Book Review: Death of a Tom Turkey (Hayley Powell Food and Cocktails Mystery, #18) by Lee Hollis

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Death of a Tom Turkey (Hayley Powell Food and Cocktails Mystery, #18)  by Lee Hollis  opens with Tom Farley and his neighbors in a snit because he's the last holdout to sell his house to a property developer who wants to build a resort. When Tom is shot at a pre-Thanksgiving community gathering and hospitalized, Hayley Powell puts her amateur sleuthing skills to good use. Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Publishers for providing me with an Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) of this cozy mystery. I received a copy of this book for free in exchange of my honest opinion and review of the story. I loved the fact that this latest installment of the Hayley Powell Food and Cocktails Mystery  series had a theme around the Thanksgiving holiday and included live turkeys in the plot. It was good to visit some familiar characters. Since this is the eighteenth installment in the series, Lee Hollis didn't go into much detail of the background of those reoccurring characters; however, she...
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Book Review: Secret Spells (Diary of an Accidental Witch, #4) by Perdita Cargill and Honor Cargill

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Book Review Secret Spells Diary of an Accidental Witch #4 Perdita Cargill Honor Cargill

Secret Spells (Diary of an Accidental Witch, #4) written by Perdita Cargill and Honor Cargill, Illustrated by Katie Saunders is told from the perspective of eleven year old Bea via her diary entries and is about the main character and her classmates preparing for the Winter Solstice Grand Tournament, and they will be competing against a non-magical school, so no magic will be allowed! Which school will win?

A huge thank you goes out to NetGalley for giving me an Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) of Secret Spells (Diary of an Accidental Witch, #4) by Perdita Cargill and Honor Cargill and Illustrated by Katie Saunders for free in exchange for my honest review. I was intrigued by the book title and cover art and was thrilled to be approved to read this book.

This book is somewhat similar to The Worst Witch by Jill Murphy. The main character goes to a school for witches where there are some mishaps while casting some spells. Those are really the only similarities between the two books.

I liked the way the story was told in a diary entry format as I feel like this makes it easier for the target audience of six to nine year olds to read and process the storyline. It could be read as a stand alone book, but I would recommend reading the series in order just so you have the entire backstory up front.

Despite Secret Spells being a fantasy novel for children, I felt like how the characters reacted to different situations was quite believable. With that being said, the reader doesn't really get an in depth look at the characters, but I guess that's to be expected in a book for young readers. Four out of five stars.

 

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