Cast-off Coven by Juliet Blackwell
Genre: Paranormal Mystery
Series: A Witchcraft Mystery #2
Publication Date: June 1st 2010
ISBN: 9780451230492
Page Count: 139
Rating: ★★★
Review Copy: Audiobook
Reviewed by: Lynsey
Synopsis: Students are spooked at the San Francisco School of Fine Arts, and Lily is called in to search for possible paranormal activity. In return she's been promised a trunkful of Victorian-era clothes recently discovered in a school storage closet.But Lily finds something else: the body of a wealthy patron of the school. In between running the store and seeing her new boyfriend, Max-a "mythbuster" who is uncomfortable with her witchcraft-she uses her sleuthing skills to try to solve the murder. Soon Lily senses something from the school's vintage clothes, but it's not the smell of mothballs-it's the unmistakable aura of evil intent.

REVIEW

Another enjoyable paranormal mystery from Juliet Blackwell.

This, for me, was on a par with the first book in the series, Secondhand Spirits. Our resident witch and vintage clothing expert this time takes on a suspected haunting at the Art Department of the local college. Strange noises and occurrences have the student body completely freaked out, and Lily Ivory, known for being knowledgeable about "those sorts of things" is called in to help.

There were a lot of new characters introduced that were connected to the mystery in some way, most of which were nicely fleshed-out. I enjoyed the development with love interest character, Max, but there wasn't nearly as much of it as I might have liked. Also, I was hoping for more information on the mysterious Aidan, and was again slightly disappointed with the small tidbit I was afforded. I did, however, really like new characters Sailor and Luc, and look forward to more of them in future books.

This series is very quiet in its styling; the characters are subtly written, no one particularly shines as an outstanding personality, the world-building is minimal, and the climactic endings are more party popper than firework. They are simply relaxing and easy reads—cosy paranormal mysteries, if you will, but nothing that will set your world on fire. At least not mine, not yet.

I'm really hoping the next one has more of a hook to keep me interested in the overarching plot, and I feel like something needs to be introduced to rock the boat because at the moment, everything is just a bit too "nice."

3 Stars ★★★