Saturday, April 13, 2013

Jenn's Review: The Good, the Bad, and the Witchy

 Blurb:  Darcy Merriweather is Enchanted Village’s newest resident Wishcrafter—a witch who can grant wishes for others. But as Darcy prepares a celebration for a magical florist, she discovers that every rose has its thorns…

When magical florist Harriette Harkette decides to throw a lavish eightieth birthday party for herself, she hires Darcy’s Aunt Ve’s personal concierge service, As You Wish, to plan the soiree. But turning eighty isn’t all Harriette is celebrating—the Floracrafter has recently created the midnight black Witching Hour rose, the first all-natural rose of that color.

Darcy works hard on planning an extravagant celebration that will make Harriette feel like the belle of the ball. But when cake delivery boy Michael Healey—a former employee at Harriette’s greenhouse—is found dead, the celebration takes a turn. Now Michael’s ghost has imprinted on Darcy, meaning that they’re bonded until she can untangle the thicket surrounding his murder—and what exactly it has to do with the Witching Hour rose…  


Review:  Oh, how I love the Wishcraft series!  You will hear me say that about Heather Blake's alter ego Heather Webber's Lucy Valentine series too.  Last year I also tried one of her Nina Quinn mysteries and loved it as well, so I guess it has become abundantly clear that I will have to shorten this by saying, I love her writing, no matter whom she is writing as.

Heather Blake/Webber books are usually labeled cozy and are the pinnacle of what a cozy mystery should be.  For me, cozy mysteries are often predictable and overly quaint; neither of these are words I would use to describe Heather Blake's books.  Whenever I pick up one of her books I find it hard to put down.  I love her characters, I love her mysteries, and I love that she can write about magic without making it the focal point of the story.  (In fact, I'm betting that even non-fantasy readers will love her work -so much so that I've sent Julie the first book in the series!)

Things are finally starting to return to normal for Darcy when she stumbles across another body.  Although the chief of the village police is her boyfriend, the Crafters to turn to Darcy to find resolution, the Elder has even tasked her with it.  This would cause a normal amount of friction if it weren't for the fact that the woman trying to steal her man is on the force with him just waiting to make her life difficult for interfering with the investigation.  While there were a few things I guessed, I did not solve the mystery and that is always a plus in my book.

I cannot recommend the Wish Crafter series enough... or the Lucy Valentine series... and Heather Blake has a new Magic Potion series coming out in November and I'm sure I'll love it too.  In the mean time, I will have to catch up with Nina Quinn...

Final Take:  5/5


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