Description "Fire wasn’t exactly the intended outcome of a water spell, but with me, sadly inevitable." Phoebe’s new life as a mage hasn’t had an auspicious start. No matter how hard she tries, her spells fail spectacularly. How is she to impress her boss, Archibald Kane, if she keeps setting her hair on fire? Her problems with magic become trivial when a night out ends with a dead body. The victim has clearly been killed by a vampire, and the evidence points at Phoebe’s housemate Luca. The leader of London vampires, Morgan Hunt, is convinced Luca is guilty. To prove his innocence, Phoebe and Luca set out to solve the death. Was the victim random, or has an old enemy of Hunt’s returned? And how are they to find the killer when Hunt has done his best to hide his past? Phoebe is an expert in unearthing old things, but facing a powerful foe would be easier, if she had a hang of her spellcasting too. Luckily she has magical friends she can count on. And maybe the third spell turns out to be the charm after all. Publisher: Crimson House Books Publication Date: March 27th 2022 ISBN 9789527061558 ebook ISBN: 9789527061541 My thoughts: Third Spell's the Charm is the third book in Susanna Shore's House of Magic series of paranormal cozy mysteries set in London. Our sweet and charming protagonist Phoebe Thorpe is finally coming to terms with the discovery of the supernatural London and its usual suspects- vampires, weres, witches and warlocks, and an occasional hellhound or two. This is a bit of a spoiler if you haven't read the first two books yet, but she is also a mage herself, well, an untrained one, who needs to level up her non-existent spellcasting as soon as possible. As the title and the blurb suggest, Phoebe shouldn't let her spectacular failures discourage her, it will all come to her eventually and our naive mage/amateur sleuth will save the day for her lovely landladies, her housemates Ashleigh and Luca, her gentlemanly boss/love interest Kane, and the whole law-abiding magic community. I loved seeing the familiar faces and finding out how Phoebe's relationships and friendships grow and deepen. The mystery itself was based on an old grudge, so Phoebe has to do quite a lot of good, old fact-gathering and just won't let bygones stay bygones. As you can guess this doesn't go down well and she manages to ruffle a few feathers. If you pay attention to details, it isn't too difficult to guess the villain this time. An easy, fun read, perfect for anyone who likes paranormal cozies with quirky, adorable characters and a lot of fast-paced action. Looking forward to the next story in this addictive series! Thank you to NetGalley and Crimson House Books for the review copy provided in exchange for an honest opinion. About the author:
Susanna Shore is an independent author of more than twenty books. She writes the Two-Natured London paranormal romance series, P.I. Tracy Hayes series of light mysteries set in Brooklyn, and House of Magic paranormal mystery series. She is also an author of some contemporary romances and thrillers. You can find her on Twitter @SusannaShore and more about her books on her webpage susannashore.com, where you can also find short stories and a sign-up page to her newsletter. Comments are closed.
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