Time for some mini-reviews! What are mini-reviews, you ask? As the title suggests, these are short reviews, consisting of one paragraph tops, about a book. It’s a way to catch up on the books I’ve read a while ago, but never got around to reviewing.
Shayla Witherwood: A Half-Faerie Tale
Title: Shayla Witherwood: A Half-Faerie Tale
Author: Tamra Torero
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Faeries
Rating: 3 stars
Purchase: Amazon
Shayla Witherwood has never been like other girls. Being a half-faerie will do that to you. But with magical powers like invisibility, shape-shifting, and healing kisses, high school is bound to be anything but boring. Throw in an ancient prophecy that is sure to get someone killed and a few unpredictable enchantments, and you have one of the most anticipated fairy tales of the season.
Review: An okay read, but didn’t really stand out from the crowd. Shayla is a half-faerie with magical powers, but she also has spunk and personality. Unfortunately, the plot doesn’t offer much originality, and the writing is just okay.
Blue Magic
Title: Blue Magic (Astrid Lethewood #2)
Author: A.M. Dellamonica
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Rating: 3 stars
Purchase: Amazon
The sequel to Indigo Springs, “A psychologically astute, highly original debut—complex, eerie, and utterly believable.” —Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review
This powerful sequel to the A.M. Dellamonica’s Sunburst Award–winning contemporary fantasy Indigo Springs starts in the small town in Oregon where Astrid Lethewood discovered an underground river of blue liquid—Vitagua—that is pure magic. Everything it touches is changed. The secret is out—and the world will never be the same. Astrid’s best friend, Sahara, has been corrupted by the blue magic, and now leads a cult that seeks to rule the world. Astrid, on the other hand, tries to heal the world.
Conflicting ambitions, star-crossed lovers, and those who fear and hate magic combine in a terrible conflagration, pitting friend against friend, magic against magic, and the power of nations against a small band of zealots, with the fate of the world at stake.
Blue Magic is a powerful story of private lives changed by earthshaking events that will ensnare readers in its poignant tale of a world touched by magic and plagued by its consequences.
Review: I didn’t read the first book in the series – I thought this was the first one, so I was at a loss at the start. I quickly figured out what was going on though. The plot was interesting, but I couldn’t connect to the characters. They all felt flat and dull. Could be because I missed out on the first book though.
Aunt Dimity & The Village Witch
Title: Aunt Dimity & The Village Witch
Author: Nancy Atherton
Genre: Cozy Mystery, Paranormal Mystery
Rating: 4 stars
Purchase: Amazon
Nancy Atherton’s seventeenth cozy mystery featuring the beloved Aunt Dimity-the original paranormal detective
When Amelia Thistle moves to Finch, her new neighbors welcome her with open arms-and inquiring minds. Among them is Lori Shepherd, who isn’t fooled by Amelia’s unassuming persona. Amelia is, in fact, a world-famous artist with a rabid and eager-to-stalk fan base.
In order to keep peace in Finch, Lori must help Amelia conceal her identity. Amelia, meanwhile, sets about working on the riddle that brought her to town in the first place. A fragment of a family diary hints that one of Amelia’s ancestors might have been Mistress Meg, the Mad Witch of Finch. Following the clue, Lori hunts through Finch’s darkest and most secret corners, all the while dodging nosy neighbors and Amelia’s frantic fans. With Aunt Dimity’s otherworldly help, Lori inches closer to the true story of Mistress Meg-and Amelia.
Returning to the charming world of Finch, Nancy Atherton’s latest novel is sure to delight faithful Aunt Dimity readers, Anglophiles, and cozy mystery fans.
Review: This was my first book i nthe “Aunt Dimity” series, and I loved it. Quirky and interesting, Amelia almost seems like a real person. The mystery ties in with seventeenth-century witchcraft (yay!) and is light, charming, and engaging.
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