A magical retreat center. A cranky critic. Eccentric guests aplenty. What could go wrong? Amateur witch Marley Greene has just opened her magical retreat center. Her guest speaker, Neil the Strongman, has lots of wisdom to share with his admirers. But before the weekend can get started… one of the guests is found murdered. Who did it? Why? And what’s up with the monster in the mud bath? Follow …
Why?
And what’s up with the monster in the mud bath?
Follow along with amateur sleuth Marley
as she casts spells, questions suspects, and dances her way through her first case!
This is the first book in the Marley the Witch Mystery series. A full-length witch cozy with a leading female sleuth.
more
This book is an excellent read. Keep you guessing from beginning to end. It’s fun,magical, witty, easy to read, page turner, suspenseful, mysterious and so much more. It is a well written book. I hope to read the book in paperback format and also read the rest of the series.
I highly recommend the book and hope you go buy it and read and review it.
Parents, Grandparents and Legal Guardians, if you are concerned about your children or child or grandchild, or grandchildren reading a magical book please consider something… Your children or grandchildren have most likely read Harry Potter if they are able to read and this book by Amorette Anderson is very mild to Harry Potter books. However if you’re really that concerned, then by all means feel free to read the book first before letting your Child, Child, Grandchild, Grandchildren read the book.
Enjoy reading the book!!
Marley the Witch, new series is great. I love Marley, She is a down to earth, and wants to be one with help others do the same.
Marley goes on a vison quest and learns from her grandmother that she needs to open a healing center, which she does. Unfortunately the person who can possibly make or break the center dies. It is a mystery after all. This leaves Marley with not only having to learn how to run her center, but also to help solve the murder.
We meet some new characters that will be returning in the next book. Some are good and some I am definitely keeping my eye on. Welcome to the new beings.
This is the first book in a spin off series from The Hillcrest Witch Mysteries. All our old friends are here. If you have not read the series. I highly highly recommend that you do. You will get to see the beginning and the growth that our friends have made. This series starts at that end point. Also it will give you a chance to learn the spells yourself and learn from them also. (Hint if you do, write the spells down for yourself so you have your own copy of the book, hee hee.)
I am glad that I came back and read this one before book 3 comes out. It helped explained some things in the next book, which I did not understand
This is a fast fun easy to read cozy mystery. It can be read as a standalone but guarantee you will enjoy the previous series also.
the previous series also.
This is my honest and freely given review. I did receive a complimentary book. So
I loved this book it was nice getting to know Marley more. I loved the magical healing center that she opened and wish we had one here. With the weekend barely getting started and to her the most important guest, the scribe reviewer whose reviews are permanent! When he is murdered she loses faith in her self, her mission and the center until the strongman, the guest speaker helps her figure it out. Between solving the murder and keeping the guests happy, tracking down an uninvited guest she’s kept quite busy!
This was a very original story. There was drama and plenty of action to keep you in your toes. I couldn’t put this book down once I started reading it. This author is a great storyteller interweaving the story so that it is intense and perfect. I highly recommend this book and this author!
The Strongmans Spell
The coven spelled up a magical retreat, and have quite an adventure, led by Marley. Well written, fun book.
Received this ARC and am leaving an honest review.
The Grand Opening Of A Magical Retreat Centre
The mystery starts straight away when one of the guests is murdered. Marley moves quickly to find the killer and unravel the mystery. A great paranormal mystery. Another fantastic story by a fantastic author! Highly recommended!
5 Stars
The Strongman’s Spell: A Marley the Witch Mystery Marley the Witch Cozy Mystery by Amorette Anderson Published by Amorette Anderson, 2020 First edition. May 21, 2020. Copyright © 2020 Amorette Anderson. Written by Amorette Anderson.
Read on: iBooks, KyBook (1, & 3), SmashWords, StoryOrigin, InstaFreebie/ProlificReads, BookFunnel, Kobo, TotalReader, vBookz, Reader +, Good Reads, and others as I find them.
Started: 28 May 2020
Finished: 3 June 2020
Amazon: ?
Reviewer s Note:
I knew that this book was due to come out back in March. However, due to the Corvid~19 Pandemic, it was held up. I didn t receive this book with the normal two week ARC review time to read and write my review.
I m marking it down as and example of Amazon s attempts to micromanage not only the authors, but also reviewers. Amazon has been on my case because I got caught up in the John Locke mess. Mr. Locke wrote and published a book via Amazon describing how he made “buko bucks” off Amazon. When initial sales started to taper off, Mr. Locke admitted to paying for 5 star reviews.
I don t get paid for my reviews of books, I was doing it for medical reasons: trying to keep what s left of my brain working after a major stroke with complications. Since I don t get paid for my reviews, I leave 4 and 5 star reviews of the books I read. I also try to leave a good review of the book. I like for it to entice me to get the book (if i don t have it already.) Because of my leaving 4 and 5 star reviews, and my refusal to tell the authors I know to drop dead, Amazon considers me to be biased and has banned me from posting any reviews about books or products on their website.
Amazon claims that it s good business to both back and promote authors who lie, cheat, and steal. I realize that the few authors who lie, cheat, and steal make up a very tiny portion of all the authors out there, and the vast majority are honest with strong belief/value systems.
I, for one, refuse to tell friends and/or relatives to drop dead, so I can post on Amazon. I was raised to stand by my friends. As far as relatives, I don t believe that i ve read any of their writing(s.)
Now back to this review:
Title:
Their are many types of strengths.
New business owners need to realize they can start a new business and not have to do every single thing while starting up. Most never do, those who think they have no choice in the matter, usually find themselves trying to save their inspiration/baby/new business opportunities.
Many start ups have friends who are willing to help them. Most don t acknowledge the time they use of their friends, if they use the offered help. AND the friends need the acknowledgement of their time. Otherwise resentment can start to rear it s ugly head.
The feature speaker basically tells off the trials and tribulations that he had to endure while acquiring his name. Like many who have followed similar lives, he has developed a manner of speaking that appeals to the masses.
We soon get to meet one of the two beings who Marley didn t realize that she needs to run her business. Since she started studying witchcraft a little over a year ago, we ve been able to see how much each of the -witch sisters- have grown from each lesson. Now that she has started a business which promotes healing and improving strength, can she accept help and suggestions regarding how to hire the people she needs to operate her business to the best of her abilities. Even getting one of them from those who had come to find out how they could boost their own magical strengths. Especially when they step up and begin helping on their own initiative.
The second being she found when should went back to trying to do all the work herself, she should ve realized that cleaning up after 25 guests might be possible for one single person. However it is in fact, not even practical. Doing massages on top off everything else is a fast way to commit suicide.
Finding a being who instinctively understood how her mud baths worked. The fact that he s a golem and he loves how she set them up was an added bonus.
All the while, her current lessons and investigative work (trying to find out who murdered a professional reviewer during her first day in business.) Sets this book up as a CozyMystery, Urban Fantasy, and a YA Sci-Fi novel. All of which, adds to this series IMO.
In one way, the Spirit Realm had an amazing, unique way of dealing with the end of life. Imagine going from living in one instant, and becoming a ghost in the next. I realize that this is only a temporary solution, however, it does offer a way to transition to the next stage of life. Sort of caused me to step back and think about it in a little bit more defined way. While the possibility might be there, I, truthfully can t see why I would change the speed at which I live my life.
In the back off this book there s a link offering you a chance to pre-order the next book in the series. If you re like me, and appreciate this author s style of writing, you can go to her author s page on Amazon and pre-order books 2, 3, and 4; which should come out one per month. I pre-ordered books 2 through 4 figuring that Amazon will be blocking me from getting these books as they come out for ARC reviews. This way i can still get the books, and I ll just be posting my reviews a bit later than I normally would.
Live life,
John Shrek Walters
Sent from my iPhone
I was so excited to be back with my friends in the Terra Coven, Marley Greene, Penny Banks, Annie and Cora as well as their familiars. This series is written from the point of view of Marley. The Coven has built the Greene Center for Magical Living for all paranormals in the universe on land inherited by Marley from her grandfather. Marley has scheduled her first retreat and has invited Neil the Strongman, to be her guest speaker. Her guests are a mixture of paranormals from all five realms — Earth, Water, Air, Spirit and Fire. One of her guests is Carlisle Crimson, a writer for Record Keeper Reviews, a modern version of Akaskic Records. Carlisle is murdered in the first hour of his stay. His ghost appears to Marley and asks her to solve his murder. Between being the host of the retreat and finding his killer, Marley is very busy. Skili, her white owl familiar, leads her to a dark cave where her grandmother talks to her and tells her she must find peace. Marley is trying to avoid Kitty Ghupta, a recruiter for the Lazy S Inn in the Spirit Realm ran by Sarin. Marley discovers something about her mother’s and grandmother’s past in this story that will help Marley make a decision.
I have read all of Amorette’s books and I love this series. I loved it so much I even purchased a copy even though I had received an ARC. This is my honest review!
I truly loved being back in Hillcrest with Marley and her coven. Marley is a newer witch who opens a magical retreat center. When an important guest is found murdered within an hour of her opening, Marley and her familiar Skili are tasked with finding the murderer. Well written, great characters. I can’t wait for the next one! I received an ARC of this book and I’m leaving a voluntary review
The Strongman’s Spell: A Marley the Witch Mystery- Marley the Witch Cozy Mystery Book 1)”
by Amorette Anderson is a tale of one Marley Greene who lives in Hillcrest Colorado…who as an Amateur Witch has just opened a new enterprise… a magical retreat center….for paranormals from all the Realms. Her first guest speaker, Neil the Strongman, assists Marley with her Green Center for Magical Living facility’s grand opening…a task given to Marley by her grandmother during a recent vision quest.
However …the opening hit a tragic unforeseen snag when a reviewer from Akashic Records…one Carlisle Crimson… was found dead. Marley vows to solve this untimely demise along with her coven sisters …Penny, Annie, Cora, and Azure ..their respective familiars and her own beautiful owl familiar, Skili….whose sage advice was indispensable….in aiding Marley to salvage her new retreat’s debut…A delightful NEW Witch Cozy Series from Ms. Anderson.
Read and See! Much enjoyed and Highly Recommended. I voluntarily reviewed an Advanced Copy of this book.
Marley is a relatively new witch and Is young, so when she started up a magical retreat even she had doubts that she could handle it. She had the support of her coven but no additional employees. Her first weekend retreat had strongman, Neil, as the motivational speaker. All was looking well until the scribe she invited to give a critical review is murdered.
This charming and creative paranormal cozy mystery is this first in the Marley the Witch Cozy Mystery Series. What A wonderfully quirky and charming team of characters were crafted for this series. Some of them are well known if you are familiar with Anderson’s other work but there are some great new characters as well. In addition, as the series will be set at the retreat, each book, like this one, will feature additional new cast members. The first book in a series is often hard to do as it takes a lot of introductions to the setting and characters, but the author not only does this extremely well, she also gives us an engaging mystery. The storyline flows smoothly and quickly. I read the book in one sitting as I just had to see how it would turn out. The mystery had numerous suspects, interesting clues, surprising twist, unexpected turns, danger and suspense. This book is a delightful cozy mystery and a promising start to a great new series.
I received this ARC for free and have voluntarily left an honest review.
Just as good as the Penny Murder Mysteries but with enough twists to incorporate Marlies quirks.
Well written by a good storyteller. Happy to recommend this to young Adults thru to those mature readers like myself.
Ms. Anderson has another winner. Marley Greene is the featured witch in this tale. A respected but critical Air Realm reviewer is murdered within the first hour he is in the Earth realm. He was invited, along with his wife and daughter, to enjoy the Grand Opening weekend of the Greene Center for Spiritual Living. Marley has invited magical beings and must pick them up from the portal and transport them in her VW bus to the center. Her last pickup is her weekend speaker but his manager sneakily releases a “recruiter” in the Earth realm. Needless to say, Marley has her hands full with trying to make everything run smooth, solve a murder, and a few other weird twists that happen. This is a very fun, light-hearted read.
Red Robin
A wonderful beginning to a series on Marley.
Loved reading this book. Can’t wait to read more in this series.
Loved reading this book…
I love all of Amorettes. Books.I have to keep reading because I love her style. This book is different because she writes in a more grown up style that is more thought provoking and harder to guess the ending. The characters have more depth to them, also. I feel this is a brand new series of books.
I want to say first a big thank you to Amorette for giving us another great read! As I read this I kept picturing in my mind what a wonderful time I would have on a magical retreat! We are back in Hillcrest but this time with Marley and her talented familiar Skills. Amorette dear, ty for this yet another adventure with you! Your the best!
This was a fabulous book and so much fun getting all the coven together to open Marley’s new Greene Health Center. We meet characters from all the different realms and with leading the story it is quite a different feel from the Hillcrest series with Penny in the lead. I adored Marley and Skili in this book and how they not only taught, and learned by doing, how to run the Center. With a murder for Marley to solve almost right from the beginning and all the other things going on in this book, I was so impressed that I can’t wait for the second one to come out
Amorette Anderson continues her magical lessons in THE STRONGMAN’S SPELL. We are back in Hillcrest, but this time learning how Marley struggles to fulfill her destiny. Like the other magical lesson stories, this is a funny, quirky and laugh out loud story! The perfect fun, relaxing, no stress read with a lesson to be learned even with a murder to solved.
Marley has just opened a magical wellness center, The Greene Center for Magical Living. a safe haven for seekers of magic from both the magical world and humans. This opening event must be perfect. A famous reviewer from the magical kingdom will be at the opening and Marley is worried that a bad review will mean the end of the center before it even gets going. Once the Record Keeper reviews are entered they can never be edited or removed.
As you enjoy this magical story, remember, there is always a lesson to be learned along the way not only for the characters but for the readers. As Skili said, You are never ready to face your destiny. Facing it makes you ready.
I did receive an advance copy of this five star story from the author and this is my honest review of this fun witchy cozy mystery
The Strongman’s Spell is the first book in the Marley the Witch Cozy Mystery series, a spinoff of the author’s Hillcrest Witch Cozy Mystery series.
Marley, the free-spirited witch of the group, has a vision sent from her grandmother, who gives her a task that will challenge her in many ways. She must open a healing sanctuary that eventually will help bring magical and non-magical beings together. In the process of fulfilling that task, Marley must discover who committed the murder of a guest at the retreat, helped and motivated by the philosophy of the guest speaker, known as the Strongman.
Join the adventures of Marley and her beautiful owl familiar, Skili, as they learn the ropes of management and sleuthing. This is another fun, fast-paced read from the author.
I received an ARC from the author, and I liked it so much I also bought a copy!
I’m so glad our favorite coven is back! Marley is so awesome and handled everything that was thrown at her during her grand opening, with maturity and professionalism. It was a little strange not having Penny in the middle of everything, but she was still her usual self! LOL! I totally recommend this book and the whole series! Get them all, read them, and enjoy the magical ride!
Captivating!
This is a spin-off from the Hillcrest Witch series, but I believe that you can step in here easily. I had feared I would miss Penny and Turkey too much, but I should never have doubted it. Marley and Skili are doing a great job! And of course with Penny being Marley’s bestie, she does play a role in this book too, as do Cora and Annie. I needn’t have worried! Not that I really worried, I was confident that Anderson would make this great too, and yes, this is a GREAT start to a new series! Anderson has succeeded in creating such a charming story, she really practices magic with words. Captivating, engaging, entertaining: you really can’t go wrong with this book if you like paracozies! You’ll love Marley, as I love her, and you’ll love Skili, wise and gentle. I really can’t contain my excitement and why should I? Highly recommend!