A Review of Home for a Spell by Madelyn Alt

Five Fangs for Home for a Spell by Madelyn Alt

Book Description:

As the newest witch in Indiana, Maggie O'Neill already has plenty to deal with. So being hobbled by a broken leg doesn't help. Neither does the fact that her best friend and upstairs neighbor is getting ready to tie the knot with her own boyfriend and move away. This leads Maggie to wonder if it isn't time to find herself a new pad.

But when she finds a place, Maggie's dream of new digs turns into a nightmare: the apartment manager is found dead before she can even sign the lease. And Maggie finds herself not only searching for a new home- but for a frightfully clever killer.

I love Alt's clever combo of sweet charm, paranormal mishaps, and magical mystery.

While there are always a few magical elements in the Bewitching Mysteries the murder and mayhem are almsot always human in origin. There's no mystery caused by crazy monsters or magic spells-even if the people solving the crimes have something extra magical guiding their way.

In this Bewitching installment Maggie is still hobbling around in her cast and staying with her sexy boyfriend Marcus but she's afraid she's cramping his style, especially once she finds out he was planning to go back to school but is putting it off so he can care for her.

So she goes in search of a new place to live after learning her BFF is getting married and moving away. Maggie's BFF Steph has lived above Maggie in the same old house turned in apartments for years. Now with her BFF gone Maggie thinks it is time to look for someplace new.

Her search leads her to a local apartment complex and the deal she's offered is something she can't refuse. Too bad when she shows up to sign the lease she finds the creepy pervy apartment manager dead.

Which puts her right in the middle of a murder investigation once again and dealing with ex boyfriend Tom Fielding.

But this time Maggie and Marcus actually get to officially be involved in the investigation since the police need Marcus's tech expertise.

Another mystery gets solved and this time I didn't see the who or comlete why coming. I had an inkling as to why the manager got killed but the twist Alt adds to it...you'll never see it coming. It seriously surprised me.

The one thing I missed in this book was the usual cast of characters - Liss was on the sidelines as were Evie and Tara- they all had very minor bit parts. Maggie's mom made one phone call appearance into a scene and nada for Maggie's sister.

I did however love the focus on Maggie and Marcus and their relationship development.

I also like the idea that Maggie might finally have some closure with the whole Tom situtation and that he may also have closure and that everyone can get past the discomfort and learn to work together. Hmmm...maybe I'm reaching too far on that one. :-)

I do wonder how all the intricate weavings of subplots will work their way into future books- like what exactly is up with Stony Mill?

When and why did it happen before (there is a small reference to a book being found that Maggie wants to look into further, I can see this being the focus of a later book)? Why is it happening now? Exactly what is "it"?

Then there are other subplots- the conpsiracy and connections going on with the guys in "the lodge" and Liss's ex brother in law- I'm pretty sure he was more aware of what was going on in his apartment complex that we learn in Home for a Spell.

All in all Home for a Spell was a delightful face paced read that kept me turning pages all night until I finally, very sleepily, finished the book. I just couldn't put it down. I had to find out what was going on. It was well worth a little loss of sleep. Alt's books are always a joy to read.

A Review of Where There's A Witch by Madelyn Alt

I just love Madelyn Alt's Bewitching Mysteries. They remind me of the Nancy Drew type books I read as a child. Fun, quirky, sweet female characters thrown into a "wholesome storyline" with a dash of mystery and hints of romance thrown in.

And in Alt's case a dash of the supernatural tossed in, too. I like to call her and Shirley Damsgaard's books witchy chic lit or maybe witch lit.

There's a little bit of romance, a hint of sexiness but no hot sex scenes and definitely nothing "objectionable" as far as sexuality goes. These are books I can share with my mom and my ten year old daughter.

In book 5 of the Bewitching Mysteries, Where There's a Witch, Maggie attends a church carnival with two fellow N.I.G.H.T.S members, the teenagers Evie and Tara.

There she encounters a strange and angry woman arguing with a young man. Then comes a across her again after hearing an argument in the church and the young woman runs out crying.
The church carnival is cut short soon after when the construction groundbreaking ceremony digs up a secret room buried on the church grounds.

The whole thing leaves the girls feeling a little creeped out and they all go back to Maggie's place.
Later that night while hanging out at Maggie's, Marcus shows up. Marcus is another member of the N.I.G.H.T.S (the local ghosthunting, Wiccan, paranormal group), Tara's cousin, and the man of Maggie's dreams (even if she refuses to accept that yet). After eating pizza and playing with the homemade Ouija board Tara discovers she is missing her cell phone the last place she had it was at the carnival.

So they head back to the carnival grounds and discover...a dead body in the hole of the unearthed secret room. And not just any dead body but the body of the young woman involved in not just one but two arguments at the church earlier that day.

Every thing seems to be tied together somehow and the spirit that was released from the room is trying to Maggie what's going on but she can't figure out the cryptic messages plus a newspaper article and op-ed piece out Liss and Marcus as witches and Maggie along with the rest of the N.I.G.H.T.S as ghost hunters which is a very bad thing in a small conservative Indiana town. This leaves the whole crew feeling agitated and uneasy and Liss's store empty.

It also upsets Tom, Maggie's kinda sorta boyfriend, the Officer in charge of the new task force to control all the unseemly behavior that's been going on in the once quiet small town.

I don't think Tom has ever been the right guy for Maggie, he has never accepted her and is such a tight ass jerk. Honestly Marcus has always been the one.

Will Maggie ever realize that? You'll get the answer in this book.

And of course Maggie will unravel the mystery of who killed the woman at the church. With a little help from a spirit.

I am glad a few things were finally (sorta) settled in this book however I feel this book didn't go into as much character development as the other books. It really focused on Maggie and just Maggie. We didn't get a lot from anyone else. Liss didn't even figure predominately in this book nor did Marcus though he was there and a few important things happen for his and Maggie's relationship.

I missed the character interaction and learning more about the characters that have made this series so wonderful and thoroughly enchanting.

I was also disappointed that it ended so quick, but mainly that's because it was such a quick read. I devoured it in just two nights. (My mom read it in one.) I can't wait for book 6. When? Sometime in 2010, January maybe? I heard it will be released in hardcover for the first time then in paperback later in the year. I can't wait to see where Alt takes Maggie in the next story. Will Maggie finally have a love life?

Finished The Bewitching Series

So I finished reading the current books in The Bewitching Series by Madelyn Alt.

Ahh, another series that I have fallen in love with.

Now I have to wait to summer to find out what happens with Maggie. I really hope she hooks up with Marcus and gives up on Tom. Tom is sooo not right for her. For an empath she's pretty clueless sometimes. Get the hang of it Mags. Marcus is the one.

Didn't Get My Books Yet

Can you believe my local Borders didn't have the books in that I wanted. They were released on December 30 which is the day I was in the store but the store had not received the shipment yet. The salesguy/clerk/whatever, who was very helpful by the way, said he didn't know if it was the holidays or the weather but the books were not at the store.



So I didn't get my copies of At Grave's End by Jeaniene Frost (the third book in the Night Huntress series) or The Witch's Grave ( the 6th book in the Abby and Ophelia Mysteries series) by Shirley Damsgaard. I guess I should have ordered them online I would have had them already. Oh well, I ordered then through the store.

Good thing I still have other books to finish reading.



The Bewitching series by Madelyn Alt is turning out to be quite good. I just finished the second book, A Charmed Death, and I am ready to start the third, Hex Marks the Spot. The newest book, the fourth in the series, No Rest for the Wiccan, came out in November. I'll have to find that one. When I checked these three out from the library they didn't have the fourth yet.

I like the Bewitching Series. Very paranormal chick lit mystery style. They are like the Abby and Ophelia Mysteries, which is actually how I found them. They were an Amazon recommendation that popped up when I was searching for the release date of The Witch's Grave months ago.

Anyway the Bewitching series has that irresistible charm of the outcast girl turned woman who lives alone and is not nor has ever been the popular center of attention type of girl. A little awkward and lacking self confidence she's always been different. Finding magick has made her realize she is not as different or alone as she thought. (this could describe the main protagonist in either the Bewitching series or Abby and Ophelia).

There's minimal bad language, no graphic sex (not any sex at all so far, hints and allusions to, but the main character is still untouched numerous books into the series) and just a hint of romance. But there's so much action going on, murders and mysteries to solve- who has time for romance- right?

Make time, I want to see these girls hook up. In the Bewitching series Maggie really needs to hook up with Marcus. Her current love interest, Tom, the cop, is all wrong. He is the guy her mother would choose for her. So far poor Maggs is still stuck in her old belief system and too blind to see the perfect man right in front of her face because she thinks he is taken. All signs I'm reading say he's not and that he's totally into her. Hopefully in the next books Maggie and Marcus will eventually hook up.

I've already shared the Abby and Ophelia series with my mom, I think she would love these books by Madelyn Alt. Most of what I read isn't her style, she can't stand the bad language or gratuitous sex. She's not much for major detailed violence either. But I am sure she would love the Bewitching series.