Witch Hunt by Cate Conte

When the book opens, Violet Mooney is having an ominous feeling, like this just isn't going to be a good day. But her yoga class goes well and the coffee shop visit with her best friend is helping until Carla Fernandez stalks in and accuses her of planning a seance. Violet feels blindsided. And an interaction with an unusual woman at her store doesn't help. The woman claims that she wants a reading but her aura doesn't match the statement. Her day goes sideways when she finds out that Carla has been murdered and Violet's own scarf was found nearby. At the police station, her life goes off the rails when her mother, missing for twenty-seven years, shows up with a sister, Zoe, that Violet knew nothing about.
This is a first book so there are some things that are a little thin like the development of Carla's character, the developing relationship with Carla and her mother as well as her sister, and all of the other people in town that are being set up to be in further books in the series. But overall, a cute book.

Three stars
This book came out June 30th, 2020

Followed by Witch Trial
Book borrowed from library
Opinions are my own

Death Metal by Nova Nelson

Nora is still figuring out what it means to be a Fifth Wind witch. While hanging on the porch with her crush, a possible romantic moment is interrupted by a ghost who's death has been called a suicide but she knows she was murdered. And now Nora thinks so too. So she's off on another mystery.

It seemed like there was an equal amount of time spent on the mystery and the will they/won't they with Tanner and Nora. Dear God there was so much back and forth in Nora's mind about Tanner. I'm going to read the next book in the series but I'm really hoping that it's not going to be more of that because it just makes Nora seem supremely wishy-washy and that is not the character we're seeing in the rest of the book.

Three stars
Follows Crossing Over Easy
Followed by Third Knock the Charm

This book came out June 19th, 2018

Borrowed as an audiobook from the library

Opinions are my own

Vultures in the Sky by Todd Downing

During a time of unrest in Mexico, there were a group of people on a train. They were all nervous because of the political issues as well as rumors of religious zealots. Then, there are also the vultures following the train... and someone is killed. Then another person. The remaining passengers become more and more nervous. But Hugh Rennert steps up to get to know the other passengers and tries to discover why a man should have been killed and why so many other passengers are lying.
Basically a locked room mystery, I heard about this book on the Classic Mysteries podcast. The mystery is described there as a fair play story (the readers should be able to guess who the murderer was) but I actually found it incredibly confusing. The book was published in 1935 and the attitudes and descriptions of the Mexicans and women are very much of the time and hard to read in the modern day.

Two stars
This book came out in 1935
Borrowed from the library
Opinions are my own

Winterset by Candace Camp

Anna Holcombe and her brother have a family secret which means that, even though she loved Reed Moreland, she turned down his marriage proposal. The reason Reed even met her, living out in the country, is that he bough her uncle's estate. Now, knowing that Anna rejected him. He wants to sell. Except that he keeps having dreams that she is in trouble. And he just wants to make sure that she is okay.
For now she is, but someone is killing the local townspeople. And an old legend is resurrected. One that could bring the Holcombe family's secret out into the open.
A fun book with interesting characters.

Four stars

Follows Beyond Compare

Followed by An Unexpected Pleasure
This book came out January 8th, 2018
Hard copy I didn't keep
Opinions are my own

Hitched by Pippa Grant and Lili Valente

Blake and Hope were introduced in the previous book in this series. They obviously have good chemistry but Hope doesn't believe that to be enough. Her parents' marriage is proof that no one should ever get married. But her grandmother's will leaves a valuable alpaca to whichever of her grandchildren get married first. And Hope's cousin has already found a willing candidate off Tinder. Blake is not her first choice. Or her second or even her third. He's far down the list and she only calls him when her first option craps out and no one else interested. But Hope has something that Blake wants; she can help him get a liquor license for his winery ahead of opening which will make or break his work.
For his part, Blake is only too willing to play along. Except that he knows something that Hope doesn't, he still loves her and is ready to do whatever it takes to win her heart for good.
Not quite as good as the first two but still a fun book.

Three and a half stars
Follows Hammered

Followed by Humbugged
This book came out September 3rd, 2019
Borrowed book from Kindle Unlimited
Opinions are my own

One Haunted Evening -- anthology

This was a really interesting conceit - instead of an anthology, three author's stories are intermixed as each is happening (at least, that's what I'm interpreting by the three names on the cover and the sheer number of characters). It was, unfortunately, not well executed but just the idea made me round up to three stars.
There is a LOT going on in this little book. There are three main heroes, three heroines, at least five secondary characters that I noticed set up for their own next books. Plus, the authors tend to flip between calling the men by their first names and last names/titles so it gets doubly confusing. Basically, a bunch of guys decide to have a Samhain party at a supposedly haunted castle that one of them has just inherited and they discover that it, indeed, haunted.

Three stars
This book came out
Borrowed from Kindle Unlimited
Opinions are my own

A Royal Christmas Cruise by Max Walker

A Spanish prince is not supposed to be gay. But Nick is tired of living a lie. Especially in this day and age. So he breaks up with his girlfriend and heads on a cruise. He doesn't expect to see a hot guy wearing nothing but some brief banana-printed underwear fall out of the security booth.
Shiro Brooks is traveling with a group of friends that he hasn't seen for four years. He hasn't yet told them that he and his boyfriend (another from the friend group) have broken up. But a hot makeout session in a bookstore gives him an idea. Maybe this man would like to pretend to be his boyfriend... Nick turns him down but they end up hanging out anyway. And close proximity in a romance novel usually leads to an HEA. If only they can figure out who is taking pictures of them, outing Nick before he's ready.
If you like Max Walker, you'll enjoy this book. As usual, the plot is not real deep and most of the joy of reading can be found in the relationship building (and the hot sex scenes.)

Three stars
This book came out November 23rd, 2019
Borrowed as an audiobook from the library
Opinions are my own