Rebecca Regnier

How can a three-hour and forty-minute audiobook feel like it's gone on forever and still end so abruptly that I found myself checking that I hadn't missed a chapter?

'Resting Witch Face' the first book in the Widow's Bay series was fast, fresh and fun. 'Coven Mitt' wasn't quite as good but did a lot to move the story and the characters on. 'Late Broomers' was harmless fun - the kind of thing that, if it was on TV I'd watch it but wouldn't look for it and would probably pause in the middle to make a pot of tea. So I downloaded 'Wands Have More Fun' expecting nothing more of it than a little amusement to keep my mind occupied during a long, boring drive.

I didn't expect to be turning to my wife after the first hour and going, "Is it just me or does this plot have no forward momentum?" and then, an hour later for her to say "When did the main witch get to be so smug?" We were most of the way through the book by the end of the journey we debated whether it was worth listening to rest.

We did and it wasn't.

I'm done with this series now. The plots have become more absurd. The main witch has become less likeable. The author doesn't seem to know what to do with the lead Vampire and he becomes more boring with each encounter. There was a lot going on in this story and some of it could have been good fun. I liked the bits where the witches were learning about wands. Sadly, the pacing was off, there was no tension and nothing to hook my curiosity.

So, now I'm looking for a replacement set of comfort-read audiobooks. If only the Mr Monk series was available in audiobook format.… (altro)

'Coven Mitt' took a little longer to get going than 'Resting Witch Face', the first book in the series but it picked up quickly after the first death.

This is pure 'make 'em laugh, make 'em smile, keep 'em guessing' storytelling. It made me laugh several times and never had me reaching for the fast forward button.

The tone is light but that doesn't prevent the action scenes from being tense or diminish the pull of the mystery around who killed whom and why.

This time around I particularly enjoyed Agnes, Marzie's cat and familiar who talks to her telepathically, choosing the colours for the house renovation (she has perfect taste) while warning Marzie to keep her hound (the werewolf contractor) under control.

I liked the way the pieces that solved the murder mystery gradually clicked into place (although I had to look up Popsockets and I still don't see the appeal). I loved the idea of racing outhouses down Main Street, especially when they're carried at speed by werebears. Then the was the slightly confused but still dangerous rogue vampire known mostly as NorthFace because of the jacket he wears.

The need to build a large coven to deal with an external threat suggests that there'll be some exciting action in future books.

I could have done without the "Which sexy supernatural should I hook up with, the lead vampire with the French name, the sombre manner and no sense of humour or the alpha werewolf who laughs at my jokes, is good with kids/pups and is handy around the house?' It was amusing but a little tiresome.

Still, I'll be reading the next book in the series: 'Late Broomers' when I'm in need of another comfort read.… (altro)

'Resting Witch Face' kicks off a cosy Urban Fantasy series set in the small town of Widow's Bay on Michigan's Upper Peninsula. It's a fun mix of what the main character, Marzie Nowak, describes as "magic, murder and menopause".

One thing that made the book stand out for me was that, for once, this is an Urban Fantasy book where the main characters aren't in their teens or twenties. The focus is on two generations of women, one set who are in their nineties and one set in their late thirties, The younger women, who have all been friends since childhood, are all widowed or divorced. They are all women who can exercise magic, especially when they work together. I loved the idea that their magic only really comes into its own as they approach forty and gets stronger as they get older.

The other thing that sold me on the book was the character of Marzie Nowak from whose point of view the story is told. She has a dry sense of humour that made me laugh. She's also got a breadth of life experience. She left (fled?) Widow's Bay early on and built herself a career as a news anchor in a regional Detroit TV station where she co-anchored the morning show with her husband. She has two sons who have just gone to college. She's not someone who is trying to find herself or someone who is searching for a man to replace the cheating husband who she's recently divorced. She's embraced her independence and given herself a new start by returning to Widow's Bay to take up a position as a reporter for a local web-based news service.

I won't go into the plot as finding out what is really going on in Widow's Bay is a big part of the fun. I will say that what is going on lays the groundwork for a solid trope-twisting Urban Fantasy series.

Most of the book is about Marzie reconnecting with her old friends and getting to grips with her new job which, from her first day, involves her in investigating the murder of a much-feared nonagenarian woman. That investigation, plus the other events and incidents that she covers, leads her to confront the secrets that sit beneath the cosy surface of Widow's Bay society.

I liked the mystery and was surprised by the outcome. I loved Marzie's refusal to accept magic as an explanation for anything, even the very strange things she sees with her own eyes. Her hard-nosed energy drives the book forward and gives it a sceptical perspective that I rarely see in Urban Fantasy.

For me, what grounded the book was Marzie's relationship with the other women in Widow's Bay. It felt real. Not too soppy. Not too zany. It was just right.

I took a chance on this series because Audible offered it for free and we needed something to listen to on the long drive north. We got so involved in the story that, when the long drive was over, my wife and I spent the evening listening to the rest of the book. I'll be using this series as a comfort read on my next drive north. There are eight books in the series and I already have my eye on the next one 'Coven Mitt' which is also free on Audible.

I recommend the audiobook version of 'Resting Bitch Face'. Traci Odom delivered a great performance that increased my enjoyment of the book.… (altro)