Misfortune Cookie

by Casey Wyatt

When Radiance Ashworth inherits the family fortune and a nasty supernatural curse, life as she knows it is over forever. Instead of luxurious pampering, she’s stuck chasing wayward spirits and sending them back to the Hereafter. Her new normal consists of ectoplasmic goo, bruises, and ruined clothes. Fortunately, she doesn’t have to navigate the supernatural world alone. Luca, sexy, confident, and so damn tempting, is happy to guide her—if she’d only accept his help. She quickly learns how much she needs his assistance just to stay alive, when a Jiang Shi—a vengeful Chinese spirit —starts systematically murdering the city’s elite business leaders. While the Jiang Shi proves to be a formidable opponent, Radiance finds the growing attraction between her and Luca to be even scarier.

Genres: Paranormal

270 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 25, 2014

About the author

Casey Wyatt grew up in a mid-size Connecticut town where nothing exciting ever happened. To stem the boredom, she read fantasy and sci-fi novels, imagining her own adventures in her head. Not much has changed since she’s grown up, only now she's a multi-published author of paranormal romance and urban fantasy novels. In her spare time, she loves all things geeky, hangs out in museums, and collects stray cats.

Visit Casey on the web: www.caseywyatt.com. You can also find Casey on Facebook, Twitter (@CaseyWyatt1) and Instagram (@caseywyattbooks).

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Reviews

[Blake · Rating 1 out of 5]

(FYI I tend to only review one book per series, unless I completely change my mind on a series, so want to change my scoring down a lot)

How I rate Stars: 5* = I loved (must read all I can find by the author)
4* = I really enjoyed (got to read all the series and try other books by the author).
3* = I enjoyed (I will continue to read the series)
or
3* = Good book just not my thing (I realised I don't like the genre or picked up a kids book to review in error.)

All of the above scores means I would recommend them!
-
2* = it was okay (I might give the next book in the series a try, to see if that was better IMHO.)
1* = Disliked

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First time read the author's work?: Yes

Will you be reading more?: No -- I really wanted to like this book, but its a 'do not continue.'

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Pros:
Interesting story premise.
-
Not the usual vampire and or shifter based world.

MC - at least for the first little bit of the book... -- she was so promising to start with, then she crumbled.

I had to force myself to read after this point, and it was skip reading to see if she finally got her spirit back. She became for me, too stupid to live. The only characters I cared about in the story by the end was the cat Brody, oh and the MC's 4 year old niece.
--
Cons:
Spoliers / bit ranty.

The MC -- all too soon went from a 'tough' cookie to cookie crumbs. She all too quickly caves on things, including seeing the contract that her ancestor signed. -- A decent character would be pushing to see said contract and looking to break it, especially if the person refusing to show you also tells you its iron clad. If its not breakable, then no harm in the slave (indentured servants know and have an end date to their contract, that is not death) seeing it, is there.

She needed to grow a backbone about the fact an ex made sex tapes of their sessions. She was unaware until he leaked them, but she really needed to stop letting people make her feel bad about it. She let them have way too much power over her, even thought she knew that her face had not been seen, so most people thought it was not her!

Being attracted etc. to the person who is basically your master since you are for all purposes a slave (or your 4 year old niece becomes the next Soul Redeemer aka slave), does not make for a good MC IMHO. (This is not a BDSM book, in those, it goes with the territory, so would be expected. -- Initial attraction before you found out he's your 'master' / guard / so called protector / trainer, is forgivable.)

So a bad person attacks and kills a family and the MC agrees that their violent death (shown to her by her leash holder) is her fault, because she left Luca before he told her the 'deal' and her duties, an hour? or so earlier (time-frame might have been less or more, hard to tell with the book but it was not long). -- That was the last straw for me, seriously weak MC there, wanting to have a few hours to 'think' on your new 'slavery' is hardly a crime, even if that family were killed. -- The MC at the start of the book would have asked why they don't have a temp to cover the time between the old SR dying and the new one getting up to speed.... but nope by this time she'd become a pathetic person. -- I mean if it was okay for the 'higher power' to leave the area without a Soul Redeemer until the old one's will was read and the 'slavery' passed on, then why should she have any guilt for wanting a night to get her head around things. -- The dead family was the 'higher powers' fault and a good MC would have pointed that out.

Her attitude to Luca after her attack (see below re Luca), not realistic and so ugh.

Taking a necklace from Luca, a being with powers, who is your 'master', and wearing it.... (who then seemed to affect her even more after she was wearing it.)

Not really objecting when he's promising her that 'you're going to be' he's.

Near the start she tells herself that until she knows 'why' she's reacting to him so strongly that she needs to steer clear. Then minutes later is back to drooling over him and it only gets worse (see below).

When he tells her another can be assigned to her, she did not jump at the opportunity, just the opposite in fact, makes him promise not to leave. This was just after she drinks a magic tea that Luca made her... -- up to that point all she knows of him is 'hey this lawyer's hot, WTH he shot me, he's my leash holder in slavery' (She only met him the day before!). -- Okay so she does question it, but not in a 'wait, no that's wrong, WTH did you put in this tea' way. She mentally goes WTH, then verbally goes 'promise me' to him. He kisses her palm, and heat flows through her as he promises never to leave her. Instead of being 'WTH is going on' even just thinking it, she's all [quote]'a weight lifted off me, power interwove between us, as if we'd passed an important milestone...' [/quote] -- I'm not sitting thinking 'oh how romantic', I'm going WTH, she met him yesterday, what's in that tea?, This is supposed to be a romance, not some dude drugging the idiot MC to be he's. -- That's when she became IMO TSTL.

After that continuing to consume drinks from Luca, that are clearly not normal. She has no idea what they fully do to her, beyond an energy boost yet she keeps taking them from him!

Not Luca related, but showing how much of a doormat she is to the 'men' in her life. She did not push back at Julien against being told to be nicer to the staff. Informing a butler, for the 15th time that you don't want your clothes laid out, is not being nasty to staff, firing the lot of them with no severance would be not being nice. Not wanted to be waited on etc., especially by the really old butler, is not a personality flaw.

Condemning Reg and Forgiving Allen... right so the one the MC has not liked since she was a kid she condemns, even though he was manipulated by their grandfather to (said grandfather could have also stepped into straighten Reg out, instead just used him). -- Allen should have got the same treatment, since he was the cause of all those deaths, as Reg.
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Luca (aka slave master aka the sicko) -- The male who wanted to get it on with her in the seconds after the MC experienced a kind of psychic attack, that had her feeling as if she was physically being attacked, that including stabbing, beating and throttling and ended with her feeling as if she had been raped!)

Apparently as the MC is a Soul Redeemer and he's her 'protector', that should involves his bedding her... yet another way that shows she's just 'property' thanks to her stupid ancestor (who did tell her she didn't have to sleep with Luca, but seems expected). (I kept waiting for her to ask if he was her grandfather's lover, but nope, she became too much of a doormat.... okay later on she asks about other SRs, but its much later in book and its after she's succumbed to his 'charm'.)

Luca using his powers on her. -- I never felt that beyond the initial attraction, that it was 100% the MCs want to be with Luca sexually, rather than Luca wanting her. -- Oh sure she's his beloved 'mate' that's why he didn't tell her what he really is, let her decide if she wanted to be mated to an 'angel', she had to find out by 'accident.' Of course after the mad reaction, she got over that news in minutes, and back to 'fun times.' -- I'm sorry but what not magically drugged person does this? Did the MC want kids, of cause as a SR that'd be a bad idea, but still that sort of thing should be in ones mind even if its a 'good thing I never wanted kids' assumption that they can't cross breed... also the wondering what else he was not telling her never happened... (of course we found out quite quickly what he knew and had wondered about her, if she'd been part of the Higher Power breeding experiment, but never thought to actually tell her of this wondering, before she found out about the experiments from Julian. - Again, something that should cause a 'what else do you think I might need to know about things, especially myself, like being from a breeding experiment, that my parents are not my parents?' convo never happened.)

IMO he magically drugged her/ kept drugging her, into thinking she's as into him as he's into her.

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Julian -- As soon as it was said that it was an ancestor who got her signed on as a slave, it was so obvious it was Julian. -- Of course the MC was too thick to realise this for ages! Not that the book confirms it, no that'll be book 2.

This jerk also told her to be nicer to staff... when all she did was for the 15th time, politely tell the elderly butler, that no, she did not need him to lay out clothes for her. Good staff actually do as asked, first time, even 3rd if elderly with hearing issues, but to continue not doing as asked...

Not fessing up right away that its his fault she's a slave and that if she dies / quits, then her 4 year old niece will be. -- An immediate confession, with 'looking for loopholes' would have been something.

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The males not telling her things that she needs to know, was really annoying. More so when she made up excuses for them not telling her things. MC agreeing / not arguing that she's in the wrong, when she's actually done nothing wrong! MC turned into such a doormat.

I actually only (slightly) forgive Sebastian on this, since he seems to have decided to let her have an actual life, before she becomes a 'slave'. I'm sure he could have been a real problem for her, if he'd been truly upset with her pulling away etc.


Complete let down. I was / am unwell (not C-19), when I opted to read the book, thinking it'd cheer me up, now I'm unwell and grumpy at idiot MCs.
The only good thing, at least I didn't buy the book!

[Marina Farook · Rating 5 out of 5]

The family b@da$$, gets even more so, unexpectedly.

This book was dark, but it has complex characters who have a lot of heart, an interesting premise, and mythology/supernatural elements that were new to me.
I wish there had been more explanations of things, for the MC's benefit and mine, because I have a hard time just accepting what was going on as much as the MC did, but story keeps moving okay without always understanding what happened.
In addition to supernatural/mythological, action, thriller, and mystery themes, there are also themes of family ties, family duties, honor, romance, fated mates.
There was a lot of sexual tension, and a couple descriptive spicy scenes.

Some very dark parts I could have done without, particularly- TW- a very brief r@pe mention that I don't think was necessary, although it did further demonstrate partially how dark/twisted that character was.
It also had some very gruesome and gory bits that were more than I'm used to, but again those had their part.
Overall it was an interesting, exciting, and cleverly done book worth the extra gore.

[Gretchen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little rough

I think I might have given this book five stars if there hadn't been some rough patches which could have used more editing. They were simple mistakes, but jarred me out of the flowing story.

[A.K. Lindsay · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a fresh, fun twist on the paranormal tropes flooding the market. It is written in an addictive voice that keeps you moving on. For once, a romance that doesn't have the heroine jumping into bed with the hero before she stops to analyze her attraction. The chemistry was sizzling, and the heroine was developed into a full, likeable person -- someone who likes derby, who can't resist pie, etc.

So why didn't I give this book five stars?

For starters, although Luca is an attractive hero, he is not nearly as developed as Radiance. He comes across as a crutch for her development, and we never really get to know him. He makes an effort to engage in one of her hobbies -- derby -- but she doesn't make the effort to do the same.

The plot was in turns transparent and confusing. Some things should have been explained a little better. Others I wanted to smack the heroine upside the head for not putting together, it was that obvious. Radiance gripes at one point about being overlooked, but she contributes relatively little. She lets Luca do the fighting despite the fact that he has been teaching her, and only intervenes at the last second if necessarily. Reading these fight scenes from her point of view made it seem like I was stuck on the sidelines, a place I don't like to be, especially when reading a book.

Many if not all of the side characters are flat. We never get to know many of them. Radiance's feelings toward them also feel flat, for instance while I felt her love for her niece at the beginning, later on her drive to protect her niece is told rather than shown and I don't feel her alarm at all. This is only one example.

The book could have used another round of editing. I found multiple typos, though they didn't detract too badly from the story itself. More jolting were the phrases knocking me out of Radiance's point of view, things like her ears turning red (which she couldn't possibly see). There is a lot of passive voice that could have been edited out with one more pass, as well as some confusing phrasing which could have been clarified.

My biggest problem with this book was its supreme whiteness. Every likeable character we are introduced to, and some unlikeable ones, that are clearly meant to be continuing characters in the series, are white. It is stated in the book that 50% of the town the book takes place in is Chinese, yet we only see four Chinese characters (various others are mentioned to be killed, but never shown). Those four characters are the only characters of color shown in the book. They are: the misogynist owner of a Chinese restaurant chain (villain-turned-victim), the owner of a fortune cookie factory (victim), a receptionist (who was, at the very least male, I have to give the author credit for that), and a sex kitten/demon (villain). As if this cookie-cutter portrayal of the Chinese characters wasn't bad enough, even the otherworldly beings from the Hereafter are white. It went from something I noticed in passing and tried not to judge the book on at the beginning to a major pet peeve by the end of the book.

This book has a lot of potential. The author's voice alone kept me reading on long past the point I would have put the book down if it had been written in a less-compelling style. This reads as an author's first published book, and I'm sure with more books, the writing will improve (at least the editing errors I found). If you're not a writer or editor, most of the problems I pointed out probably won't be an issue for you. If you can look past the lack of diversity, you'll probably love it.

[Gail Chianese · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not your tired, typical paranormal. I love that Casey Wyatt goes beyond your normal vamps and wares and digs deeper into the world of paranormal with her wonderful stories.

In this book we delve into the world of Chinese myths and legends along with family dynamics, grudges, legacies, and loyalties. Combine all that with the fun and complicated romance, that provided lots of sizzle to the story, along with a reluctant heroine, who just wanted to be an average person, and you had a great read.

If you're looking for a fun book, with something different, give this a try, I don't think you'll be disappointed.

[Meggan Connors · Rating 5 out of 5]

Misfortune Cookie is the story of Radiance Ashworth, reluctant Redeemer of Souls. As she deals with her new role, a giant inheritance, and some unruly spirits, she also has to come to terms with her overwhelming attraction for her protector, Luca.

Chemistry, romance, tautly written fight scenes, and humor are all included in this fast paced paranormal. There were moments when I laughed out loud--and moments when I cringed for Radiance.

Misfortune Cookie kept me on the edge of my seat, and I had a great time reading it.

[Janet Rodman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. It is different from many of the other books I have read. I am looking forward to the next book in this series.