GUTTERWITCH by Esmie Jikiemi-Pearson
Fiction, Fantasy, YA, Romantasy, Part 1 of series, Coming March 2027
4****

Blurb: Scullery maid Joan has always known her place. Bound in service to a powerful witching house, she is maid and companion to Belinda, their treasured heir. But when she stumbles upon a fallen star and makes an impossible wish, she becomes a most fearsome and forbidden thing: a witch with wild magic. When Joan and Belinda are invited to study at an elite university, Joan is swept into a world of ancient academia, ruthless politics, and intoxicating power. Shunned for her lack of lineage, her magic nonetheless flourishes – and she is drawn to Silas, her enigmatic mentor, and Caspar, a fellow outcast and the bastard son of a faerie queen. As Joan’s powers grow, she is thrust into a web of secrets that threatens the fragile peace between witches and fae. With her heart and loyalties divided, Joan stands at the front lines of a war that will shape her destiny – and the fate of witchkind forever.

THOUGHTS: This is a YA fantasy that is reminiscent of H.Potter in that a poor orphan girl gets chosen to go to a special school for witches where she is often bullied. She has a few friends, including Caspar, who is also an outcast. She gets chosen by one professor for special training in mind control.

When Joan was eleven, she made a wish on a captured star to have powerful magic. As the saying goes, be careful what you wish for. Joan discovers that her wild magic isn’t as wonderful as she thought it would be. Yes, she is very powerful, but she also has little control over her star magic. She and Caspar go on a hunt to discover who murdered a young woman the year before. Joan is certain she knows the answer and makes a plan to catch him before he can hurt Belinda, Joan’s friend and mistress. When their plans go awry, Joan discovers who the true villain is and becomes even more of an outcast than before. She disappears into the Otherlands determined to show everyone what she truly is.

The story is slow paced until the end. But the world building and character creation is beyond excellent. You really feel like you’re there and that you know these people. The cliff-hanger ending is not my favorite, but none-the-less, an intriguing fantasy with mystery, romance, danger, and more.

Recommended.

Disclosure of Material: I received a final and/or advanced reader copy of this book with the hope that I will leave my unbiased opinion. I was not required to leave a review, positive or otherwise, and my opinions are just that… My Opinions. I am posting this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”. Thanks to NetGalley and Bloomsbury Books for providing this ARC.

MIXED UP MURDER by Leslie Langtree
Fiction, Cozy Mystery, Humorous, Coming December 15
5*****

Blurb: It’s been a crazy summer in Who’s There, Iowa, but if ex-CIA agent turned Girl Scout leader Merry Wrath Ferguson thought all the drama would end when school started, she was wrong. Now that the teens from the Cult of NicoDerm are away at college, a strange group of squatters, calling themselves the Ministry of a Series of Unfortunate Events, have moved into the Chapel of Despair and are refusing to leave. NicoDerm leader Stewie, from his college in Wisconsin, believes his Big Demon Energy will drive them out. Merry’s most dangerous Girl Scout, Betty, has a plan that involves a guy named Bad Andy and about 40 Russians from Des Moines, but Merry thinks there has to be a better, somewhat more legal way. Unfortunately, the police can’t dislodge them and Betty’s middle school club, the Future Espionage Agents of America, is making plans of their own to deal with the intruders. In addition Felicity Coombs, crime scene cleaner, has been finding strange poems at the sites of fatal home accidents, that seem to be aimed at Merry. Merry is starting to wonder if any of those accidents were really murders, and she suspects that they may be connected to the Ministry. If so, can she solve the mystery and get this new cult out before it’s too late?

THOUGHTS: Merry Wrath and her friends and gang of girls are at it again in this addition to the Merry Wrath Murder mystery series. In this one, a “cult” has taken over the Chapel of Despair from Merry’s friends (most of whom are away at college). Betty, a fourteen-year-old spy-to-be (although I think she’s well on her way to already being one!) begs Merry to get rid of the squatters, so Merry goes undercover to find out what’s really going on there. In addition, an older farmer has been murdered (not unusual in Who’s There, Iowa – the most murdery town in the state) and Merry is certain his death is connected to the cult. While she’s working on these two issues, someone else has been leaving mysterious poems about her at scenes of deaths – and left a cute little lamb at her home.

Merry and her friends solve the mystery surrounding the cult and the murder, but not who’s leaving the poems or who left the lamb. Which leads me to believe there is definitely more to come for Merry and her people.

Recommended.

Disclosure of Material: I received a final and/or advanced reader copy of this book with the hope that I will leave my unbiased opinion. I was not required to leave a review, positive or otherwise, and my opinions are just that… My Opinions. I am posting this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”