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The Ghost Camper's Tall Tales (Destiny Falls Mystery & Magic #3)
The Ghost Camper's Tall Tales (Destiny Falls Mystery & Magic #3)
Elizabeth Pantley | 2021 | Mystery, Paranormal
10
9.5 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
I am so excited to go back to Destiny Falls.
Destiny Falls Mystery & Magic tells the story of Hayden, a young woman who has been transported to a magical dimension to find that she has a family she never knew and a destiny she never dreamed of. While ostensibly these are cozy mysteries, the true story is Hayden’s missing mother. She left Hayden with her grandmothers not long after she was born, but as we have learned through the books of this series, that is not entirely accurate.

Here in book 3, The Ghost Camper’s Tall Tales, Hayden along with her siblings investigate information that could finally lead her to her mom. Though, it comes with the admonition not to trust anyone.

While Hayden and feline bestie Latifa investigate a new death on the island while trying to find out more about the mysterious letter from Emily, a ghost with a penchant for storytelling brings Hayden to his world. She must decide whether his stories are for fun or more historical in nature, and what do they have to do with her investigations.

As I said, it is so great to be back. The great recurring characters of Hayden’s family, the local townspeople, and of course the wonderful animals of Destiny Falls, which in itself is a magical wonderful place, pick the story up right where the last book left, without a moment’s pause in the action. Romance takes a step up and Latifa and her extended cat family prove why cats will someday rule the world. We finally get to learn secrets, but then there are always more questions than answers, so of course I can’t wait for the next installment.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 5 out of 5.
I received an advance review copy for free through Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours, and I am leaving this review voluntarily
  
Contains spoilers, click to show
!! Spoilers !!! !! Spoilers !!!

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Shadow Witch ( Witches of Hollow Cove book 1)
Kim Richardson
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Are you ready for your next magical adventure?

Okay, so I’m in trouble. Big trouble. I’m broke. Worse, my boyfriend of five years just dumped me.

What do I do? I move in with my three eccentric aunts in their family home, Davenport House. Sounds exciting, only this massive farmhouse likes to eat men. If I were a regular human, I would have run out screaming like a banshee. As a witch—I do absolutely nothing. Hey, maybe they deserved it?

I’m back in Hollow Cove, the flamboyant paranormal community, where nymphs, werewolves, trolls, shifters, witches, and other paranormals live comfortable lives away from prying human eyes. As I settle into my new life, I decide to accept my aunts’ proposal and join the family business—the business of protecting our town and killing anything that would want to harm it.

But I’ve been away from the paranormal world for quite some time, and my magical abilities are a little bit rusty. Heck, they’re practically invisible.

Things soon spiral down the crapper when people in our community start dropping like flies. And when demons start showing up in Hollow Cove, it’s up to me to take care of them. Permanently.

Finally!!! A Gorilla shifter! One more to knock of my list of shifters wanted. This was a fun light read! I really enjoyed it after having a few heavy books. I thought the characters were fun and easy to get along with, even the ones you weren’t supposed to like so much. Ronin was my favourite and had me laughing out loud my favourite line “Well, scratch my balls and call me Beryl,” exclaimed Ronin. “The chief’s freakin’ King Kong!”
This had me laugh so much. Like I said a fun easy light read that’s actually written quite well.
  
Air Witch (Witches of Westwood Academy #2)
Air Witch (Witches of Westwood Academy #2)
Gina Kincade, C.D. Gorri | 2022 | Paranormal, Romance
8
9.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
AIR WITCH is the second book in the Witches of Westwood Academy series and, although it follows on from Water Witch, you could read it as a standalone and still understand the story.

Maia is the poor little rich girl (her words, not mine) with issues at home she won't tell anyone about, plus she is getting grief from one of the Assistants. She wants to get perfect grades so she can stay on at school and not become a magical battery for the male half of her family to leech from. Enoch Zell is the assistant who keeps on giving her B's instead of A's, thus lowering her overall grade.

I loved the magical side of it, although I would have liked to have known more about Maia's talents of her own, not just when she is with Enoch. I liked how she was sent to school to become powerful enough so she could be drained, but not too powerful to break free. I also loved the idea of the perfume and how that worked!

The relationship with Enoch was a bit abrupt. We get told time has passed with nothing but snark between them. Along comes Enid and he is there in the dorm room, which Maia vacates. Then... one meeting on a rooftop and it's all on. It just seemed rather quick to me, with nothing much building up to it.

Saying that, I still thoroughly enjoyed the story and being back in the Academy. Along with the Meriweathers, I really hope those Professors were looked at too! A great addition to the series and I look forward to Fire Witch. Definitely recommended by me.

** same worded review will appear elsewhere **

* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *

Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Jan 21, 2023
  
BB
Black Bird of the Gallows
Meg Kassel | 2017 | Fiction & Poetry
10
9.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
From the moment I started to read this book the world around me disappeared and I found myself utterly immersed within the pages of this amazing book. The story line was well constructed and the characters were fantastic. I fell head over heels with Angie and Reece and honestly who wouldn't!? This book has it all from teenage angst to supernatural creatures with some swoon worthy moments that have left me clamoring for more. This author grabbed a hold of her magical thread and weaved a paranormal tale that kept me glued to my seat. I look forward to what's to come from this talented author. I will end this review with one of my favorite quotes; "The world reeks of death and pain, and you smell like life and joy and everything I can never have."

{I requested a review copy via Entangled Teen and made no guarantee of a favorable review. The opinions expressed here are unbiased and my own.}
  
Lincoln in the Bardo
Lincoln in the Bardo
George Saunders | 2017 | Fiction & Poetry
9
8.3 (6 Ratings)
Book Rating
Epic modern Shakespearean tragedy
Listened on Audible.co.uk.
George Saunder's epic historical and existential tragedy seems to resonate on many levels with a variety of readers. Taking the real life account of the death of Abraham Lincoln's son, exploring his grief and creating a magical realistic theatrical piece is a true wonder.

It's a listening experience for all the senses, with the beautiful music and sounds of the Civil War, as well as a host of well known voices - it's haunting in many aspects. The language is rich and variable mixing Shakespearean dialogue with modern slang.

Where it falls short are the constant breaks in the novel through footnotes describing the actual factual account of that time. It is jarring and ruins the experience - it should be left to the end and is only valid when reading. In this case Saunders sounds timid, having to constantly back up his claims. It would have been five stars, but it happened too often.
  
Supergods: Our World in the Age of the Superhero
Supergods: Our World in the Age of the Superhero
Grant Morrison | 2012 | Philosophy, Psychology & Social Sciences
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Great history of the comic book superhero (1 more)
Interesting insights and analysis
Magical self autobiographical history of the superhero.
If you're a fan of Grant Morrison'writing or just interested in the history of superheroes then this is a fascinating read. Be warned it gets into some pretty weird territory in terms of the autobiographical side of things, delving into the world of psychedelic chaos magic - take it with a pinch of salt if you will, or dismiss it as the writings of a deranged mad man, but you can't dismiss Morrison's influence on the comic book scene (he's definitely one of the triumvirate of superstars, along side Alan Moore and Neil Gaimen, whose work deserves much more credit than he gets in the mainstream imo) - it's really interesting to know the headspace he was in when coming up with a lot of his ground breaking ideas. Interesting for anyone interested in the creative process.