Not all that memorable a week later, but it left a good vibe when reminded. This book indicates how messy and complicated life can be, even for fantasy characters. And Adam is definitely someone you'd want to encourage to stick around. ( )

Mona McGregor has a rich, full life. She is raising her two nieces after her irresponsible sister left them with her and cut out. She runs a magic shop and gives lessons in magic. She is helping another sister plan her wedding. And she is open to a bit of romance in her own life – it just hasn’t happened yet. Oh, she is also High Priestess, which means taking care of others’ problems. But she has a big problem of her own: someone wants her dead. And while a strong and virile werewolf has shown up on her doorstep to warn and assist her, it remains to be seen if they can defeat the threatening witch who wants to take over Mona’s position. This entertaining paranormal mystery is a quick and fun read. The characters are engaging and the plot is well-developed. While it has supernatural aspects, it has the feel of a cozy. A promising series, if the subsequent books are as good as this one. ( )

Not a bad read. I think it started off a bit slow for me, although the pace picked up quickly enough. I tend to prefer that the characters I read about are strong, independent women with sass, and while Mona is all of those things, she's also sporting a massive inferiority complex and there's a lot of 'ugly duckling' throughout the story. It's tempered well with the strong aspects of her personality, but it did detract from my enjoyment of the story overall.

The mystery itself should have been an excellent one but for some reason it was completely predictable to me. I was convinced of the culprit VERY early in the book. But I will give Ms. Harlow kudo's for making me work so hard for vindication. :) She was able to convince me several times I must be wrong, only to re-convince myself I must be right. It was definitely a roller coaster ride, this plot line. Lots of action too, with the story peaking at several points, something that kept me totally involved in the plot.

The rest of the cast of characters are likeable or seem likeable for a first outing. The oldest niece (Sophie?) needs an attitude adjustment but given the past she's supposed to have come from, I suppose it's in keeping with the story. Adam is very likeable and I liked reading the interactions between him and Mona. There's more "romance" in this story than I expected. I expected sexual tension, sex, etc. But the actually 'I love you so much I'll set you free/you have to really want this' romance was unexpected, although not over the top.

I liked that this new series will be taking place in the same universe as the F.R.E.A.K.S. series and the crossover of a couple of characters was fun. I look forward to the next book in the series, and finding out where Ms. Harlow intends to take this series. ( )

*I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

OMG I loved this book so much! It's the perfect mixture of romance, mystery and humor. The characters are memorable and plain lovable and the story is so funny and sweet. I wasn't expecting to like it as much as I did and now I just want to praise it to everyone. I mean, seriously, this book deserves to make it big!

It tells the story of Mona McGregor, a 35 year old woman, single and a witch, who has dedicated her life to her family, her responsabilities and her job. No wonder she forgot to actually live her life... She's the High Priestest of her coven which means she is also a member of the Preternatural CoOp, an organization created with the objective of getting the different supernatural creatures, vampires, werewolves and witches, working together and helping each other. She also runs the Midnight Magic shop and is raising her two nieces, abandoned with her by her rebellious sister. With so many plates in the air it's no wonder she doesn't really have the time to, you know, get a life.

She's pretty much given up on men but that all seems to be changing now, since the new, and handsome, doctor in town seems to have noticed her all of a sudden.

As if her life is not usually complicated enough, this week she has to run the shop and prepare her orders, attend an auction, help organize a festival, organize a coven reunion, host the anual Preternatural CoOp meating and her younger sister is getting married... So, the last thing she needs is to find a wounded warewolf at her doorstep telling her someone from her coven wants her dead.

Adam is the Beta of his pack, meaning he's number two in command. They have know each other for eighteen years, ever since Mona assumed her grandmother's place at the co-op, and she always got the feeling he doesn't really like her that much. After all, he avoids contact with her at all cost... Which makes it even weirder for Mona when he declares he's there to protect her.

So, now, besides all of the other items on her agenda, Mona has to discover who it is that wants her dead all the while avoiding getting killed. And she'll still have time to fall in love...

I loved both Mona and Adam. I have to admit I really related to Mona, I mean, I'm like her in so many aspects. That's why I was rooting so much for her happy ending. She's devoted herself to her calling/job and to her family, she's overweight, doesn't fall in love easily and is still single (better to be alone than to be with someone you don't love) and she's always making to-do lists. Yeap, kinda reminds me of someone...

But Adam... OMG, Adam. He's like the warewolf version of Mr. Darcy. I wont elaborate on it cause I don't want to spoil the story to anyone, but let's just say he's made it to my very short list of fictional man I wished were real and took notice of me. Yeap, I want an Adam all to myself. Don't care if he's a warewolf. And I have dog fobia, so that really says it all.

And can't finish without mentioning Mona's nieces, two young girls who are still dealing with whatever traumas her mother has put them through, but who have finally started to blossom living a normal life with their aunt. Who they love and that loves them back to. And if at first Adam's presence at the house is looked upon with suspicion, gradually he starts connecting with the girls. He seems to have a special talent to interact with them.

Plus he's sexy as hell. So, now Mona goes from no suitor to two suitors. That's it, even if she manages to escape the killer, she's not sure she's gonna survive this week.

So, yes, I'm going to be reading the next book in the series, and as many more the author chooses to write, cause, to be honest, I already miss these characters and all the town of Goodnight. ( )

So, you see there once was a witch who lived in the south, she was a high priestess with a bit of back and had not dated since god knows when, but she really didn't have time. With her sister AWOL and her raising her sister's kids plus running the coven and her witchy shop, when was she going to have time to find a man, let alone find one who could deal with all her extra baggage, on her and around her. To top it off? This week she has a wedding to plan. Nothing could go wrong, she has her TO DO list locked and loaded, right?

Mona McGregor’s To Do List

• Make 20 13 potions/spells/charms
• Put girls to bed
• Help with Debbie’s wedding
• Lose 30 pounds before bachelorette auction
• Deal with the bleeding werewolf on doorstep
• Find out who wants me dead
• Prepare for supernatural summit
• Have a nervous breakdown
• Slay a damn demon
• Fall in love

I say she is like me, nothing like a few things that are a little unobtainable to make sure the majority get done and you feel really good about it despite not finishing it all today! Speaking of finishing things in one day, I finished the book in three hours. It is a fun and delightful paranormal cozy mystery. Oh heck it was full of sparkle and spunk. Mona is a wonderful character and Adam, our werewolf is someone you cannot help but fall a bit in love with. The best part about these two? They were not perfect. No one is in the book, and for me, it really made this book and author one to watch and read.

For all my witchy-poo friends? Oh she is SPOT on with the magic. We know what goes on but we, like soldiers who pay attention to the uniforms and patches in movies, pay attention to the spells, ingredients and language associated to a book that is not being overly campy with it's witchcraft. Miss Harlow, Blessed Be, sistah! You knocked this one out of the field. It may have killed Old Man Withers' cow, but that is OK! Scooby and the gang can take care of it..

Oh dear, ummm sorry I got carried away! Much like Mona does when hunting this demon and whomever invited it to dinner where she would be the main course aka dead .. as in ala someone put a supernatural hit on her and why? Because they wanted her job! Heck, the funniest thing is her trying to figure it out. This was the only reason I gave it a four stars instead of five. I felt it was the weakest part of their story, and do not read that wrong, nothing in this story was weak. I get why she wanted to curb stomp the witch into next year, but meh, I am not sure I buy some of Mona's reactions. But perhaps lack-o-nookie plays a bit in this? Who can say! Mona's behavior towards this specific situation did not quite match up with how wonderful and thoughtful she is over all.

So.. speaking of overall? You like Cozy mysteries? You like a mystery with a bit of Witchy-Poo goodness? Want a little vamp with that va-va-voom?> Well go grab this one because it is a keeper!

Check out the funniest freaking interview I have had in a long time.. he he he chronic masturbation.. man .. oh you gotta go read the interview to get it, no worries it is PG-13 rated for the most part! All in all, four out of five cupcakes... why cupcakes? Frankly because I think she should hog tie Adam to the bed and lick the icing off! I know I would! ( )