Prequel short story to the new Witch’s Kitchen Series by Brooke Shelby.Can a clever witch and her crafty black cat overcome a blackmail threat?Clara Corey’s witchy roots stretch all the way back to the founding of sleepy, pious Hope’s Crossing, Massachusetts. But lately, home hasn’t felt like home.With an increasingly fanatical sect steering town decisions and stifling “different” ideas, Clara’s … “different” ideas, Clara’s had it. It seems like there’s no potion even a talented herbalist like Clara can brew that will banish the bigots from Hope’s Crossing. As soon as she can train her uninitiated niece Maggie to take over her shop, Clara’s planning on taking a much-needed retirement—with her curmudgeonly cat familiar Bramble for company.
When a measles outbreak ripples through the vaccine-skeptic community, Clara finds it hard to not intervene and anonymously donates a healing soup to the soup kitchen. After her tonic heals the sick children who taste it at the soup kitchen, Clara is exposed and put on the defensive as hostile clergy members don’t thank but blame her.
Clara might have saved lives, but she put her own at risk. Backlash could push Clara and her family’s friendly magic out of town for good, unless she can find out who knows her secrets. After all, even Clara’s oldest allies might be guilty.
As Clara launches a search for the truth, she must learn to trust her intuition, even when it leads her into the shadows…
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This one just didn’t do it for me.
I’ve been reading a lot of paranormal mysteries and that means that I have plenty of books to compare this one to. And for me, this fell short. I just didn’t get pulled in. A good book can make you forget everything around you and that wasn’t the case here. The banter between Clara and her familiar Bramble missed the mark for me. Too snarky. The whole style missed the mark for me. Too negative. I couldn’t get used to it. Not as kind or light-hearted as I had expected. And I guess I just didn’t like the way the story panned out.
Quote: “…the level of clandestine bigotry bordered on a pernicious aim to kill off all witches.” Sentences like this one made me think the author was trying too hard. Tip for the author: try to FEEL the story and let it flow. Try to transfer the emotion on to me. As is, I couldn’t feel it.
I don’t mean to be harsh, but it just wasn’t for me. That could be my fault! It could be because I had just read an amazing book and this fell flat compared to that. Maybe if I had read it at a different time I’d have liked it better. But now, sorry, it’s a no for me.
I have been provided with a copy of The Plague Doctor and the Pussycat via Booksprout for an impartial review. This is a prequel short story to the brand-new Witch’s Kitchen series. I’m not sure what to make of this introduction into this new world. It was just really hard to get into and I was struggling to finish it. It just didn’t make a whole lot of sense and it just didn’t seem believable. I don’t know if it might have been better if it were longer it might have been better story because there would have been more time to develop the story and make it better.
I loved the Salem Witch trial connection in this story. This short prequel is an awesome start to what promises to be a wonderful new series. Awesome characters, a great story, well-written, and intriguing. I’m looking forward to the next books in the series.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
There is a very dark side to this small town. It is mostly not the sole remaining witch who lives there, but those who would harshly sit in judgment of others different from themselves.
Painful relations between neighbors may yet have better results if compromise can be met.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
This book is a prequel to the Witch’s Kitchen series. The book starts off with Clara trying to play chess with her familiar, Brambles the cat. Unfortunately she is losing. Sharon, her friend comes in with terrible news, a child has died of measles and others are suffering from the outbreak. They come up with a plan to help the children without revealing that Clara is a witch. In the town of Hope’s Crossing all the other witches have been driven out so it is vital that she keeps her secret. Can they pull off their scheme and what happens if Clara is exposed?
This is a short paranormal cozy mystery about a witch who is frustrated with always having to hide her true nature. The characters were interesting.and developed well, but it is Brambles that steals the show. The oppressive environment is explored giving the reader a sense of how difficult things are. You can’t help but feel for the witch. The storyline, while short, comes with some twists, turns and surprises. There is an emotion component especially when Clara feels she has been betrayed. This book is a launching point for a series and as such has done its job well because I’m excited to read the next book.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
A very short story to introduce a new series. I finished it in about half an hour and it held my interest. Clara is accidentally outed as a witch by her neighbor and friend, after helping cure the local children during a measle outbreak. The community is very conservative and Clara starts experiencing a few threatening acts, so with the help of Bramble her familiar, they set out to find the culprit behind the threats. It should be interesting to see where the story goes from here.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
The Plague Doctor and the Pussycat – This is my first read by this author. I love reading about good witches and talking cats, or any witty animal, but I could not get into this story.
The storylines are old, a remake of the Salem days, which kept me bored. The smart mouth cat was OK, but he lacked something to make me care about him. I loved the fact that most of the characters were older and that the witch was in her late 70s.
At her age, she was suffering too much doubt and fears for such “a powerful witch”. Personally, at her age, she should be fearless and show much more confidence that what she possessed in this introduction. Yes, she’s older and her family founded the town, but there wasn’t anything that I learned about her. I found this book on Booksprout. 3*