SERIES PREQUEL – THIS STORY OCCURS BEFORE THE EVENTS DEPICTED IN THE REST OF THE SERIES AND IS GEARED TOWARD ROUNDING OUT THE CHARACTERS AND ADVENTURES OF THE ASSOCIATED BOOKS. IT DOES NOT NEED TO BE READ FIRST TO MAXIMIZE THE SERIES. ENJOY How in the name of the goddess’s favorite sports bra am I going to do this Magical Librarian job? I have no idea what I’m doing. And the woman who’s supposed … And the woman who’s supposed to be training me is…well, let’s just say she’s distracted and leave it at that. I guess I’ll bumble through. It’s become something of a trademark move for me.
My name is Naida Griffith and I’m a sorceress. I actually found that out not too long ago. I’ve lived with an undefined something burning in my belly for a while, feeling as if something wasn’t quite right under my skin. Then, on my eighteenth birthday I started getting headaches. Bad ones. And random stuff started following me around.
Recently I was approached by a group called the Société of Dire Magic to become Keeper of the Artifacts. A magical librarian. Given that magical artifacts have taken to following me around, I decided I might have an aptitude for the job. So I said yes.
But in the first few days, I’ve been flogged by flip flops, bludgeoned by gnomes, and discovered a corpse in a suitcase. Then there’s the woman who’s supposed to be training me. She’s…interesting.
Will I survive the training long enough to get the job as an artifact librarian? You might as well ask me if a caterpillar gets manis or pedis. Who knows? But I know one thing for sure. This gig is hard.
I’m going to do my best to succeed. Or die trying.
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I absolutely loved learning how Naida started out as the Keeper of Artifacts. It was as funny as the rest of the series, too! We get to see how she met Lea, Sebille and Grym. It was a wild ride! And the fun Croakies-isms were all there too! Derfs, lol, love it!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I loved this prequel to this series. Naida was raised as a regular human but when her grandmother passes she finds out otherwise. She is thrown into a world of magic. When the woman who is trainer her in her new is accused of murder, Naida and friends try to help.
Expect the unexpected, with this book, between attacking shoes and a disappearing suitcase. With everything being magic it opens up all kinds of possibilities. I loved Naida and her quirky sayings quite a few of them had me laughing out loud. The characters are unique and the mystery was good and kept me guessing. I will definitely continue on with this series.
It’s a fun read. It sets up the quirky characters and Naida’s unorthodox path to the becoming the new KOA.
I really enjoyed this book and learning about Naida’s origin story. This is an interesting world of magic that is unique and intriguing. This book is also funny, the part with the magical, deadly shoes was hilarious! I’m looking forward to following Nadia as she learns to be the Keeper of the Artifacts and also getting to know Lea and Sebille more. This is a fun cozy set in a crazy, magical world and I can’t wait to start the next in the series.
I am starting this series with the prequel Unbaked Croakies. This book is a great introduction to Nadia and her magical universe. Of course, even magical universes can have issues. This include a teacher who is not teaching, a murder and various “baddies”! Nadia was not raised as a magical so she is just learning about her powers, how to use those powers, and is apprenticed to be a Keeper of the Artifacts, a magical librarian. You should not miss Nadia’s journey in this well plotted book with very interesting and different magicals.
I love this series! I read Books 2 – 7 before reading this one and enjoyed finding out the beginnings of Naida and Croakies. Even if you start with this one, you will like the rest of the series. As I understand it, Ms. Cheever wrote Book “1” after writing Books “2 -7” but it’s the prequel and can be read as such or not. If you like paracozies, you will love this book and series!
One of my favorite genres is cozy mysteries. This book did not disappoint. I loved the storyline and characters. The story flowed well and was engaging. If you love a good cozy mystery then I recommend this book.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I’ve been reading this Croakies series and enjoying it for its lighthearted, fun approach. The addition of a prequel is wonderful! It was so nice to see these characters getting to know each other and see what things were like when Naida first got started as the Keeper of the Artifacts. This is such a cute series and this newest installment is a great place to start if you haven’t read any of them yet.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
In this book Nadia is thrust into internship to be the next Keeper of the Artifacts. I was excited to learn how Nadia got thrown into the KOA job. You get to read how Nadia and her friends first met and the first KOA case she worked on with Grimm. I laughed so hard at that part. I didn’t think this series could get any better but then Sam Cheever wrote this. The characters are meeting for the first time and are coming together in their own way. They are learning to trust one another and work together to form the Croakies that exists in the rest of the series.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
From felonious footwear to gruesome gnomes, Naida feels overwhelmed in her new position as Apprentice Keeper. The current Librarian doesn’t seem interested in training her and her contact at the Police Station sees right through her bumblings. Fortunately, she meets some characters (who are not all human) that may just help her survive and solve a deadly conspiracy. I loved reading this hilarious beginning of Naida’s career at Croakies and purchased a copy to read again with the entire series.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Naida is a witch, who does not know much about witchcraft, as she was raised by a human grandmother who tried her best to ignore any form of magic.
When Naida is approached to apprentice as a keeper of magical artefacts, she agrees, as she often has magical objects following her.
But when she arrives at CROAKIES; the base of the current keeper, she finds out that she has to jump right in, without any training from Day 1.
A funny, entertaining story, which introduces all the main characters of the CROAKIES series, and explains why Naida became a Keeper with basically no formal training.
Enjoyable and entertaining fun to read.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a reviewe
Naida Griffith and all of her ‘helpers’ and friends are a delight to read. They get into so many things, not all of their own doing, but some are. There is magic all around them, not all of if nice. Naida’s job is to sort out the bad and ‘take care of it’. These are fun reads, so if you have not tried them you really should! I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book from Booksprout.
Sam Cheever has finally brought us the story of Naida’s first few days as a Keeper of (magical) Artifacts in UNBAKED CROAKIES. The author’s descriptions of people, places and the unexplainable will have you ducking flying artifacts right alongside our heroine.
In this anxiously hoped for prequel we learn about Naida’s arrival and first few days at Croakies, how she met Princess Sebille, Lea, Mr. Wicked, Detective Grym, and of course, her teacher and former KoA, Alice.
The job of a Keeper of Artifacts is to keep these dangerous magical objects safe and out of of the hands of the supernormal and normal community. Thorough training is an important first step to becoming a KoA. Oops, Naida missed that first step – now she’s kind of figuring it out as she stumbles through her new job. It’s a good thing she’s made some supportive and helpful friends along the way.
“Hippopotamus in a Humvee” What More can I say: a mysterious suitcase, a compact body, a stranger stealing an artifact and Naida has only been at Croakies for a day.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Naida is approached about being a keeper of artifacts, she doesn’t believe it. She is intern for the year at Croakies with Alice. Things don’t really go the way she thought they would. Alice is not really teaching her much. Naida was doing inventory on the artifacts when she notices a pair of shoes are missing. Alice asks were they are, Naida tells her they were there. Alice has to call the police, Grym comes over. He takes Naida with him, to find them
When Alice taking a nap, a customer in the store does something. He opens a vortex and steals an artifact from the back. Naida gets Alice and tells her, Alice gets Lea. She can’t get the much information especially after she is hexed.They don’t know why anyone would take a suitcase. Grym comes to the store to ask her about a guy that is dead in the park. Alice asks suspicious to even Naida. Alice wants to go to the park, to have a look. Sebille comes over to help and introduce herself to Naida. Sebille tells them what they see, it looks like the suitcase is involved. These three will try to solve what is going and who is involved. Naida is above her head with everything that is going on, but she determined to help.
This was an nice look at Naida when she new to the job. What caused her to be properly trained to be a keeper. Really enjoyed her meeting her friends and how much they have grown. Can’t wait to see Naida and Grym get together.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Unbaked Croakies: A Magical Cozy Mystery with Talking Animals
I am a fan of Sam Cheever’s writing since I read a couple of the Country Bumpkin series. I was given the opportunity through Booksprout to read this book, Unbaked Croakies, and took a chance on a new series. Also, fairly new to me is the magical component. I have read a few other books which contained a bit of magic, but nothing to the order of this book. It seemed there was magic, or reference to magic, on every page.
I enjoyed the story and unraveling the mysteries. Yes, that is right, mysteries, plural. What a treat. The characters worked very well together in the story. It was a well-written, fun, and easy read. A good start to a series.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review which is my honest opinion of the book.
With Unbaked Croakies, Sam Cheever takes us back to when Naida first arrived at Croakies. We meet the previous Keeper, Lea, Sebille, and Grim, and we learn more about Naida, too. And we’re there when Mr. Wicked joins her.
I really enjoy these stories. They’re well written and very creative. It’s a fun world to visit 🙂
(If you haven’t started the Croakies series yet, what are you waiting for?)
this is a good story if you like magical mysteries you will like the story, i was given a copy by brooksprout but this is an honest review
Hi Mr Wicked. You are just so cute. I love your picture.
Wow. How Naida became the Keeper of the Artifacts. How she meets Sebille and Lea. Best part is not one mystery but three mysteries to be solved. Are they intertwined or not.
Start here if not familiar with the series. Guaranteed you will be hooked. Envy you since you get to see where it started. For those of us who are familiar with the series, it is interesting to see how it started.
I love this series. This magical world is so different from all the others. Always a surprise.
Great cozy mystery for all.
This is my honest and freely given review. I did receive an ARC book.
Sam Cheever is a wonderful writer! I am so glad she created the “how it all started” with Nadia at Croakies. Thank goodness I’ve only read the first 2 books before this one came out. This book answers all your questions how Nadia came to Croakies, how she meets Lea & Sebille, how she get’s Mr. Wicked, and how much “training” she receives from the previous KoA. But I still have a question hanging… who is Uncle Bob??? This book has us on a wild adventure with a mysterious suitcase, a man no one can remember and dangerous-murderous Gnomes. Oh I forgot to mention, we also get a first look at handsome detective Grym. This is a must read if have read this series or are still reading the series. I highly recommend Sam’s other series’ – they are also quite entertaining!
I received a free copy of this ARC book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
The Series Prequel
This episode is the prequel to the series. We learn how Nadia is trained by being thrown into the deep end in hopes she can swim. We are introduced to many of the neat characters of the series. Our new keeper has to fight gnomes and wizards to keep a priceless artifact out of their hands. She makes friends with Sebille, Lea, and even Grym. It is a cool story. It is fun to see how it all started. I received this ARC book for free from Booksprouts and this is my honest review.