by Annabel Chase
What do you get when you mix a lawyer who is a little scattered with a suicidal angel? A little mayhem, a lot of nonsense, and maybe a bit of murder.
That’s the story of this book, Curse the Day by Annabel Chase, and it works, for the most part.
I have a soft spot for cozy paranormal mysteries and romances. Nocturne Falls by Kristen Painter has a similar vibe, with a small town populated by supernatural folks living openly as their best selves without apology. However, Nocturne Falls is open to the public and the townsfolk are free to come and go as they please. The supernaturals in Spellbound are kept there against their will, which gives a much itchier and more claustrophobic vibe to the book that I think deserved a little more exploration.
I also thought Emma was way too quick to shrug and accept her new reality. For someone who came from a world without any hint of magic or angelic hotties with a death wish, she sure adapted quickly. It would take me more than a couple of days, let alone hours, to reshape my worldview. I’d still be fretting about my car at the bottom of the lake and my houseplants at home, rather than running around solving mysteries. Maybe I’m just not very resilient, but I would need at least a few pages of existential crisis before the hi jinks. This isn’t new to Ms. Chase’s writing—it’s part of the genre, just one I don’t enjoy much.
However, there is a lot to enjoy. The townspeople are entertaining and varied, with witches, fairies, elves, vampires, and even a single Yeti.
Emma arrives just in time to take over for the previous public defender, who has conveniently been murdered, leaving a job and home vacant. She inherits both, along with a lumpy and unpleasant cat. Emma also discovers she’s a witch and gets sent off to remedial witchy classes with other underachievers.
This is a fun book and, as an introduction to a series with ten titles, there’s a lot of room for expansion and exploration both of the town and the townspeople. It should be interesting to watch Emma learn more about her own abilities as a witch and as a public defender. And a few shirtless angel scenes won’t go amiss, either.
4 Gotta-Catch-My-Breath Stars
