Another murder in a small little witchy town and of course, Darcy finds the body. Not really a whole lot of deep, involved thinking with these books but they are very cute and heartwarming in an odd way. It’s nice to see the characters growing and developing. I like that there are not a ton of new characters being introduced in each new book. It makes it easy to keep track of who’s who in the little town, so you actually do care about whatever character is involved because they may have been part of a previous story so you may already know the person’s background. It’s like a cute little town and everybody knows everybody, but someone’s got to get killed to keep it entertaining. ☺️ ( )

I was really enjoying this series up until this book, which was painful to get through. I did a combination of reading and listening, and either way I alternated between boredom and annoyance, and really struggled to get to the end (very tempted many times to just abandon it altogether). I have no plans to continue reading this series because I have completely lost interest in what happens to the main character.

Two main problems for me:

1) This is a book about Nick and Darcy and their family plans, NOT a book about a mystery. It's not like I didn't expect that to happen between them. But, it is just SO aggressive in this book that I was taken aback yet also bored out of my mind. It doesn't feel natural or make sense, and the mystery, which was obviously orchestrated solely to allow all of these seriously giant leaps to happen, takes a backseat altogether. I would go so far as to say that, if I didn't know that there are at least two more books in this series, I would think it's about to come to an end because suddenly everything seems to be wrapping up in this book.

After seemingly never sleeping together for practically the whole year of their relationship, this whole book is about whether Nick and Darcy will move in together, how Darcy now stays over (but though she still never leaves anything there and brings a bag with her it is oddly okay now for Mimi to see her spending the night and lots of other weirdly territorial circumstances about belongings and who can leave what where and how to compromise and on and on), then for some reason it gets over-complicated with Darcy (predictably) getting her own house and moving out of AND inheriting As You Wish, and what will she and Nick do with this extra house (he will obviously move in with her because he is perfect!), lots of gooey talk about when they'll start the family that she and Nick will inevitably have (even though it is surround with lots of ridiculous worrying from Darcy about whether Nick will want the same things as her--please, it's so disingenuous and it becomes irritating! Nick is perfect and only ever wants what Darcy wants), and let's not forget practically being slapped in the face with who the Elder is. I don't understand what the rush is and why all of this is happening so quickly after, like, nothing happening about anything for almost a year.

2) This is a book that goes beyond "cozy" and straight into nauseating. There are only so many perfect descriptions of scenery, so many perfect qualities of Nick, so many perfectly quirky friends, and so many perfect everythings that I can read about before I just want to throw the book across the room. Too sappy. Too saccharine. Too lovey-dovey. Too perfect. Too unnatural.

Edit: I also forgot to mention that another reason I had to stop reading these is because I couldn't read another line about Nick "dragging a hand down his face." He had always done this, even in the early books, but then it was just maybe a couple times in the book. In these last two books, particularly this one, he seemed to do it at least once whenever Darcy interacted with him (and in these later books they interact quite often). I get that the characters need quirks, but seriously at one point Nick was "dragging a hand down his face" whenever Darcy said anything and I couldn't get past how annoying, constant, distracting, and overly dramatic it was, like it was the only mannerism he possessed to indicate distress or weariness. ( )

Darcy & Cherise are supposed to meet up w/ a relator to look at a neighboring house... The house is quite rundown and has a "history".

The previous owner was the reclusive wife of a jewel thief.... Who had stolen the "Circe" diamonds, said to have been in the wand of Circe, made from the tears of the Gods & holding unlimited power. Said diamonds were to have been hidden somewhere in the house and treasure hunters were forever searching for the diamonds.

When the relator is found murdered in the upstairs closet w/ it planked floor pulled up, suspicion falls on her widower husband happy she is dead, found to be having an affair, making real estate deals behind her back.

A skeleton is found walled up in the bathroom, which turns out to be that of a woman who disappeared right after the diamond heist.

Meanwhile Darcy's Aunt Ve is running for council against a non-crafter who wants to sell off the "Enchanted Woods" for a new housing development.

This was a fast and entertaining read..... ( )

Another great read in the series that has the Disney-cute premise and the grown-up writing.

This one was lighter, less melancholy than her last book, but it still touched here and there on things that gave the reader a bit more to think about. I didn't guess the villain early, and in fact never even considered the person. I love Darcy and Nick together and I like the way the secrets of the community are slowly unfolding.

This remains a favorite series for me - it's fun and light without being vapid. ( )

These are happy books. I know that sounds odd since there is usually at least one murder in each of them but it's the truth. Each and every one of the characters you come into contact with adds to the atmosphere of the story. They are almost all eccentric and full of personality and make me smile often, even laugh out loud on occasion. Darcy is perfect as the main character and sleuth for the Elder. She is nosy, yet extremely likable, with plenty of wit and just a bit of attitude.

The books are a perfect blend of mystery and magic with just the slightest bit of romance thrown in. This one in particular is one of my favorites with a well thought out back story. I loved trying to figure out who the murderer was and this time my guess was wrong! I was truly surprised when it was finally revealed who the killer was.

Everything works out in the end, as it does it most of the series. I like it that way. I like knowing that when I curl up to read a Wishcraft Mystery, I am going to be completely engrossed in the story and walk away happy, eagerly awaiting the next book in the series. ( )