My first book of the new year was the latest installment of a series I followed all throughout 2018. I picked up the first Eastwind Witches cozy mystery purely on a whim and a recommendation by an author friend of mine, H. Claire Taylor. I’d never heard of “Cozy” as a book descriptor before, and she explained it meant no bad language and no on-screen sex. Ok, I don’t put any of that in my books either, so for 99 cents, why not give it a try?
Crossing Over Easy tells the story of Nora Ashcroft, high performing Texan restauranteur, who dies and “crosses over” to the town of Eastwind. She soon discovers that not only is she a witch (with a sarcastic, lazy, bacon-loving familiar the size and shape of a newfie), but the special kind of witch that can communicate with spirits. The only other Fifth Wind witch in town takes her under her wing, and Nora soon finds herself solving a murder mystery. It seems that the ghost of the departed had some unfinished business.
These are not deep literature. They are fun, light, peppered with humor and a touch of romance. There is a touch of the love triangle that I typically avoid, and several books in it becomes a love square (pyramid?). The books themselves are quick reads though, and most of the stories focus on the underlying mysteries, so if you want to skim through the triangle/square stuff it’s easy to do. Having said that, I’ve bought each new novel on release date so I could find out what happens next. That’s about as ringing an endorsement as I can give.
Buy if: You enjoy supernatural stories, particular murder mysteries, you are looking for a light reading diversion, you like “romance” stories but more in a flirty way than a bodice ripper
Don’t buy if: You are looking for heavy duty spell-slinging, or explicit romantic scenes.
Age: Teen+