Home for a Spell by Madelyn Alt

Home for a Spell (A Bewitching Mystery) is Madelyn Alt's latest offering in the Bewitching Mystery series.  It picks up a short time after A Witch In Time (A Bewitching Mystery) ended.  We find Maggie, still with a cast on her leg, happily cohabiting with Marcus and hoping things in Stony Mill have started to calm down.  Of course, things haven't calmed down--that wouldn't make much of a story, would it?

So, when the lives of those around Maggie start to change and impact her own, she sees it as a sign to affect some change for herself.  Fearing that she is holding Marcus back, she decides to find a new apartment that is accessible for her while still in a cast.  Naturally, the apartment manager, a creepy little man to begin with, ends up murdered and Maggie finds his body.  The mystery that follows isn't complicated, but there is a bit of a surprise at the end.  What I liked about this book, and the whole series for that matter, is Maggie's personal growth.  She's come a long way from the first book, where whisperings of her power made her uncomfortable, to a place where she is trusting her instincts, for the most part, and is even broadening her horizons into the world of the supernatural.

One thing I've noticed in the more recent offerings in the series is the lack of supernatural.  In fact, at one point Maggie mentions this & Marcus responds that once summer is over & the veil thins, things will change.  I'm hoping that this is a bit of foreshadowing on Alt's part because I really enjoy the supernatural aspects of the series.  I think that the lack of supernatural events, however, have actually encouraged Maggie to use and develop her gifts, perhaps because she'll need them in the books to come?

Home for a Spell (A Bewitching Mystery) is another great addition to the Bewitching Mysteries series.  I love Maggie & I especially love Marcus & can't wait to see how things develop in the future.

Excited!!

Just got my latest book order!!  Unfortunately, I am not privy to a lot of advanced reader copies (not yet anyway, but I'm on a ton of lists!).  So, I have to buy my own books when I can.  I spent some of my Christmas gift cards & got some titles I've been dying to read.  First up, Home for a Spell (A Bewitching Mystery) by Madelyn Alt.  This is the latest installment in the Bewitching Mystery series.  The series follows Maggie O'Neill, a young woman who is getting in touch with her psychic powers.  The series has seen Maggie grow both as a woman and as witch.  I'm really interested in seeing how her relationship is developing :)

Second in the box is The Lost Saint: A Dark Divine Novel by Bree Despain.  I loved The Dark Divine and have been eagerly awaiting the release of the second novel in the series.  In the first, we are introduced to Grace who lives a fairly sheltered life.  A preacher's daughter, her life is filled with volunteering, studying and being an all around "good girl".  However, the facade of her seemingly boring life is cracked by the return of Daniel, a childhood friend who left under mysterious circumstances.  As the reason behind Daniel's leaving comes to light, more and more secrets about Grace's own family are revealed and the facade is no longer cracked but shattered.  The Lost Saint: A Dark Divine Novel, picks up with Grace's brother Jude having gone missing and Grace having to face demons of her own.  I don't think this will gather too much dust on my to-be-read shelf.

Finally, Beautiful Darkness by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl.  This is the follow up to Beautiful Creatures, the first in the Caster Chronicles.  We return to Gatlin to find Ethan and Lena dealing with the fall-out of the first book.  Lena's claiming doesn't go quite as planned and she is reeling from a family tragedy.  Together, Ethan and Lena were able to face what seemed like the impossible in Beautiful Creatures.  But, will they be able to stay together in the aftermath?  Again, the review for this one should be coming soon.

I'm currently reading The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor, so that will be my next review.  However, it's hard waiting to dive into these new books!!!