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Coven
Putnam is a small town just like the thousands of other small towns across the country. This one is the home for many people who have sought to escape the pressures of big cities for a friendlier and slower paced lifestyle; a lifestyle that also brings certain freedoms. These freedoms include the Wiccan traditions, witches, and the use of magick. The coven members of the town council use their magick in positive ways to help the town prosper...until the murder of one of their shop owners.
As the town council searches for the truth behind the mysterious death, they uncover disturbing secrets about the warlock, an ostracized coven member, and their own coven leader, making it unclear which one may have been involved in the use of black magick and murder. Meanwhile Bob Whitworth, a man attempting to escape his own nightmares of the past takes possession of the recently vacated shop and he unknowingly purchases a talisman created to control his actions, specifically to have him commit murder.
Chief of Police Martin Daniels uncovers information that Bob didn't pick this town at random, but was summoned by witchcraft either by their own coven leader or the mysterious warlock. Either way, Bob becomes a vital part in a race to end the mystery which may cost him his life and banish him to servitude in the underworld of the dead.
As the town council searches for the truth behind the mysterious death, they uncover disturbing secrets about the warlock, an ostracized coven member, and their own coven leader, making it unclear which one may have been involved in the use of black magick and murder. Meanwhile Bob Whitworth, a man attempting to escape his own nightmares of the past takes possession of the recently vacated shop and he unknowingly purchases a talisman created to control his actions, specifically to have him commit murder.
Chief of Police Martin Daniels uncovers information that Bob didn't pick this town at random, but was summoned by witchcraft either by their own coven leader or the mysterious warlock. Either way, Bob becomes a vital part in a race to end the mystery which may cost him his life and banish him to servitude in the underworld of the dead.
- GenresParanormalFantasy
Nook
First published January 15, 2010
3 people are currently reading
1344 people want to read
About the author
Tony Ruggiero
18 books22 followersTony Ruggiero is best known for his dark fantasy thrillers about vampires being used by the US military. Ground breaking and fast paced, the novels are a characteristic mixture of the vampire lore of Anne Rice and the clandestine secrets of the military found in Tom Clancy novels. The concept led to a series of books released in 2006 through 2010, labeled the Team of Darkness Declassified Files. The books include: Operation Immortal Servitude, Operation Save the Innocent, Operation Face the Fear, and Operation Endgame.
A longtime favorite for Tony is the old style of “space opera” type stories which is the center of his two book series: Alien Deception and Alien Revelation. The series deals with an alien organization that has infiltrated the American political system. The series runs the gauntlet from humorous and light hearted to deadly serious as a young man and woman search for answers.
His latest release is Coven. Little towns and secrets: a guilty pleasure for some and a harsh reality for others. Witches have secretly been in control of the town council for years and the town has prospered...until now. As they search for the truth behind the mysterious death of one of their shop owners, they uncover disturbing secrets about an ostracized witch and their own coven leader, making it unclear which one may have been using black magic to murder.
Tony retired from the United States Navy in 2001 after twenty-three years of service. He and his family currently reside in Portsmouth, Virginia. While continuing to write, Tony teaches at Old Dominion University and Saint Leo University. Visit his website to read sample chapters at www.tonyruggiero.com
A longtime favorite for Tony is the old style of “space opera” type stories which is the center of his two book series: Alien Deception and Alien Revelation. The series deals with an alien organization that has infiltrated the American political system. The series runs the gauntlet from humorous and light hearted to deadly serious as a young man and woman search for answers.
His latest release is Coven. Little towns and secrets: a guilty pleasure for some and a harsh reality for others. Witches have secretly been in control of the town council for years and the town has prospered...until now. As they search for the truth behind the mysterious death of one of their shop owners, they uncover disturbing secrets about an ostracized witch and their own coven leader, making it unclear which one may have been using black magic to murder.
Tony retired from the United States Navy in 2001 after twenty-three years of service. He and his family currently reside in Portsmouth, Virginia. While continuing to write, Tony teaches at Old Dominion University and Saint Leo University. Visit his website to read sample chapters at www.tonyruggiero.com
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 8 reviews
December 29, 2012
I feel partly like this took me forever to read, but I also think its because of how busy I've been the past couple of weeks. S this book gets a 4, but it's really a 3.5 for me. I liked it but didn't super like it. The style kept losing me, and I didn't like the main characters all that much. But at the same time I liked them enough to wan to know what happened to them in the end. I would want to read more about these people, specifically Martin, I really liked the chief of police and think he could make a good recurring character if used more in a sequel to this one.
Also this vaguely reminded me of M.R. Sellars Rowan Gant series, so while reading this I went and bought the next one of his. That's a good thing, I really like the Rowan Gant books so that means this one is definitely decent enough for anyone who likes those to like this one as well.
I would have been more satisfied with that outcome, as it stands I still only really like the sheriff character. I'm interested to see if there will be other books about that character.
Also this vaguely reminded me of M.R. Sellars Rowan Gant series, so while reading this I went and bought the next one of his. That's a good thing, I really like the Rowan Gant books so that means this one is definitely decent enough for anyone who likes those to like this one as well.
I would have been more satisfied with that outcome, as it stands I still only really like the sheriff character. I'm interested to see if there will be other books about that character.
May 21, 2017
It has taken me six years to revisit this book and get past page 15 and even then, I needed a break from it. It only starts to get interesting in the second half of the book. The plot was pretty predictable.
October 17, 2018
now i am hooked. This was such a great, easy and creative book. i was hooked after the first page.
The characters were easy to fall in love with and follow, along with the story. the author made the mental visions so easy and vivid of the surroundings and the characters actions felt so real.
i would highly recommend this author and this book.
The characters were easy to fall in love with and follow, along with the story. the author made the mental visions so easy and vivid of the surroundings and the characters actions felt so real.
i would highly recommend this author and this book.
March 25, 2014
This audiobook was provided free of charge in exchange for an honest review by audiobookjukebox.com
I had high hopes for Coven. I haven’t read a witch book for a while and I was excited about getting started. This one though, was unlike any other I have read.
Told in multiple POV’s, we begin following Bob, a regular human who purchases an antique store after its prior owner dies in a vehicular manslaughter accident, an interesting fact considering he accidentally hit a drunk pedestrian many years ago, though the two pedestrians are not connected. The store he purchases is in a strange little town that has secrets of its own. He soon learns that sometimes, things are too good to be true, because it’s not a coincidence that he arrives. This town is full of magic, and everyone is connected in some way. This is a dark story, aimed toward someone who enjoys mysteries with supernatural elements.
The narrator, Lisa Cordray though great at the beginning, begins to make the story feel sort of choppy. There seem to be unnecessary pauses and stops mid sentence that slowly began to grate on me the further I delved into the world. Her various character voices also seem a little off.
The story itself, though not completely bad, also seemed to be a bit off. There were unnecessary scenes and boring conversations that I found myself wanting to skip over, and there wasn’t much dialogue outside that which the speaker had internally.
Coven is the story of witches, some of who walk the correct path, and others who do not, and their interactions. I often like witch books, but this one in particular just wasn’t for me, it just didn’t feel put together enough for me, and though it was meant to be a mystery, I knew the result from nearly the beginning. I give it 2 stars.
I had high hopes for Coven. I haven’t read a witch book for a while and I was excited about getting started. This one though, was unlike any other I have read.
Told in multiple POV’s, we begin following Bob, a regular human who purchases an antique store after its prior owner dies in a vehicular manslaughter accident, an interesting fact considering he accidentally hit a drunk pedestrian many years ago, though the two pedestrians are not connected. The store he purchases is in a strange little town that has secrets of its own. He soon learns that sometimes, things are too good to be true, because it’s not a coincidence that he arrives. This town is full of magic, and everyone is connected in some way. This is a dark story, aimed toward someone who enjoys mysteries with supernatural elements.
The narrator, Lisa Cordray though great at the beginning, begins to make the story feel sort of choppy. There seem to be unnecessary pauses and stops mid sentence that slowly began to grate on me the further I delved into the world. Her various character voices also seem a little off.
The story itself, though not completely bad, also seemed to be a bit off. There were unnecessary scenes and boring conversations that I found myself wanting to skip over, and there wasn’t much dialogue outside that which the speaker had internally.
Coven is the story of witches, some of who walk the correct path, and others who do not, and their interactions. I often like witch books, but this one in particular just wasn’t for me, it just didn’t feel put together enough for me, and though it was meant to be a mystery, I knew the result from nearly the beginning. I give it 2 stars.
January 25, 2015
I was really excited when I won this book through Goodreads First Reads since I almost always love books with a supernatural theme. I read this one fairly quickly but had to force myself past the first few chapters. The beginning jumped around a lot between different characters; each one having only a short blurb about them. I normally love multiple protagonists and find it easy to keep up with them. In this case, however, I felt as though the author should've given more background on each of the main characters in the beginning. The remainder of the book was pretty good and kept me engaged until the end. Nevertheless, I would've preferred a bit more background information on the Wiccan religion.
January 19, 2015
Received this book through a goodreads giveaway.
Had a pretty hard time at the start of the book, not really feeling drawn in and almost like the author was trying too hard to make a literary masterpiece, rather than an enjoyable story. After a couple chapters though the book seemed to find its groove and became much more enjoyable to read and the main characters started to come alive. The author seemed very familiar with Wicca and went through a lot of explanation, almost to where if one was not familiar at all with it, they would come away with an intermediary understanding of it. Unfortunately I also felt like all the explaining kind of slowed the story down.
In the end, I find this a decent read, but probably not something I'll go back to and read a second time.
Had a pretty hard time at the start of the book, not really feeling drawn in and almost like the author was trying too hard to make a literary masterpiece, rather than an enjoyable story. After a couple chapters though the book seemed to find its groove and became much more enjoyable to read and the main characters started to come alive. The author seemed very familiar with Wicca and went through a lot of explanation, almost to where if one was not familiar at all with it, they would come away with an intermediary understanding of it. Unfortunately I also felt like all the explaining kind of slowed the story down.
In the end, I find this a decent read, but probably not something I'll go back to and read a second time.
January 5, 2016
I had to scrap this one at the 5th chapter. The writing "style" is jarring and distracting. The story is not engaging enough this far in to keep me interested despite the writing. Back on the shelf it goes.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 8 reviews