Magical cozy witch mystery. Yet another too many suspects for a small pool to fish in. Nothing terribly wrong, nothing much special. ( )

This book brings so many Southern Stereotypes to life it is funny. Katie Sue Periwinkle (now known as Kathryn Perry) returns to Hitching Post Alabama to try and get even with the rich and famous Calhoun family also from Alabama. The Calhouns are politically involved and rich. They are in Hitching Post for the wedding of their son, Landry and Gabi, the rich young lady that they took in after her parents were killed in a plane crash. Only problem is that it is a marriage for political reasons and Landy does not love Gabi. Meanwhile the Periwinkle bunch is a mess. Lila, the oldest girl is a recent widow looking after her youngest sister Jamie who is very ill. She wants nothing to do with witchcraft or potions from Carly or her store. The mother and step-father have been in jail, use drugs and suspicion has it they sell them as well. None of the children want anything to do with them. When Carly finds out that Katie Sue wants a hex put on a member of the Calhoun family she is worried. When she turns up dead, the mystery unfolds. What evidence did Katie Sue have against the Calhouns? Did she commit suicide or was she pushed? Who is really running the Calhoun family? Will Gabi and Landry get married? Will Carly find out what is wrong with Jamie Lynn and be able to help her? Carly and Dylan have a lot to figure out and the love is still sizzling just under the surface. The story of Carly's family, especially her aunts, continues to make you laugh. Another great cozy mystery. ( )

2.5 stars rounded up to 3. I finished the first one and while I enjoyed it enough to finish it and pick up this one, something about this series bugged me. After finishing this one, there's two main things that keep me from rating this as 3 stars.

First, the Southerness (it's set in a fictional northern Alabama town somewhere near the Tennessee border) seems forced to the point it comes across as fake. Being a native southern myself, I found my hackles raised at parts that almost seemed to be making fun of Southerns. And other bits about Southerns that didn't read quite right. But when I read the author is actually from Boston and now lives in the Cincinnati area, it all made more sense - because the southern parts definitely read as if the author has only ever visited the South and had relied a bit too much on stereotypes and cliches. Now I'm not saying you can't write about cultures you're not from. But maybe spend a bit more time learning about that culture before trying to base a series on it because this one fails to truly capture the feel of a small Southern town and its residents.

Second, the main character, Carlina "Carly" Bell Hartwell, feels a bit too flat to me. The character backstory overall has been good, learning about Carly and her family, and the developing relationship between her and her cousin has been good. But Carly hasn't really formed in my mind and seems to lack a definite presence. In comparison, Lily Ivory from Juliet Blackwell's Witchcraft Mysteries has a great presence and I can see her in my mind as if she actually existed in her San Fran Haight-Ashbury store. But Carly, well, she just lacks something.

The mystery itself was okay.

So while it's not a bad series, it's just not as good as I had hoped. I would recommend Juliet Blackwell's Witchcraft Mysteries or Haunted Home Renovation Mysteries over this one. So although it is an easy read, particularly if you like cozy mysteries with a little magic on the side, overall I find it a little ho-hum. ( )

I've stumbled upon an author that has 2 series that I really enjoy. To read more of both. ( )

I never know how to review Heather Blake's (a/k/a Heather Webber) books. Describing them ends up making them sound cute or Disney-ish in a Freaky Friday sort of way. They aren't – well, they are, a little bit. Cute. Not Freaky Friday-ish. But they aren't shallow cozies, nor are they formulaic. Nobody is going to drown in the emotional depths, but you don't expect that from cozies either; at least, I don't and that's why I read so many of them.

Carly is a hereditary witch in Hitching Post, Alabama. She owns a potions shop that sells oils, soaps, and of course, potions. Her magic is of the healing variety and is sustained by – and here's where the cute comes in – the collection of dew off of a pair of magic lilies that only bloom once a year. The legend behind these lilies is cool, but yeah, the whole premise is a bit to darling for my personal tastes.

But I do like Carly and her wacky family. I really like her flip-side-of-the-coin cousin, Delia - the one who didn't inherit the family magic/grimoire/lily tears because she was born second. She opens up a hex shop across the square and sells curses. Carly's aunts are whack jobs but they don't saturate the story; the author uses them sparingly so they offer levity that doesn't get oppressive.

The setting is very Alabama hick but endearing and cozy. The vernacular wasn't overly used, but it did occupy that space where as a reader I noticed it for itself. It would have been more effective for me if it was just used a tiny bit less. (I'm a Southerner, but I think my eyes would bug out if anyone I was speaking to actually used shoo-ee in a conversation, but I didn't grow up in rural Alabama, so what do I know?).

The mystery was clever. My early thoughts about a character were re-directed during a well-placed scene, only to find out at the end that I had been correct. Nice diversionary writing. Carly mostly stays away from TSTL decisions too so there was no eye-rolling or talking back to the book. Wait, I take that back: Carly did jump to one conclusion that was obviously wrong from the start and she wouldn't let it go. Snap judgements bug me but it seems I liked the rest of the book enough that the memory of it was dulled.

Heather Blake/Webber is one of the few currently publishing authors whose books I'd buy sight unseen. Her writing is always solid, quality story-telling and entertaining to boot. ( )