Book Review: Third Spell’s the Charm by Susanna Shore

About the Book:

“Fire wasn’t exactly the intended outcome of a water spell, but with me, sadly inevitable.”

Phoebe’s new life as a mage hasn’t had an auspicious start. No matter how hard she tries, her spells fail spectacularly. How is she to impress her boss, Archibald Kane, if she keeps setting her hair on fire?

Her problems with magic become trivial when a night out ends with a dead body. The victim has clearly been killed by a vampire, and the evidence points at Phoebe’s housemate Luca.

The leader of London vampires, Morgan Hunt, is convinced Luca is guilty. To prove his innocence, Phoebe and Luca set out to solve the death. Was the victim random, or has an old enemy of Hunt’s returned? And how are they to find the killer when Hunt has done his best to hide his past?

Phoebe is an expert in unearthing old things, but facing a powerful foe would be easier, if she had a hang of her spellcasting too. Luckily she has magical friends she can count on. And maybe the third spell turns out to be the charm after all.

My Thoughts:

Third Spell’s the Charm is the third book in the series which follows Phoebe and her friends on another magic filled adventure. Following the end of the previous book, Phoebe has now discovered her powers and is trying to learn how to perform some basic spells. However her luck is not so great and things go horribly wrong to the extent that a water spell gives out fire instead. This just adds to the hilarity of the situation making it light hearted and fun to read. With a focus on learning to be a spell caster at a much later age than most, Phoebe is having a difficult time keeping up.

As the story progresses, the focus shifts towards the vampires and Phoebe’s attempt to help her friend and housemate Luca who is accused of killing someone. As Phoebe and her friends come together to solve the mystery, they end up in the most unexpected situations. The main recurring theme of the story is on the strength of the friendship the characters share and the faith they have in one another. There is also the element of mystery and anticipation of things to come that are hidden behind the comedy. Since this is a continuation of the series, it was a pleasure to read about the characters and how they grow through each of the books. Though the plot is a predictable in some places, the story overall is well written and makes for a good read!

This is a quick fun filled read which will have the reader in splits half the time even while there is a mystery to solve! This book and the series is definitely worth a try!

Book Review: Fae of Calaveras series (book 1 and 2) by Kristen S Walker

About the Books:

Small Town Witch (The Fae of Calaveras County #1)

Small Town Witch (The Fae of Calaveras County, #1)

The perfect life . . . or the perfect lie.

Teen witch Rosamunde thinks she has it all: friends, parties, a happy family, and magic at her fingertips. But something dark lurks underneath the surface. When Rosa uncovers strange spells in her house, the illusion of the perfect life begins to crack, hinting at family secrets she never imagined.
With the help of her friends and the handsome kitsune Kai, Rosa peels back the layers of lies. Her search for the truth will take her far from home, into the dangerous Land of Faerie . . . but if the truth threatens her family’s apparent happiness, will she choose to live with the lie or break the enchantment that binds them all?

Witch Hunt (The Fae of Calaveras County #2)

Witch Hunt (Fae of Calaveras, #2)

She wished her mom would disappear. Now her mom’s missing, and all she wants is to find her again.

Teen witch Rosamunde broke the spell her mother, Rosmerta, used to control her family and reported the illegal use of magic to the Faerie Court. So her mom became a fugitive from the law, taking Rosa’s younger sister Akasha with her. When none of the faeries can track down her mother, Rosa realizes that she’ll have to be the one to find her mom.

Rosa takes a dangerous risk: getting close to the mysterious exiled Unseelie who helped her mother go into hiding. To gain their trust, she’ll have to break the rules. Her faeriekin friends, Ashleigh and Glen, and kitsune boyfriend, Kai, worry that she’s getting in too deep. But for the chance to confront her mother and save her sister, Rosa will sacrifice anything . . . maybe even the things that she believes in the most.

My Thoughts:

 I read 2 of the 3 books in the series and found them to be a decent read in the YA genre with a whole lot of fantasy thrown in. Writing about and handling teenagers is rather difficult, but the author manages to bring out their characteristics with perfection.

The writing is simple and the story line is interesting with a setting in a small town where both magic folk and humans co-exist. The humans know about the vampires, sorcerers and others and even go to school with them. There is a lot of fun and everything seems perfect in Rosamunde’s little world, right up until she starts to ask questions. This leads to a shattering of her previous perceptions and changes everything, turning her world upside down. What do you do when the world as you know it is not actually how it is?

The story on the whole is entertaining and fun with its serious moments. An enjoyable read, the story is well introduced and light in the first book, then takes on a slightly more serious tone with adventure and exploration thrown in.

Read it to know more!