Fun Story, Performance Needs Work

This was a simple, yet fun, story. Easy listening for the car. I always enjoy stories about witches and could appreciate this one, as well as the fun backdrop of the mountain town it was set in. Nothing complex about it, but a lighthearted mystery, if that's what you're looking for. I can't tell if it's geared for young adults, but it's certainly suitable for them.

My major issue with this audiobook was the narration. I'll try to be delicate because I understand that it was narrated by a human being who was doing their best. But honestly, the narration did not come out well. It was sloppy, the phrasing was awkward at best, and it was filled with strange pauses and major mispronunciations of words! Also - there were these odd very loud bursts of feedback that happened periodically! I get it; mistakes happen during the recording process. But I imagine that with most professional audiobooks, such things are cleaned up at the end and sections are rerecorded where need be. This was not the case. None of the very obvious mistakes, misreadings, and mispronunciations were corrected in the slightest. It really distracted from the story itself and gave it an amateurish feel. The writer of this book would have done herself a huge favor if she had invested more money into the recording process and quality.

4 people found this helpful

Couldn't listen further-worst narrator I've heard

The Narrator sounded like a wannabe announcer for Public Radio with pauses in odd places and emphasis on unimportant words. The choppiness of the narration, irregularity of attempts of emotional expression and dullness of tone made it too painful to listen to beyond a short time.

1 person found this helpful

Don't waste your time

This is a formulaic and unimaginative cozy mystery. 3 sisters who are incredibly close and perfect in every way solve a murder and find romance. BORING!!!

1 person found this helpful

Interesting premise, narration not to my taste

Others have summarized the plotline, so I won't repeat it. I listen to cozy mysteries at bedtime to relax, so I don't expect them to be riveting. This wasn't, but it had a decent flow. I knew it was the first in a series so I wasn't surprised that the author set up a larger arc than would be covered in this volume. The magical world she set up was intriguing and I'd be interested in continuing the series to see where she goes with that. The quibbles: Characters' actions didn't make sense sometimes, particularly withholding information from one another. This was a bit irritating when it became clear doing so was to set up the larger arc and it detracted a bit from the current mystery. I also didn't feel the chemistry between the romantic leads.
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Again, others have critiqued the narration and I'll just say it's not the best, hence the two stars there. I had to listen to this on 1.25 speed.

If the next in series comes out on Audible, I'll probably try it because the magical world was interesting. And to see if the storytelling firms up now that the world has been established in this first entry.

Why 3 stars? Honestly, I'm not always sure what ratings mean to folks after having read/listened to some mediocre books with predominately 5-star reviews. So, I gave some thought to the scale I'd use. Most of the books I read are popular fiction or general interest titles, not "great literature." With that in mind:

5 - Outstanding read. Enriched my world by being especially thought-provoking, moving, useful, etc.
4 - Excellent read. Thoroughly enjoyable or worthwhile. If fiction, will probably snatch up the author's next book. Would read this title again.
3 - Enjoyable read. Some quibbles on plot, characterization, writing style, usefulness, etc. but not enough to detract from overall enjoyment (or practical application, if non-fiction). Would consider this author again.
2 - Not particularly recommended. Writing, subject treatment, plot or character defects that seriously detracted from enjoyment or usefulness.
1 - Avoid this book. Fatal flaws.

Holy adjectives, Batman!

Karin's aunt is sick, and when one of her triplet sister's picks her up from the hospital, they find a dead body in the cafe. Amidst all the adjective fill sentences, plot happens, and romance blooms between Karin and the lawyer. In the end, we discover who the murderer was and why.

I listened to most of this on audible. The sentences were so adjective heavy, that they were clunky and cumbersome for the narrator, who tripped over sentence structure often. There were unnatural pauses in sentences, which made me think it was pieced together, on top of the weird sound that made me think of someone breathing through a life support machine or breathing tube. It was so bad, I switched to the book as I couldn't bear to listen to another overly descriptive sentence and wanted to skim.
Oh, and chapter 4 was repeated.
Here's what I didn't like: the sentence structure, repetitiveness, the author felt the need to do into every detail of clothing the ladies wore, and what they looked each time. It all felt 1 dimensional. No chemistry in the romance... not sure you could call it a romance. Nick claimed love at first sight. These chicks are witches, but had a hard time believing things such as curses, vampires, fairies, and so on. It took too long for Karin to try to fiddle with her magic. The play by play death watch. The characters. The author spent far more time on over-arching plot, than the one that got us in a jam. She spelled too many things out, repeated "poems" and ugh. It was an eye-rolling read, and wasn't written for audio books. She had a lot of incomplete sentences, but I didn't see any typos at the very least.

I really didn't enjoy this at all.

Here's what I liked: Hmm... some of the basis of the magic.

Overall, it's a drawn-out story that you could see coming from miles away. I won't be picking up the rest.

A superb Magick filled mystery!

Kirsten Weiss's books are always well researched in the ways of Magick. The feather ladder with hair knots is a real traditional spell. This is the first book I have read that had it in the story.

The narrator was a bit slow for my liking but with Audible you can increased the speed. The 1.25 setting was perfect.

Thoroughly enjoyed this book and I am waiting for the next ones to come out on Audible.

Please add books 2 and 3!

I love it. I really hope you add books 2 and 3. I know I can get the printed versions. And I have the printed versions, but I would like to also listen to them acted out by the narrator while sitting in LA traffic. So please add them soon.

I enjoyed the book!

Being a Nor-Cal girl AND having run all over Calaveras County & Angel's Camp, it was nice to hear a story about the area. I liked the plot, the characters and how it left me wanting to read (hear) more. The narrator did a wonderful job, as well!

Great Listen!

I totally enjoyed this book! Great characters with a bit more depth to the plot than some cozy mysteries. The narrator did a great job with this story and made for easy listening.

I look forward to reading/listening to the next book in this series.

I love it!!!

The book is not what I expected and I am glad that I picked up the book as well as the audio. There is plenty of suspense, which makes you turn the page to see what is going to happen next. I love the witch line with the mystery, it gaves the book something more. I can't wait to read the rest in the series.

My only negative is that I found the characters not to be open minded as I thought they would be. they were told about curses and bad luck and they didn't believe in it, even though they are witches. I found that really odd and once they did believe in it, they changed their mind and thought it was all crazy. I found that really frustrating. Some of the other characters who are not witches believed in it more then they did! However, even with this negative point I still liked it and would recommend it.
There is no sex and some mild violence.

The narrator did really well all the characters. I felt I knew who I was listening to without being told it was.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.