"Have you ever wished your cat could talk to you? If so, allow my story to be your cautionary tale."Over 1,500 pages of snarky fun! The purr-fect series for anyone who wanted to adopt Salem from Sabrina the Teenage Witch.Cora Hearth’s life was going just fine by most standards. She ran a successful business in a tight-knit magical community and lived just a few blocks from a beautiful lake and a series of hiking trails.
Then Selene showed up.
According to some magical code, Cora inherits her aunt’s ancient a grumpy ten-pound cat with a broken filter. Selene fancies herself something of a saber-toothed tiger and claims to have wrestled the thread of her ninth life away from the Fates themselves—although Cora is pretty sure that last part isn’t true.
Almost positive.
Cora still needs to read through the magical fine print, but in the meantime, she’s stuck as the guardian of a talking cat with the personality of Sophia from the Golden Girls. Oh, and by another cruel twist of fate, her ex-husband has just moved back into town.
Cora’s plate is already overflowing, but when a murder rocks her small community, she winds up entangled in the investigation and has to work to clear the name of a handsome stranger.
If only life came equipped with a rewind button.
**This boxed set contains the first six books in the Nine Lives Magic Mysteries series by Danielle Garrett. These paranormal cozy mysteries are full of whimsy, magic, mystery, and a touch of romance!**
Witchy Whiskers, Nine Lives Magic Mysteries, Series, Book 1 A good start to a new series - I read the Beachwood harbor series and enjoyed it. Here is another tale and I like how it starts. The first book takes us through meeting the characters. Unlike the beach wood series, I like the main character's love interest. I love the interplay with the old one throughout the box set.
Hexed Hiss-tory Nine Lives Magic Mysteries, Series, Book 2 The life of a librarian is easy - What happens when your aunt goes missing and the only clue you have is an upset librarian? The same librarian who ended up dead and now a deadbeat takes over. Add in a sassy cat and get ready for the laughs.
Cursed Claws, Nine Lives Magic Mysteries, Series, Book 3 A good story - In this book we saw where the main character goes through the dark night of the soul and must answer the call to continue. The door is wide open for the series to continue and it’s interesting enough I may continue it. The nice part of the books this author writes is that kids can listen to them and enjoy them. There is no sex and it is good fun.
Purr-fect Potions: Nine Lives Magic Mysteries, Series, Book 4 The story continues - We follow our main characters as they continue to hunt for their missing aunt. A famed treasure hunter came in to help solve the case. Before they can the story takes some twists and turns in some unexpected ways. We do get some more clues, but we’re also left hanging. What would a series be if it solved the mystery this quickly? Each book is an adventure and we learn more about the characters and ourselves. The crossovers from other stories continue which is great and hopefully we’ll see more of them.
Furry fortunes: Nine Lives Magic Mysteries, Series, Book 5 - In the last book there was a betrayal and in this book there were. Well, read and find out. It was a good book which filled in some gaps and we got to see Selena and Corra bond which is very interesting. We get to see the softer side of people, but what is soft. This book definitely gives the appearance to be setting up the series to end in the next book, but I seriously doubt it given the other series by this author. As Selena would say, never count anything until you have it.
Tallsman tails: Nine Lives Magic Mysteries, Series, Book 6 Is this the end or beginning? - We get to learn more about the Golden Lotus in this book and just what happens when you cross at lavender. The sheriff is more concerned about winning an election than he does solving the case of lavender. In the end, we get to learn a lot about Celine and just what she’s capable of doing. Or actually the truth about Celine, which is interesting. Plus, we have the stage set for more books and series.
I read for Selene and I stayed for Selene. She really carried the entire series. While I did enjoy it for what it was and I bought the rest of the books, I had a few pet peeves. The biggest one were Cora's nieces. They chased harassed and bullied Selene not on purpose since they don't know any better, but the adults do. Instead of using Selene, a talking cat who repeatedly runs away and hides from them and has spoken up about the twins, to teach them how to respect animals and be gentle with them, they all laugh and think it's cute. I find nothing remotely cute about it. It's a real and serious issue in real life which often results in pets getting stressed and seriously harming children and unrightfully getting rehomed or put down. How can I trust a main character who doesn't speak out and educate her own nieces? It's not something I tolerate towards my own pets or other animals. It might seem like a small thing but it definitely hindered my enjoyment. Then there's the ex. Cora acts like they had a terrible falling out when they divorced on well enough terms and mutually separated. Yet, when he comes back she's incredibly disrespectful to him. I can understand feeling awkward or not wanting to get back together, but her behavior towards him is confusing. I also liked him much better than her current love interest who she seems to have zero in common with and there wasn't really any chemistry. While reading about them solving mysteries was fun the bad guys were really silly. It had the classic fail of villain admits to their crime and why for nooo reason. Why would they tell her all that? What I think was done well was the family bonding. I liked Cora's mom and their relationship.
Selene reminds me of a crotchety old gal, but at times I really loved her snark. Not somehow Cora put up with her at times, and Lord knows I could not see feeding lavish dishes to a cat. However, I love my dog so hey, anything is possible.
Cora's simple life gets really complicated when Clint enters her candle store looking for a gift for his mother and is later accused of murdering his brother. As she navigates helping him clear his name, her Aunt disappears and things really start to snowball from there. With Selene's help, managing her business, her new romantic relationship, and a slew of mysteries, Cora finds solving murders may be the one thing that pushes her to the limit...if the cat doesn't drive her crazy first.
I loved Clint and Cora together. In some ways he was naive but good for her. Cora had a good heart but set in her ways. Selene was funny but also a bit much so entertaining, except when she was mean to Cora. It takes awhile to work through her angst. I enjoyed the stories and wanted to see where Aunt Lavender's mystery led us.
Cora owns a magical candle shop in a magical town. She’s inherited her aunt’s magic cat although the cat is awful snarky. Cora’s aunt is missing and she’s trying to find her. She’s also trying to convince her ex that he’s still her ex. And there’s a new handsome hunk in town that might be interesting, except he might be a murderer. As you can see life in Winterspell is never dull. I flew through reading these books and went straight to number 4. 4 Purr-fect Potions – Cora is searching for her aunt Lavender and developing her relationship with the new hunk 5 Furry Fortunes - Cora continues on the hunt for her aunt. With each step closer, she seems to get further away and then a little closer. This series has wonderful characters, an annoying cat, and an amazing candle shop. Read this, you’ll love it. 6 Talisman Tails - The ending to a great series. Things end the way you hope but not the way you expect. A new fun little kitty enters the scene – go Checkers. I suspect we’ll have a few more books in a new series to come.
I actually listened to each story on Audible before I read the boxed set! Cora and Selene are a hoot! Can you imagine your cat actually talking instead of snarling and yowling? I would imagine other drivers thought I was insane with me laughing at some of their antics! Danielle Garrett is a prolific author. Her stories caught my attention from the first page and kept me coming back for more! Each story is a lighthearted look at a witch & her familiar's life. Danielle Garrett also chose well with having Amanda Ronconi as her narrator. Amanda's command of her craft is the perfect complement to Danielle's artistry!
You will fall in love with Corrine as she falls full force into having to solve murders. Add to that Selena, a snarky, yet funny character. They are a team tethered together out of need, not choice. Selene was the familiar for Corrines' Aunt and Selene struggles being Corrines familiar. Will Selene and Crorrine work with out Selenes snark? Probably not, but, she adds the humor to this series. This is a book that will be perfect tucked into your beach bag as a fun-tastic beach read
Really fun reading 1-6, now I find out there are 5 more! I can’t wait to read them. These are original adventures, mysteries & who dun its , totally kept me reading, plus each adventure tied into the main underlying mystery that well connected all the adventures together. Very well thought out, aligned, and interconnected so smoothly! Your writing is superb Danielle Garrett!
This set of books is heartwarming and mystery making. Cora and Selene manage to wind through just about every emotion there is to feel and come out the other side in one piece…mostly.
Grab a cup of coffee or tea and a comfortable chair to enjoy a nine lives whirlwind.
The first few books in this series I really enjoyed, a mystery inside a mystery. I think I was in the 4th book and I was not enjoying the story, no more mystery inside a mystery. Then I get to the end of the 5th and the start of the 6th book and I was hooked. I am looking forward to reading more in this series.
Cora, Aunt Lavender, Clint(!), Selene, all captured my attention and my heart. Who wouldn't want to have a cat that could use magic to do the dishes!?! There is mystery, magic, romance, dirty dealings, and a new kitten! This is a great entertaining read after a long day.
This series was amazing! Lots of twists and turns. You will enjoy the banter between Cora and Selene, as well as their bond. I also enjoyed the other characters, watching Cora’s love life unfolding with Clint and her adventures with Selene trying to find Aunt Lavender. I am sad to see the series end.
I loved the town. The books were whimsical and fun. There was a time when I got confused with the characters but I finally figured it out. All in all, I enjoyed the books.
The characters are very believable and endearing. Who could not like a snarky cat? The story kept me ready to get to the next chapter. I highly recommend this magical story.
Nice easy read. Loved Selene. A fair few continuity errors as I’ve mentioned in individual books. In the final book they talked about a sacrifice to get to the fountain of youth but then there was no mention of it again. A good ending.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
So enjoyed all of the wild adventures that Cora and Selene experienced. Fun to try to figure out the bad guys but kept me trying to figure out the girl's next moves to try to find Aunt Lavender.
Such fun to follow this mystery through this series. Fantastic characters, an interesting mystery,and a wonderful backdrop lead to a great read. With a good chunk of magic and unpredictably thrown in. Not to forget a certain mouth having no filter
Being introduced to the Hearth family has been a treasure. Sharing their adventures and triumphs with civility and grace has been a fresh change of pace. I look forward to more good reads like this - thank you!
I wish Cora didn't take so much lip from people. She needs to be more like selene.I love the sassy cat everyone needs to read this its funny and a good family story parents can share with kids.
My eyes were glazing over in the 6th book. I got tired of reading about Aunt Lavender, I wanted more content about the budding romance between Cora & Clint.
This fantasy was totally awesome. I'm glad it ended the way it did. It took a while to find and rescue Aunt Lavender, but it was totally worth the time spent on it.