Welcome to CoventryKinsley Skeenbauer never thought she would go home. At seventeen, she’d left Coventry and didn’t look back. But after a messy divorce, she packed up her stuff and drove toward the only place that she knew would accept her.Life hadn’t been easy for Kinsley since she left town. Despite wanting a family desperately, she was childless. She had a college degree but had just been … but had just been fired… again…
She’d spent her entire adult life rebelling against what she was, and that meant hiding her true self from the world. Kinsley left Coventry on a mission to be ordinary.
But you know what they say about the best-laid plans…
Coventry isn’t your typical small town. It’s home to the most powerful family of witches in the world. Two ancient witch families united when her parents married, and she was supposed to be their leader.
Nobody ever asked Kinsley if that’s what she wanted, though. Funny how the universe worked because there she was divorced, childless, and jobless… again… rolling into Coventry in her broken-down car with a U-Haul full of everything she owned.
The joyous welcome home party was short-lived, because a dead guy turned up, of all places, behind the diner.
Of course, the town’s hunky sheriff starts to give Kinsley the side-eye. But, a lot of people wanted the victim dead, and that only complicates the investigation.
There’s a murderer on the loose in Coventry, and Kinsley’s got to learn to harness her powers to avoid the killer’s snare.
Oh! And, then there’s Meri, the black cat familiar. Someone decides to grant him one wish for his faithful service to his coven, and it doesn’t go as planned either…
Welcome back to Coventry. The events in this story take place thirteen years after Kinsley left Coventry. It can be fully enjoyed on its own and is suitable for all ages. You’ll find no swearing, gore, or adult situations, but you will find magic, mystery, and a hint of lighthearted mayhem.
more
This is the first book I’ve read by this author, but it definitely won’t be the last one.
In Black Magic Kitten, we meet Kinsley, who is recently divorced and without many options. Her ex left her with nothing and managed to get her fired from her job, so she has to go back to her hometown of Coventry. She hopes her parents, whose hearts she broke by leaving when she was 17, will help her get back on her feet. Kinsley is a sympathetic character who is also funny and kind. We find out that she’s supposed to be the most powerful witch in the world and the head of her coven, but she fled Coventry to try and run away from her destiny. Upon her return, her family takes her in with open arms and encourages her to practice magic. This is where the story gets entertaining. We meet Meri, Kinsley’s familiar, who is none other than a snarky cat. Their banter and his sarcasm will have you laughing out loud. In addition, there’s Thorn, Kinsley’s potential love interest, and Reggie, Kinsley’s potential new bff. Both of these relationships caught my attention, but I definitely hope that they get explored in greater detail in future books.
The story is engaging, and I flew through this book. I enjoy the murder/mystery part, but I think the interactions with Kinsley and Meri were the showstoppers. I also enjoy the realistic dialogue among the characters, and my hope for future books is more character development and more backstory. We find out some things about Kinsley, but she’s such an interesting character, I want to know more. I would also like to see her magic progress; I know that she’s just scratching the surface of what she can do in this book, so I’m excited to see just how powerful she is. There are a couple of plotholes/underdeveloped side-plots that left me with questions, but those might be resolved in future books as well.
Overall, if you are looking for likable characters, some paranormal activity and mystery, mixed with a hilarious cat, then Black Magic Kitten would be a good choice for you.
Unexpected twists and turns for the main character when she moved back home. Her familiar was rather snarky about her leaving him for several years. A little romance, a lot of quirk, and just a fun read.
I wish I could have rated it a 4.75 only because there were a couple of weird proofreading errors, perhaps it just my device. However, the story itself was fun, creative, and entertaining.
It’s the story of a witch who tried to make it among the mortals coming back to assume her place in the witch world. AND then she finds a dead body.
Love the cat- Super Attitude and the house she lives in. In fact, I want her house to like me too.
Great read.
ARC review I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review. Now back in Coventry Kinsley skeenbauer the daughter to Brighton and Remy is all grown up and who left at 17 yrs old . She now back at the hungman house and she finds Merrill killian dead is going to solve this murder. Awesome story
Cute little cozy mystery. Just a light, fun little read. A murder mystery but no gore or real drama. Fun characters, a little magic and a pinch of romance.
Great story to begin a great series. At one point there are several things going on but they do all come nicely together.
Although there is a murder it’s not gruesome or gory just right to make the story.
No sexual references or language so I can recommend this book to my preteen advanced reading friends and everyone else.
Now onto book two….
This was such a fun book. Kinsley is a troubled witch back in her hometown. The star of the book is Meri the familiar cat who gets turned into a sassy kitten. The family is great, the mystery is fun, and the whole series is bingeworthy.
Kinsley ran away from her home town of Coventry to escape the fact that she was a witch–she really did not want to be! Well things didn’t go too well for her and back she went. Her parents had moved to a new house but the old one was still waiting for her–and the house was angry–as was her snarky familiar–a black cat with cattitude!!
Her witch craft was kind of rusty but she had to pick up on it pretty quickly considering she found a dead body behind the diner the first day back!! She also wanted to start her own business and rented a store that was probably haunted.
She had to figure out who murdered this man because the town was pointing fingers at her——and the hunky policeman–well—he kept coming around.
This is a light hearted mystery which will have you chuckling at the antics that go on. You are going to LOVE that cat–but what she does to him by accident–oh my!!
This was a fun book!
Loved it
Great story and characters.
Fun characters and an interesting plot. I am interested in continuing this series to see where it’s headed
A cute cozy mystery. A lady returns to her home for a fresh start. Only to find a dead body on her first night. Her cat stays by her side to protect her. this clean fun cozy has mystery, magic, romance, witches, ghosts, and vampire bikers. Plus Meri the cat/kitten. I hope to read more of this series.
Loved it
Sara Bourgeois is a great writer – looking forward to reading more of her books
A fun light read during this depressing era.
This was a fun read and had a hard time putting it down until I finished it. The sometimes snarky black cat was a really fun part of the book. Thanks for this cute and uncomplicated story to read as an escape from all the stuff going on right now. I’ll be looking for more books to read by Sara Bourgeois.
It was a cute book, fun to read. Not compelling enough for me to buy the next one in the series, but maybe…
I love a good cozy witch mystery. It’s an easy read and it’s entertaining as well. The writer really gets into it and the characters are funny and it’s a friendly read. Highly recommend it. I’ve read a lot of cozy witch mysteries and this is one of my favorite series.
Fun to read .