Review – Secondhand Spirits

Secondhand Spirits (Witchcraft, Bk 1)

by Juliet Blackwell

from the TBR tower – Embarrassment of Riches challenge book 1/50

Overall – I don’t know why they chose the cover for this book.  I really thought it would be a kind of chicklit, ditzy witch, paranormal lite so to speak and while that is what I thought I wanted to read, this was so much better!  It was a cozy mystery, but it was also dark, interesting, rich with detail and quite enjoyable.  I was pleasantly surprised actually.

Lily is a witch flying under the radar, lives in San Francisco and owns a vintage clothing store.  She can sense vibrations from the past on clothing and jewely and her store becomes a big hit.  Unfortunately children are disappearing, La Llorona has shown up in the Bay and Lily becomes involved in figuring out the mystery.

Lily is an interesting character.  We get bits of her childhood and know she has some powers that she hasn’t gotten fully under control yet.  She has traveled around, basically running from who she is, but has finally decided to settle in one spot.  Her past catches up with her somewhat, and she chooses to stay and fight.  She has gumption, this witch.  She also decides to forego her loner status and bring her friends closer and she is stronger for it.

The friends are typical San Francisco fare – a 50s-ish Wiccan and a young crunchy granola type with blue dreads.  They work in Lily’s store.  Since this is the start of a series, I am sure we will learn more about them as we go along.  There are all sorts of magical practioners that pop up and their characters are quite interesting.  It seems the magic in this book researched and pulled from real references.  (Not that I know by reading, but it is mentioned in the back).  Oscar, her new familiar, is great!

The love interest is a skeptic.  Such fun!  Part of the cozy, cute charm…the guy she likes thinks she is a bit loopy, but hey, it is a match made in opposite heaven.  There isn’t much there but the promise of more…but I want to read the next book, so we will see what happens!

This is the 3rd or 4th pink cover book I have read in a row recently, and I think I am going to OD soon, so I was really happy this was a mesh between urban fantasy and paranormal cozy. 4 wailing stars that mean your death if you actually hear them.