witches – LDS Women's Book Review

Black Moon by Teri Harman — Blog Tour/Giveaway

Posted by Mindy Book Reviews

Sep 182014

Black Moon

Author: Teri Harman

Publisher: Jolly Fish Press

Published: September 16th, 2014

ISBN13: 9781939967930

Paperback: 416 pages

FTC FYI: I received a Kindle copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Reviewed by Mindy

Goodreads Summary

Simon Howard accidentally killed three people. Four months later, the nightmares won’t stop. Willa Fairfield, his girlfriend, his soul mate, wants nothing more than to help him move on. But guilt isn’t the only thing getting in Simon’s way.

When unexplained earthquakes hit the small town of Twelve Acres, and dozens of people go missing, the Light witches discover their most feared enemy, Archard, is still alive. Employing the twisted, dynamic magic of a legendary witch known as Bartholomew the Dark, Archard plans to exact his revenge and take control of the Powers of the Earth on the night of the black moon, a rare lunar event infamous for Dark magic.

As the Light Covenant fumbles to defend against Archard’s sadistic intentions, Simon’s magic grows inexplicably more powerful, even dangerous. Willa throws all her efforts into solving the mystery of Simon’s transformation, but when the events of the past storm into the present, the couple’s future changes forever.

My Review

In Black Moon, the magic is engrossing and captivating. The characters are too. Simon is struggling. He is having a hard time coming to terms with what happened in the cave and no one can figure out what is going on with his magic, and Willa doesn’t know how to help him. The bad guys, wow!, are they bad. Archard is back and what he does to fix himself, is a little… icky. We also get a glimpse of Bartholomew the Dark, he’s a sinister guy, to say the least.

Black Moon starts strong and doesn’t let go until the last shocking page! What an awesome set up to the next book, it took me completely by surprise. I enjoyed how the author alternated the chapters between the past and present with different points of view at times. It was a great way to add to the magic of the story,while setting up important events that took place. Teri also does a great job of catching up the reader on reminding us what happened in Blood Moon. That being said, if you haven’t read Blood Moon, I would start there. Even with all the magic and scary moments, Teri also found room in the book for love and friendship. The Light Covenant has a great sense of family and hope.

4 out of 5 stars. There are some scary, intense moments of magic. Nothing I found offensive.

Author Links

Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter / Website

Purchase Links

Amazon / Barnes and Noble

Phrase for Black Moon

“Engrossing, unexpected, enchanting. I loved the characters and how true the story stayed to actual history. This is a series I will put at the top of my must read list.” —J. Scott Savage, author, Farworld and Case File 13.

“Teri Harman has set up a whirlwind plot with a magical, flying fireball war zone . . . Willa and Simon’s noble and magical love is a firm foundation for a compelling, suspenseful and action-packed novel.” —Deseret News

About the Author

TERI HARMAN has believed in all things wondrous and haunting since her childhood days of sitting in the highest tree branches reading Roald Dahl and running in the rain imagining stories of danger and romance. Currently, her bookshelf is overflowing, her laundry unfolded, and her three small children running mad while she pens bewitching novels. She also writes a bi-weekly book column for ksl.com, Utah’s #1 news site and hosts a monthly television segment for Studio 5, Utah’s #1 lifestyle show. Teri Harman lives in Saratoga Springs, Utah.
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Witch Song by Amber Argyle

Posted by Mindy Book Reviews, Mindy's Reviews

Jul 182012

Witch Song

Author: Amber Argyle

Publisher: Rhemalda Publishing

Published: September 2011

Paperback: 305 pages

ISBN13: 9781936850167

FTC FYI: Purchased from Amazon

Reviewed by Mindy

Goodreads Summary: The world is changing. Once, Witch Song controlled everything from the winds to the shifting of the seasons-but not anymore. All the Witches are gone, taken captive by a traitor. All but Brusenna. As the echo of their songs fades, the traitor grows stronger. Now she is coming for Brusenna. Her guardian has sworn to protect her, but even he can’t stop the Dark Witch. Somehow, Brusenna has to succeed where every other Witch has failed. Find the traitor. Fight her. Defeat her. Because if Brusenna doesn’t, there won’t be anything left to save.

My Review

Shanda reviewed Witch Song last year when it came out. Check it out, here. Since the sequel, Witch Born, is coming out in September, I thought it would be fun to review it again, and remind readers about it.

Witch Song is a very enjoyable read. Full of magic, romance, suspense, and heart. The songs sung by the witches were my favorite. Beautifully written. Each character is well written too. I loved Joshen, Captain Parknel, even Senna’s faithful dog Bruke. The villain Espen was intriguing, and I found myself wanting more from her. The author did a great job of making me turn pages late into the night with all the cool spells, seed belts, and battles.

4 out 5 stars. Look for the sequel to Witch Song, Witch Born coming out in September 2012. Follow Amber on FACEBOOK / TWITTER / BLOG.

AMAZON / BARNES AND NOBLE

Pumpkin Roll by Josi S. Kilpack and iPad 2 Contest

Posted by Mindy Book Reviews, Contests, Mindy's Reviews

Sep 142011

Pumpkin Roll

Author: Josi Kilpack

Publisher: Shadow Mountain

Published: September 7, 2011

Softcover: 374 pages

ISBN-13: 978-1-60908-745-6

FTC FYI: Purchased my own copy

Reviewed by Mindy

Sadie and Pete are in Jamaica Plain, a quant little suburb of Boston. Pete’s son Jared and wife Heather are out of state looking for new housing, while Sadie and Pete babysit their three boys. While in the kitchen discussing the difference between a sociopath and a psychopath, the boys are noticeably quiet. As they hustle to the living room, they see the boys looking out the window at the woman across the street. The oldest Kalan, tells Sadie that he has heard his mother call Mrs. Wapple a witch. She even has the wild hair and pointed hat. Sadie and Pete quickly dismiss the idea that she is witch, but agree to keep their eyes on her. Sadie and her curiosity lead to some ginger cookie deliveries around the neighborhood, of course one of the stops is to Mrs. Wapple’s. Knocking on the front door gets her no where, so Sadie goes to side of house, pokes around, and is startled by a pair of tennis shoes. The owner of the shoes is younger looking then the woman she saw last night, but she introduces herself as Delores Wapple. Sadie notices many differences between the women, but takes her at her word. Sadie also asks if she lives alone and she quietly answers that she does. After some more light conversation, Sadie takes her cue and leaves. More curious then ever.

When it comes to Sadie’s investigating, Pete has given some advice.

Advice One is about misleading him
Advice Two is about breaking the law
Advice Three is about sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong, isn’t needed, or will create more problems then relief

Sadie really takes the advice to heart. Sadie’s son Shawn has been helping her keep up on her investigative work so she is able to come to Boston. He mentions that Jane Seeley could help with some of the load. Sadie dismisses the idea, she is still leery of Jane because of the article she wrote. (see BlackBerry Crumble) Jane calls Sadie a few times, which she ignores, but the calls keep coming, so she picks up. Jane is in New Haven working on a story and offers to help Sadie any way she can.

Sadie’s mind is still on Mrs. Wapple, and some strange occurrences start happening around the house at night. Maybe Delores really is a witch…

I loved this book. Every book in this series gets better and better. Pumpkin Roll is different, while the others have their tense moments, this had me downright nervous and spooked. Lots of creepy stuff happens to Sadie, and I could not stop reading.

5 stars out of 5. During the climax, I kept shaking my head saying, “No way this is happening.” I took the book to pick up my girls at school, and stayed in the car when we got home so I could finish.

Josi is a very talented writer. Along with the Sadie Hoffmiller series, she has written other books. Read more about Josi here. Purchase her books here and here.

Here is what you’ve been scrolling down to find. Leave a comment and enter to win an iPad 2!

In conjunction with the release of Pumpkin Roll the author, Josi S. Kilpack, and the publisher, Shadow Mountain, are sponsoring a contest for a new iPad. To enter, leave a comment in the comment section of this blog before November 1, 2011. Winners will be announced and notified November 3^rd2011.

For additional ways to enter, go to www.josiskilpack.com

Witch Song by Amber Argyle

Posted by Shanda Book Reviews, Shanda's Reviews

Aug 152011

Witch Song

Author: Amber Argyle

Published Date: September 2011

Publisher: Rhemalda Publishing

Softcover and Kindle; 325 pages

ISBN# 978-1-936850-16-7

Genre: YA Fantasy

FTC FYI: I received an ARC in PDF form that did not affect my review.

Goodreads Summary:

The world is changing. Once, Witch Song controlled everything from the winds to the shifting of the seasons-but not anymore. All the Witches are gone, taken captive by a traitor. All but Brusenna. As the echo of their songs fade, the traitor grows stronger. Now she is coming for Brusenna. Her guardian has sworn to protect her, but even he can’t stop the Dark Witch. Somehow, Brusenna has to succeed where every other Witch has failed. Find the traitor. Fight her. Defeat her. Because if Brusenna doesn’t, there won’t be anything left to save.

Overall Review

I have been looking forward to reading and reviewing Witch Song since I read a sneak peak of the first chapter months ago.

I liked Brusenna (aka Senna) and enjoyed getting to know her better. She is young (14 years old at the start), and knows next to nothing about the witchcraft the villagers accuse her of practicing. She and her mother, Sacra, live hidden in the nearby forest, maintaining a simple and secret life away from those who would harm them.

Hoping to protect her daughter, Sacra keeps Brusenna ignorant of the larger world of witches, telling her only the very basics of what she needs to know. When another witch, Coyel, arrives to beg for her mother’s help in defeating the Dark Witch, Espen, everything Brusenna has ever known begins to change and she finds herself on her own for the first time in her life.

With the help of friends like Bruke, her large canine companion, and Joshen, the young man who wants to be assigned as her official Guardian, Brusenna sets out to learn what she needs to do to defeat the Dark Witch and release her mother.

There is so much more to this story that there isn’t space in this review to cover even part of it. Those who like stories of fantasy, a bit of clean romance and unexpected heroes overcoming evil will really enjoy Witch Song.

The Specifics

Witch Song has some great villians, including Wardof, an attractive witch hunter who has the power of the Dark Witch behind him. Every time he is caught, Espen helps him escape. He is obsessed with capturing Brusenna. There are several serious moments involving Wardof, and a few humorous ones as well.

One thing I found myself wishing for was a better portrayal of Brusenna’s time on the island, Haven, where she studied by herself for a year to become the witch she would need to be. I would have liked to have felt the passage of time a little more consistently. Also, I really wanted to see more of Brusenna’s successes and failures in her efforts to learn the spells and potions she needed to know. I wanted to have some confidence in Brusenna’s ability to hold her own against Espen even if Brusenna didn’t feel it herself, and I never really felt that.

I really liked Joshen and that Amber kept the romance clean. There are a few heart-wrenching scenes involving Joshen and Brusenna that held a lot of emotion.

Heads Up

There is violence (not gory) and death. Obviously there is use of spells and potions. No bad language that I can recall. There is mention of Brusenna’s shyness at being naked after a bath in front of another woman (modesty is promoted). After Joshen and Brusenna’s relationship has moved to kissing, a chapter begins by saying that Brusenna wanted more but Joshen stopped them (there are no details).

My Rating

I give Witch Song 3.75 stars out of 5. Witch Song is Amber’s debut novel and I’m looking forward to reading more from her. I would recommend Witch Song to readers 14+.

Below is the book trailer for Witch Song:

The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare

Posted by Mindy Book Reviews, Mindy's Reviews

Oct 282010

The Witch of Blackbird Pond

Elizabeth George Speare

ISBN: 978-0-440-49596-3

Publisher: Yearling/Random House

Original Published Date: 1958

Paperback: 249 pages

FTC- borrowed from library

For October’s bookclub, we wanted to do something “witchy”, and since it had been MANY years since we are were in junior high, we decided to read this. I didn’t remember much about it when I read it in sixth grade, so I was really excited to read it again. Well, come to find out, I didn’t remember a thing about it, so it was like reading it for the first time. First of all, it’s an amazing story. Kit arrives from Barbados to her extended family in Connecticut in 1687. Her grandfather that she lived with has died and she is an orphan, so she took care of the estate in Barbados and went to Connecticut to live with her mother’s sister, Rachel. (Kit just never mentioned it to them that she was coming). On the Dolphin, she meets Nat, the captain’s son. And John Holbrook who is coming to Connecticut to be a preacher. Those on the ship took her as strange. During the boat transfer, a doll of Prudence Cruff’s fall into the water. Kit, tired of waiting for someone else to help, jumps in and swims to the doll. Goody Cruff, her mother, is not pleased and right away calls her a witch because she can swim. Not a good start for Kit.

After a long trudge up the river, she arrives in Wethersfield. Kit, who is a bit spoiled from her upbringing, finds the town very plain. She gets to her aunt’s house, meets her cousins, and uncle. Matthew Wood and his family live a very pure life. And Matthew isn’t happy with Kit’s seven trunks and all the flashy dresses inside. Right away Kit is put to work, and wonders where the slaves are to help, but she adjusts and starts to get suitors from town. After one hard day, Kit runs off and finds a beautiful meadow. There she meets the witch of Blackbird Pond, Hannah. A wonderful woman, who is very kind, sweet, and also misunderstood. Being friends with her could get Kit in a lot of trouble.

If it’s been awhile since you have read this, or even if you haven’t, it’s never too late. Wonderful story. There are some very funny, and sweet things that happen. And also some frustrating things. Crazy that the witch hunts really happened. I love the ending and the change in many of the characters. My favorite part is when a certain character comes back from war and what he does when he gets back…

4 stars of out five!

Happy Halloween…