Impurrfect Magic

Unfamiliar Magic #0.5

by Paula Lester

Never trust a bossy kitten—especially when she comes out of a secret room.

Ivy Patterson has a brand new happiness plan. Ditch the soul-sucking job, buy a super cute blue bungalow, and take over Uncle Vincent’s produce market when he retires.

It’s all going according to plan until Ivy’s life flips upside down. Uncle Vincent is murdered. A sassy black kitten shows up out of thin air and starts giving Ivy orders. And Ivy finds a secret room that holds shadowy magical secrets which crack open her past.

Ivy spent decades believing the dark magic she possessed should never be touched. Can she catch a killer without tapping into the unfamiliar power deep within?

Or will her sassy attitude, an opinionated kitten, and a murderer willing to strike again destroy her splendid new life?

99 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 14, 2023

Reviews

[Jae · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ivy has ditched her old life in favor of moving back to her hometown, where she works in her uncle’s produce store. Uncle Vincent is training Ivy to take over the business, with an eye on retiring once she’s ready. Things are going well until Ivy finds her uncle dead in the store. While his death appears from natural causes, Ivy can’t help but wonder. When a black kitten emerges into the shop from a secret, back room, Ivy stumbles upon her uncle’s secret. He’s been running a side-hustle—using his magic to do odd jobs for people. It forces Ivy to confront her painful past—her mother once declared that Ivy’s magic was dark and that she must never use it. However, Vince also had dark magic, and Ivy doesn’t believe he ever used it to cause harm. At the kitten’s unspoken urging, Ivy begins to piece together the last few days of her uncle’s life in an effort to find who may have wanted to kill him...and why.

A fun story. Ivy is likable, as were other characters in her “orbit”. Of course, she encountered some unsavory characters over the course of her investigation, but they were only transient. The kitten, Tabby, had magic of her own, but she was not a talking cat. That was refreshing. The narrative unfolded at a sensible pace, although the majority of it was consumed with Ivy’s sleuthing. There were some minor editing errors, such as one character whose name was alternately spelled either Shye or Skye.

Enjoyable—four stars.

[Melanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

quick fun read

Rating: 3.25⭐️

Impurrfect Magic (Unfamiliar Magic Book 1) by Paula Lester belongs to that new trope of books where a older woman makes a drastic change in her life, finds her way to magic, mysteries and a feline companion, one who’s often her familiar.

It’s a cozy magical mystery story with cats. And this type of book is hugely popular among readers and writers.

And I’m reading a lot of them.

Impurrfect Magic (Unfamiliar Magic Book 1) by Paula Lester is cute, short and easy to read. The characters don’t have much depth to them and the location of Aurum Falls is descriptively unclear, and there’s no real foundation laid down for the town, characters, and even storylines.

Things just happen like a kid blindly knocking over dominoes. Which when it comes to murder investigation, crimes, and any kind of element that needs detailed support and evidence, this is likely lacking.

The former middle school science teacher decides to ask questions about the murder with all the finesse of a bull in a china shop. Even when she knows the sheriff, is newly back in town, and doesn’t even know what her uncle was involved in. It’s not a whole picture of her that makes sense.

Nor is anything that comes afterwards.

It all comes together quickly with some magical energy that is puzzling.

Anyway, if you’re not going to stop and think about it too closely, it’s a quick fun read.

Although not one I’m going forward with.


Cover art by Kat McGee at Covers by Kat

Unfamiliar Magic (6 book series):
Impurrfect Magic #1
Infurior Magic #2
Clawful Magic #3
Apawling Magic #4
Felinous Magic #5
Pawthetic Magic #6
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[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute story of a middle aged woman who quits her job as a teacher and goes to work for her uncle at a store selling fruit and vegetables. She has always been told that there is magic in her family, but that her's is dark magic and she shouldn't use it. However, when her uncle is murdered, she discovers a secret magical room and Tabby, a black cat familiar. Together they solve the case. And, with the help oof Tabby, her mom and her sister, she hopes to learn how to use her magic for good.

[Larry · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun read with very little violence, a cute kitten familiar, and a middle aged woman finding out about her magic. The characters are interesting, the plot is straightforward, and the premise is finding out who killed the main character's uncle, and why. The answers were helped along with a bit of magic, and the killer was caught with a little desperate help. I definitely recommend this story, especially for cat people.

[Paula Withrow · Rating 5 out of 5]

A quick and fun read

I’m very partial to black cats or any cat, to witches and paranormal, and murder mysteries. This was a quick book, nicely wrapped up, interesting murder, interesting characters. There were a few mistakes, but those were easily overlooked. I would be interested in reading more from Paula Lester.

[Stephen Levesque · Rating 5 out of 5]

A little short but totally enjoyed it! This is a well written and has well developed characters. The story is catching and with the strong characters makes for a very enjoyable read. Great Reading Everyone!

[Lauren Heiy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm pierce t Magi,: Unfamiliar magic book one

Cute mystery with a woman returning to her hometown to learn her Uncle's business. It leads her to a cute black kitten, a murder, and a secret magic room.

[Deborah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delightful and light hearted.

If you want a clean witch story with no violence, and blood everywhere. HERE IT IS. It is very well written and wonderfully enjoyable. 😉

[Vickie Moore · Rating 3 out of 5]

A sweet story about magic.

[James Adams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very sweet

Worthy of any teen. A little "who done it, drama, and falling in love" I enjoy this work of innocence with a whole done it twist.

[Dolores Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good

This one has a little different storyline. I think this maybe one of my favorite series. I love the kitten!

[Kathy Kaufman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love kittens and heroines?

A quick read for fun kind of book. Refreshing mystery without going too dark. I bought the second in the series right away!

[Anna Stone · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it.

This was a really good shorty murder mystery. If you like magic, witches, and murder mysteries you should give this one a try.