Always Practice Safe Hex by Juliette Cross

This is a series with a lot of "alpha male" archetypes but Gareth, though a reaper, may be the alpha-est of them all. And, while that is not my favorite character type, I can usually enjoy a book as long as the other person in the relationship can hold their own in terms of character. Livvy, unfortunately, did not. Gareth's personality took up so much of the book that I feel like we didn't get to know Livvy except as the one who needed saving. She is supposed to be an equal partner in the ... marketing contest?... but didn't seem to contribute much at all other than to be in a swimsuit.

Definitely hoping that Juliette fares better in her story. 

Two and a half stars 

This book came out May 24, 2022

Follows Walking in a Witchy Wonderland

Followed by Resting Witch Face

Borrowed as ebook from Kindle Unlimited

Opinions are my own

Flight Risk by Cherie Priest

Leda Foley has a new case. A man has come to her looking for answers to why his sister disappeared. She is just starting to get to work when Grady Merritt, homicide detective shows up. His dog found a leg at Mount Rainier. Just the leg. Well, he also swallowed a man's wedding ring. The two are able to track the ring back to the woman's husband. Which is odd since the man didn't seem to worried his wife was missing. He's a professor whose interest in his students may be a little too interested. But both man and wife are missing and it will take Leda and Grady working together to find them both.

I like this series. I like that Leda and Grady aren't love interests (at least not yet) and for sure there is no love triangle (a trap many cozies seem to fall into). I am very much looking forward to the next book in the series. 

Four stars

This book comes out November 15, 2022

Follows Grave Reservations

ARC kindly provided by Atria Books and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Sassy Witch by Danielle Garrett

Valentine's Day has hit Beechwood Harbor and Holly is trying to help Cassie lure tourists to town by hosting a week long singles party. Too bad someone is killing off their male participants. The obvious choice is the vampires in town but something seems off about that solution.

At the same time, Posy is getting ready to leave after having sold the house to SPA. No one, however, suspected that they would be getting kicked out sooner than the 90 days they were promised. So, while dealing with a pile up of bodies, Holly is also looking for new places to live. None of them seem quite right however.

Another fast, fun, and fluffy book. We get a little movement in the overall arc of the series but not much in the characters themselves.

Three and a half stars

This book came out April 28, 2020

Follows First Place Witch

Followed by The Witch is Inn

Borrowed as ebook from Kindle Unlimited

Opinions are my own

First Place Witch by Danielle Garrett

The day she's hoped for is finally here; Holly is opening her shop! But it's even better, she's been asked to join the reality show for cauldron witches. Of course, one of the contestants just has to be an entitled jerk who runs his assistants off their feet and treats women as if he is God's gift and they can't resist.

Three stars

This book came out July 1, 2021

Follows A Royal Witch

Followed by Sassy Witch

Borrowed as audiobook

A Royal Witch by Danielle Garrett

New roommate=new troubles. This time, a princess who is under threat is brought to the Beechwood Manor in an attempt to hide her from the unrest in her own kingdom. But someone manages to kidnap her and spirit her away so that even Adam can't smell where she went. 

A little bit of movement on the Holly/Adam front otherwise not much to further the overall arc but I think regular readers will enjoy the book.

Three stars

This book came out June 28, 2019

Follows One Bad Witch

Followed by First Place Witch

Borrowed as audiobook

Opinions are my own

One Bad Witch by Danielle Garrett

Still trying to replace Lacey (who left to be in her own series), Holly, Adam, and Evangeline are getting a new roommate. Again. We haven't seen all of them but we do get to meet Narissa. Narissa is a reporter who may or may not be involved with a series of werewolf deaths and is getting closer to their friend Nick.

Three stars

This book came out December 28, 2018

Follows Lucky Witch

Followed by A Royal Witch

Borrowed as audiobook

Opinions are my own

Wedding Bells and Deadly Spells by Danielle Garrett

Anastasia "Stacey" Winters has just been let go from her dream job. Reeling, she still wants to help her friend Francois who is under examination as having poisoned the groom in her last wedding (that death contributed a LOT to her firing.) While figuring out who the actual killer is, she is also able to take the next step in her professional career.

This was sort of a weak story but still fun and the series ends on a high note.

Three stars

This book came out April 12, 2019

Follows Couture and Curses

Borrowed as ebook from Kindle Unlimited

Opinions are my own

Soul Taken by Patricia Briggs

Mercy has barely recovered from the events of the last book when Marsilia shows up and tells her to find Wulfe. That, if Mercy can't find him, the Pack will be blamed. And rumors start up soon after that the Pack can't actually protect the people it claims to protect. A number of magic users (not very powerful but having some magic; mainly witches and goblins) have gone missing. Could it be the Soul Taker? 

There is a movie that has just finished filming that purports to be based on a local urban legend involving a young man who was possessed by a scythe and compelled to murder. Mercy discovers it was not so much legend as truth since Zee was called in to destroy the artifact. But he might have been slipped a fake. That seems especially like a possibility since similar deaths are cropping up. And at least one ghost isn't allowed to leave this plane of existence.

Regular readers will really enjoy this book but I would not recommend starting with this one. We get quite a bit of history for a couple of characters, one that adds a little bit of a wrinkle for pack dynamics.

Four stars

This book came out August 23, 2022

Follows Smoke Bitten

Followed by Winter Lost

Borrowed as hard copy from library

Opinions are my own

The Trouble With Witches by Amanda M. Lee

Clove is about to meet Sam's parents and she is terrified. The situation becomes complicated when Bay starts seeing ghosts on the tanker that Sam has recently brought onto his property. Also seeing the ghosts? Little Annie. And that makes the situation that much harder.

There are a couple of other things going on including Landon (and possibly his snotty partner) moving from Traverse City to their own small town. And there's a firebug who seems to be escalating.

The two stories don't actually intertwine which was sort of interesting (as even the characters note). If you liked the rest of the books in this series, this will be no different.

Three and a half stars

This book came out October 31, 2016

Follows Charms & Witchdemeanors

Followed by Murder Most Witchy

Borrowed as ebook from Kindle Unlimited

Opinions are my own

Ruby Fever by Ilona Andrews

This is basically a non-stop action book from the first page to the end though it does mellow out a bit in the Epilogue. A lot of loose threads are wrapped up in this book which was nice especially as Andrews have said on their blog that they are not sure whether there will be more books in this series. I'm not sure I loved all of the threads but it was mainly a grand trip. Definitely need to have read the previous books in the series to enjoy this one fully; lots of history and a whole lot of people. 

It's time for a final confrontation with Arkan and Catalina is not ready... but it needs to be done. And an illusion mage named Konstantin (who is both related to Alessandro and part of the Russian Imperium) brings everything to a head but Catalina is also dealing with a lost spider that is worth a quarter million dollars, the loss of her mentor Linus (he's not dead but someone sure tried to make him that way), becoming the Acting Warden of Texas, buying new property, her fiance's family coming to visit, and just trying to stay alive as an early-twenties head of her House. 

Four and a half stars

This book comes out August 23, 2022

Follows Emerald Blaze

ARC kindly provided by Avon and Harper Voyager and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

Reread as Libby Audiobook September 2023

Walking in a Witchy Wonderland by Juliette Cross

Short stories in between the books published so far in the Stay a Spell series. If you haven't read the books in the series, I would start with them first. 

Bewitch You A Merry Christmas

Evie is trying to help a man who has been hexed by a witch with a sense of humor but Matteo and Alpha are resenting the time she's spending "not with them." 

Rockin’ Around The Hexmas Tree

The sisters and their beaus are doing a Yankee Swap for Christmas but Isabel and Devraj end up with an ornament that is more than it appears. 

Jingle Bell Jock

JJ and Charlie are friends. Nothing more. But when it looks like Charlie is hooking up with another man, JJ finally makes his move. 

You’re A Mean One, Mr. Grim

Lavinia meets Gareth, a Grim. They inspire strong feelings in each other that will be resolved in the next book of the series.

Jingle Spells

Nico and Violet sit for Evie and Matteo's triplets. Getting through the night may just prove to them they are ready for some pups of their own.

Three stars

This book came out October 5, 2021

Follows Witches Get Stitches

Followed by Always Practice Safe Hex

Borrowed as ebook from Kindle Unlimited

Opinions are my own

Better Homes and Hauntings by Molly Harper

Nina Linden has gone through it in the last few years: cheating husband who took her to the cleaners. She is trying to rebuild her gardening services. To that end, she accepted a job where she has to live on a private island for weeks to help get it in order. It seems that everyone else who has previously held the position has left quickly. 

Cindy Ellis runs a cleaning/organizational service. She has become the go-to person for the rich and elite. She knows one of the other people on the boat out the island, Jake. He took her on a date years ago and then ghosted her. And now he's pretending he doesn't know her. But he is one of the people on the island, along with his best friend Deacon, the tech mogul whose family owns the island and the man financing the renovations. 

This is a bit of an adventure with dual romances, a madcap cousin, ghosts/reincarnations/something that causes visions, an ancient mystery, and Nina's ex-boss who isn't quite sane and is trying to sabotage her new business.

Four stars

This came out June 24, 2014

Audiobook from Audible

Opinions are my own

The Clairvoyant Countess by Dorothy Gilman

I had read a handful of the Mrs. Pollifax mysteries and thought this series might be interesting as well. There are only two books but it is a fast, fun, and fluffy book which Gilman shows her talent as she adds layers to each of the mini-mysteries that come around and pay off in the end. I think a lot of my enjoyment came from  Ruth Ann Phimister, the narrator. 

The book opens with a dream. Madame Karitska dreams of a street, not a fashionable one, but one she can afford to live on. On the street is a yellow door. As she is walking down the street, she notices a sign in the window. There is a room for rent. The sign went up only 5 minutes ago. Once in the rooms, she slowly builds her clientele and proves to the police that her gift is real. Along the way, she picks up a couple of other psychics as well, one is a wealthy man who just came into his gift and one is a child whose family is at the heart of one of her mysteries.

Four stars

This book came out in 1975

Followed by Kaleidoscope

Audiobook from Audible

Opinions are my own

Go Hex Yourself by Jessica Clare

Applying to work at the company that makes her favorite card game is Reggie Johnson's dream. She is startled to learn that the ad was not actually for her card game, it is to be an actual familiar for a practicing witch. In fact, she doesn't believe that is what is happening at all. Because magic isn't real. Is it? Either way, she's got a place to live an a salary is beyond any expectation she thought she could ever have. 

Ben Magnus knows magic is real. He's been practicing it for almost 500 years after all. And he's seen so many familiars come and go in his aunt's life; Reggie is just... ugh. Why is she even here if she doesn't believe in magic? 

When Ben's aunt is put under a hex, Reggie will have to figure out whether or not she's ready to step into an alternate world and broaden her own horizons, which is something she's found hard in the past. Though it is made a little easier by the fact that Ben is sure easy on the eyes..

This was a really cute start to a series. There were some info dumps but they were woven into the story well. I am looking forward to the next book in the series. 

Four stars

This book came out April 19, 2022

Followed by What the Hex

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Murder in G Major by Alexia Gordon

Gethsemane Brown has few options left to her when she accepts a job as the music teacher at a private school... in Ireland. Yes, she's a fabulous violinist but can she really turn around a group of boys in six weeks to win a major award. They've got the bare bones, a great soloist and another great violinist. But that's not the thing that bothering her. It's actually the ghost of Eamon McCarthy. Yep, there's a ghost. And he's asking Gethsemane to solve his murder. His twenty-five-year-old murder.

I had heard about this book on the Get Booked podcast. They really liked the whole series and, while I liked this book well enough, it was a little convoluted.

Four stars

This book came out September 13, 2016

Followed by Death in D Minor

Borrowed as ebook from Kindle Unlimited

Opinions are my own

High Jinx by Kelley Armstrong

Kennedy Bennett is JUST FRIENDS with Aiden Connolly thank-you-very-much. Yes the luck worker is handsome and rich but that doesn't mean she is dating the man. In fact, they are very scrupulous about keeping romance out of their relationship. That doesn't mean she isn't bummed that he isn't texting her back. Suddenly, he is in her shop of previously cursed objects (even the creepy dolls her sister Hope really likes but Kennedy definitely does not). He takes over the bidding on a painting that Kennedy knows to
have been part of a quartet, each cursed based on the four children of a woman who some people would rather history forgot. When they go to pick up the painting, the experience is not textbook. From a woman who is not who she seems to a young girl rushing out of the painting, it is topsy turvy. Kennedy suspects that Mercy (also Hermes, Mercury, whatever-ever-name) is testing her. But the real story ends up being so much bigger and weirder. And they are working on finding the other three paintings at the same time Aiden is working to pay off his parents... a year earlier than he had expected.

A lot of plot holes but a fun ride and I like that we get to see the relationship between Aiden and Kennedy grow.

Four stars

This book came out December 7, 2021

Follows Cursed Luck

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

The Ghost Who Loved Diamonds by Bobbi Holmes

In the first book of the series, Danielle contended with the mystery of a man long since passed, even if his ghost is still hanging around. In this book, the stakes are ramped up as she is having to deal with a much more recent death. One that police seem to think she committed.

Of course, this is in the midst of her B&B opening. Plus, her cousin Shelly is in town. This is the cousin that bullied Danielle as they were growing up and the one who stole all of her boyfriends. Now, she's contending that half of Danielle's inheritance from their Aunt Breanna is hers. 

This was an okay story with some more world building. I think Holmes tried to redeem Shelly but her explanations of childhood behavior didn't quite make sense, nor did I really understand her reasoning for wanting half of Marlow house.

Three stars

This book came out November 1, 2014

Follows The Ghost of Marlow House

Followed by The Ghost who Wasn't

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Deven and the Dragon by Eliot Grayson

Five years ago, Fiora (a dragon shifter) had sex with the wrong man and was cursed by his wife, a witch, to never be able to fall in love nor to have anyone fall in love with him without somebody dying. So he picked up and moved to a new town, Ridley. And the Ridley town council seems to want something from him so they've offered up a sacrifice. A young, innocent virgin. 

Fiora is not pleased. It's not like he even likes women. Maybe they've heard of the curse? But then why send a sacrifice?

Deven Clifton is definitely not a virgin. In fact, he's slept with most of the young people in town. Some of them married, some of them not, but always they've been enthusiastic. And he's really enjoyed it. Being a bartender, he's confused as to why the town council has summoned him. However, he seems to be the sacrifice. Because one of the town council needs a dragon's scale and, as I heard on <a href="https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/podcast/503-bread-cozy-fantasy-sex-and-romance-with-jane-buehler/">Episode 503 of Smart Podcast, Trashy Books</a> "they're all like, we'll send Deven; Deven can seduce anyone." Because, in actuality, they've promised an innocent, not a virgin. And, he hasn't technically committed any crimes so he is sort of an innocent.

This retelling of Beauty and the Beast is absolutely adorable. There are some parts that didn't make a ton of sense but I overall really enjoyed the story.

Four stars

This book came out June 26, 2020

Borrowed as ebook from Kindle Unlimited

Opinions are my own

The Ghost of Marlow House by Bobbi Holmes

Danielle Boatman's husband died 6 months ago so the inheritance from her great-aunt comes as a pleasant surprise. She decides to convert the old Marlow House into a bed and breakfast. She is pleasantly surprised to discover that it is in good condition with furniture that is surprisingly well-kept for a house that has been vacant for 90 years. But, she learns that the house has secrets, including the ghost of Walter Marlow who died in the house 90 years ago. There may also be a hidden treasure that people today are still searching for and may even be willing to kill for.

A nice start to a new series that managed to create a world with some rules without any info dumps.\

Three and a half stars

This book came out August 30, 2014

Followed by The Ghost who loved Diamonds

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Not the Witch You Wed by April Asher, April Hunt

Violet Maxwell is in town for her sister's Witch Bond Announcement weekend celebration (engagement party). Not just her sister, one of her triplet sisters. So when she tries to bow out of some of the celebration with slightly younger sister Olive and they are then caught by Rose, she does feel some guilt. And that compounds the guilt she feels by not picking up her grandmother's place as the Prima Witch. Luckily, Violet was born a dud. No magic whatsoever. She still decides to go skiing with her sisters, even though she's not very good. In fact, she encounters Lincoln Thorne as she's laying in the snow after having fallen over while standing in place (it's not that hard to do, really...) While she doesn't recognize him, he sure as heck recognizes her. He's happy to see her and his Wolf (Lincoln's the Alpha of NAP, the North American Pack) is even more so because he's had a lot of downs in his life recently. He's trying to make it so that all shifters are on more equal footing but there is one particular man, Rose's fiance in fact, who is trying to undo all of his work. He also has a limited time before his thirty-third birthday. If he doesn't have a mate by then, he either has to step down from the Supernatural Council or accept a mate chosen by the Elders. He's also trying to dissolve the Elders but that's a whole other story. He's not quite resigned to fate but the chance of finding a partner who satisfies both he AND his animal are practically nil. 

Through mistakes and a lot of accidental relationship building, Violet and and Lincoln do end up together.  

There is a LOT of world building and so the first couple of chapters really do read like an info dump and that doesn't really even out but I still enjoyed the read. I'm tracking some of the characters for my own benefit because... there are a lot. 

Adrian -- Lincoln's friend, lion shifter

Vi's best friends -- Bax, Guardian Angel -- Harper, succubus coworker at Potion's Up, magic themed bar, Vi brewmaster, virgin, host of radio show Sexy Talk with Savannah They also work together at the Kid Command Center (B&GC for supes?)

Four stars

This book came out February 8, 2022

Followed by Not Your Ex's Hexes

ARC kindly provided by St. Martin's Press and NetGalley

Opinions are my own