Bat Out of Spell (An Elemental Witches of Eternal Springs Cozy Mystery Book 1)
Especially Skye Thornton, an air witch about town who would rather be on the mainland than a touristy island that’s home to four climate zones and a gaping hole under the local school that allows monsters to creep through and wreak havoc on the community.
A reporter, Skye likes to be in the thick of things – she’s a busybody and proud of it – until she quite literally trips over a dead body at the island resort. In quick order, she finds herself fighting off monsters while trying to discover one of the human variety.
Since she can’t keep clear of trouble, Skye is determined to track down a murderer, fight off a wishing well beast and stay away from a local security chief who she’s always hated … or has she?
It’s a full slate of activity for Skye and her witchy friends. The laughs and insults will be flying fast and furious. Of course, so will the danger.
Look out world, here come four witches with attitude, and they’re not taking any prisoners.
This is book 1 in a 4-book series. For more information on the author, please visit amandamlee.net
Reviews (149)
Moving on...
I have read every Wicked Witches Of The Midwest publication from Amanda M. Lee. I have also read all of her Covenant books, her Charlie Rhodes books, and her Moon Stone Bay books. I have enjoyed them all. I am not, however, enjoying this book. She seems to be recycling entirely too much from her other series for my liking. The main character, Skye, is quite obnoxious. I like the right touch of snark that the characters from Amanda's other books have. Skye is just all snark and immaturity. Who licks someone else's straw? Whereas, I am a fan of Amanda M. Lee in other capacities, I cannot claim to be a fan of this book.
Fun, humorous book
This is the first book in the Elemental Witches of Eternal Springs series. This one is written by Amanda Lee. Skye Thornton, an air witch, is one of the four witches that has been left at Eternal Springs, an island off the New Jersey shore, following a fire that destroyed the St. Joan of Arc's school they attended. The school was built over a passage to the "other side" that if left open could let any kind of creature or problem onto the island. In doing so, the cover for the witches would be blown. Skye is the owner and reporter for The Town Croaker. She is headed to Eternal Springs Spa and Resort for an announcement she is covering for the paper. She suddenly trips over the body of Blair Whitney, one of the resort's frequent guests for plastic surgery touch ups. Skye is the nosy, trouble making witch. She feels it is her duty to find out who murdered this woman. The suspects are many including Blair's daughter, Sheridan Whitney; Sheridan's best friend Rebecca Preston, who is also her father's mistress; Rebecca's mother, Lena Preston and Blair's assistant, Jane Smith. While investigating Blair's death, Skye has to deal with her witch sisters, her mentor Jadis Beasley, her feelings for August Taylor, her familiar Swoops and a stinky creature that has escaped from the other side. This is a humorous cozy mystery and a quick read. I recommend it to the cozy mystery readers.
Terrible start for a new series but don't bail after this book - give the rest of the authors a chance!
To start: I hope some of the reviewers who say they're writing off this series reconsider. Two of my favorite authors are writing books three & four and while I've only read a handful of books by author # two, I've enjoyed them tremendously. This book is the first in a four part series. Each book is a standalone but ideas, character growth, story arcs, etc. will crossover between the four books and wanting the complete experience with the series, I bought it even though I'm not a fan of this particular author. It was difficult to get into the flow of the book [there wasn't any] and in the end I skimmed through 2/3 of the book just to know what happened. The main character, as others have noted, seemed incapable of having an adult conversation and was basically unlikable. Yet she had her moments, when she displayed empathy, kindness and intelligence but those were too infrequent to allow the reader care about her. In truth, the way the author wrote all four witches had me worried and wondering why I was reading this series but I trust the rest of the authors will write things differently. In addition to the unlikable main character, the book was choppy [didn't flow as I mentioned earlier] and filled with nasty characters and familiars, unlikable cats [ how does one even do that??] and little information to help make the larger story arc understandable. I get that the author can't give us everything in book one but we need more than what was in here. I would actually have given this 2.5 stars if possible. Partially for when the author allowed Skye's better qualities to show through, as evidenced in the scenes with Skye and Augie later in the book, starting perhaps midway through? I was skimming by then but I would read those scenes and the interactions were nice. In addition, she is kind to animals and a very competent witch capable of handling herself - love that. There just wasn't enough of this to save the book. Finally the whole thing with Dylan - his fascination with these four women "from the convent school" and his willingness to do things he shouldn't do for them in order to extort dates, dances, etc. is beyond creepy and weird. It's wrong on both sides of the aisles and the ick factor is huge. There's a funny way of writing a situation like this but we're not getting it and since this is a plot point that crosses over to the other books, this author is not alone responsible.
Extremely Entertaining
Love this new series. Can’t wait to read the next instalment featuring a new witch and a new writer. I have already preordered them all.
Snark and Sass
Great new book. I know this is supposed to be a one-off book for Amanda M Lee but I can't help but hope there will be more. I loved all of the characters and the story was a hoot. All of the snark and fun you expect. Keep them coming.
Sadly disappointed
It's hard for me to rate this a 3, as I really enjoy all of Amanda M. Lee's series (have read all but the Avery Shaw series), but this one just seemed beneath her writing abilities. The main character seemed more like a teenager, who only cares about herself and to me, that doesn't seem to even resemble any of Amanda's characters. I am not sure I could continue with the series (being unfamiliar with the other 3 authors). I will place them in my wish list and when I finish all of the books I have pending, I might pick this series up again.
Disappointing
I confess to being less than impressed by this story. Skye is a thirty year old woman with the maturity and impulse control of a three year old. Augie seems a bit half-witted; he can't seem to comprehend that Skye is not a nun (don't ask), and their interactions are sophomoric at best. The most worthwhile characters are a bat and a cat! The mystery yields plenty of well-written surprises; however, this is not the author's best work.
Loved it!
As a 32 year old snarky/sarcastic female with a brood of sassy animals, I absolutely loved this story! Skye was relatable, the menagerie was funny, and the plot line was great. I'm currently on book 2 and I'm excited to how the series progresses with the different authors additions! Upon completion, I look forward to reading more of Amanda Lee's stories.
Great reading treat
I love the author of this book and couldn't wait to read this. I was not disappointed. The book is snarky and occasionally long winded but it's what I love about this Author any how. Her main characters are always snarky and I enjoy reading 📚 that. It is a nice set up for the series and I can not wait for the rest of the book's. If I had to say a negative and this would only be nit picking us that the book was slow in some areas and to fast in others. I find my self wishing there was a little more of the book. Maybe a little more of the behind story or a little more of the island story. I'm would have loved a little more of Skye family story
Childish
It was not well written and the insults were a bit too much. It fell quite short on being amusing and didn't keep my attention at all. Based on this first book of four by different authors, I threw away all four without even bothering with the next 3.
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