Hadley Hunter has lived a normal life, in a normal suburb, with a normal job and a normal father. All that changes when a grandmother she didn’t even know existed dies and leaves her a fabulous lighthouse on Moonstone Bay Island.Hadley, ready for an adventure, decides to check things out and finds herself plunged into a world she never envisioned.From the naked woman swimming in the ocean outside … ocean outside her back door, to the hot sheriff who seems to be hiding a secret, Hadley is intrigued from the start. That’s before magical things start happening – including to Hadley – and a body washes up on the beach.
It seems Moonstone Bay has a killer on the loose … and he may be stalking Hadley, although no one can figure out why.
Things are about to spiral for Moonstone Bay’s newest reluctant – and baffled – witch. She has to learn about the past, investigate the present and hold on to her future for dear life. Along the way she will meet a bevy of new friends who have a few particular abilities … and a lot of really odd quirks.
Set sail for adventure, because once you visit Moonstone Bay, you’ll never be the same again.
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I’ve really been in a paranormal/UF mood with a witchy specification, and Hadley’s journey in Witchin’ USA was the perfect fit.
Summary:
Hadley Hunter has always led a normal life. She grew up with a normal single father, in a normal Detroit suburb, went to a normal college, and ended up with a normal job. When the will arrives, normal goes out the window. Suddenly, Hadley has a dead grandmother she never knew existed, and an inheritance that will turn her whole world upside down and challenge everything she’s ever believed. Hadley heads for Moonstone Bay and the amazing lighthouse home that has been passed down throughout the generations of her family. But things are definitely not normal in Hadley’s new island home. From the naked woman swimming in the ocean, the hot, secretive sheriff, and secret meetings where she is the topic of conversation, Hadley’s about to land in what some might call a fantasyland. If that’s not overwhelming enough, a body washes ashore in her backyard on her first day in town. It seems a killer is on the loose in her new home, and she may just be the next check on his list. Hadley will have to open her mind to a lot of the impossible, accept help from her new friends, and hold on to her hope for the future in order to make it through the new adventure.
I was hoping this would be a series that had a lot of magical elements in it, and I wasn’t disappointed. I was surprised that Hadley was such a novice. It made this first-in-series all the more entertaining. Hadley was hilarious. She pretty much had her world turned upside down, and even with a few mild mental breakdowns, she kept on going. I admired that she was determined to make her new life work if only to learn all she could about her mother’s family. I liked her snark and sass, and following along with her while learning all the elements of her new life was fun. She was overwhelmed at times, but her reactions and demeanor were laugh out loud funny. There wasn’t a lot to speak of in the way of romance here, but there is a potential love interest. I liked Galen okay. We don’t get his POV or very much about his life other than him being sheriff, so I feel like there may be more to him. I did like how firm and confident he was. He had an alpha air about him, and I really liked this. I’ll be interested to see if the smattering of flirty behavior becomes more. Overall, I had a great time reading this book. There were times I even laughed out loud at certain scenes or dialogue. The mystery was good for the first half or so, but fell kind of flat towards the end. I did guess who the “bad guy” was early on, but that didn’t detract from what I was reading. I was still happy to see Hadley find her way to the same conclusion. My issue came with how it just ended. I didn’t feel that the motive was explained in enough detail to understand why it was essential to the culprit. That said, it was still a fun read and I got a kick out of getting to know some of the Moonstone Bay residents. Booker is especially mysterious and I’m anxious to learn more about him. A promising start to the series. I hope it keeps the humor and sarcasm throughout.
A little heavy on romance and innuendo for my tastes. I actually don’t mind some blue humour, but a fair percentage of the zingers fell flat for me. Still a solid read though!
This was first book by this author and I enjoyed it a lot.
There is a lot going on in the world right. It is scary and this book took my mind off what happening and gave me a few hours of enjoyment with great quirky characters, a not your ordinary island and a mystery.
I am looking forward to reading more.