Book Review ~ Grimoires, Spas & Chocolate Straws (A Spells & Caramels Cozy Witch Mystery, Book 8) by Erin Johnson

Grimoires, Spas & Chocolate Straws 

A Spells & Caramels Cozy Witch Mystery, Book 8

by Erin Johnson

About the Book:

Grimoires, Spas & Chocolate Straws

A Spells & Caramels Cozy Witch Mystery, Book 8

Cozy Mystery 

Self Published 

December 29, 2018 

Paperback: 332 pages 

ISBN-10: 1792728727 

ISBN-13: 978-1792728723 

Digital ASIN: B07LB49VBR

Amazon

About the Book:

Sandy slaughter. An enchanting suspect. Can a magical baker protect her friends from a dangerous paradise?

Stranded on Badlands Island, Imogen Banks is driving herself crazy looking for her brother. So when the spell-casting baker's friends suggest they escape for a luxurious dragon spa treatment, she doesn't need a second invitation. But her hopes for coastal romance with Hank fall flat when a resort guest turns up roasted in the sand.

Suspecting murder, Imogen zeroes in on the town's rumored "black widow" as a possible culprit. But when her friend falls for the beautiful woman despite the deadly track record, Imogen fears he'll be the next victim to stay buried.

Can Imogen sift through the clues before the killer gives her one final treatment?

Grimoires, Spas and Chocolate Straws is the eighth book in the Spells and Caramels delightful paranormal cozy mystery series. If you like endearing heroines, a touch of romance, and unexpected twists, then you’ll love Erin Johnson’s magical whodunit.

Buy Grimoires, Spas & Chocolate Straws to massage a new mystery today!

My Review:

Grimoires, Spas & Chocolate Straws by Erin Johnson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Imogen and her friends are going to be on Badlands Island for the foreseeable future. To keep from going crazy, Imogen friends agree to go with the guards to a resort town to help distribute tea to the locals while the guards protect the fishermen. When a man indulging in a signature spa treatment is found dead and the owner of the spa is Sara, the infamous black widow, Imogen can’t help but get involved, especially since her friend Yann shows an interest in Sara.

Grimoires, Spas, and Chocolate Straws was a little bit slow for me at the beginning. It wasn’t until after they reached the resort town and the death occurs that the pacing of the book picked up. The characters are delightful as ever and we get to meet new people and get reacquainted with Horace. His conversation with Imogen is pretty sad and I felt really bad for the life he’s had to live for so long.

Spells and Caramels is a really enjoyable cozy mystery series. There are now eight books and the author still manages to keep things fresh and interesting. Imogene, Hank, Maple, and Sam, along with all the others, are well developed characters. They aren't flawless characters but that's what helps give them, and the story, so much charm. The continued world building describes scenes very well and the continues character development helps the reader develop deeper connections with the characters.

Imogen's character is fun and caring with a bit of emotional baggage making her a very realistic, likable, and interesting character. She has embraced the magic she was born into and she's continually trying to harness and use the magic. Imogen and Maple are wonderful, and I love their friendship. Iggy the flame is the best! He's mouthy but Iggy and Imogen have a great relationship. Hank and Imogen’s relationship continues to grow and strengthen even though they are far from home. I look forward to more of their antics in the next book.

I was provided a copy of this book to review.

View all my reviews

Halloween Interview with Kirsten Weiss, Author of Fey (The Witches of Doyle, Book 5) ~ Haunted Halloween Spooktacular ~ #Giveaway #CozyMystery

Q: What kind of supernatural research do you do, and how long do you spend researching before beginning a book?

A: It depends on the book. But I believe that especially when I’m writing some magical, basing the magic on real, historical systems makes the stories seem more “real.” So, I’ll usually research whatever magical system my heroine works in (e.g. shamanism, earth witchery, or alchemy) as well as the mythology of whatever other characters she encounters. It’s a lot of fun!

Q: What haunted pilgrimages have you gone on?

A: Recently, I went on a ghost hunt in Gettysburg, PA. It’s been on my bucket list, because it’s supposed to be one of the most haunted parts of America. We got to play with EMF detectors and other ghost hunting equipment. I’m not sure if we encountered any ghosts, but we did encounter a lot of Gettysburg teens. Apparently playing with Ouija boards at the local ghost sites is the thing to do.

Q: Do you hide any magical secrets in your books that only a few people will find?

A: Mercury is the archetype of communication and business, so I always insert his name in my books somewhere as a nod to him.

Q: Did you ever consider writing under a pseudonym?

A: I actually have written under one. In my Witches of Doyle cozy mysteries, one of my witches, Karin Bonheim, writes paranormal romance (PNR). I thought it would be fun to write some PNR novellas as Karin, and weave her story in between the chapter. These novellas are The Witches of Doyle In-Betweens.

Q: What other authors are you friends with, and how do they help you become a better writer?

A: My sister, Allyson Charles, writes romance (she’s super funny), and she introduced me to her gang of fellow romance writers. They’ve really helped me kick up the romance in my mysteries several notches. I’m indebted to them on several levels.

Q: Do you want each book to stand on its own, or are you trying to build a body of work with connections between each book?

A: A little of both! My Witches of Doyle series is connected to my Wits End cozy mysteries. They all take place in Doyle, and characters make cameos in each others’ books. And of course, there are those paranormal romances I mentioned under the Karin Bonheim name – some of my Wits’ End characters show up there as well.

Q: How many unpublished and half-finished books do you have?

A: Too many! I’ve been rolling out a new book every month since June, and the last title in this publishing frenzy, The Gargoyle Chronicles, will publish in November. And Fey, Book 5 from The Witches of Doyle, is out October 28th. I’m also working on books four and five in my Pie Town cozy mystery series. The third book in that series, Pie Hard, will launch in January, 2019. And I’ve got the first book in a new Tea and Tarot series which will probably publish in early 2019 and is called Steeped in Murder. And then there’s book 4 in my Perfectly Proper Paranormal Museum series, Chocolate a’la Murder. That’s coming out in March, 2019.

Fey
The Witches of Doyle
Book 5

Kirsten Weiss

Genre: Cozy Witch Mystery

Publisher: Misterio Press

Date of Publication: October 28, 2018

ISBN: 978-1-944767-34-1

ASIN: B07GBHMJZZ

Number of pages: 192

Word Count: 61,000

Cover Artist: Dar Albert

Tagline: This witch will do anything for a normal life with the man she loves. But when you’re on fairy patrol, normal is relative.

About the Book:

This witch will do anything for a normal life with the man she loves. But when you’re on fairy patrol, normal is relative.

Witch Jayce Bonheim has packed away her candles, crystals and cauldrons. With her boyfriend recovering from a hex, she’s determined to build a sane and magic-free life for them both.

But when a horde of troublemaking gnomes invades the small town of Doyle, it’s up to Jayce and her magical sisters to send them packing.

After the gnomes lead Jayce to a murdered employee from her own café, she’s plunged into an investigation that lands her in the sheriff’s crosshairs. And Jayce must catch a killer before the sheriff’s brewing witch hunt nets a very real witch.

Fey is book 5 in The Witches of Doyle cozy mystery novels. Buy Fey and start reading this quirky witch mystery today!

Spells included at the back of the book.

Watch the Book Trailer: https://youtu.be/0y1Sd12TKfw

Amazon      Kobo      iBooks      Nook

Meet the Author:

Kirsten Weiss has never met a dessert she didn’t like, and her guilty pleasures are watching Ghost Whisperer re-runs and drinking red wine. The latter gives her heartburn, but she drinks it anyway.

Now based in San Mateo, CA, she writes genre-blending cozy mystery, supernatural and steampunk suspense, mixing her experiences and imagination to create vivid worlds of fun and enchantment.

If you like funny cozy mysteries, check out her Pie Town, Paranormal Museum and Wits’ End books. If you’re looking for some magic with your mystery, give the Witches of Doyle, Riga Hayworth and Rocky Bridges books a try. And if you like steampunk, the Sensibility Grey series might be for you.

Kirsten sends out original short stories of mystery and magic to her mailing list. If you’d like to get them delivered straight to your inbox, make sure to sign up for her newsletter at kirstenweiss.com

Feel free to follow her on Twitter @KirstenWeiss or Bookbub, get in touch on Facebook, post a picture of this book to Instagram and tag her @kirstenweissauthor, or send her an email. She’ll answer you personally…which may be a good or a bad thing, depending on your perspective.

Website: http://kirstenweiss.com

Facebook: http://facebook.com/kirstenweiss/

Twitter: http://twitter.com/KirstenWeiss    

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Book Review & #Giveaway ~ Black Arts, Tarts & Gypsy Carts: A Cozy Witch Mystery (Spells & Caramels) by Erin Johnson

Black Arts, Tarts & Gypsy Carts: A Cozy Witch Mystery (Spells & Caramels) by Erin Johnson

 

Black Arts, Tarts & Gypsy Carts: A Cozy Witch Mystery (Spells & Caramels) 

Cozy Mystery 

2nd in Series 

Self Published 

Publish Date October 29, 2017 

Paperback: 300 pages 

ISBN-13: 978-1976537110 

E-Book - ASIN: B076GW21DK

About the Book:

With the Summer Sea Carnival visiting the enchanted island of Bijou Mer, Imogen jumps at the chance to help run the royal bakery booth. It’ll get her out of the palace and allow her to continue avoiding her feelings for a certain engaged prince. Imogen’s plans to lay low are shattered when the world-famous necromancer, Madame Zerna, is found dead, sawed in half on the dark magician’s table and Imogen’s friend Rhonda is caught red-handed. With incriminating evidence piling up against Rhonda, Zerna’s rival, Imogen promises to help clear her name by finding the real murderer. But between running the booth, encouraging Maple as she struggles to lead as head baker, and taking spell lessons from the friendly strong man, Imogen’s got her hands full. And it’s no easier getting information from the evasive dark magician or Madame Zerna’s secretive assistant. Even Rhonda’s hiding something. With the Night of the Dead fast approaching, and Rhonda headed for a maximum security witch prison, Imogen races to unearth the real killer in time to save her friend. But in a mysterious carnival where nothing’s as it seems, will Imogen have the magical powers to keep from being on the chopping block herself?

Black Arts, Tarts, & Gypsy Carts is a great second book in Erin Johnson's Spells & Caramels cozy mystery series. Imogen has taken her place in the royal bakery next to Maple, the royal baker. When Prince Harry suggests the team set up a baking tent at the upcoming carnival, Maple jumps at the chance. Imogen is also excited because between the end of book one and the beginning of this book, she's done everything she can to avoid Prince Harry, and this will help her in her quest of Prince avoidance. She even agrees to learn about her powers from one of the carnival attractions instead of Prince Harry. Avoiding Prince Harry is the least of her problems though.

When Madame Zerna, a bigwig necromancer comes to town to put on shows during the carnival, their resident seer, Rhonda starts acting strangely. Things escalate when Madame Zerna is found dead and Rhonda is implicated. Imogene struggles to find out exactly what happened in order to keep Rhonda out of prison because no one is talking including Madame Zerna's assistant or the dark arts magician or his assistant that Imogene and Maple saw Madame Zerna confronting previously.

Imogen is a fun, caring, and interesting character. She has embraced the magic she was born into even if she still doesn't truly know how to harness or use the magic. Maple is having a rough time fitting into the role of head baker and she has some pretty insubordinate assistants. Imogene is a wonderful friend to Maple as she desperately attempts to make her way. I love the dynamics between Imogene and Prince Harry. They are cute together. And Iggy is the best! He's mouthy but after the misunderstandings in the beginning of book 1, Iggy and Imogen have a great relationship.

I enjoyed the second book in this cozy mystery series and found the setting and characters to be interesting, and at times, exciting. There is more character development in this book than in the first one and I enjoyed getting to know everyone better. The world building is interesting and I found myself completely engaged in the story. There were some twists and turns in the quest to catch the killer. There are multiple threads woven through Black Arts, Tarts, and Gypsy Carts and I was surprised by a couple of them. The book was fast paced and easy to follow. I love the potential love story and hope we get to see it grow in the upcoming books.

I voluntarily reviewed this book.

Meet the Author

A native of Tempe, Arizona, Erin spends her time crafting mysterious, magical, romance-filled stories that’ll hopefully make you laugh. In between, she’s traveling, napping with her dogs, eating with her friends and family, and teaching Pilates (to allow her to eat more).

Website: www.erinjohnsonwrites.com.
Facebook: www.facebook.com/EJohnsonWrites.
Twitter: @EJohnsonWrites

Purchase Link - Amazon 

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