New Author!

So, as you may know, lately I've been reading more independent authors and I've found another one that I like:  Rose Pressey.  I've read Me and My Ghoulfriends and Ghouls Night Out from the Larue Donovan series and No Shoes, No Shirt, No Spells from the Mystic Cafe series and really have enjoyed her characters and her stories.

Larue Donovan can see and speak to the dead.  She uses her abilities to help departed souls find the light and cross over to the other side.  However, during her attempts to help these souls cross, she usually finds herself hosting them as room mates for a while until they are ready to go.  Her side job as a ghost hunter usually brings her into contact with said souls, who then follow her home and hang around until they are ready to cross over.  Her 'friends' make her daily life a little complicated, since only her best friend knows about Larue's abilities (and she'd like to keep it that way). 

In both the books I have read, Larue gets mixed up with other 'supernatural' elements in her hometown that she never knew existed.  She encounters black magic witches, as well as the local white magic coven.  In both books, she is involved in a burgeoning romance with Callahan, the new guy in town, and her abilities make things a little complicated all around.  I have to say that I was somewhat disappointed with the plot similarities between the two books and hope that future plots are a little more creative, but I did enjoy the characters involved and hope to see more of this series in the future.

The Mystic Cafe series, however, is definitely my favorite of the two.  When her grandmother retires, Elly Blair finds herself the new owner of the Mystic Cafe, which her grandmother has run for all of Elly's life.  While she is a bit overwhelmed at the prospect of running her own restaurant, her grandmother throws in a surprise--magic.  Elly is skilled with magic, as her grandmother is, and it is now Elly's responsibility to not only feed the people in town, but to also add magic to their food in order to boost self-esteem, relieve pain or whatever the customer may need.  Unfortunately, things do not go smoothly for Elly and she must find a way to correct a spell gone awry before the powers that be close the cafe forever.

I really enjoyed the first installment and look forward to the next one, which is due out soon!  Rose Pressey also has a number of other series that I plan to check out in the near future :)