Curses and Candy Canes: A Paranormal Mystery Christmas Anthology

I was given an ARC copy of “The Case Of The Wild Goat Chase: A Hillcrest Witch Christmas Special” by Amorette Anderson
This short read is a really enjoyable read by Amorette.
It features all of the women from her Hillcrest series, but mainly Penny and Marley. Who have to solve the mystery of the missing goat , yes you did read that right goat
You’ll enjoy it if you enjoy the Hillcrest series, this is just a short spin off from that series. Although you don’t have to have read the series to enjoy this book, it can be read as a standalone book, as it doesn’t relate or link to any of the book’s.
I’d definitely recommend this book as a quick read

ARC Curses and Candy Canes, The Wild Goat Chase: A Hillcrest Witch Christmas Special by Amorette Anderson

First edition. November 7, 2019.

Copyright © 2019 Amorette Anderson.

Read on: iBooks, KyBook (1, 2, & 3), SmashWords, Kobo, TotalReader, Good Reads, and others as I find them. This book was presented to me for an ARC review.

Started: 7 November 2019.
Finished: 8 November 2019.
Amazon: ?

Title:
Vanity, procrastination, and magic . . . .

A fill in Nativity designer, a paranoid old standby, a sprained wrist, an apparent “ white “ van < in Colorado, with snow on the ground, > and an all seeing wise owl start the day. How do our intrepid detectives start following the wrong lead so fast?

Okay the original Nativity builder is smart enough to step back away from the limelight when she sprained her wrist. The fact that she acts as though her replacement should fall flat on her face is sheer vanity.

White vans in snow country don t tend to stay white in the winter.

The owl setting high up in a tree < well perched > likely sees everything that happened.

So why did the detectives run off on a wild goat chase?

They eventually figure it out, complete with the < semi mandatory (hey, it s winter, Christmas, AND there s plenty of ammunition -snow- on the ground! ) > snowball fight or so.

It s great to know that Hillcrest has it s own supply of old fashioned Christmas magic -even the little kid/goat was using it- along with the willingness to use it. These type of villages, towns and -burgs seem to be disappearing across America; so if you re lucky enough to live in one ~~ enjoy it and do your part to maintain it!

Have yourself a wonderful Holiday Season ! ! ! !
Live life,
John Shrek Walters

As this is an anthology, I will update my review as I read more.
I just enjoyed The Case of the Criminal Christmas Party by Nikki Haverstock. I haven’t read the Casino Witch Mysteries. I really need to. I devoured this story and want to know more of Bear and Ella. The mystery was so interesting with information on criminal acts in the mage community. The story was a quick read and I believe it was partly because I was fascinated with the storyline. I am looking forward to more stories.
I was entranced with A Snowball’s Chance in Spell by ReGina Welling and Erin Lynn. This mother-daughter writing team wrote a magical tale that touched me. I love the magic of Christmas and faeries have always been the most interesting creatures to me. The combination was enchanting. Add in glimpses of reindeer personalities and I was delightfully surprised! This was one of those stories you didn’t want to end so you try to read slower but can’t. Prepare yourselves for a most magical time.

Time to Get Jolly by K.M. Waller
Time traveling witch, Nuala is back in time for this Christmas short. She’s 3 months away from having twins but still making time to help a fellow witch whose familiar is stuck in dog form. Since Seth is human, Nuala is anticipating that her twins will be a girl witch and a boy human so helping fellow witch Ginnie, whose sister Nell is human, might give her some insight on how to help the twins once they’re born. Familiar Lily Rose is awesome. Such a fun character. Fun quick read. Love Nuala and can’t wait to read more of her adventures.

Snowflakes, Cakes & Deadly Stakes by Erin Johnson
Erin Johnson is a new author for me so I didn’t know what to expect. When I read “Christmas goes from deck the halls, to where’s the rum balls?” I knew I was going to love it. Such wonderful characters and hilarious moments. I adore the idea of a flame as a sidekick. How original. Great characters, great mystery, great ending. Can’t wait to read the series with these folks.

Toy Time Tragedy by Jenna St. James
Such a fun story. I love love love Rex and I’m definitely not a rat person at all but he is totally the perfect teammate. Lexi is smart! Can’t ask for a better combo. Cute mystery with Tickle My Tummy. Fun 90s references. We need more Lexi and Rex!!

Time For A Christmas Curse by Stephanie Damore
Oh my gosh, how perfect is this story with time traveling witches from 2 different time periods that are now together as a couple. Vee and Michael make it work and are a great couple in romance and in the witch work. “It was a long-distance relationship to the extreme.” A fun Christmas mystery, the town of Holiday haven’t had December 25th, Christmas, in many years. Jumps from the 24th to the 26th. I did not suspect the culprit at all. A perfect quick Christmas story.

Twisted Tinsel Time by Ava Mallory
Sadly, I did not enjoy this. I really don’t like the main character, Mariana, and found the story confusing.

The Case of the Criminal Christmas Party by Nikki Haverstock
I haven’t read anything else by Nikki Haverstock but this story sure had me hooked. Ella and Bear were a great team and Ella’s cat sure came through for her. The mystery was great and can’t wait to read more from this series.