A Wytch's Book Review Blog

Hark the Herald Angels Slay (A Year-Round Christmas Mystery #3) by Vicki Delany

The town of Rudolph, New York, has the Christmas spirit all year long—but when homicide heats up a summer holiday, it’s up to shop owner Merry Wilkinson to wrap up the case.

In Rudolph, Christmas in July heralds Santa’s arrival by boat to begin his summer vacation at the lake, and Merry Wilkinson, owner of Mrs. Claus’s Treasures, is looking forward to a busy weekend. But she’s caught off guard when her ex-fiancé, Max Folger, unexpectedly arrives with a team from a lifestyle magazine wanting to do a feature on the July festivities.

It’s clear that Max’s visit has less to do with business and more to do with winning back Merry’s heart. Merry has too much on her plate to deal with an old flame, but when Max is found strangled to death in Mrs. Claus’s Treasures, she must find out who wanted him dead—and stop a killer from ruining the summer holiday cheer.

Rudolph is celebrating Christmas in July, so Merry's father will be reprising his on-going role as Santa and this year they plan to arrive by boat rather than the parade they have done previously.  Merry is getting ready (including making sure there is plenty of stock in the shop), she is slightly derailed when a group arrive from the lifestyle magazine she used to work out, apparently they plan to do a feature on the Christmas in July and Rudolph, so far so good, but when Merry realises that one of the group is her ex-fiance and that he wants her back (not to get married you understand but to be his mistress!) things start spiralling out of control.  It all comes to a head when Max (the ex) is found dead in the shop, Merry's assistant has gone missing, Max's current fiance is being a spoilt Diva and no-one knows what is going on!

Death by Diploma (Chalkboard Outlines #1) by Kelley Kaye, Kelley Kay Bowles

Emma Lovett leaves her philandering husband and crosses the country to begin her teaching career at a high school in Pinewood, Colorado.There, she meets Leslie Parker, a fellow teacher given to quoting Shakespeare to fit all situations, and the two become fast friends.

Arriving at work early one morning, Emma discovers the body of the school custodian, a man who reminds her of her late father. When the police struggle to find the killer, the ladies decide to help solve the murder. Their efforts lead them to a myriad of suspects: the schizophrenic librarian, the crude football coach, the mysterious social studies teacher, and even Emma’s new love interest.

As Emma Lovett discovers the perils of teaching high school, she and Leslie learn more than they ever wanted to know about the reasons people kill.

Emma is starting a new life, she has got her teaching degree, moved across the country, bought a small house and got a teaching job.  Her first day she meets the custodian (who keeps the classrooms wonderfully clean) and a fellow teacher (Leslie) who has a quote for every occasion and like Emma is an aficionado of crime novels.  This stands them in good stead when after a few days Emma discovers the custodian well and truly dead! and the local police officer seems not to have an idea (his nickname from Leslie is Carl the Clueless - harsh but accurate!).  So they end up working with the librarian, the social studies teacher and each other to discover who would kill such a nice chap.

All Signs Point to Murder (Zodiac Mystery #2) by Connie di Marco

Julia Bonatti is alarmed by the astrological signs looming over Geneva Leary’s wedding day, but nobody asked Julia’s opinion and being a bridesmaid means supporting the bride no matter what. Even with the foreboding Moon-Mars-Pluto lineup in the heavens, no one’s prepared for the catastrophes that strike: a no-show sister, a passed-out wedding planner, and a lethal shooting in the dead of night.

With anger and grief threatening to tear the Leary family part, Julia is determined to understand how such a terrible tragedy could occur. As she digs deeper into the family’s secrets, her astrological insights will lead her to the truth about a criminal enterprise that stretches far beyond the California coast.

Julia is supporting an old friend by being one of her bridesmaids (her two sisters are the other two), she is a little worried that the timing is not good astrologically but no one had got her to check, and it seems that Julia's fears are well founded when one of the sisters has managed to get herself well and truly drunk (she claimed to have only had a couple of glasses of wine but seeing as she has a history of drinking and drug abuse no one believes her!), later in the evening the wedding planner collapses having drunk some wine but there is worse to come when there is a fatal shooting back at the house of the other sister.  Julia needs to work out what signs lead to murder and what signs lead to the answers.

Naturally Thin: Lasting Weight Loss without Dieting by Jean Antonello

–The Most Important Book on Dieting You Will Ever Read
–The Long-Awaited Sequel to the Original Bestseller that Sold Over 250,000 Copies.
– ‘Naturally Thin’ Books Have Been Featured in Oprah Magazine Reader’s Digest


"Naturally Thin: Lasting Weight Loss without Dieting” is the long-awaited sequel to “How to Become Naturally Thin by Eating More," the groundbreaking international bestseller that sold over a quarter million copies and that has helped countless individuals achieve lasting weight loss and recovery from weight problems, eating disorders, and disturbed eating patterns.


This book shares the original principles of the Naturally Thin® program along with the latest information about how to achieve permanent weight loss based upon the biological principles of adaptation, which is the core of the nursing curriculum at the University of Minnesota.


For the past three decades, individuals from all over the world have successfully applied the Naturally Thin® approach to achieve lasting weight loss and recovery from weight problems, eating disorders, and disturbed eating patterns.


Diets don’t work. Statistically, 95% of dieters regain all the weight they lose. This book shares a proven method to keep the weight you lose off, without the pain and struggle of chronic dieting. It answers the questions you’ve asked yourself for years:


•Why can’t I keep the weight off after dieting?
•Why do I binge and crave foods I know are bad for me?
•Is there a way to avoid rebound weight gain?


The answers are all in this book. You will learn:


•Why diets backfire 95% of the time
•A body-centered approach to hunger/fullness signals
•The only true appetite suppressant
•How going hungry sets you up to overeat later
•How dieting actually sets you up to gain weight
•The first step you must take to become NATURALLY THIN
•How to stop your cravings for refined carbs and sugar
•Why you can't lose weight and keep it off
•How to stimulate your metabolic rate by eating more


One reader commented about this book, “If you truly, deeply wish to lose weight permanently, while eating delicious food all day long, and without going on another diet, or being hungry, then this book is for you. You will be amazed as to what the problem actually is that prevents permanent weight loss.”

A wonderful book that I rather imagine the diet industry dislikes intensely! The premise is to get back to a natural way of eating, eat when hungry (the first thing to do is actually allow yourself to eat!) and train yourself to need only the right amount of food.  With no fad recipes, no cutting anything out, no making yourself ill trying to work out what is right and wrong with food, don't start starving yourself, make sure you keep hunger at bay - this I will re-read and start to do.

Bear Witness to Murder (Shamelessly Adorable Teddy Bear Mystery #2) by Meg Macy

Silver Bear Shop and Factory manager Sasha Silverman is cozying up to the fall season by hosting Silver Hollow’s Cranbeary Tea Party, the opening event of the village’s Oktobear Fest—a too-cute celebration themed around teddy bears. She barely has a moment to agonize over the return of her former high school rival, Holly Parker, whose new toy and bookstore in town could spell big trouble for her the Silver Bear Shop and her cousin’s small bookstore . . .
 
But when Sasha discovers Holly’s shop assistant dead with a knife plunged in her body, the unpleasant woman suddenly looks like a real backstabber. So does Sasha’s ex-husband, rumored to have rekindled the fiery extramarital affair he once had with the victim. Now, before a gruesome homicide case takes the fun out of both the Fest and her personal life, Sasha must identify the true culprit from a daunting suspect list—or risk becoming as lifeless as one of her stuffed bears . . .

Sasha and Maddie are busy getting everything ready for the town's Oktobear Fest, Maddie is helping in the shop and trying to get her fibreglass Bear painted and ready for the Parade of Bears (just to say the bears stay fixed whilst the people walk round and see them), Sasha is busy with tours, the shop and everything else to do with running Silver Bear.  At the same time she is trying to ignore the fact that her high school nemesis has turned up and opened a gift and book shop, obviously planning on taking custom from the Silver Bear and from Sasha's cousin who is running the local bookstore. To add to her problems her ex husband is still around (and he landed the Mayor with a writ during the Cranbeary Tea Party!) and Sasha's Mum seems determined to get the two of them back together.

Capping all of this off is the fact that Sasha has just stumbled across a dead body and the current list of suspects includes the Mayor, Sasha's ex husband Flynn and Sasha's cousin Max! So on top of the Oktobear Fest Sasha needs to find out who wanted the young woman dead and why.

NB - NetGalley let me have an early edition of this book!

A Kitchen Witch's Cookbook by Patricia J. Telesco

Banish the ordinary in eating forever with this cauldron of culinary magic. "A Kitchen Witch's Cookbook" provides magical sustenance for family and guests with over 300 carefully selected recipes whose ingredients were especially chosen to promote magical goals--and plain good eating! Encourage psychic insight, prosperity, luck, creativity, and more--through the food that you eat.

Hmm I like the premise behind this, but I regret that it was too US centric for me (granted it IS published in the US and I am guessing for the US market mainly but still!), I can translate most veggies etc into UK terms but the thought of using premade items (and what the heck is dried salad dressing?!) just leaves me cold - an interesting book but not really for me.

The Witch Within by Iva Kenaz

After she has been charged with witchcraft, sixteen-year-old Talitha escapes to the abandoned Cursed Lands and seeks the ancient cave of her ancestors. In the deep woods, she starts to remember her ancestral lore of healing and magical symbolism and receives guidance on how to survive from the local spirits.
But soon she’s captured by two men, who were sent to take her to the local justice. One is a brute, but the other one is fatally attracted to her. After Talitha manages to escape them, she finds her ancestral cave, but also another one at the highest peak of the forest where a group of refugee women have established a camp. By facing both the dark and bright side of her kin, Talitha learns that what she thought was her curse, may yet become her gift.

Talitha takes after her Grandmother, a wise woman or as others said a witch, when Talitha tries to heal her younger brother (who was attacked by a wolf), but he dies anyway the locals (including her own family!) attack her and then plan to kill her as a murdering witch, she manages to escape and gets towards the Cursed Lands, only to be captured by two men sent to drag her back to her fate.  The story from then on in is her struggle against the men, her struggle to accept what/who she is and a fight against the darkness within and without.

The Spring House (The Seasonal House Series) by Alison May

The Spring House is the first of five seasonal titles from BrocanteHome.Net’s best-selling Seasonal House series.

This pocket-sized book is a cornucopia of Springtime homemaking inspiration, with ideas for preparing for the change of the season, Spring puttery treats, cleaning recipes, decorative touches, journal prompts, a book list and an essay on living well in Springtime, written with all the same charm Alison May has been bringing to the world of vintage housekeeping for over twelve years now...

A quick read with some great ideas on how to cheer yourself and your house up after the dreariness of Winter!

Magick & Mayhem (An Abracadabra Mystery #1) by Sharon Pape

What’s in a murderer’s bag of tricks?

Twenty-something Kailyn Wilde has learned to embrace her unpredictable life as a descendant of small-town New Camel’s most magickal family. She just didn’t expect to inherit her mother and grandmother’s centuries-old shop, Abracadabra, so suddenly. The surprises keep coming when Kailyn goes to finalize the estate at the local attorney’s office—and stumbles over the body of her best friend Elise’s husband . . .

As a brash detective casts the blame on Elise, Kailyn summons her deepest powers to find answers and start an investigation of her own. What with running a business, perfecting ancient spells, and keeping up with an uninvited guest of fabled origins, Kailyn has her hands full. But with the help of her uncanny black cat Sashkatu and her muumuu-clad Aunt Tilly, she’s closing in on a killer—who will do anything to make sure she never tests her supernatural skills again!

I'm sorry to say that this one wasn't for me which surprised me as I really enjoyed Sharon Pape's book 

Alibis and Amethysts (A Crystal Shop Mystery #1)

and I was hoping for a similar amount of enjoyment from this - but then not everyone enjoys every book!

Claws of Death (Cat Lady Mysteries #2) by Linda Reilly

Whisker Jog, New Hampshire, is a long way from Hollywood, but it’s the place legendary actress Deanna Daltry wants to call home. Taking up residence in a stone mansion off Cemetery Hill, the retired, yet still glamorous, septuagenarian has adopted two kittens from Lara Caphart’s High Cliff Shelter for Cats. With help from her Aunt Fran, Lara makes sure the kitties settle in safely with their new celebrity mom.
 
But not everyone in town is a fan of the fading star. Deanna was in Whisker Jog when she was younger, earning a reputation for pussyfooting around, and someone is using that knowledge against her. After being frightened by some nasty pranks, Deanna finds herself the prime murder suspect when the body of a local teacher is found on her property. Now, it’s up to Lara, Aunt Fran, and the blue-eyed Ragdoll mystery cat Lara recently encountered to collar a killer before another victim is pounced upon . . .

Lara has settled back into Whisker Jog, living with her Aunt Fran in the newly created High Cliff Shelter for Cats, going out with the lawyer Gideon and catching up with her old friend Sherry. Everything is ticking along when some excitement occurs, a retiring Hollywood actress has settled into Whisker Jog, she wants to adopt a kitten or two (which she does) and she seems to want friendships which leads to Lara and Fran being invited to the welcome party being thrown for Ms Deanna Daltry. Whilst there though there are a couple of unpleasant pranks, and more unpleasantness from an uninvited guest - the problem is that guest is found dead the next day! and Deanna seems the obvious suspect.

Lara needs to help run the shelter, take under her wing a new employee, get her painting done and find out who killed the man and why! Luckily the Ragdoll mystery cat Blue is there to help facilitate matters.

NB - I was able to read an advance copy from NetGalley!