Merry Christmas Eve! I hope all of you are having a fabulous day. I am actually ready for Christmas (I am very shocked). The Christmas tree is decorated, the presents are wrapped, Christmas dinner is ready to go, and the stockings are hung (not by a fireplace). The only thing I did not get done is the outside lights. I figure there is always next year.
Bell, Book and Candlemas is the
second book in A Wiccan Wheel Mystery series.
Keli Milanni is an attorney and a solitary Wiccan in Edindale, Illinois. Keli has yet to tell her friends and
co-workers about her Wiccan beliefs.
Keli is walking to work and notices a crowd near a Moonstone Treasures. Someone has defaced the outside of the store
by writing "witch". The owner
of Moonstone Treasures is Mila Douglas.
Mila is a Wiccan and Keli gets her supplies from her store. Moonstone Treasures is part gift shop and
part psychic boutique (tarot card readings are one service offered). It turns out that this is not the first
problem Mila has had recently. She has
been receiving threatening notes.
Someone wants Mila to give up her shop.
There have also been a rash of burglaries in the town. The police have not been able to catch the
culprit. Keli and her best friend,
Farrah decide to stake out the shops and see if they can catch the
burglar. Instead, the find a dead body
inside Moonstone Treasures. Keli sets
out to find the killer as well as who is behind the threats to Mila.
Bell, Book and Candlemas is easy to read and
nicely written. While it is the second
book in the series, it can be read alone (without reading the first book in the
series). The pace is good and the book
can be completed in just a couple of hours. I did find Bell, Book and Candlemas interesting
and I enjoyed reading it. I give Bell, Book and Candlemas 3.5 out of 5 stars. The mystery, though, is not complex and most
readers will be able to puzzle out the perpetrator. I also felt that the romance was too
dominate in the story. The mystery
should have been the main focus, but it was competing with the romance
storyline between Kali and Wes (I prefer a slow building in the background
romance in cozy mystery novels). I wish
the author had not put so much detail about Keli’s spells or rituals (we did
not need that much information on each and every spell/ritual). I also felt we did not constantly need to be
told that Keli is a vegan (once was enough).
It seemed to be mentioned in every chapter (sometimes more than once). I did find Bell, Book and Candlemas to be
better than the first book in the series.
I will be continuing with A Wiccan Wheel Mystery series. The first book in the series is Midsummer Night's Mischief. Bell, Book and Candlemas will be out on Tuesday, December 27.
May each and every one of you have a delightful Christmas. I am going to go relax and finish reading The Workhouse Children by Lindsey Hutchinson. Take care, hope you get lots of books for Christmas, and Happy Reading!
Kris
The Avid Reader
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