Member Review

I thought this was part of another witch-related cosy mystery series for some strange reason (or maybe not so strange if I think too much about it). It was only when I started reading it that I realised I had only read the first book a while ago, and there have since been two others in between.
I was quite happy to realise, however, that not too much time had passed in the plot itself. I was able to pick up at the beginning, and apart from the conflicted emotional state of the lead protagonist, things were pretty smooth sailing. By the last part, I mean my own reading experience and not the events involving the characters in the story.
Witch-in-training Josie is to host her sister in the small town of Wilfred. Her mother has prohibited her from mentioning her burgeoning magic to her younger sister, who has always felt like she is lagging a step behind in the race to become an adult.
The sister is in town for a retreat that costs a lot of money, and her family considers it a sham. In that small group of people who have descended on the town, two end up dead in quick succession. Josie wants to investigate for two different reasons. One is to protect her sister from either being killed next or being labelled as the killer, and the second part is her insatiable curiosity.
Josie wants to grow her powers and use them for the investigation but it needs to be done in secret, and there seem to be too many eyes on her at all times.
The town is slow-growing, with the people in it being both annoying and helpful in equal measure.
I might have enjoyed it even more if I had more information about the events in the books that occurred before this because most of the characters were almost new to me.
The mystery itself had its twists and turns and was quick to read, and the slow-building romance did take a turn in this one, making it a good point to drop back into the series. There are some adventurous moments thrown in as well to wrap things up.

I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience.