Source: Audiobook Purchase, Physical Book PurchaseFormat: Audiobook
Secondhand Spirits by Juliet Blackwell
Narrator: Xe Sands
Length: 8 hrs and 15 mins
Date Read: November 2013
Genre: Cozy Mystery, Mystery
More Information:Lily Ivory is not your average witch. Her spell-casting powers tend to draw mischievous spirits while keeping normal humans at a distance. But now her vintage clothing store could give her a chance to make friends in San Francisco....
Lily hopes for a normal life when she opens Aunt Cora's Closet. With her magical knack for vintage fashion -she can sense vibrations of the past from clothing and jewelry—her store becomes a big hit.
But when a client is murdered and children start disappearing from the Bay Area, Lily may be the only one who can unravel the crime. She tries to keep her identity a secret while investigating, but it's not easy—especially under the spells of sexy "mythbuster" Max Carmichael and powerful witch Aidan Rhodes. Will Lily's witchy ways be forced out of the closet?
Publisher: Tantor
Series: A Witchcraft Mystery #1
Also by this author: If Walls Could Talk, A Cast-Off Coven, Keeper of the Castle, In a Witch's Wardrobe, Hexes and Hemlines
Also in this series: A Cast-Off Coven, In a Witch's Wardrobe, Spellcasting In Silk
Read/Listened for Fun (Audible/Paperback)
Tracking Books Read Review (Short)
Overall Rating: 4.00
Story Rating: 4.00
Character Rating: 4.00
Audio Rating: 4.50 (not part of the overall rating)
First Thought when Finished: Secondhand Spirits made me want to hop in a plane and visit San Francisco!
Overall Thoughts:I have had this book for a very long time and can’t believe I just got around to it! Secondhand Spirits was a bit of a darker cozy mystery but still had all the elements I love: good case, interesting characters, and the paranormal element was just part of how she figured out the case. I liked Lily from the get-go and feel like I will like her more as the series progresses. Overall this was just a fun listen that helped me get through laying tile! Gotta love books that will distract while doing that!
Audio Thoughts:
Narrated By Xe Sands / Length: 8 hrs and 15 mins
I love Xe! She hasn’t let me down yet and this was no exception. I will admit that I am listening to two Juliet Blackwell series at the same time and both are narrated by Xe. I haven’t gotten confused once about which book I am listening too because Xe does little things to make the characters sound different. She is one of the narrators I can count on to make a good book stand out through narration.
Final Thoughts: This is now on my cozy mystery list!
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Felicia S
During her non-reading time you can find her hanging with her rescue furr children named after book characters: Lizzie a beautiful cattle dog mix (Pound Pup), Cinder a beautiful Shep/Pitt mix (Pound Pup), and Minerva a beautiful Shep/Pitt mix (Foster Fail). Gathering with friends and family, attending conventions, watching movies/tv shows, rooting for the 49rs, and crocheting.
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I like that this was on the darker side for a cozy. So glad you pulled it out for review. Enjoy your vacation 🙂
You are helping me find so many great books for my mother in law Felicia! You guys have really similar reading tastes. *makes note of this book* Love the cute cover on this one too, I’m such a huge fan of illustrations!
This author is definitely on my list of new authors to try next year. Thanks for a great review!
I actually enjoy both of her series 🙂 I am on book 3 of this one and the other one 🙂
Okay, let’s go! I can mush the dogs… wait… we would probably be pulling the sleigh. Nevermind. :p
This already caught my eye with the cover and love that you enjoyed it. Sounds like a good cozy and I’m getting my mom into those! 😀
LOL I think your mom would like this one but probably the other series by her more (House Renovation Series). They are both really good 🙂
I read this before the blog, and I enjoyed it but you are right it is definitely a darker cozy, in fact I don’t even know if I would call it a cozy since it was a bit creepy.
I only call it cozy because of the amateur sleuth angle. Other than that, I would say straight mystery or even different Urban Fantasy. And this is why I don’t get to label anything.
I have read this one a few years ago and really enjoyed it. Was this the creepy drowning woman?
Yep! The lady in the lake type of thing. Creeped me out but was good 🙂
*waves* All from me today
*Waves* Get to feeling better!