Each month you will make a post with three books from your TBR List (these books can be already on your kindle or shelf or books you might want to purchase) and add your link on the linky that will be provided on my post. Your followers and the people on the linky will help you choose which book you will read next. The following Saturday you will announce the book that won. Then read the book and on the last Saturday of the month post a review. MY TBR List is now hosted by both Michelle and Berls(Because Reading) so be sure to link up your reviews below.
You voted for me to read Witching Whispers this month — which I did ! — but I haven’t published my review for Wicked Ways on the blog yet, so you get 2 for 1 🙂
I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Wicked Ways by Kim Richardson Narrator: Devon Sorvari
Published by Tantor Audio on December 28, 2021
Genres: Paranormal, Cozy Mystery
Length: 7 hours 41 minutes
Format: Audiobook
Source: Publisher
Goodreads
We killed someone....
Okay, not exactly the news I wanted to hear from my aunts. But here it was. Now, what the hell was I supposed to do with it?
Just when I thought I could finally get a well-deserved break from the shitshow I'd been living for the past months, I get hit with this.
To make matters worse, an investigator starts snooping around Hollow Cove, asking questions about my aunts. If they're found guilty of this murder, it's a one-way ticket to Grimway Citadel - the witch prison.
Adding to my problems, something in the dark is hunting me. And unfortunately, it's not a naked Marcus.
If that isn't bad enough, things between me and the chief are falling apart, literally, and I don't think they can be fixed.
I’ve been away from these books for a little while and it was fun to return! However, some of the things that bothered me initially in this series were rearing their ugly head again 🙁 Maybe I had just gotten used to it and the break made it all fresh again?
So I enjoy this world – the magic is fun and I’m curious to know how some of the series-plot point points will resolve. And there’s always an interesting plot – this one had trying to protect the aunts from prison because of a self-defense murder. And there are some pretty funny moments.
The problems…
- the characters bug me at times. They can be complex. But sometimes they are shockingly two dimensional.
- the dialogue can be a bit flat (not surprising, considering the sometimes 2D characters)
- the plot resolution was most definitely doing things the hard way. There was a dozen chances to simplify things, so if felt needlessly complicated (and thus a bit ridiculous)
I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Witching Whispers by Kim Richardson Narrator: Devon Sorvari
Series: The Witches of Hollow Cove #7
Published by Tantor Audio on May 17, 2022
Genres: Paranormal, Cozy Mystery
Length: 7 hours 46 minutes
Format: Audiobook
Source: Publisher
Goodreads
Get ready for this laugh-out-loud adventure and find out what's brewing next with the Davenport witches!
I was hoping for a few days off from dealing with murder charges, bad guys, and the everyday paranormal bizarre. All I wanted was a nice break from all the crazy. And did I get it? No. Of course not.
Instead, a new coven comes to town. A coven of witch females who call themselves The Sisters of the Circle, a small, elite group for the upper crust of witch society—according to Dolores.
But there's something off about this coven, and I just can't put my finger on it. All the while, my aunts and other witches in town worship the ground they walk on like giddy fangirls.
Forget my time off. What I got was a whole new set of problems as my life spirals down the crapper once again.
If that isn't bad enough, a curse settles on Hollow Cove. Something dark, ominous, that threatens the lives of the townspeople. If I don't find the counter-curse in time, I could lose everything.
And the clock is ticking . . .
- Two dimensional characters: I think I’ve realized this is actually just Tessa’s aunts. But OMG are they boiled down to their primary characteristic. I forget which is which by name, but you’ve got the (1) scatterbrained aunt who is a whiz in the kitchen; the (2) very smart, talented, and fashion-clueless aunt; and (3) the slutty aunt. I think it’s supposed to be funny and just doesn’t work for me. They are a weird combination of much more skilled than Tessa and yet somehow they always need her because they’ve done something dumb, missed something obvious, etc. And this one had some interesting progression in Tessa’s relationship with the chief, which I really enjoyed too. And despite the sometimes flatness of the characters, I do care about them enough that I am curious to know what will happen!
- Dialogue: Okay yea, this really didn’t bother me at all this time. I do think this is probably a combination of not as bad and being used to their way of talking. I continue to be really bugged by some of the things Tessa says, though. Like “lady balls”. Ugh, I don’t like that one at all.
- Plot: Ok the plot was MUCH BETTER. It wasn’t about doing things the hard way at all this time — they had a very legitimate problem and I find myself really questioning what would happen. This is why I have stuck with this series despite having obvious problems — I am compelled by the trouble Tessa and her aunts seem to keep landing in. This one involved this visiting coven of witches that the aunts are very taken with and Tessa had a very big problem with. And things got pretty bad before they got better — and the way this book ended, I’m VERY curious to know what will happen in the next book. I’m excited to continue in fact.
The narration continues to be a question mark for me. If I listen to Devon Sorvari in another series and come away with similar reactions then I will know that it was less the book and more the narration. But I have a feeling it’s a combination of both — and possibly just Devon Sorvari translating things I don’t love (2D characters) exactly as they are written. So while she hasn’t found her way into my favorites list, she’s also a narrator I’d very much like to listen to again for comparison if nothing else. And maybe she’s the reason I’m still enjoying this series in general.
I haven’t read these but they do sound like they would be pretty good reads.
Interesting! I think I have the first book in the series as a freebie or on my TBR because I kind of recall the series. One of your problems though is my problem with most cozy mysteries. The quirky just feels stupid to me at times. It’s meant to make me laugh but I just roll my eyes.