I'm pleased to welcome Cassandra Lane Hawthorne to Cozy Up With Kathy. You can find Cassie on the pages of the Book Magic Mystery series by Melissa Bourbon. MURDER IN DEVIL'S COVE is the first book in the series and was released last week.
I grew up in Laurel Point, Oregon.
And I left Laurel Point, Oregon as soon as I possibly could.
Don’t get me wrong. It’s a beautiful place, but the Lane family is cursed. I thought I could outrun that curse—or maybe hide from it—by leaving home.
It worked for a while. I ended up in Devil’s Cove, North Carolina, just about as far away as I could get from Laurel Point. I was terrified of the sea, but I was also drawn to it—which is why I ended up on the coast—a different coast, but still on the water. I met Leo in a fish market. Love at first sight wasn’t something I believed in. I’d never planned to fall in love, or get married, or have children. All of those things would surely end in tragedy.
But I couldn’t stay away from Leo. We did fall in love, and we did get married. And we did have children. Beautiful twins: Pippin and Grey.
I don’t read. I stay away from books, because the Lane family curse of bibliomancy is directly connected to them, but I gave in to Leo’s passion for Tolkien and agreed to name my kids after two of his favorite characters. I don’t know if bearing these names will give either of them the strength they need to survive, but I hope so.
Because, you see, I didn’t survive. The curse got me in the end, and now it’s up to my children to figure out how to stop it before it takes them, too.
**************************************************************************
Review
The First Book Magic Mystery
After twenty years Pippin Hawthorne and her brother, Grey, have returned to Devil's Cove. Spirited away by their grandmother after their mother died and their father apparently walked out of their lives, the siblings have returned to reclaim their childhood home. Abandoned, the property needs a lot of work in order to be transformed into an inn, including removing their father's old boat. When they inspect the craft, however, they find a skeleton the hatch. Perhaps their father didn't walk out on them, after all. Pippin starts to uncover the truth about her family including a curse and her special ability, that of a bibliomancer!
A book with bibliomancers! How exciting for a voracious reader and lover of books like me. So imagine my surprise when I started to read and discovered that Cassie hated books, wouldn't have anything to do with them, and forbade her children to read them! Then I learn Pippin has difficulty reading and isn't a reader. Being a reader from a family of readers, I found it hard to understand their aversion to books. Obviously, they each had their reasons, Cassie the "gift"/curse and Pippin, having reading discouraged as a child, but it's shocking for me.
I found the first Book Magic Mystery to be totally captivating. There's a multipronged mystery and a family curse wrapped in a literary form of divination. More than that, it's a story of acceptance, coming to terms
with the past, and being able to develop and adjust. It's about facing
fears; fears of abandonment and of not being good enough. It's about
growing up and reaching for your dreams.
I love the idea of a family curse and how two generations are looking for a way to understand and end it. The characters are unique and well developed. I absolutely love Hattie Juniper Pickle, a woman as flamboyant as her name! I also respect Pippin. Although not a reader, she is encouraged to become one, despite the difficulty. I also love the sweet pup and Pippin's efforts to make her a part of her family.
Blending a family curse and a hint of the paranormal with an intriguing mystery MURDER IN DEVIL'S COVE is a fantastic start to a new series. The book has piqued my interest and I can't wait to discover more about the Lane family, its curse, and if there is a way to end it!
*************************************************************************
Murder in Devil's Cove: (A Book Magic Mystery) by Melissa Bourbon
About Murder In Devil's Cove
Cozy Mystery 1st in Series
Publisher: Lake House Press (September 22, 2020)
Number of Pages: Approx 300
Two best-selling authors, one magical universe.
In the Book Magic Mystery Series, best-selling authors Melissa Bourbon and Wendy Lyn Watson bring you the story of cousins Pippin Lane Hawthorne and Cora Lane. The cousins live on opposite coasts (Pippin in Devil’s Cove, North Carolina, and Cora in Laurel Point, Oregon), but they share the family gift of bibliomancy: the ability to foresee the future and unravel the past with the help of the books we love. Join Pippin and Cora as they use their otherworldly power to solve mysteries in their respective worlds.
__________________________________________
Every book tells two stories—one written on the pages with pen and ink, and one woven into the paper, a story of the soul. The Lane women have the gift of bibliomancy. They can read both.
But Cassie Lane doesn’t see this as a gift. For her, it is a curse because the book magic comes with a price--the Lane women die young and the men are lost to the sea. As soon as she’s able, she leaves Laurel Point, Oregon, running from her past and her fate, ending up in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. There she meets Leo Hawthorne and lives a perfect life with him in an old Sea Captain’s house.
Perfect, that is, until an old book foretells the future, and the curse that has plagued the Lane women comes true for Cassie.
Twenty years later, Cassie and Leo's children, twins Pippin and Grey, are back in Devil's Cove. Long forgotten secrets surface and an old crime comes to light. Now Pippin must learn how to be a bibliomancer if she is to discover the truth about her father and continue his effort to stop the curse.
About Melissa Bourbon
Melissa Bourbon is the national bestselling author of nineteen mystery books, including the brand new collaborative Book Magic mysteries, the Lola Cruz Mysteries, A Magical Dressmaking Mystery series, and the Bread Shop Mysteries, written as Winnie Archer. She is a former middle school English teacher who gave up the classroom in order to live in her imagination full time. Melissa, a California native who has lived in Texas and Colorado, now calls the southeast home. She hikes, practices yoga, cooks, and is slowly but surely discovering all the great restaurants in the Carolinas. Since four of her five amazing kids are living their lives, scattered throughout the country, her dogs, Bean, the pug, Dobby, the chug, and Jasper, a cattle dog/lab keep her company while she writes. Melissa lives in North Carolina with her educator husband, Carlos, and their youngest son. She is beyond fortunate to be living the life of her dreams.
Author Links:
Website - https://melissabourbon.com/Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/melissabourbonbooks/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/groups/BookWarriors
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/MelissaBourbonWinnieArcherBooks
Purchase Link - Amazon
I think the book cover is great and is intriguing. Just looking at the book cover makes me want to read and review the print format of this book. I love mystery books like this and this one looks interesting, intriguing and mysterious.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your review.
Hope I Win
Thank you for your review on "Murder in Devil's Cove" and for being part of the book tour.
ReplyDeleteCan't wait for the opportunity to read this book on my TBR list.
2clowns at arkansas dot net
What a spectacularly lovely review, Kathy! Your review captured so much of what I hoped the story conveyed. I'm so thrilled you loved it so much!
ReplyDeleteThank you.
DeleteGreat review, thanks. Makes the book sound very interesting. Added to my TBR.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the review and congratulations on the book.
ReplyDelete