The Witch’s Grave

The Witch’s Grave (An Ophelia and Abbey Mystery) by Shirley Damsgaard

Description: Ophelia is just a good witch trying to recuperate from the last time something weird happened to her. She is trying to raise her new adopted daughter and maybe even meet a man. When she starts having dreams about a particular man and then she sees him – she wonders what their connection is. Is he her soul mate?

Unfortunately that question can’t be answered right away as he is shot! Ophelia (with the help of her grandmother Abbey) must figure out why he was almost murdered. Was the person after Ophelia instead? Are they after her now? A witch’s investigations are never done as Ophelia quickly learns!

Thoughts:Ophelia and Abbey’s relationship is fun and keeps you entertained. It is a relationship you can either identify with or say that you want.

While Ophelia gets herself into these situations it also seems like fate is playing a fun hand in getting her into trouble

This book touches a bit on the idea of soul mates and past lives. I actually found it really interesting. Righting wrongs and finding past loves in an appealing and possible way.

Ophelia and Abbey books are something that I will continue to enjoy and would pass on to anyone who loves mysteries with a twist.

What genre would you consider this?
Mystery

Overall:

White Witch, Black Curse

White Witch Black Curse by Kim Harrison (Rachel Morgan Witch Series)

Description: Rachel Morgan is back with her pals - vampire Ivy and pixie Jinks. Over time Rachel has developed a reputation for being a black witch. The thing is - she isn't. She has just had to take on demon smut (and demon marks) to save herself and her friends. And there is nothing Rachel wants more - then to keep her friends safe and protected.

Kisten, her vampire lover, has died. She is distraught and so is Ivy. They both loveed him so much. Each wants to find his killer but is afraid of what they will find when they do find him. Rachel was there - but her grief made her insane and Jinks had to give her a forgetting spell just to have her calm down.

There is always that Rachel needs to be around to take care of. Besides finding Kisten's killer she is notified by the police that someone is hurting people. She needs to help with that. Add to it the complication of being demon, Al's servant and being attracted to a ghost, Pierce that she met when she was just a teenager and her life is complicated.

Thoughts: I honestly have the same thoughts I had with the last book I reviewed on this website that had to do with Rachel Morgan. The story is great. The problem is that I read them as soon as they come out and they rely so much on each other for the story. I feel like I am behind trying to catch up. It takes me such a long time to remember all the little subplots that are going on that make the story so great and I am halfway into the book before I get there.

The interaction between Rachel and Ivy is spectacular. They are friends, who one wants more, the other can't give more. They want to save each other from the world (Ivy - saving Rachel from all the bad things out there, and Rachel saving Ivy from dying and becoming something without a soul).

Add to that the complication of doing bad things for good reasons. Is there ever a good reason to do something bad? In Rachel's case you think so. In some ways it is a metaphor for life. You do bad things to save those you love. You do bad things because it helps with the pain. Sometimes a good thing can turn into a bad thing without you even knowing it.

Overall:

Magic and the Modern Girl

Magic and the Modern Girl by Mindy Klasky

What was this book about?

Jane Madison part time librarian and part time witch is back. Jane has been busy with her life. Her mother is back in town, her grandmother is getting married again, and of course there is her job. So what if she has forgotten to use her powers? She doesn’t realize what can happen when you do that until it is too late. She must use her powers and recapture what she had. But can something go terribly wrong with her spell?

It doesn’t help that Neko her familiar has left to live with his boyfriend. Her best friend seems to have found love (and even Jane has someone special in her life). And her warder wants nothing to do with her (or her with him).

Can she get her powers back in time? Or will it be too late to save herself and the people she loves?

What did you think about the book?

What a week for another book in a series that I love. I really enjoyed the other books about Jane Madison, who didn’t know she was a witch until later in her life. Now she is powerful and has to train herself to use it properly.

I liked the book but was a little sad that she had lost her powers, but there is no way that I believed that she would lose them permanently. So really it was just a matter of getting them back. I think the side plot with a new “love of her life” kinda took things in a weird direction. There is a creature you created reeking havoc on the world and you don’t focus on stopping her? Not to mention your best friend is going to be lost to you? Yes, you slept with someone you shouldn’t and now have to deal with it but still!

But in all – I liked how it ended and can’t wait to see how Jane and David move forward with their relationship – after everything that happened.

What genre would you consider this?
Witches

Overall:

Turbulent Sea

Turbulent Sea by Christine Feehan (Drake Sisters Novel)

What was this book about?

Joley is one of seven sisters with special powers. She is now a world renowned singer and her band and herself are on tour. She met Ilya Prakenskii a year before and has been touched by their connection ever sense. It seems as if Ilya also has his own special gifts and one of those is getting in her head.

Joley doesn’t know if she can trust Ilya – he works for a Russian mobster as a bodyguard. But her heart seems to have already made the decision for her. But with everything going on around her and someone out to kill her – she needs to make sure she really should trust him.

What did you think about the book?

We have been seeing the buildup between Joley and Ilya through several of these other books and you finally are able to see their story. Of course they have a tumultuous love affair where Joley doesn’t know if she can trust a man that seems so dangerous and dark – even if he does have special powers like her and her sisters and he has saved her sisters life.

I like the Drake Sisters a lot. The thought of a family of seven sisters each with a special power (and the last with all their powers) fits right into the type of books that I love to read. They each can have their own personality, own dreams, but together family is more important then everything.

I don’t know what it was about this book (maybe the drama going on parallel where someone is trying to hurt Joley) but it was a bit harder for me to get into this book. I would have to admit of the 6 books that are out now – this was my least favorite.

But it doesn’t mean I wouldn’t suggest reading this series to someone. Overall Christine Feehan generally gives you what you want.


What genre would you consider this?
Paranormal Romance

Overall:

Witch Blood

Witch Blood by Anya Bast (Sequel to Witch Fire)

What was this book about?

Isabelle has only one thing on her mind and that is killing the man responsible for her sister’s killer. She was killed by a demon who was unleashed by a coven of warlocks for the express purpose of hurting people. This demon has been on murder spree killing so many witches that everyone wants him stopped.

Thomas Monahan is the coven’s leader and he is out to get the demon – not just the man responsible for the demon’s existence. He needs to reign Isabelle in so that they can get to the bottom of why the demon is here and why it is killing. But while searching for the demon this earth witch can’t help but be attracted to Isabelle – a water witch.

What did you like/dislike about the book?

I read Witch Fire and definitely enjoyed it. The idea that some bad guys have decided that they are going to bring a demon into this world but then lose track of it – isn’t a bad one.

This demon is almost humanized in its need to kill so that he/it can get back to its own people. I can’t even imagine being tossed from everything you know into a world that you just can’t understand and can’t help but hate, if only because it isn’t where you wish you were. But that doesn’t excuse the behavior.

What genre would you consider this?

Paranormal Romance

Overall:

Spells and Sleeping Bags

Spells and Sleeping Bags by Sarah Mlynowski

What was this book about?
Rachel is back and this time she has powers too. After the last year, watching her sister develop her powers, and her mother go back to using her powers Rachel felt a bit left out (not that she didn’t let magic get in the way of her life).

Now her powers have come to fruition just in time for her to go to summer camp with her sister Miri. She is convinced this summer will be spectacular. Her big crush Raf is even going to be there. Unfortunately for Rachel she doesn’t have her powers quite under control, which leads to all sorts of mistakes. And even when she is getting control strange things seem to be happening to her.

What was your favorite part about this book?
I am really glad that Rachel now has her own powers and doesn’t have to pray on her sister.

What was your least favorite part about this book?
None

What genre would you consider this?
Teen Fiction

Overall: B

Frogs and French Kisses

Frogs and French Kisses by Sarah Mlynowski (Sequel to Bras & Broomsticks)

What was this book about?
Teen Rachel has just come off a horrible social faux-pas which has destined her to be unpopular and hated at school. Her mother is trying to recapture love by starting dating again. And her sister and mother are witches.

For some reason, no mater what Rachel and her sister try to do – it just doesn’t turn out as expected. They need to figure out how to work Miri’s magic in a way that good things happen.

What was your favorite part about this book?
The family dynamic is fun. Also how magic happens is something you realize in this book, and you figure out that using it isn’t always good.

What was your least favorite part about this book?
Didn’t really have one.

What genre would you consider this?
Teen Fiction

Overall: B

If I was to nominate this book for an award it would be: Book that I would give my Teen - (While this book is interesting it in no way is something that I feel has subjects that I wouldn’t want a young teen exposed to).

Darkling

Darkling by Yasmine Galenorn (Otherworld Book 3)


What was this book about?
Three sisters, all part fae-part human, each with their own talents must help protect earth and the otherworld from evil. There is Camille, a half witch. Second sister, Delilah, transforms into a tabby cat when she is under stress. Finally, there is Menolly, who after a horrible assignment gone wrong is turned into a vampire. Menolly (and her sisters) must find a way of stopping whatever is turning humans into vamps. They think Dredge, the vampire that originally turned Menolly in a very cruel way, may be to blame. They need to find Dredge and also see if he is in cahoots with Shadow Wing (the evil force that is threatening Earth and the Otherworld). They must defeat him before they can move on.

What was your favorite part about this book?
I like the Otherworld/Earth story. It is interesting (and viable if these things existed) to think that there would have to be some sort of governing body to keep these things in line. So the Otherworld Intelligence Agency seems like a reasonable step.

What was your least favorite part about this book?
I truly thought this series was a three book series. I don’t know what gave me that impression – but I did. It probably had to do with the fact that each sister had a book (in the first three books) then it looks like each sister gets another book. It is more of a rotating point of view, with each book telling part of a new story in their perspective. So knowing that would have helped. I thought they were going to have to rush the ending in order to get through everything.

What genre would you consider this?
Paranormal

Overall: B, I liked the first two books better.

Spoilers: If you want a classic romance this is not the series for you. It has lesbianism, group sex, and things of that nature mentioned in regards to the sisters relationships.

50 Ways to Hex Your Lover

50 Ways to Hex Your Lover by Linda Wisdom


What was this book about?
Vampires are disappearing all over the city and have been for years. Vampire cop Nikolai Gregory must figure out what is happening and bring it to a stop. He knows he needs witch and ex-lover Jazz Tremaine to get the job done. Unfortunately, they have a past that makes for an untrusting relationship.

What was your favorite part about this book?
Didn’t have anything that stuck out.

What was your least favorite part about this book?
Again nothing that stuck out.

What genre would you consider this?
Paranormal Romance

Overall: C+, It wasn’t bad but it wasn’t good either. I thought it was a little slow to start, maybe that was the problem.

The Outlaw Demon Wails

The Outlaw Demon Wails by Kim Harrison (The Hollows/Rachel Morgan Book 6)

What was this book about?
Witch Rachel Morgan has a complicated life. She lives with her best friend, Ivy, who is a living vampire and wants to not only suck her blood but get it on with her. She has a family of pixes, including her bodyguard/friend Jinks, who rely on her. Next door she has an elf friend (elves are supposed to be extinct) that she rescued from a demon. And of course don’t forget the fact that she has been marked with two demon marks and has demon smut on her aura that she really needs to get rid of. Oh, and she doesn’t know who killed her vampire boyfriend, Kisten – or if her or Ivy was involved in some way.

Rachel needs to figure out what exactly happened when her father and an elf did what they had to do to save her from some horrible disease. This disease was about to kill her when she was only two years old. What exactly did it make her? Who was her family? Why did they do this? What else does this mean for her? And can she ever get back to being a “good witch” who doesn’t have to deal with demons. It seems unlikely considering she has two that visit her all the time.


What was your favorite part about this book?

This is a series that the more you read the more you get into it. The characters are fun but flawed. And around every turn there is a new surprise or something you didn’t quite see happening.

What was your least favorite part about this book?
Because these books are more of one really long story, I feel like I need to reread all the other books to remind myself of the intricacies of what has gone on. The books definitely end at a point that makes sense, you just wouldn’t enjoy it as much (I believe) if you just jumped into this series.

What genre would you consider this?
Paranormal Fiction

Overall: B+ I like Rachel Morgan what can I say?