140) A Charming Cure by Tonya Kappes

The Blurb :

Bubble...Bubble...

Psychic June Heal's homeopathic cure shop, A Charming Cure, is the most popular shop in the unusual little town of Whispering Falls, Kentucky.

Cures and trouble...

June is about to learn she has more than psychic abilities when she attends Hidden Hall, A Spiritualist University, leaving her shop in the hands of handsome sheriff Oscar Park.
Hidden Hall has an internal war between the Good-Siders and the Dark-Siders, putting June in the middle.

Magic stirs...

Hidden Hall is riddled with every type of spiritualist. Magic is lurking around every corner, even black-magic.
Unfortunately, the Ultimate Spell gets into the wrong hands. But it is only discovered after a few spiritualists go missing or end up poisoned to death.

And troubles double...

Madam Torres, June's crystal ball, reveals that A Charming Cure is in shambles along with the rest of Whistpering Falls.

Will June figure out who has the Ultimate Spell and stop them before they destroy the entire spiritualist com

My Thoughts :

This book wasn't actually high on my 'to be read' pile but I am taking part in a Read-a-thon this weekend and I wanted something quick and easy to read for the first day.  I knew I wouldn't have much time to read today because of work and I was pretty sure this one would get read on the way to and from work with a little attention in the evening too.  I was right.  This one was read in no time at all.

I remember reading the first book in this series a few months back and I also remember not thinking too much of it.  I knew this sequel would be a make or break for me and I am sad to say A Charming Cure hasn't left me yearning for book #3.  If anything I am ready to stay away from this series and leave it be.

There are a lot of reasons why I am going to be giving the series a wide berth.  Firstly, I am not too impressed with the writing style.  It is all a little erratic at times and I found it hard to follow who was who.  Also the story feels like it always has parts missing.  A total 'meh' when reading.  Secondly, the story is so weak.  The concept is a good one but all the world building and characters are never given a chance to really develop.  There is no depth added to the whole special abilities and magic leaving the reader putting things together from quick snippets of information.

Thirdly, this second book went on a wild goose chase.  After getting June to Whispering Falls and setting her up she hardly has time to breathe before she is off to some kind of magic school for a few days.  Why only a few days?  Why take her away from everything she just found?  Why get June involved in something she shouldn't be able to deal with yet?  Lots more questions come to mind and I honestly don't see why this book moved the focus to a school.  The whole book felt more Young Adult than adult and even the characters were acting childish.

So all in all I have decided to stay away from this series.  It isn't for me.  I am sure other readers will enjoy this and I know it has gotten some good reviews.  However this supposedly quirky series, while very magical and unique, just isn't my cup of tea.  I may be tempted to try one of the authors other series in the future.

 

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76) A Charming Crime by Tonya Kappes

The Blurb :

Bubble... Bubble...

June Heal has nothing to lose when she relocates her homeopathic cure shop, A Dose of Darla, from the flea market booth in her home town, to a quaint shop in the cozy but unusual little town of Whispering Falls, Kentucky. Or so it seems.

Cures and trouble...

Whispering Falls has a lot of secrets. From talking snow globes to whispering animals not to mention a few sprinkles of fairy dust, June realizes Whispering Falls is more magical than she thought. . .literally.

Magic stirs...

June discovers she was born into a family of psychics, and her homeopathic cures truly are magical. Unfortunately, they are not magical enough to save her from being the number one murder suspect when a member of the community that she had just had a disagreement with shows up face down in the lake with June’s lucky charm in the victim’s grasp.

And troubles double...

Add to that an attraction to her high school best friend, Sheriff Oscar Park and Mr. Prince Charming, her cat, is stealing charms from Belle’s Baubles, June is forced to clear her name in more ways than murder. After all, they don’t have cauldrons in jail.

My Thoughts :

A cute cover and a very promising blurb led me to add this book to my Amazon wishlist when it was recommended to me by the site.  I like a good cozy mystery and love them if there is something paranormal involved and this one seemed to be just the thing for me.  However within a few chapters, despite a great concept, I felt like giving up on this book.  Why did I want to give up?  Not because of the characters.  They were nice enough and I wanted to get to know them more.  They storyline was not bad and the conept was new and inviting.

So what was the problem?  The writing style and editing was horrible.  Now I know I am not perfect and know that I make a lot of mistakes but I am not writing a book and selling it.  Just posting my views for anyone who wants to read them.  However it seems this book was never read or edited before it was published because I can't believe anyone would have given it the go ahead otherwise.

Gaps in the story, jumps in the dialogue and just all round confusion.  Most of the time I could follow the story but sometimes I wondered if I had missed a page or at least a few sentences.  Back tracking and re-reading sections was a waste of time because it didn't help bring any relief from the muddled writing that really let this book down.

Despite leaving me disoriented I did like the characters and concept.  It was a quick read as soon as I realised that going back over the pieces I thought I had missed was a waste of time.  It has a lot going for it and the magicial elements while slightly forced and sometimes taken for granted, were interesting enough to keep me going till the end.

I do have the second part in this series (both books were a gift) and I am really torn about wether I want to read the sequel or not.  I am worried that the mistakes made in this book will also be found inside the next installment but on the other hand I am very curious about Whispering Falls and June.  What else will she find out about her family and her gifts.  It is all quite addictive but at the same time the first book has put me off.
Only time will tell...maybe the author read some of the feedback before writing the second part.

     

   

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