Synopsis:
Since moving to Raven Creek, Phoebe Winchester has had a lot on her plate.
She’s renovating the Victorian manor she inherited from her Aunt Eudora, running a tea shop (and secret magical apothecary), and learning to be a witch. But when she discovers a dead body at an estate sale, and suspicion falls on her, even Phoebe wonders if this is simply too much.
Forced to take action to clear her name, Phoebe enlists Rich Lofting, handsome private detective and childhood friend, to assist with her investigation, all while sorting out her unresolved feelings for him.
Is there something more sinister lurking in the shadows of this small tight-knit town? And does Phoebe really want to find out?
Review:
I really wanted to love this book and I actually had high hopes for it after reading the first instalment, Something Wicked, last year. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. Everything I loved about the first book didn’t feel the same this time – than that Bob the cat, he’s still very cute and definitely stole the show.
The magical elements of this book were once again disappointing. I actually forgot that Phoebe is a witch because magic is hardly mentioned. She uses her powers once to save herself and that’s it. I understand she hasn’t known for very long that she is a witch, but Spell Bound is set seven months after book one so I did expect more. Also, I have no idea why this book is called Spell Bound. There were basically no spells used.
Something that got old very quickly was how often things were repeated. I understand the need to do it at the beginning to refresh your memory of what happened in the first book, but this was constant. I know Aunt Eudora brewed magical teas, you’ve told me four times already. What I would like to hear about is how Phoebe can use these teas to her advantage.
This brings me to the next pain point of this book. The mystery was extremely lacklustre yet again. Am I just not a fan of cosy mysteries? Maybe. I feel like the stakes were ridiculously low and they would have stayed that way if Phoebe didn’t have an apparent death wish. She claims she wants to investigate the murder so she can’t be a suspect anything, but it actually just made her more suspicious and almost got her killed. Phoebe Winchester is the queen of bad decisions.
The last thing I will complain about is the lack of romance. They need to stop putting Rich on the cover because he’s been on both now and not a lick of romance has occurred. Well other than him finally asking Phoebe to go on a date, which never happens in this book. I know I’m not owed any romance but the main genre this book is tagged as on Goodreads is romance, so I’d at least expect some.
I still really loved the day-to-day activities and I wish more of the book took place in Raven Creek and The Earl’s Study. The magical teas have the potential to be a really fun and useful tool for Phoebe. Let’s hope she actually starts to use her powers soon.
I may be willing to read the next instalment in this series, but only if it’s on Kindle Unlimited and I have extra time. This wasn’t a completely terrible book as I am giving it 2.5 stars and it did have its good moments, but there are definitely areas I would like to see develop more.
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