Home for a Spell (A Bewitching Mystery #7) by Madelyn Alt

 

Home for a Spell is the seventh book in the Bewitching Mystery series. I've enjoyed the books in this series, even though I haven't rated them especially high. There is a good voice, decent description of magick (the way it is spelled when it's "real" and not sleight of hand), interesting characters, and interesting town.

I had hoped that A Witch in Time was a transition book, and that Home for a Spell would pick back up with some of the ongoing story arcs.  Instead, I believe we saw two books that took a bit of a break with the story arcs. We saw a hint that the next book will pick back up with the metaphysics, since we'll be back into October.

However, even with very little magick/metaphysics in this book, it was still a pretty good book. The plot was a good one, and the relationship "stuff" in this book is good.  

Here's the blurb:

As the newest witch in Indiana, Maggie O'Neill already has plenty to deal with. So being hobbled by a broken leg doesn't help. Neither does the fact that her best friend and upstairs neighbor is getting ready to tie the knot with her own boyfriend and move away. This leads Maggie to wonder if it isn't time to find herself a new pad.

But when she finds a place, Maggie's dream of new digs turns into a nightmare: the apartment manager is found dead before she can even sign the lease. And Maggie finds herself not only searching for a new home- but for a frightfully clever killer.

As for the writing elements: the plot was good and I didn't know who the killer was until the reveal, pacing was fine, prose and dialogue flowed nicely, and character development continues to be well done.

I'm going to give Home for a Spell an 8 of 10, but I'll be leaving the series rating at a 6 of 10.

• Book Rating: Home for a Spell: 8 of 10
• Series Rating: Bewitching Mysteries: 6 of 10

1. The Trouble with Magic
2. A Charmed Death
3. Hex Marks the Spot
4. No Rest for the Wiccan
5. Where There's a Witch
6. A Witch in Time
7. Home for a Spell
.

A Witch In Time (Bewitching Mystery #6) by Madelyn Alt

 

I feel torn about giving this review, because it's not going to be a great review, and I really want to like this series. The Bewitching Mystery series has a lot going for it, but so far there is something that falls short. I'm not 100% sure I can define what doesn't work, but I'm going to try.

I've rated all of the books in this series a 6 of 10, with one exception, and that was a 7 of 10. And yet I continue to read new books as they come out. I like the characters, I like the basic premise of the series, and I enjoy the author's voice. There is some entertainment value, but the Bewitching Mysteries book are not what I'd call really good books.

Unfortunately, I think that A Witch in Time may be the weakest yet as far as plot goes, though there are a lot of good things that happen as far as series arcs go.

I originally thought I would give A Witch in Time a 5 of 10, but then I realize that Maggie is growing, and is accepting more and more of herself. I believe (or hope) that this book is a transition book in the series. There are conversations with Marcus that get put off for other, more pressing concerns. When Maggie and Marcus get around to having those conversations, Maggie is going to have to confront exactly what is happening with her powers, and she is going to have to 1) come to terms with them and 2) learn the best way to handle them.

I'm just going to assume I'm right about this being a transition book, the stage where Maggie gets new abilities but hasn't figured that out yet, and the next book will be about her dealing with them. With that assumption I can give the book a 6 instead of a 5.

Book Rating: A Witch in Time: 6 of 10
Series Rating: Bewitching Mysteries: 6 of 10




1. The Trouble with Magic
2. A Charmed Death
3. Hex Marks the Spot
4. No Rest for the Wiccan
5. Where There's a Witch
6. A Witch in Time

Where There's a Witch (Bewitching Mysteries, No. 5) by Madelyn Alt

Where There's a Witch is book five of the Bewitching Mysteries series.

After book four, I thought I was done with this series, but I saw it used for a couple of dollars, so I decided to pick it up.

Once again, I knew who the killer was long before Maggie did, and yet she and I had the same information. I won't go so far as to say TSTL, but the annoyance factor is there.

The love triangle thing was (again) frustrating. Until the end of the book, and then there was (gasp) promise that things may be changing in the next book. Promising enough for me to buy the next book on release day? Nope, not that promising. But, promising enough for me to track the next book and then read some reviews and see if I want to buy it.

The books could be good, but they just don't quite do it for me. Maggie needs to learn more about herself, she needs to stop being clueless about life in general, and she needs to... I don't know.. stop floating through life and take the bull by the horns, I guess. The dialogue is good, there is comic relief placed appropriately, and there is some thought given to pacing (it's not great, but not terrible, either). But the love triangle is very badly done, and the plots are way too transparent. And the magical theory stuff, the metaphysics, is dragging, too. There was promise in the beginning of the series, I saw the whole "when the student is ready the teachers will appear" thing happening.. but the teachers aren't teaching. And Maggie isn't learning.

I'm giving Where There's a Witch a 6 of 10, and I'm leaving the series at a 6 of 10.

Book Rating: 6 of 10
Series Rating: 6 of 10





1. The Trouble with Magic
2. A Charmed Death
3. Hex Marks the Spot
4. No Rest for the Wiccan
5. Where There's a Witch (July 7, 2009)

No Rest for the Wiccan (Bewitching Mysteries, No. 4) by Madelyn Alt

No Rest for the Wiccan is book four of the Bewitching Mysteries series. This book was a little better than the first three, but not by much.

The characters aren't fully dimensional to me, and Maggie doesn't seem to really be growing. Sure, she's learned a few things, but actual growth? Not so much.

The love triangle thing isn't going anywhere either, and by now Maggie really should have come to a few conclusions that just seem to be beyond her. She's 30 here, not 16... can she not figure things out on her own?


Here's the blurb:

Maggie O’Neill loves her job at Enchantments as much as she loves being Indiana’s newest witch. But when her family needs her, she's still willing to lend a hand—even if she has to reach beyond the grave…

It's a long, hot summer in Stony Mill, and Maggie is busy watching TV reruns, minding the store, and figuring out her love life. Then she reluctantly volunteers to care for her bedridden, oh-so-perfect sister, Mel, and her beautiful nieces. But Mel isn't the only focus of Maggie's attention. There are some strange spirits hanging about the area—and it looks like a job for Maggie and the N.I.G.H.T.S. ghost hunting team.

And even as she tries to deal with the long-dead, Maggie must cope with the recently-deceased. A friend of Mel's loses her husband to a dreadful fall, and the police are calling it accidental death. Maggie's not so sure, and sets her second sights on finding a first-degree murderer…

I knew who the killer was almost as soon as we knew about the death. And didn't I have all of the same information Maggie had?

As for future books... I'd kind of like to know where the love triangle goes, but not really bad enough to read the next book. I'll probably look for some reviews of the next book, but at this point I'm not planning to read the next book.

The first three books were a 6 of 10 for me. I'm giving No Rest for the Wiccan a 7 of 10, but I'm leaving the series at a 6 of 10.

Book Rating: 7 of 10
Series Rating: 6 of 10





1. The Trouble with Magic
2. A Charmed Death
3. Hex Marks the Spot
4. No Rest for the Wiccan
5. Where There's a Witch (July 7, 2009)

Hex Marks the Spot (Bewitching Mysteries, No. 3) by Madelyn Alt

Hex Marks the Spot is book three of the Bewitching Mysteries series. As were the first two books in the series, this one is also your basic paranormal chik-lit book. There is (again) a mystery to solve while a 30-ish woman is beginning to learn about the world of energy and spirits and a bit of wicca. The author tried to insert some romance in this book, but it fell kind of flat for me.

Here's the blurb:

Maggie O'Neill loves her job at Enchantments, Indiana's finest mystical antique shop. But something dark is brewing in Stony Mill -- and it's not just the fabulous coffee Maggie serves to browsing customers. Looking for charming stock for the store, Maggie accompanies her boss--and favorite witch--Felicity Dow to the countywide craft bazaar. Felicity falls hard for a beautiful armoire, intricately carved by an Amish craftsman. Maggie can't help noticing that though his clothes may be plain, he himself is more handsome than a man sporting a jawline-only beard has any right to be. And he seems pretty aware that the ladies love his . . . furniture. But when the hunky craftsman turns up dead, with a strange hex symbol etched near his corpse, Maggie can't help but wonder if the craft involved might be the witchy kind. Because Maggie knows that the dead man could well have been oversexed . . . but she worries that he was also overhexed.

I'll be reading book four next, and I'm really hoping to see something better in the next book. If not, I won't be buying any more of this series.

The first three books have been a 6 of 10 for me, and that's what I'm giving the series as well.

Book Rating: 6 of 10
Series Rating: 6 of 10





1. The Trouble with Magic
2. A Charmed Death
3. Hex Marks the Spot
4. No Rest for the Wiccan
5. Where There's a Witch (July 7, 2009)

A Charmed Death (Bewitching Mysteries, No. 2) by Madelyn Alt

A Charmed Death book two of the Bewitching Mysteries series, is once again your basic paranormal chik-lit book. As with the first book, there is a mystery to solve while a 30-ish woman is beginning to learn about the world of energy and spirits and a bit of wicca.

We still have the friend upstairs, and the controlling mother. Maggie's new friends play a bigger part in this book, and I'm happy to see it.

Here's the blurb:

Maggie O'Neill was just your average small-town girl, stuck in a dead-end job until she started working at Enchantments, Stony Mill's finest antique shop with a unique mystical secret. Now Maggie is Indiana's newest witch. Learning to cope with her newfound powers is tough enough, but add to that keeping the stock at Enchantments organized, keeping the peace with her somewhat controlling mom, and remembering to tape reruns of her favorite show, Magnum, P.I., and Maggie's got a full plate.

But when a second questionable death occurs a scant two months into her store tenure, she can't turn her thoughts away from all the town gossip about the teenage princess and the mysterious circumstances surrounding the girl's charmed life and death. While the police get caught up in procedure and logic, Maggie uses every trick, charm, and intuition she can summon, with the assistance of her favorite witchy boss Felicity Dow, to get to the heart of this spellbinding murder.

A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do. In this case? Get witchy!

I'm not really sure what's going on with Tom and Marcus. My choice would be Marcus, but Maggie thinks he's spoken for. I don't really think I like Tom that much, but we don't really know him that well yet, so perhaps there is more to him than I think.

I am hoping to see Maggie grow, the reviews of later books talk about that, and since I'm tired of the series out there where the main protagonist does not grow (like Stephanie Plum) I'm really hoping this series gives me what I'm looking for: someone who learns and grows and doesn't just stagnate as she is.

But so far, the first two books have been a 6 of 10 for me, and that's what I'm giving the series after two books, also.

Book Rating: 6 of 10
Series Rating: 6 of 10





1. The Trouble with Magic
2. A Charmed Death
3. Hex Marks the Spot
4. No Rest for the Wiccan
5. Where There's a Witch (July 7, 2009)

The Trouble With Magic (Bewitching Mysteries, No. 1) by Madelyn Alt

The Trouble With Magic is your basic paranormal chik-lit book. This one has a mystery to solve while a 30-ish woman is beginning to learn about the world of energy and spirits and a bit of wicca. There is some fashion, though thankfully it's friends and siblings wearing it and not the main character. There is a best friend who lives upstairs. There is a controlling mother.

It was hard for me to get into. I kept putting it down and doing something else, then picking it back up. The last quarter of the book was better, and I've read the reviews of the later books, so I'll be giving the second book a try.

Here's the blurb:

Bringing a little culture to Stony Mill, Indiana, Enchantments is one of the area's finest antique shops. But shop clerk Maggie O'Neill and her employer Felicity Dow do more than conjure up curios for the locals--the each possess a talent for spellbinding sleuthing.

Bored with her office job (and subsequently fired for excessive tardiness), Maggie jumps at the opportunity to work at Enchantments. She was a little weirded out when Felicity described herself as a witch, but if her boss wants to play with broomsticks and cauldrons, where's the harm? However, Maggie's first day on the job may turn out to be her last when police question Felicity in the murder of her estranged sister. With everyone in town proclaiming Felicity's guilt faster than the Salem Witch Trials, Maggie finds herself wondering if she'll also be tied to the stake. And lately, she's been receiving messages on a spiritual frequency guiding her to prove Felicity's innocence--and to embrace her own "charmed" life .

I can see the possibilities for a bit of a triangle in future books. I can also see that it might be interesting to watch Maggie learn about the spiritual world around her. The reviews for future books talk about Maggie's growth, and that's one of the things that makes me really like a series - watching a character grow and learn and change. So, while I didn't love this book, I think it's got promise that the series might be better than the first book.

I'm giving The Trouble With Magic a 6 of 10.

Book Rating: 6 of 10





1. The Trouble with Magic
2. A Charmed Death
3. Hex Marks the Spot
4. No Rest for the Wiccan
5. Where There's a Witch (July 7, 2009)