Tansy Bloom, Monster Hunter

by L.J. Weller, Tanya Reynolds (Narrator)

New supernatural mystery for fans of Slayers: A Buffyverse Story!

From brilliant debut writer L J Weller, and narrated by Sex Education's Tanya Reynolds, meet Tansy Bloom, Monster Hunter. Buckle up: there's a new slayer in town.

Three months ago, twenty-eight-year-old Tansy Bloom quit monster hunting. Since then, she’s been trying to live a normal life (whatever that means), but ending up single, unemployed, and living on a boat outside her godfather’s pub definitely wasn’t part of the plan. So, when Tansy’s ex-husband – fellow monster hunter Rex Barclay – turns up like a bad penny and asks for her help with his latest investigation, Tansy reluctantly agrees.

At first, the job appears to be a straightforward monster hunt – following a spate of large creature sightings, Rex believes a werewolf is on the loose in Norfolk, and he intends to capture it. But Tansy’s not convinced. For one thing, the mysterious black dog Rex is hunting is able to vanish into thin air. For another, everyone who’s encountered the black dog is dying in a series of freak accidents. Bad news for Tansy, who’s just come face-to-face with the creature herself.

©2024 L J Weller (P)2024 Audible Ltd.

Genres: Audiobook, Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Paranormal, Fiction, Magic, Vampires

Audible Audio

First published June 27, 2024

About the author

L.J. Weller is an author of quirky, contemporary fantasy fiction. Originally from London, she now lives in Norfolk with her family and an ever-growing collection of books and jigsaw puzzles.

When she's not busy writing, she can be found attending pub quizzes or feeding the local wildlife (including a cheeky grey heron named Herbert).

Her debut novel, Tansy Bloom, Monster Hunter, is a Norfolk-set supernatural mystery inspired by her lifelong interest in folktales, ghost stories and urban legends. An Audible Original, it was released exclusively on Audible and Amazon on 27th June 2024.

Find L.J. Weller on X @ljwellerwrites and on Instagram @ljwellerauthor or find out more at www.ljweller.com.

Author's Note
I've always loved to read, with a particular fondness for commercial genre fiction, so I'm pleased to be a member of the Goodreads Author Program. My Goodreads bookshelves contain a small selection of my favourite reads and listens (as well as a few books I'm really looking forward to) but this list of titles is by no means exhaustive. I've read and thoroughly enjoyed many other books too!

Please do get in touch if you have any questions for me about my writing or work, or even about my favourite books, and I'll do my best to answer as soon as I can.

Reviews

[Montzalee Wittmann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tansy Bloom, Monster Hunter
By L.J. Weller
This is a different kind of monster hunting story with a different kind of monster! A mystery surrounds the appearance of this creature. Interesting characters and creature.

[Jamie Watkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

So good! Granted it’s in Audible original so listening to it was like you’re listening to a movie, but the characters, plot, and story I enjoyed. It sounds like this could be a series. 🖤 Plus it’s spooky season 👻🐺🧛‍♂️

[Léah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good story!! It kept moving and the ending wasn’t too bad!

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pretty good! Definitely has Buffy vibes to it. I hope it becomes a series

[William · Rating 3 out of 5]

As I work on my own monster hunting series I try and read others. This one was a bit different Or rather with monsters we don’t see used as often which was a nice chance of pace. I did think it went on for about an hour too long to the big reveal, but it was good story.

[Nicole Geub · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this. Give it a listen it's wildly entertaining and has great flow.

[Pier · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyed the audiobook. I listened to this while in between audible credits, and it was a nice palate cleanser from my usual high fantasy books. I liked the supernatural/doctor who/buffy vibes, and it had a wholesomeness to it that kept things light. I will absolutely pick up the next book if this becomes a series.

[Thought Bottle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Decent. If you liked the show Supernatural, you’ll probably like this.

Good writing style, pacing, story and characters. Big points for using uncommon lore.

Not going to make you think or feel very deeply, but great house-cleaning audiobook.

[Suzannah Rockett · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was average, to be honest I got quite bored with it and as an audiobook it was helpful as a sleeping as it didn’t really engage me enough to keep me awake.

[Katherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant! I couldn't put it down. I really enjoy folklore and cryptids so this really hit the mark for me.

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars ⭐️

Meh.
It’s got potential to be a fun series.
But nothing really stood out.
If this is your genre you’ll probably enjoy it.
If it’s not, it won’t win you over.

[Darren Gowen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great story. I’ve read hundreds of horror/urban fantasy novels so it was refreshing that the monster of the day was the black shuck, not many authors integrate the shuck into their stories, probably because it’s old eastern English folklore and not too widespread. Made me feel a little nostalgic of my childhood and our local legend of the shuck.
Tansy Bloom was well written and narrated. Very likeable characters. Had an air of the tv show ‘Supernatural’… even Tansy driving around in an old classic car, an estranged parent and an older onary mentor/guardian.
I highly recommend this novel. I hope there’s more to come….👍🏻

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable entry into the world of a monster hunter who lives on a narrowboat and struggles to mesh her mundane life with her paranormal one. According to her mother, an extraordinary monster hunter and perfectionist, Tansy is failing on both fronts. Where her love life falls is even more iffy as she forever weighs the pros and cons of each relationship. One thing is certain: even when she tries to find another line of work, Tansy can't help being a monster hunter.

[Connie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bloody brilliant. I listened to this on audible and the narrator did an amazing job. But the book was just amazing. Really hope there are more in the series. Or basically just anything as I am a fan.

[Hayley Sheridan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this! It’s a well written story and I loved the characters. Great to see a supernatural creature that doesn’t get much attention be involved. It moved a lot at a great pace and it’s a good fun paranormal book.

[Dixie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book actually surprised me! I had just finished a really good book actually quite a few of them and by the title of the book I thought it was gonna be just another stupid supernatural book. I really liked this one a lot! I hope there’s more in the series.

[Nella · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great characters in a unique story. That left me wanting more. A moderately clean, supernatural/paranormal thriller or detective type novel with a touch of romance and a few chuckles. I will definitely read her next book. It looks like this is the beginning of the series.

[Sunny Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great!

[Erica Collins · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book! The author brought the characters to life and now I’m wanting more! Hopefully this isn’t the last I hear of Tansy Bloom and friends! SEQUEL PLEASE! Quickly please…. 😍

[Lillian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, that was great fun. Light read. You have to love Tansy, everyone else does. The narrator was spot on. Fun and fluff. 🎧

[Howie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Started out kinda bland, but im glad I stuck with it. The story was entertaining. I would like to see more stories continued with this group and see more of their development.

[Karen Hands · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this a lot. Nice to have bisexual representation in the main character. The narration was good, apart from the dodgy Scottish accent! I enjoyed the story and it was well paced. The ending seemed to indicate that there could be potential for a series, and I would definitely read more.

[Kayleigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good fun

[Bekka Nikole · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Cute fantasy palate cleanser to help get through some of my heavier reads. The audio was phenomenal and had me laughing out loud on multiple occasions.

[Carla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good story you will never see Norfolk in the same way I like it

[Macey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Audible

[Shanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very enjoyable, funny, and interesting

[Lori · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great debut! Fun and enjoyable listen! I’m sure it’s not the last we have heard from Tansy Bloom and cheers to that!

[Bud Winn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not bad, things repeated a bit, but good

[Shan]

Audible freebie that reminded me of iZombie, the tv show (I'm still waiting to understand the purpose of the "i") or maybe Supernatural. Tansy's a monster hunter, like the title says, although she's on a break at the beginning because she let some selkies take a horrible human away to kill him, which is a no-no. Her ex-husband comes to ask her to help track down a werewolf, which turns out to be a legendary giant dog that's connected to a curse. People are dying because of the curse so she joins forces with her ex to find the source and get the curse undone. Meanwhile she has a new romance with a mysterious guy who shows up in town, and then there's the romance with one of the selkies that hasn't really gone away, and there's more romantic tension with the ex as well. So much romance.

The story's engaging enough to finish the book, and even do some rewinding to catch some of the plot points I missed through falling asleep or getting distracted. The narrator's great. I did wish I had access to a print version to flip through and find some things I missed, like Seth's backstory, and also to see what the actual name of that giant dog is. Black Shark? Chuck? Shuck? Different characters have different accents so they all say it a bit differently, and all the accents are British.

I didn't connect with the main character, and couldn't believe she had all those people interested in her romantically and then later on several people who were ready to die for her. In another book I might have found that annoying, but in this one it was okay - it's just kind of a silly, entertaining story to listen to while doing something else.