Cupcakes, Trinkets, and Other Deadly Magic: Dowser Series #1 (urspr publ 2013; utgåvan 2016)

Well, this was free on Amazon, which is why I read it. Wasn't the worst, but not really good either. I'm a bit sick of these urban fantasy books where the main character is the "special one". And also doesn't really know it. And all men fall for her. I get that it's fantasy, but I'd like some realism with it. Plus it's more interesting when things are difficult. Also reading this after Hobbit (and as a balance while reading Macbeth) probably wasn't a great idea... ( )

What a great book!! I really enjoyed it; Witches, vampires, shape shifters and zombies - what more could a fan of Urban Fantasy wish for! ;-)

The journey of self discovery that our main character Jade experienced was exciting, scary, traumatic and at times also very funny even though the big bad in this story came as no surprise to me.
It was lovely to see Jade grow in confidence as the tale progressed and although this book is cliffhanger free I'm excited to read the next book on this series to find out what Jade gets up to next!!! ( )

Can I say that this book is trash but in the best way possible? What I mean is that it is a total escape from reality into a story that, while a bit predictable, is still fun and campy. I'm giving it about a 3.4 leaning towards 4 stars. It was just pure fun to read and while it doesn't make my top list of books I am still interested in continuing the series to see what other mysterious trouble our characters get into. ( )

from amazon: If you’d asked me a week ago, I would have told you that the best cupcakes were dark chocolate with chocolate cream cheese icing, that dancing in a crowd of magic wielders — the Adept — was better than sex, and that my life was peaceful and uneventful. Just the way I liked it. That’s what twenty-three years in the magical backwater of Vancouver will get you — a completely skewed sense of reality. Because when the dead werewolves started showing up, it all unraveled … except for the cupcake part. That’s a universal truth.

The truth is... i read this, & don't remember it hardly at all which is not a good sign. Trying to clean out my Kindle a bit, so will give it three stars for 'ok' and move on..... ( )

The first half of this book was excruciating. The setting was rather poorly described. The characters were very cardboard cut out types, with not enough build up for a reader to empathize withthem. The Main character Jade is some sort of a half-witch. She was brought up by her grandmother. Her mom is a witch, but her father was an unknown. Jade also has a foster sister who is a witch named Sienna. Their witchcraft was of the earth. Jade wasn't a practicing witch, as she had little power being Hal-human. She is a downer, good at locating things and recognizing magic in others. She runs a cupcake bakery and makes jewelry from found items. They live in Vancouver, BC. One day a vampire was seen outside the bakery, unable to enter due to wards placed on the building. He wanted Jade's help in finding the murderer of some werewolves. Jade didn't even know there were other Adepts (magical creatures) in Vancouver. The next day a werewolf. which Jade met while clubbing with her sister and sister's boyfriend, was found murdered. The vampire and the local pack needed Jade to find the killer, as the killer was leaving Jade's trinket necklaces on the victims (we never know why...) The story's pace quicker and became fairly enjoyable in the last half. I think I will read the next volume before I make any decisions on the series, however. ( )