A Discovery of Witches


Deborah Harkness - 2011
    Deep in the stacks of Oxford's Bodleian Library, young scholar Diana Bishop unwittingly calls up a bewitched alchemical manuscript in the course of her research. Descended from an old and distinguished line of witches, Diana wants nothing to do with sorcery; so after a furtive glance and a few notes, she banishes the book to the stacks. But her discovery sets a fantastical underworld stirring, and a horde of daemons, witches, and vampires soon descends upon the library. Diana has stumbled upon a coveted treasure lost for centuries-and she is the only creature who can break its spell. Debut novelist Deborah Harkness has crafted a mesmerizing and addictive read, equal parts history and magic, romance and suspense. Diana is a bold heroine who meets her equal in vampire geneticist Matthew Clairmont, and gradually warms up to him as their alliance deepens into an intimacy that violates age-old taboos. This smart, sophisticated story harks back to the novels of Anne Rice, but it is as contemporary and sensual as the Twilight series-with an extra serving of historical realism.

First Grave on the Right


Darynda Jones - 2011
    Meaning, she sees dead people. Really. And it's her job to convince them to "go into the light." But when these very dead people have died under less than ideal circumstances (like murder), sometimes they want Charley to bring the bad guys to justice. Complicating matters are the intensely hot dreams she's been having about an entity who has been following her all her life...and it turns out he might not be dead after all. In fact, he might be something else entirely. But what does he want with Charley? And why can't she seem to resist him? And what does she have to lose by giving in?With scorching-hot tension and high-octane humor, First Grave on the Right is your signpost to paranormal suspense of the highest order.

Girl's Guide to Witchcraft


Mindy Klasky - 2006
    And another that turns a cat into her witch's familiar (a snarky, critical, self-absorbed man—pretty much a typical male). Though her impulsive acts of magic have brought a warder (sexy, grouchy, elusive and determined to stop her from using magic) down on her, Jane's not willing to let go of this fantastic new life.Though she wonders about having things that aren't "real," she's having too much fun to stop. After all, no one ever said being a witch was easy….

Off Kilter


Hannah Reed - 2014
    At the urging of her best friend, bestselling author Ami Pederson, Eden decides to embark on an open-ended trip to the picturesque village of Glenkillen in the Scottish Highlands, to do some hands-on research for a book of her own. But almost as soon as Eden arrives in the quaint town, she gets caught up in a very real drama… The town’s sheep shearer is found murdered—clipped with his own shears—and the locals suspect Vicki MacBride, an outsider whose father’s recent death left her the surprise heir to his lucrative sheep farm. Eden refuses to believe the affable heiress is a murderer, but can she prove that someone is out to frame her new friend before she finds herself on the receiving end of more shear terror?

Lowcountry Boil


Susan M. Boyer - 2012
    She carries her Sig 9 in her Kate Spade handbag, and her golden retriever, Rhett, rides shotgun in her hybrid Escape. When her grandmother is murdered, Liz high-tails it back to her South Carolina island home to find the killer. But when her police-chief brother shuts her out of the investigation, she opens her own. Then her long-dead best friend pops in and things really get complicated. As more folks turn up dead, Liz must use more than just her wits and charm to keep her family safe, chase down clues from the hereafter, and catch a psychopath before he catches her.

Murder at Archly Manor


Sara Rosett - 2018
    A spirited lady detective. Can she out-class the killer before an innocent person takes the fall?London, 1923. Olive Belgrave needs a job. Despite her aristocratic upbringing, she’s penniless. Determined to support herself, she jumps at an unconventional job—looking into the background of her cousin's fiancé, Alfred. Alfred burst into the upper crust world of London’s high society, but his answers to questions about his past are decidedly vague. Before Olive can gather more than the basics, a murder occurs at a posh party. Suddenly, every Bright Young Person in attendance is a suspect, and Olive must race to find the culprit because a sly murderer is determined to make sure Olive’s first case is her last. Murder at Archly Manor is the first in the High Society Lady Detective series of charming historical cozy mysteries. If you like witty banter, glamorous settings, and delightful plot twists, you’ll love USA Today bestselling author Sara Rosett’s series for Anglophiles and mystery lovers alike.Travel back to the Golden Age of detective fiction with Murder at Archly Manor.

Black Magic Kitten


Sara Bourgeois - 2020
    At seventeen, she’d left Coventry and didn’t look back. But after a messy divorce, she packed up her stuff and drove toward the only place that she knew would accept her. Life hadn’t been easy for Kinsley since she left town. Despite wanting a family desperately, she was childless. She had a college degree but had just been fired… again… She’d spent her entire adult life rebelling against what she was, and that meant hiding her true self from the world. Kinsley left Coventry on a mission to be ordinary. But you know what they say about the best-laid plans… Coventry isn’t your typical small town. It’s home to the most powerful family of witches in the world. Two ancient witch families united when her parents married, and she was supposed to be their leader. Nobody ever asked Kinsley if that’s what she wanted, though. Funny how the universe worked because there she was divorced, childless, and jobless… again… rolling into Coventry in her broken-down car with a U-Haul full of everything she owned. The joyous welcome home party was short-lived, because a dead guy turned up, of all places, behind the diner. Of course, the town’s hunky sheriff starts to give Kinsley the side-eye. But, a lot of people wanted the victim dead, and that only complicates the investigation. There’s a murderer on the loose in Coventry, and Kinsley’s got to learn to harness her powers to avoid the killer’s snare. Oh! And, then there’s Meri, the black cat familiar. Someone decides to grant him one wish for his faithful service to his coven, and it doesn’t go as planned either… Welcome back to Coventry. The events in this story take place thirteen years after the final scene the Wicked Witches of Coventry series. It can be fully enjoyed on its own and is suitable for all ages. You’ll find no swearing, gore, or adult situations, but you will find magic, mystery, and a hint of lighthearted mayhem.

A Veiled Deception


Annette Blair - 2009
    At the engagement party, the ‘Jezebel’ trying to steal Sherry’s fiancé is found strangled with a bridal veil, making Sherry the prime suspect. Besides seeking the real killer, Maddie alters Sherry’s vintage wedding gown, worn by generations of the groom’s family, and something odd happens. The gown gives Maddie visions, clues to the past . . . and the murder? Maddie learns she’s psychometric, a psychic gift she inherited from her late mother, who was a broom-carrying witch, it turns out. What other gifts did she inherit? When not sleuthing, Maddie acquires the old Underhill Funeral Chapel Carriage House, including Dante Underhill, a chatty debonair ghost in tux and top hat, who can’t seem to leave the building. Watch out Mystic, Connecticut! Here comes Vintage Magic, a shop for vintage couture and designer originals, featuring a psychic sleuth, a hunk of a ghost, with a sprinkle of magic thrown in for ‘charm.’

Switching Hour


Robyn Peterman - 2015
    Released from the magic pokey and paroled with limited power is enough to make any witch grumpy.However, if you throw in a recently resurrected cat, a lime-green Kia and a sexy egotistical werewolf, it’s enough to make a gal fly off the edge.Not to mention a mission…with no freaking directions.So here I sit in Asscrack, West Virginia trying to figure out how to complete my mysterious mission before All Hallows Eve when I’ll get turned into a mortal.The animals in the area are convinced I’m the Shifter Whisperer (whatever the hell that is) and the hotter-than- asphalt-in-August werewolf thinks I’m his mate.Now apparently I’m slated to save a bunch of hairy freaks of nature?If they think I’m the right witch for the job, they’ve swallowed some bad brew.

Accidental Leigh


Melanie James - 2014
    She overcomes her grief by taking matters in her own hands and takes up a little romance writing to resurrect her vampire-werewolf book-boyfriend. Leigh gets more than she bargained for when she discovers that every steamy erotic scene she creates is magically reenacted by her family, friends and coworkers.In her hilarious first diary, Leigh unwittingly sets her parents up for a weekend dinner party that they will never forget. She has two weeks to find out what her new found magic is capable of. Can she prevent a wild erotic encounter that could devastate her sweet parent’s marriage? What and who else will get caught up in her magic spells?Read a story so witchingly fun, that you won’t be able to put it down and you will be eagerly awaiting the rest of the Literal Leigh Romance Diaries!

Cloudy with a Chance of Witchcraft


Mandy M. Roth - 2020
     On the eve of my fortieth birthday, Fate has given me a second chance at the happiness I once knew in the odd Southern town of Grimm Cove. But only if I can come to terms with some rather eye-opening revelations. Supernaturals are a real thing. I'm a witch. My high school sweetheart, who happens to be the Chief of Police in Grimm Cove, is my fated mate and a wolf-shifter. Ghosts exist and can be very nosy and meddlesome. Someone is murdering witches left and right. And last but not least, my ex-husband's barely legal arm candy is taking fatal attraction to new levels of Hell. I'm no shrinking violet, and with the help of my best friends, I'm going to live life on my terms--come Hell, high water, or magikal mishaps. Don't miss out on the next book in the Grimm Cove Series World, Hexing with a Chance of Tornadoes! Romance book contains: sassy women who put their friends first, know how to laugh, and have a good time despite the lemons life has tossed their way. While they may be forty, they don’t see themselves as too old for anything, and they’re not ready for society to put them out to pasture. They’re quick to speak their truth with whatever colorful phrase they so choose, but no one is dropping any “F-bombs” in these. Keep in mind, these books are first and foremost paranormal romances, which means that while the women are tough and able to hold their own with any demon out there, they do find true love with the man that is right for each of them. If you’re all about fated mates, BFFs, old flames being rekindled, and laughing until your sides split (or if you happen to be over 40 like the author—until you tinkle a little), these books are for you. Yes, there are some sexy scenes in these books, but no one has any “red room of pain” or anything. Each book focuses on a new couple, and each gets their happily ever after (HEA). So, buckle up and get ready to take a trip to the supernatural filled town of Grimm Cove. It’s going to be one “spell” of a ride!

The Witch's Daughter


Paula Brackston - 2008
    Each new settlement asks for a new journal, and so this Book of Shadows begins.In the spring of 1628, the Witchfinder of Wessex finds himself a true Witch. As Bess Hawksmith watches her mother swing from the Hanging Tree she knows that only one man can save her from the same fate at the hands of the panicked mob: the Warlock Gideon Masters, and his Book of Shadows. Secluded at his cottage in the woods, Gideon instructs Bess in the Craft, awakening formidable powers she didn't know she had and making her immortal. She couldn't have foreseen that even now, centuries later, he would be hunting her across time, determined to claim payment for saving her life.In present-day England, Elizabeth has built a quiet life for herself, tending her garden and selling herbs and oils at the local farmers' market. But her solitude abruptly ends when a teenage girl called Tegan starts hanging around. Against her better judgment, Elizabeth begins teaching Tegan the ways of the Hedge Witch, in the process awakening memories—and demons—long thought forgotten.Part historical romance, part modern fantasy, The Witch’s Daughter is a fresh, compelling take on the magical, yet dangerous world of Witches. Readers will long remember the fiercely independent heroine who survives plagues, wars, and the heartbreak that comes with immortality to remain true to herself, and protect the protégé she comes to love.

Arsenic in the Azaleas


Dale Mayer - 2019
    … Controlling to chaos. … But murder … seriously? After her ex-husband leaves her high and dry, former socialite Doreen Montgomery's chance at a new life comes in the form of her grandmother, Nan's, dilapidated old house in picturesque Kelowna … and the added job of caring for the animals Nan couldn’t take into assisted living with her: Thaddeus, the loquacious African gray parrot with a ripe vocabulary, and his buddy, Goliath, a monster-size cat with an equally monstrous attitude. It’s the new start Doreen and her beloved basset hound, Mugs, desperately need. But, just as things start to look up for Doreen, Goliath the cat and Mugs the dog find a human finger in Nan’s overrun garden. And not just a finger. Once the police start digging, the rest of the body turns up and turns out to be connected to an old unsolved crime. With her grandmother as the prime suspect, Doreen soon finds herself stumbling over clues and getting on Corporal Mack Moreau’s last nerve, as she does her best to prove her beloved Nan innocent of murder.

Kissed by Darkness


Shéa MacLeod - 2011
    Since that day, sexy, street-smart Morgan hasn’t met a vampire she couldn’t dust or a demon she couldn’t kill — until she’s hired to hunt down a priceless amulet and the sunwalker who stole it. Sunwalkers — powerful vampires immune to sunlight — are notoriously difficult to find, let alone kill. Still, a job’s a job, and Morgan’s never been one to shy away from a challenge. So bring it on… right?But the sunwalker ends up tracking her down. And not only that, he turns out to be cunning, charming — and undeniably gorgeous. Nevertheless, she can’t ignore the destruction he is capable of: the sunwalker possesses an ancient secret which, if unleashed, could destroy the human world. Captivating and fantastical, Kissed by Darkness introduces a kick-ass new heroine and an addictive new series for fans of urban fantasy.

Murder on Millionaires' Row


Erin Lindsey - 2018
    Rose Gallagher might dream of bigger things, but she’s content enough with her life as a housemaid. After all, it’s not every girl from Five Points who gets to spend her days in a posh Fifth Avenue brownstone, even if only to sweep its floors. But all that changes on the day her boss, Mr. Thomas Wiltshire, disappears. Rose is certain Mr. Wiltshire is in trouble, but the police treat his disappearance as nothing more than the whims of a rich young man behaving badly. Meanwhile, the friend who reported him missing is suspiciously unhelpful. With nowhere left to turn, Rose takes it upon herself to find her handsome young employer.The investigation takes her from the marble palaces of Fifth Avenue to the sordid streets of Five Points. When a ghostly apparition accosts her on the street, Rose begins to realize that the world around her isn’t at all as it seems―and her place in it is about to change forever.