Secondhand Spirits (Witchcraft Mystery #1) By Juliet Blackwell

THIS IS NOT A COZY MYSTERY

Puh-lease. If you have demons, evil spirits who drags anyone into the water and creepy houses, that means the book is not cozy. If the heroine is a teenager, this would have been a YA thriller.

It's not a bad book though. It's fun and totally easy to read. Just don't expect this to be a cozy read because you'll be disappointed. 9781101082171 Now this is my kind of a paranormal novel!! Real people in the real world, dealing with psychic, extrasensory or paranormal abilities and entities. I intend to read more of this author! 9781101082171 Review posted on Got Fiction?

I really liked this book a lot. Any of my friends know I'm not much for a book without romance being the key factor. I am a changed woman! At least for this book. It is book one in the Witchcraft Mystery series and it was great!

Our heroine is Lily Ivory. She is an incredibly powerful natural born witch who has moved around a lot in life, never really wanting to settle down. But San Francisco changed her mind, and she opened up a vintage clothing shop. In fact, the tagline on the cover is Love the vintage, not the ghosts. Lily has only been open about 6 weeks when a super sexy guy walks in and the bell above her door doesn't chime as he walks beneath it. Hmm...

Aidan Rhodes is a male witch who wants Lily to, well he just wants Lily, we're not really sure what it is he wants. We know he worked with her father, who it was implied went over to the dark side, so that's not exactly a point in Aidan's favor. We know he is powerful. And he left Lily with a familiar. What is her new familiar? not a cat, not a dog, but a...Gargoyle!!! (well, he's a gnome, but he looks like a gargoyle). It was a cute little interchange when Aidan left the little guy with her. Lily named him Oscar after Oscar the Grouch...he can turn into a pig when he wants so he can be with Lily in her shop. And of course everyone loves Oscar, and he just loves the ladies.
Now in the first few pages, we've met Aidan, male witch, Oscar, new familiar, and as Lily goes to an old Victorian mansion to scope out some old lady's clothes for her shop, we meet Frances (the owner of the clothes) and we hear La Llorena.

La Llorena is a demon-According to the legend, the 'weeping woman' was abandoned by her children's father, and the anguished mother took her children down to the water and drowned them one by one, finally flinging herself in to join them in their watery grave. And now she wails for her lost babies and lures other children to their deaths.
so while in Fraces' basement, looking over vintage clothing, both Frances and Lily hear La Llorena wailing. Frances being able to hear her means she is now marked for death. Thus begins the mystery, because right after they hear her, a neighborhood girl goes missing.

Our next big character is Max. Where Aidan is described as just plain beautiful, Max is likened to a battle-weary medieval knight who had just removed his armor. He comes into the shop looking for some herbs to help him in his quest to see a ghost...but Lily recognizes the name of his tour guide, and tells him not to go with the guy-he's a fraud. Surprisingly Max knows that-Max is planning on busting the guy. But when Lily hears they are going out into the bay for their ghost hunting expedition, she pleads with Max not to go. But how do you convince a man you just met that there's a demon in the water? Meanwhile Lily wants to get the missing neighborhood girl back from La Llorena, but she needs Aidan's help, and the help of all of her new friends.

This book has the beginnings of a great love-triangle, some quirky characters from Oscar the pig/gargoyle, to Bronwyn who's part of the local coven, to the neighboring merchant Sandra (who I soo thought was the villain of the piece), and to Frances herself not being what she seems.

A fun mystery with an Urban Fantasy feel, and a character who sounds like someone I'd like to know, a solid 4 star book for any paranormal mystery/UF lover.

http://www.demonloversbooksandmore.co... 9781101082171 Currently reading in prep for recording - what a delightful little series! 9781101082171 The Five W's of the Cozy Mystery Review

Who is the protagonist?
Lily Ivory, practicing witch and shopkeeper of Aunt Cora's Closet, a vintage clothing store

What is the premise of the story?
Children have been disappearing, and the dreaded La Llorona might be to blame

Where does the story take place?
The San Francisco Bay area

When does the story take place?
present day

Why does the protagonist become involved?
Can't tell...might give too much away!

Cozies are ridiculous, but totally fun, especially if the main character is likeable, which he/she really must be to keep the series flowing. I wasn't too into the idea of witchcraft and the paranormal mystery has never really appealed to me, but I like Lily and her struggles with trying to fit in, make friends, and lead a normal life.

I definitely plan on continuing the series, which is huge for me and the cozy!

9781101082171

Love the vintage- not the ghosts Lily Ivory feels that she can finally fit in somewhere and conceal her witchiness in San Francisco. It's there that she opens her vintage clothing shop, outfitting customers both spiritually and stylistically. Just when things seem normal, a client is murdered and children start disappearing from the Bay Area. Lily has a good idea that some bad phantoms are behind it. Can she keep her identity secret, or will her witchy ways be forced out of the closet as she attempts to stop the phantom? Secondhand Spirits (Witchcraft Mystery #1)

Cute paranormal mystery.

I enjoyed this. I listened to it as an audiobook and it's narrated by Xe Sands who has the most wonderful, easy-to-listen-to voice.

The story introduces us to Lily Ivory. A twenty-something witch and vintage clothing expert and store owner. Funnily enough, I actually have a bit of a thing for vintage clothing and period costumery myself. There's this wonderful Facebook page I follow called Au fil des passions to get my daily fix. It has photos of dresses, accessories and corsetry, etc from various history museums (honestly, the attention to detail when you consider so much of it was done by hand is astonishing) as well as elaborate modern day designs and famous Hollywood movie costumes. If you have any interest in clothing as art, as I do, you should check it out!

Anyway, I digress (sorry). Lily not only sells the clothes and has a keen eye for recommending and obtaining them, but I loved the fact that she also wears them herself in her day-to-day life. From 1960s polka dot wiggle dresses to 1940s shirt dresses. She reminded me an awful lot of the character Melinda Gordon from the T.V show Ghost Whisperer, actually. Just swap antique shop for vintage clothing and Ghost whisperer for Witch, and you've pretty much got Lily Ivory. She also has that same quiet yet strangely endearing personality. She sweet. She's likeable. She's intelligent. She's attractive. And I think she might turn out to be quite a talented witch too once we get to know her more.

A lot of this book was introduction. There's obviously more to come in terms of why Lily is not with a witch Coven and what happened in her past, etc. She meets a couple of interesting male characters in this book that make me intrigued about future romantic subplots. Although, I'm not certain either one of them is ideal for Lily. Both could lead to heartache for different reasons...

The plot follows a missing girl who is believed to have been taken by a water demon called La Llorona. The mystery plot wasn't exactly fast-paced; it was perhaps a little sedate for my tastes, but I understand a lot of time had to be devoted to set up and establishing characters.

I did love Oscar her new goblin familiar/pig. He was adorable! I love it when they have an animal or some kind of small supernatural creature as a sidekick!

I'll definitely check out the next one the next time I want a relaxing, enjoyable audio experience.

3 Stars ★★★ 9781101082171 Good mix of witches, bad guys, and mystery. Love the pig (in disguise) familiar. I look forward to the next in the series. 9781101082171 Don't know why I love these short little reads from authors most folks have never heard of, but I absolutely adore them! This one is a fun, quick read about a vintage clothing store owner, Lily Ivory, who has certain, shall we say, 'gifts' when it comes to her merchandise. She senses the emotions and memories within the items, good or bad, that she finds for her clothing store. She runs the store with her aunt and meets quite a few very unique people along the way in this first in a series by Juliet Blackwell.

Lily doesn't know her 'gift' in inherited in her dna and not just something she learned at her family's knee as she grew to adulthood. she doesn't know she's been raised and trained by witches in her family, just loving family members. she isn't aware that she is a witch, only someone who's doing what she does best, which is finding quality vintage clothing with a history that often leads her into a bit of trouble now and then.

Such a fun read! Any fan of say Madelyn Alt, Shirley Damsgaard or Annette Blair will equally enjoy these books in this series. 9781101082171 i'm pretty lucky with my books choices lately. and this book was just perfect for a light reading.
basically, anything with, murder, female leads, and everything about magic are my auto buy.

The story started when Lily Ivory moves to a new town in San Fransisco because of some sign from a parrot. Yep, a parrot. Lily is a witch, and she was determined to make some new friend in her new town. To get her life together, she opens a vintage store called Aunt Cora Closet. Everything seem pretty good, when suddenly, her store is visited by a male witch who gave her a familiar, some kind of spirit animals for witch. Not long after that, she found her client is murdered and a few people in her town is missing one by one. She needs to reveal whats going on without revealing her trueself to everyone. Not everyone will be pleased to have a witch in their town.

Juliet Blackwell is great at bringing her reader to attached to her books. She can described the ambience of the store, the town, the situation without being over descriptive, which is a good thing for me. The character are all very likeable and some are unique type of characters. I will definitely read the next book and you should to . 9781101082171 Secondhand Spirits is the start of a great new mystery series. Lily Ivory is a real, live, magical-power having witch. I love that her actions aren't encumbered by karmic fears. She has no qualms about using her abilities to secure prime parking sports and other frivolous, yet harmless, perks. She lives by her own moral compass and does not relate her hereditary witchiness to any religious belief system. She acquires a goblin-like familiar that pretends to be an innocent pet pig allowing him the luxury of being being cuddled by women and the freedom to wander unhindered into changing-rooms.

Lily owns and operates a vintage clothing shop, which I found much more fascinating than I thought I would. Many aspects of the business were portrayed, from the varying sources she acquires the clothing from to how she uses her abilities to match a person to the perfect retro outfit. A soon to be bride and her bridesmaids came in to pick out dresses and the atmosphere was so fun, I felt as though I was there as well.

Lily has two potential romantic candidates. Aidan is a male witch who exudes an air of danger. Max is a skeptic and professional myth-buster who seems to be falling for Lily despite his distaste for the supposed paranormal. Each man seems to have great potential as both heartthrob and heart-breaker.

Many mysterious things happen in Secondhand spirits, from a missing child to a dead client. With ghosts, demons and other witches involved, the possibility for viable suspects is endless. The book ends in a surprise twist which I never saw coming. Secondhand Spirits is a quality cozy full of witchy fun. I can't wait for the next book in this series. 9781101082171

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