat quieter story but I really enjoyed that there weren't as many bodies as some of the others. 

Four stars

Mercy Thompson #14

This book comes out June 18, 2024

Follows Soul Taken

ARC kindly provided by Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

The Witch Hitch by Elizabeth Bass

Bailey Tomlin is engaged to be married. So she has cold feet. Well, actually, she's been having a lot of electricity lately but that's just weird too. Plus, there's the woman who's been following her around. The one who looks a lot like her. And the man who just appears out of nowhere claiming he's from the 1930s. And the fact that she suddenly seems to have family that she never knew about. Family who are not quite normal...

I remember enjoying the first book but couldn't quite get into this one. One, it's labeled as a romance but Bailey is engaged to be married and Seton Attenbury was married in the 1930s. Yes, we see that his wife moved on and that he wasn't particularly happy with her, but I didn't feel like Bass overcame those obstacles. Plus, we rarely see the two of them interact. I'm not exactly sure why they would have fallen in love except that they both love jazz. 

It tipped barely into the three star category for me since we got to see previous characters in the series but I was mostly frustrated reading this book.

Three stars

This book came out July 25, 2023

Cupcake Coven Romance #2

Follows A Letter to Three Witches

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Lights, Camera, Bones by Carolyn Haines

There's a movie production in town and everyone is atwitter. Famous actor Marlon Brandon is doing a film about his family who have been movers and shakers in Greenville for a very long time but this film focuses on the flood of 1927. But, this being Greenville, there's something going on. A gaffer, Jules is missing. And there are people in town who aren't happy that this movie is being made. 

When Marlon goes missing, there are any number motives that come out of the woodwork though most seem to center around the past. So who is behind the murder and the disappearance?
The Sarah Both Delaney stories are often a little out there (I mean, there's a ghost in every story) but this story includes a shark. Yes, in freshwater. I get that this is a thing that can happen but... it was set up as a major part of the story. 

Three stars

Sarah Booth Delaney #27

This book comes out May 21, 2024

Follows Tell-Tale Bones

Followed by Blue Christmas Bones 

ARC kindly provided by Minotaur Books and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Looking for Love in All the Haunted Places by Claire Kann

Lucky Hart is auditioning to be on a reality show. But not just any reality show, one that involves a haunted house. See, she has powers and thinks that she may be able to connect to the house. If chosen, she'll become the caretaker of Hennessee House. 

Through her explorations, there's also the people she meets along the way including a man named Maverick and his daughter, Rebel.

The first two-thirds of this book were really great. I enjoyed the character building and the world building. We get to see some characters that really communicate with each other. However, then there's too much going on and Lucky and Maverick stop talking for... reasons (?) in the third act and the whole story just sort of fell apart from there. 

Three and a half stars

This book comes out May 21, 2024

ARC kindly provided by Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

An Enchanting Case of Spirits by Melissa Holtz

 In my life, I've never had the urge to see a ghost. Neither has Alyssa Mann but, after a 40th birthday party gone awry, here she is with a ghost in the house. Then another. And all of them want something. But she doesn't know how to help them. So she enlists the help of the medium who seemed to have unlocked the power.
Suddenly, she and her two besties (as well as the psychic, Corinne) are trying to figure out why the ghost of an obnoxious young man whose death was declared a suicide is hanging around her. He's the first, but he certainly won't be the last. Except the only one she doesn't see is her husband. Which is probably good because, like many cozies, there is a Hot Detective.
An interesting start to a series though I don't generally enjoy books where the point of view switches and this one was so infrequent it often confused me the first three or four sentences when it switched. 

Three and a half stars

This book comes out April 9, 2024

ARC kindly provided by Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

High Spirits by Carol J. Perry

Maureen is still trying to keep her inn in the black. To that end, she's bought several blocks of seats from the local movie theater's run of Christmas classics and is selling them as a bundle with dinner at the inn. Everything goes off course the first night when the guest projectionist is murdered. Not only was Decklin Monroe a guest at the inn, he was also an old resident who had been rumored to be part of a murder in the old theater. His supposed partner in crime, Harry Henshaw, is also back in town.
This book twisted and turned and didn't... actually make much sense with the solution of the mystery but I enjoyed the character building that occurred.

Three stars

This book came out October 25, 2022

Haunted Haven #2

Follows Be My Ghost

Followed by Haunting License

Borrowed as ebook from Hoopla

Opinions are my own

A Witch Before Dying by Amanda M. Lee

Bay and her cousins are having to deal with dual issues, both stemming from Mrs. Little. One is that she is planning a Renaissance faire. Well, there hasn't been a lot of planning but she has brought in a troupe. It's one of their members who has been killed and Bay is worried that people will think that one of them did it. 

But trouble is also coming from the new witch, Scarlet Darksbane, that Mrs. Little has imported into town. And it will be up to Bay and her cousins as well as their significant others to figure out exactly what is going on. 

It took me a long time between picking this book up and finally finishing it. There was somehow simultaneously too much and not enough going on. It was fine but I may be nearing the end of my reading this series.

Wicked Witches of the Midwest #11

Three stars

This book came out November 5, 2017

Follows Murder Most Witchy

Followed by A Breath of Witchy Air

Borrowed as ebook from Kindle Unlimited

Opinions are my own

Goodbye's a Witch by Danielle Garrett

Though there is a bit of a mystery in this story, it is more about wrapping up the series, and if you go in expecting that, you'll be fine. There is a new character who is introduced but we don't see much of her. She comes through the portal that is on the manor property. But there is a problem. There are vampire's chasing her and Holly's magic is on the fritz. 

It was a little flat and a little predictable but still a nice end to the series. 

Beechwood Harbor Magic Mystery #12

Three stars

This book came out June 15, 2021

Follows Men Love Witches

Audiobook of mine in Audible

Opinions are my own

Men Love Witches by Danielle Garrett

Now that their home is finally open as a B&B, Holly and Adam are playing host to a vampire council, one specifically arranged by their old housemate, Lacey Vaughn. But the super-secret meeting isn't going so well. First, the powers that have gathered can't agree how they should work together. Then Harmony (who was already a little jittery around vampires) sees someone skulking in the shadows and she's pretty sure it's an old foe. Then, a valuable item goes missing. All of this craziness and she's planning a wedding and meeting Adam's parents again. Well, most of the planning is going well bt she just can't seem to find a a dress and the wedding is only six weeks away.
A fun little story that I think regular readers of the series will enjoy.

Beechwood Harbor Magic Mystery #11

Three stars
This book came out October 29, 2020

Follows The Witch is Inn

Followed by Goodbye's a Witch

Audiobook of mine in Audible

Opinions are my own

Belong to the Night by Shelly Laurenston, Sherrill Quinn, Cynthia Eden

"The Wolf, The Witch, and Her Lack of Wardrobe" takes place ten months after the first story in this series. I am sorry that the series hasn't been finished yet because it is an interesting overlap of the Smith Pack with some witches.
In this town, Tully Smith is the mayor. He's laid back, takes care of his people, and walks everywhere so that he can be available to his townspeople. But he will work hard if they need protection. And Jamie Meacham, the lead of the witches is bringing trouble to his doorstep. She's been called to be a warrior for a god and that is bringing all sorts of odd creatures into town. Creatures that can be driven out by sex magic. Too bad that won't work on his father. 
Not full developed but, to be fair, it is a short story. 

Long Island Coven #2

Three stars

Follows My Kind of Town

Hard copy of mine

Opinions are my own

Spotlight Scandal by Stella Bixby

Ellie is settling into her new town. Not everything is going smoothly but she is happy in Cliff Haven. She's even going to have the last line in the Christmas play! If she can manage to get it out, that is. And if the curse doesn't strike. There was a young lady who died (or was murdered, depending on who you talk to) during a play years ago. And there's one that dies in this one as well. 

With star frenemies in town, there is a lot going on. Not all of it made sense but it was an enjoyable book as Ellie tries to figure out who killed one Hollywood starlet and framed another. This is while dealing with discovering a magical cousin and trying to figure out how to use her magical powers.

Three stars

This book came out May 11, 2021

Follows Bowling Blunder

Followed by Tango Trouble

Ebook borrowed from Kindle Unlimited

Opinions are my own

Murder Most Witchy by Amanda M. Lee

Landon is going undercover and it is causing Bay fits. She sees him with two people at a corn maze (they are willing to go to another corn maze?). Later, the woman ends up dead on Bay's lawn and Bay is attacked. Suddenly, it seems like Bay is the only suspect by a local state trooper and an enemy of old, Agent Noah. 

There is So Much drama in this addition to the series. The mystery is even looser than usual while the drama takes its place in the word count. There are some developments between Bay and Landon moving their relationship forward but I didn't like this book as much as others in the series.

Wicked Witches of the Midwest #11

Three stars

This book came out 

Follows The Trouble with Witches

Followed by A Witch Before Dying

Borrowed as ebook from NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Bowling Blunder by Stella Bixby

Ellie didn't grow up with a lot of friends but she is slowly building a community in her new town. She's got her group of older ladies that run and take her yoga classes. She's also got Bex who she works with at the diner. Slowly but surely, she is making a place for herself. Yes, there are still people who accuse her of being a witch (her hair changes color/style with her emotions) but she knows that she wants to stay. It's just too bad that there's been another murder. This time at the local bowling alley. 

Ellie's ex-boyfriend's fiancee (yep), Samantha, is still in town and trying to argue that his property should go to her instead of the man's mother (he died in the previous book in this series.) Samantha is also a part of a bachelorette weekend that is somehow also in this same small town. It is one of the bridesmaids who gets murdered.

Is the mystery solution a little convoluted? Yes. Is the magic starting to get a little wild (we meet Xander, a warlock, in this book)? Yes. Am I going to keep reading this series? Heck yes. I want to see where it goes.

Three stars

This book came out March 16, 2021

Follows Downward Death

Followed by Spotlight Scandal

Borrowed as ebook from Kindle Unlimited

Opinions are my own

Grim and Bear It by Juliette Cross

We've been watching Clara Savoie and Henry Blackwater dance around each other for most of this series. Finally, the two will get their own story. In the last story, we learned that Henry has some sort of odd magic. He is raising his younger brother as a result of a contentious relationship with their father.
Clara has had a crush on Henry forever and finally makes her move. The two get together but there are external forces at play here when Henry's father is arrested after being found at the scene of a murder. Henry would rather not help him but does so anyway and Clara is pulled into the mystery as well.
I really enjoyed the first two books in this series but the rest were a little less closed door than I would have liked. I wanted to finish the series though and am generally glad that I did.

Three stars

This book came out May 9, 2023

Follows Resting Witch Face

Borrowed as ebook from Kindle Unlimited

Opinions are my own

Downward Death by Stella Bixby

I grabbed this book as a part of the Romance Bookworms highlighting various free books. I don't love the cover but it was actually a pretty fun book. 

Told in the first person, we learn about Elle Vanderwick. She doesn't know much about her family but she is ecstatic to learn about her grandmother. Too bad she died right before Elle gets into town. It seems that she might have been able to tell Elle a bit more about herself, including who her father was and why her hair changes with her emotions. She also might have been able to tell Elle more about the man who is dead in her cornfield.

This book follows some familiar beats but I enjoyed the way Bixby subverted the usual love triangle between Elle's ex and the handsome man who used to help her grandmother around the house.

Three and a half stars

This book came out January 19, 2021

Followed by Bowling Blunder

Borrowed as ebook from Kindle Unlimited

Opinions are my own

What the Hex by Jessica Clare

We knew from the first book in this series that Penny was anxious to be a familiar. So anxious that she might be willing to go to some unusual measures, like working with a wizard who is definitely NOT supposed to have a familiar.

Willem isn't sure about Penny. She's definitely a sunshine to his grumpy. But she's beginning to grow on him. Even her quirky pet is becoming more cute and less annoying. 

Good freaking lord. Why is WTF spelled out? And it's used so many times. So. Many. Times. I also wish that the love hadn't been quite so insta, that we had seem more of a relationship develop. And I didn't like the ending. Penny has been wishing for one thing her whole life and now she's being prevented from doing it. 

Three stars

This book came out April 19, 2022

Follows Go Hex Yourself

ARC kindly provided by Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Witch Way Out by Cate Conte

At the end of the last book, Violet Mooney was whisked away by Blake along with the man she's been dating, Todd. They end up in the office of Mac, a private investigator and leprechaun, but Mac is not there. Instead, there is a pile of goo, evidence that Mac has been genied. Todd immediately disappears. Violet is shocked but she tries to keep her involvement quiet since she also discovered the last genie victim and her mother and Blake are worried that she might actually be the one targeted.

That's fine with Fiona, she doesn't want to rush into danger and she's still trying to get a handle on being a witch. Plus, she's gotten an unexpected call to join the local (and very popular) craft fair. This is a fabulous opportunity to highlight her shop and it's a chance to meet one of her heroes, a proponent of ethical crystal mining, Horatio Hale. But there's a saying that you should never meet your idols and that seems to be true for Violet and Horatio. Not only does he seem to be sneaking around on his ex-wife with another vendor (why keep the relationship a secret?), Violet overhears a conversation that makes it seem Horatio might not be as upstanding as he seems. Plus, there's the gentleman hanging around saying that Horatio kicked him out of the fair. 

If you've read a cozy before, you'll probably realize who is going to end up dead. It's up to Violet to finally step into her power and take control of the whole situation.

Three and a half stars

This book comes out March 28, 2023

Follows Witch Trial

ARC kindly provided by Kensington Books and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Charms and Firearms by Trixie Silvertale

Mitzy is going on a trip with Rory Bombay. She's been warned against him but she's decided that she knows best. They are going just out of town to a ski hill that's seen better days and an owner who is a decided lush. Of course, it's Mitzy who discovers a body on the hill. She and Rory also do a quick search of the body (who, even in 2020 when this was written, doesn't know to leave a body where it is?). It's a photographer who has some incriminating evidence on an SD card that eventually makes its way to the police.

I'm going to read the next book in the series because I got a three-book file from Kindle Unlimited but I am really not liking Mitzy. I get that she's young but she is not listening to anyone in her life and is doing things that will actively get her potential love interest in trouble. 

Warning for racist stereotyping: thieving "gypsy"

Two stars

Finished March 17, 2020

Follows Sparks and Landmarks

Followed by Bars and Boxcars

Borrowed as ebook from Kindle Unlimited

Opinions are my own