Welcome to Starry Hollow, where spells were made to be broken.Short on both cash and time, Ember Rose does her best as a single mom in New Jersey, serving up attitude along with repossession notices. When a repo job goes sideways, she and her daughter find themselves in imminent danger–until a visit from estranged relatives turns their world upside down. Ember, Marley, and their Yorkie are … Yorkie are transported to Starry Hollow, a paranormal town where witches rule and magic is as normal as pizza. Where Ember goes, though, trouble seems to follow. When a member of the coven turns up dead and the sexy werewolf sheriff identifies Ember as a suspect, she decides to take matters into her own hands like only a Jersey girl can.
Magic & Murder is the first book in the Starry Hollow Witches series.
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Other books by Annabel Chase include the Spellbound paranormal cozy mystery series.
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I love a good witch mystery. Really, who doesn’t? The Starry Hollow series fits that bill to a tee. Whenever I need a break from work, I grab one of these books and escape for hours. Annabel Chase’s books are completely entertaining and don’t take life too seriously.
Disappointing
I didn’t like Ember. At all. I missed the fun, I missed the wit, I missed any kindness. I usually LOVE witch cozies! But this one fell short for me. Ember, she was jaded, and had such a negative tone. I did like daughter Marley.
Some things happened in the beginning that were so incredibly unrealistic! I didn’t work in the repo business itself, but I did work in a job that had a lot to do with that. And I know, what happened is just not real. It couldn’t have happened IRL because it’s just not how it works. Impossible. So, not enough research?
All things combined, I started out disliking the story and the main character. And it’s hard to come back from that, yet I decided to continue, because maybe when I got to Starry Hollow it’d get better. And it looked like it would. And right at the moment I thought, hey, maybe… Ember said something very negative and demeaning again and I couldn’t get over that second hump.
I stopped right then and there. I read some other reviews and there was one who said ‘I kept reading but it never got better’. So I don’t know if I will ever pick it up again to continue. Likeability of the main character is one of the most important parts of a book for me. Especially of a cozy. I love a bit of snarkiness, I love a bit of sass, but I just didn’t make the connection with Ember; she’s just too hard around the edges. But the most important thing was that she described things that just weren’t possible. And I don’t mean the magic, I have enough imagination for that. I’ll give you my biggest grief, but it’s a bit spoilerish, so don’t read further if you don’t like spoilers.
One minute the guy is in front of the truck threatening her, keeping her from being able to drive off, the next he’s letting air out of the back tire (the BACK tire!) and kicking the side. Why not drive off quickly then? It’s obvious he stepped away from the front, she can just get away! Things get worse from there.
It’s just one example, I could give you 2 more and I didn’t even get much further than Chapter 5.
Over and out. I want to apologize for sounding harsh, because I do realize it sounds unkind. I promise I don’t mean to be! I know that every book contains the blood, sweat and tears of an author. And I do appreciate that. So I am sorry.
“Trust is earned,” I said firmly. “Family or not.”
And Ember, her 10 going on 40 year old daughter, and their terrier PP3 find out one night while Ember crosses wits with a mobster out to kill her. Making a wish seems to open a trap door in her psyche and out pops a family fully formed, and disks them off to Starry Hollow, a paranormal village where the Rose family, of which she apparently comes from, presents as the most powerful family in town. From just the three of them to this great legacy…how’s the girl from Jersey going to handle this one?
A legacy hire to the local newspaper, Ember finds herself solving a mystery she really doesn’t want to be a part of. Is she up for the task?
This is my first Annabel Chase, but it won’t be my last I’m sure. As a Gilmore girls/ Bunheads fan, I see the parallels in this story and those, and I’m in for the long haul here. Highly Recommended 5/5
So fun!
This is a new author to me and I am sure glad I found her! Actually, another author that I follow recommended her and I think that was a very nice gesture since technically she’s competition! Anyway, I found this book to be such a fun and entertaining read that I’m binge reading the series right now – I’m on number four as I write this review. Great characters and very witty dialog!
Loved this book! Love the chsracters, the stories, the setting!
Just love the whole series!