jjv84's review against another edition
3.0
Wasn't a massive fan of this book. The chapters were very long winded and I lost interest. If I didn't read this book every day I got lost and didn't know where I was up to.
lauraethacker's review against another edition
4.0
Canadian Witch Starts to Grow up
I enjoyed this quick free read. Like many horror/fantasy novels it has a younger character that starts to learn about the magical world they are in & the creatures around them. The world building was interesting and I enjoyed the main character. My only complaint is that it was pretty obvious around 30% into the book who the mysterious foe was.
I enjoyed this quick free read. Like many horror/fantasy novels it has a younger character that starts to learn about the magical world they are in & the creatures around them. The world building was interesting and I enjoyed the main character. My only complaint is that it was pretty obvious around 30% into the book who the mysterious foe was.
notaflippinmermaid's review against another edition
3.0
A bit boring in places (I seriously almost gave up on the book when the protagonist was talking about her cupcake recipies and describing her apartment), and I figured out who the villain was along with their motivation pretty early on, so it was pretty frustrating watching the protagonist bumble about without a clue. I kept reading though (or listening - I had the audio book) because the mystery about the protagonists actual magical abilities kept me intrigued. Not sure if I want to continue with the second book in the series to find out more though.
datadog1's review against another edition
3.0
Because this was free on Amazon, I was surprised how much I enjoyed this, pretty good entry in the typical urban fantasy genre, competently done, no surprises. Which is sometimes exactly what you want! The world building was fairly solid, and even better the characters were well drawn and engaging. I will likely pick up the other books in the series, when I want a relaxing read.
jerefi's review against another edition
3.0
I DID figure out WAY too early where the main plot was going, HOWEVER I do want to keep reading books that follow. Kinda like how I got into the Sookie Stackhouse and Mercy Thompson books, that cotton candy fiction that amuses. The characters amuse me and some of the groundwork laid for things yet to be learned interest me.
gargoyle_girl's review against another edition
4.0
I loved this book. I am not a huge chocolate fan nor do I eat cupcakes very often but what I do love are endearing characters, dangerous situations, sexy shape-shifters and great story. Meghan aced it. If you enjoy urban fantasy, I highly recommend this book.
stitchsds's review against another edition
3.0
Surprisingly, this story wasn't bad. The characters were developed, the plot interesting if predictable, and it seemed to be professionally written, which is more than I can say about most of the ebooks posted for free. This one was actually good enough to be worth reading, and even purchasing the sequels to.
I might have liked it more if I hadn't just finished a mediocre eBook that was also a cupcake-drenched urban/magic fantasy that was very similar, but far less enjoyable than this one. I look forward to seeing how this author improves with more practice.
I might have liked it more if I hadn't just finished a mediocre eBook that was also a cupcake-drenched urban/magic fantasy that was very similar, but far less enjoyable than this one. I look forward to seeing how this author improves with more practice.
pixieparliament's review against another edition
3.0
A magical paranormal book that focuses on the magic and paranormal. It has vampires, witches and shifters and no steamy scenes - and I rather liked that.
There are elements of this book that didn't work for me, the 'I'm only a half witch but it turns out I might be really powerful' - the whole disbelief in her magic was annoying. Also her foster sister who is a half blood and also turns out to be very powerful. The 'Adepts' or magicals and their culture isn't explained, it's more of a let's hope you've read these stories before and know what the set up is.
However despite some niggles I did enjoy it and will look to read the second book in the series to see what happens next.
There are elements of this book that didn't work for me, the 'I'm only a half witch but it turns out I might be really powerful' - the whole disbelief in her magic was annoying. Also her foster sister who is a half blood and also turns out to be very powerful. The 'Adepts' or magicals and their culture isn't explained, it's more of a let's hope you've read these stories before and know what the set up is.
However despite some niggles I did enjoy it and will look to read the second book in the series to see what happens next.
amyiw's review against another edition
1.0
1 1/2 A very little good part, mostly bad for me
Hmm, well, the next could be better since some of the characters started to show personality but... I'm not holding my breath, or going to the next book. My updates below give my feelings but in a nut shell. The characters had none, that is character, until the end. The evil person was obvious, and ending was idiotic. Kind of like the ignorance of the main character. But not only ignorance, stupidity It is obvious who is the evil person from here. So all the "hidden" information makes her look like a child, yet she's not.
So this was like a NA/YA with no sex though the thought of it is there, where the main character is ignorant of her powers. People have kept vital information from her. She is operating under no information and the people that have some, don't have much. Frustration and stupidity rolled into one.
So the mystery is OK/good but stupidly the and it was dragged out. It didn't pull the book up to enjoyment level. I think readers that like NA/YA where the main character is discovering herself and powers, probably will like this. I thought all the reasonings were wrong.
Since the big reveal happened and she won't be plagued by ignorance, maybe the next would be better. I don't care enough about the characters to go on. They were never well developed.
-----------------------------
Update, I'm at almost 50% through and really am disappointed with this one. Was expecting fun and interesting. So far have got, ignorant witch that cannot see the evil in front of her, has been obviously kept in the dark and thinks, "oh, it'll be blown off by Grandma and I'll be sent off to Mom." what is she 12? Then no kidding, the next scene has her thinking about how long it has been since she had sex and that she wanted to play vertical on her bed with the werewolf. Umm, OK. So she runs a cupcake shop so should be at least in her mid-twenties. Still her understanding of her magic and the things around her is that of a 12 year-old. Following her "sister" even when she knows it is wrong. Wow, she is oblivious like a child. This is like a NA/YA combined or something. So she blunders through the, actually interesting but not fun, mystery. The only reason I'm still reading.
"You didn't tell me she smelled like Chinese food?" lord to vampire. This was supposed to be funny? And she gets all offended. Out of left field, Chinese food. **sigh** Looks like a 2 star so far.
73%- Frustration, she is just so ignorant of everything and doesn't follow anyone suggestion. She is ignorant so needs someone to help.
Hmm, well, the next could be better since some of the characters started to show personality but... I'm not holding my breath, or going to the next book. My updates below give my feelings but in a nut shell. The characters had none, that is character, until the end. The evil person was obvious,
Spoiler
only the finding her and not realizing who was the evil one and then putting in any position of power. Leaving her free and then she captures, werewolves and and a vampire, argh!Spoiler
Yes, let's go down and let my "sister" do a spell I'm not OK with, with blood and not call my mom and grandmother to confront them about what the fuck they have kept from me. I mean vampire and werewolves are at my door and are pointing all the obvious strangeness. No let's go use forbidden magic that, hey I don't really know what my sister is doing, it smells wrong but I'll go along.Spoiler
Oh, but she's my sister. Justin is looking drained. But in the end it is Justin's fault. The one killed and eaten on the alter. Really? Who there believed that? Why did the vampire and werewolves let the sister go? Oh, to be captured later and for what? The big reveal, a doorway to power and bliss that no one knows what is but the grandmother is the guardian of. Oh, and the other 1/2 of her heritage... they been keeping secret... they don't know what it is either. And they have had to "protect" her from knowing the truth, of what, nothing. That she can infused her power into trinkets and needs to hide it? Well maybe she could hide it more if they told her that this was necessary!So this was like a NA/YA with no sex though the thought of it is there, where the main character is ignorant of her powers. People have kept vital information from her. She is operating under no information and the people that have some, don't have much. Frustration and stupidity rolled into one.
So the mystery is OK/good but stupidly the
Spoiler
bad guy is let goSince the big reveal happened and she won't be plagued by ignorance, maybe the next would be better. I don't care enough about the characters to go on. They were never well developed.
-----------------------------
Update, I'm at almost 50% through and really am disappointed with this one. Was expecting fun and interesting. So far have got, ignorant witch that cannot see the evil in front of her, has been obviously kept in the dark and thinks, "oh, it'll be blown off by Grandma and I'll be sent off to Mom." what is she 12? Then no kidding, the next scene has her thinking about how long it has been since she had sex and that she wanted to play vertical on her bed with the werewolf. Umm, OK. So she runs a cupcake shop so should be at least in her mid-twenties. Still her understanding of her magic and the things around her is that of a 12 year-old. Following her "sister" even when she knows it is wrong. Wow, she is oblivious like a child. This is like a NA/YA combined or something. So she blunders through the, actually interesting but not fun
Spoiler
The werewolf that she is attracted to is killed off. Not only that but it is not a surprise after he stands her up and then the werewolves come for her."You didn't tell me she smelled like Chinese food?" lord to vampire. This was supposed to be funny? And she gets all offended. Out of left field, Chinese food. **sigh** Looks like a 2 star so far.
73%- Frustration, she is just so ignorant of everything and doesn't follow anyone suggestion. She is ignorant so needs someone to help.
Spoiler
So she calls her Mom and doesn't get answers only a quick, "I'll tell you when I get there". Really, can't take a few minutes to fill her in? This is maddening and she thinks Justin is the bad guy, wow, how blind. to make the sister the bad guy and killing off the sexy werewolf, makes me like the people less and connect even less.witchofthemountains's review against another edition
1.0
I wanted to love this book, I really really did. It was recommended to me based on my love for the Wishcraft series by Heather Blake and, at first, it seemed to have all the things I love: baked goods (who could resist the cupcake on the cover?!), witchcraft hidden in plain sight (I'm always a sucker for the 'hidden community' trope), and magical beings. I honestly did not see how this book could lose.
And then it did, leaving me bitterly disappointed.
The main character - who, to be honest, I cannot recall the name of despite finishing this book a very short time ago - is too perfect. Her mother was a teen mom free spirit who hooked up with some backpacker at 16 and then left him. Don't feel bad for the MC though, oh no: her incredibly rich, powerful, loving, and well-respected grandmother raised her. In a gated mansion-like house that is protected by Serious Magic.
This same grandmother owns a vast amount of realty and leases some of it to the MC, from which she runs a highly successful bakery. She loves working at her bakery, from which she also sells trinket strings of slightly magical items that totally don't have some other hidden importance uh uh, no way, not even a little one..... But working at the bakery isn't all fun, don't worry. She often has to deal with being hit on by her customers because she's just so pretty that she's had to learn how to keep these men - and sometimes women {gasp} - happy enough to buy her cupcakes (all of which have titillating names ending with 'in a cup') without leading them on. She is so pretty, in fact, that every magical guy she meets is so taken with her magic/looks combo that her foster sister (whom she begged her grandmother to adopt out of a bad situation because she's such an amazing person) can't even get a second glance until the poor guy realizes it's just magic-based infatuation and that the MC isn't really who he wants at all... including the sister's current boyfriend.
This is all given to us in the first ten minutes of the audiobook, including the introductions and lead-ins that audiobooks add on.
I could go on to the way the author details certain things way too much - like the way the MC dances while at a nightclub (detailing dancing scenes is...painful for the reader. Leave it fairly vague and move on to the storyline. I don't need three minutes of finger flicks and hip checks, but thank you) and not nearly enough time on things like how the magic looks, works, feels, or functions. If you're going to write a book with 'Magic' in the title and have your main character be a witch.... focus on the magic, not the mundane stuff we can all do.
Not all of the blame falls to the author, though. With some editing and refocusing, I think her work could be very engaging and I will come back to her work later on if she produces another series with a less 'perfect' main character. If I had read this instead of listened to it, I might have made it further before I pulled the plug and moved on to something else because the narrator really, really did not help. Everything was either full of drama, dripping innuendo, or completely deadpan... and none of it where you'd expect it to be.
The thing that finally had me returning the book to the library (after waiting months on a waiting list to get it) was the scene in which the MC has been very nearly seduced by a pack of Weres at a club, then found herself chased through darkened streets by a blood-hungry vampire who thinks she might be killing local vamps (this same vamp revealed that her father isn't human... BUT WHAT IS HE!??!?!?!!?! {cue dramatic music and close-up}) and races to her grandmother's gated and magic-protected mansion for safety. Her grandmother is on a surfing vacation so the house is empty and apparently being painted, because the MC knocks over a can of paint water as she enters. This causes her to lament "Could this night get any worse?!" and the narrator presents it in such a way that the MC really seems to think that spilled paint water is on par with completely losing track of herself and then nearly dying. Yeah... I'm good, thanks. I like my characters to have a bit more tendency towards critical thought.
I think I'll stick to my Heather Blake and keep looking for another cozy magical mystery to read until she updates Wishcraft. In the meantime... I still want that cupcake.
And then it did, leaving me bitterly disappointed.
The main character - who, to be honest, I cannot recall the name of despite finishing this book a very short time ago - is too perfect. Her mother was a teen mom free spirit who hooked up with some backpacker at 16 and then left him. Don't feel bad for the MC though, oh no: her incredibly rich, powerful, loving, and well-respected grandmother raised her. In a gated mansion-like house that is protected by Serious Magic.
This same grandmother owns a vast amount of realty and leases some of it to the MC, from which she runs a highly successful bakery. She loves working at her bakery, from which she also sells trinket strings of slightly magical items that totally don't have some other hidden importance uh uh, no way, not even a little one..... But working at the bakery isn't all fun, don't worry. She often has to deal with being hit on by her customers because she's just so pretty that she's had to learn how to keep these men - and sometimes women {gasp} - happy enough to buy her cupcakes (all of which have titillating names ending with 'in a cup') without leading them on. She is so pretty, in fact, that every magical guy she meets is so taken with her magic/looks combo that her foster sister (whom she begged her grandmother to adopt out of a bad situation because she's such an amazing person) can't even get a second glance until the poor guy realizes it's just magic-based infatuation and that the MC isn't really who he wants at all... including the sister's current boyfriend.
This is all given to us in the first ten minutes of the audiobook, including the introductions and lead-ins that audiobooks add on.
I could go on to the way the author details certain things way too much - like the way the MC dances while at a nightclub (detailing dancing scenes is...painful for the reader. Leave it fairly vague and move on to the storyline. I don't need three minutes of finger flicks and hip checks, but thank you) and not nearly enough time on things like how the magic looks, works, feels, or functions. If you're going to write a book with 'Magic' in the title and have your main character be a witch.... focus on the magic, not the mundane stuff we can all do.
Not all of the blame falls to the author, though. With some editing and refocusing, I think her work could be very engaging and I will come back to her work later on if she produces another series with a less 'perfect' main character. If I had read this instead of listened to it, I might have made it further before I pulled the plug and moved on to something else because the narrator really, really did not help. Everything was either full of drama, dripping innuendo, or completely deadpan... and none of it where you'd expect it to be.
The thing that finally had me returning the book to the library (after waiting months on a waiting list to get it) was the scene in which the MC has been very nearly seduced by a pack of Weres at a club, then found herself chased through darkened streets by a blood-hungry vampire who thinks she might be killing local vamps (this same vamp revealed that her father isn't human... BUT WHAT IS HE!??!?!?!!?! {cue dramatic music and close-up}) and races to her grandmother's gated and magic-protected mansion for safety. Her grandmother is on a surfing vacation so the house is empty and apparently being painted, because the MC knocks over a can of paint water as she enters. This causes her to lament "Could this night get any worse?!" and the narrator presents it in such a way that the MC really seems to think that spilled paint water is on par with completely losing track of herself and then nearly dying. Yeah... I'm good, thanks. I like my characters to have a bit more tendency towards critical thought.
I think I'll stick to my Heather Blake and keep looking for another cozy magical mystery to read until she updates Wishcraft. In the meantime... I still want that cupcake.