What do you think?
Murder in Moonburrow #3
Of Magic and Murder
She came to Moonburrow to break one curse -- but now she might just be the key to breaking another...*to avoid spoilers for books one and two, the full description will be revealed following Play Dead, Stay Dead's release. However, this will be Riordan's story!
- GenresMagic
378 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 8, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
September 10, 2026
This was a low stakes easy read. I enjoyed the story overall, but the plot was thin and there were so many typos!
September 11, 2026
The Good
It’s the best written in the series. That‘s not saying much, but I think if Book 1 dropped with this quality, it would not have bugged me as much.
The release date changed a few times from August to September, so I do think the extra time to do read throughs was very much needed.
The banter and chemistry between the leads is by the far best out of the three. It’s great improvement!
It’s the best sex in the series, again not saying it’s good. But we have moved so far from “it’s okay if it hurts, I can take it”, to “I grab my tits” to “one hand is curved around his erection, stroking it lightly as though petting himself and telling his cock he has to be a good boy and wait.” Like this is a markable improvement! Her clit is mentioned! We’re happy with this!
The Bad
This is just going to be a summary of my running commentary to the group chat while I was reading it. Maybe this isn’t bad for you! I don’t think I like Instant Love, which feels like a foundational trope for this series, but I love soulmates and mate bonds.
-basically no dialogue at all the first 2-3 chapters. All internal monologue and recap of the first two books. Spade markets this book as you need to read the series to make sense, you do not. The FMC recaps everything the entire book.
-so much fucking exposition. Like SO much
-Goddess damn it, better than Alpha but why can’t we just use goddamn
-Overarching continuity errors ( Honey’s (Book 1) bakery is called “Dough You Believe In Magic”, referred to in text as that and “Do You Believe In Magic” ; Also can’t get Honey’s witch heritage right, has been called half witch and quarter witch in this book. (She’s a quarter witch))
-So… very conversational narrative starts chapters with that a lot, very much feels like the FMC is telling us what happened a few months ago over coffee, rather than in real time like the first person current tense implies
—magic happens but it’s not really describe/experienced, it just happens
-a feral? We can have feral shifters? Since when? Why has this not come up in two books that deal with shifters?
-Olivia is a better character than the main characters
-again so much happens and we find out after the fact, why won’t you SHOW us finding the murdered Olivia this is a cozy romance mystery, how is this not part of the mystery?
-this police is a fucking gong show. Honey shows up to the murder scene for no reason.
-Max has NOT mentioned the lodestone/keys before
—Honey, he’s the fucking chief of police, he can’t tell you what is happening on a case that is not how policing works
—“pshawed me and told me it was not my fault.” Again such a chatty internal monologue that doesn’t feel natural. It’s like she’s telling you the story over coffee, which is not for me
—-“Mated long enough”, as she reminds us constantly it’s been two months since book 2 which is ~1.5 months since book 1. Guys it hasn’t even been a year and there’s at least 5 murders in this very small town. So like in 3.5 months, you’re averaging a murder every 21 days. At one time my small town was the murder capital of my province because of the number of dead bodies found per capita but even then, they weren’t bodies from the town. These are dead people in this very small sanctuary village.
—why is there so little dialogue? This entire thing is exposition and internal monologues with so little actual dialogue
—I do enjoy every male character wants to make sure their love interest has a pet name special to them
—also yay, she’s not a virgin!! We love that
—it’s not a fuck up to keep police work private to non police people.
—the MMC calls her “his sweet witch” something about it just gives me hives. Like all over
—the Gus bits are not as fun or relevant. It’s overstayed
—apparently men are males. If this was common in the first two books, I missed it.
—retcon to why MMC can’t use his curse to order people to tell him who murdered someone which was a HUGE plot hole
—what a weird callout, saying that Delilah is midsized and as such wears the same thing, the size of people has not been mentioned anywhere so this is a very weird call out
—FMC was attacked by a feral wolf very reminiscent of a sexual assault, in her early twenties. Spade is not skilled enough to write about this in a way that feels respectful and not like a cheap thing to pull into the story. Also never mentioned again, really. Why bring it up and then never deal with it?
—witch that cursed MMC is named Esmeralda in a very Beauty and The Beast way
—insta love isn’t for me generally speaking but I think the denial FMC is for someone who we know is reasonably intelligent is making this much more frustrating
-I think it’s a bit trashy to reference Roanoke as a lost colony, it’s not lost the settled integrated into the Indigenous community.
—why does no one in this book actually take police work seriously when they’re all police?
—it is cute that he decides to be a wolf and guard her in the bakery while she sleeps, also slightly stalkerish but I eat this shit up in fanfiction, so not a negative (though fanfiction does it better in my opinion)
—“I say this with all the love in the world, your magic isn’t very accurate.” I say the start of that when I’m trying to gently point out my husband has ADHD and insane time blindness.
—why is she jealous? She’s only found him physically attractive, she’s not mentioned anything about his personality? For a book that is supposedly low spice, I would want more on the personality aspect
—Luna the moon has only really in the first two books mentioned as the wolf god. She’s now all the shifters god?
—is “oh my goddess” worse then “oh my alpha”, will need to poll that.
—I feel like FMC is taking the fact he left town for two months after they had like 4 conversations too personally. You didn’t even know he was your mate until he told you directly after kissing you
—I am on FMC side on the trust/choice argument. MMC should have told FMC she was his mate before asking if he can try and curse her to never obey his curses so she could freely make decisions.
—that said, the weight of that scene is not there. It is not something that has meaning in the interaction, mainly because of the FMC chatty narrative.
—weirdly so descriptive of the silver rental car. No other car gets described but this one always does. Even in dialogue which feels chunky
—Roxy still does not feel like a real character, she’s too not right. I can’t really have a good word for it. But it’s not working
—girls night didn’t feel great, but more so I don’t believe in their friendships
—shifters howl when they’re sad apparently it’s a mate thing
—at least the book acknowledges that the FMC has been willfully stupid and ignorant. I think this is something people like—not me, but other people.
—“but the male you are” it’s just like those people who call women “females” only somehow worse
—I don’t fully get the mating dance analogy, it’s used once before so it’s surprising it comes up again while they’re about to fuck.
—“when you have a love that’s as predetermined and undeniable as ours…” girl it’s been what an hour maybe two?
—STOP USING MALE WHILE THEY FUCK
—“expected him to nut quickly” I feel like if you’re not comfortable with writing sex, or cannot do it in a way that doesn’t sound like a thirteen year old, just don’t
—FMC talks about how past lovers haven’t found her clit, but like—-the MMC apparently has just licked her nipples so maybe not the time?
—either way she cums from penetration while he bites her and they’re mates now
—side note why does every FMC take the MMC surname? Where is the no name change representation
—“my pussy cream” seriously you could just not put sex in because it feels like it’s not the author’s comfort level and trying to do smut for smut sake it not needed
—why does he have claws while he’s human now?
—the Luna vs Luna not consistent on how (the)Luna is referred to
—math is no writer’s strong suit, but MMC was 19 when they were cursed 15 years ago, that’s 34 not 35.
—he pretty woman’s her with a shopping spree
—mate-ly duty? What is that?
—I turn out don’t have a mating kink like the MMC and I don’t find that hot.
—also I hate that seed is used so often.
—the head witch being evil did surprise me, mainly because the mystery part of the cozy mystery has been neglected for the mate/love story bit. I didn’t think we were still trying to solve the mystery
—proof reader truly needed
To TLDR
It’s a huge improvement from book 1, but still feels unpolished and that Spade needs an editor (or a better one), due to how much exposition happens internally, rather than having characters show us. Spade does not appear comfortable writing sex scenes, and the series would be better without it. There’s some really great ideas here, but I don’t think her skill level matches the idea in execution currently. I also think if you’re labelling this as a cozy mystery, there should be more mystery.
It’s the best written in the series. That‘s not saying much, but I think if Book 1 dropped with this quality, it would not have bugged me as much.
The release date changed a few times from August to September, so I do think the extra time to do read throughs was very much needed.
The banter and chemistry between the leads is by the far best out of the three. It’s great improvement!
It’s the best sex in the series, again not saying it’s good. But we have moved so far from “it’s okay if it hurts, I can take it”, to “I grab my tits” to “one hand is curved around his erection, stroking it lightly as though petting himself and telling his cock he has to be a good boy and wait.” Like this is a markable improvement! Her clit is mentioned! We’re happy with this!
The Bad
This is just going to be a summary of my running commentary to the group chat while I was reading it. Maybe this isn’t bad for you! I don’t think I like Instant Love, which feels like a foundational trope for this series, but I love soulmates and mate bonds.
-basically no dialogue at all the first 2-3 chapters. All internal monologue and recap of the first two books. Spade markets this book as you need to read the series to make sense, you do not. The FMC recaps everything the entire book.
-so much fucking exposition. Like SO much
-Goddess damn it, better than Alpha but why can’t we just use goddamn
-Overarching continuity errors ( Honey’s (Book 1) bakery is called “Dough You Believe In Magic”, referred to in text as that and “Do You Believe In Magic” ; Also can’t get Honey’s witch heritage right, has been called half witch and quarter witch in this book. (She’s a quarter witch))
-So… very conversational narrative starts chapters with that a lot, very much feels like the FMC is telling us what happened a few months ago over coffee, rather than in real time like the first person current tense implies
—magic happens but it’s not really describe/experienced, it just happens
-a feral? We can have feral shifters? Since when? Why has this not come up in two books that deal with shifters?
-Olivia is a better character than the main characters
-again so much happens and we find out after the fact, why won’t you SHOW us finding the murdered Olivia this is a cozy romance mystery, how is this not part of the mystery?
-this police is a fucking gong show. Honey shows up to the murder scene for no reason.
-Max has NOT mentioned the lodestone/keys before
—Honey, he’s the fucking chief of police, he can’t tell you what is happening on a case that is not how policing works
—“pshawed me and told me it was not my fault.” Again such a chatty internal monologue that doesn’t feel natural. It’s like she’s telling you the story over coffee, which is not for me
—-“Mated long enough”, as she reminds us constantly it’s been two months since book 2 which is ~1.5 months since book 1. Guys it hasn’t even been a year and there’s at least 5 murders in this very small town. So like in 3.5 months, you’re averaging a murder every 21 days. At one time my small town was the murder capital of my province because of the number of dead bodies found per capita but even then, they weren’t bodies from the town. These are dead people in this very small sanctuary village.
—why is there so little dialogue? This entire thing is exposition and internal monologues with so little actual dialogue
—I do enjoy every male character wants to make sure their love interest has a pet name special to them
—also yay, she’s not a virgin!! We love that
—it’s not a fuck up to keep police work private to non police people.
—the MMC calls her “his sweet witch” something about it just gives me hives. Like all over
—the Gus bits are not as fun or relevant. It’s overstayed
—apparently men are males. If this was common in the first two books, I missed it.
—retcon to why MMC can’t use his curse to order people to tell him who murdered someone which was a HUGE plot hole
—what a weird callout, saying that Delilah is midsized and as such wears the same thing, the size of people has not been mentioned anywhere so this is a very weird call out
—FMC was attacked by a feral wolf very reminiscent of a sexual assault, in her early twenties. Spade is not skilled enough to write about this in a way that feels respectful and not like a cheap thing to pull into the story. Also never mentioned again, really. Why bring it up and then never deal with it?
—witch that cursed MMC is named Esmeralda in a very Beauty and The Beast way
—insta love isn’t for me generally speaking but I think the denial FMC is for someone who we know is reasonably intelligent is making this much more frustrating
-I think it’s a bit trashy to reference Roanoke as a lost colony, it’s not lost the settled integrated into the Indigenous community.
—why does no one in this book actually take police work seriously when they’re all police?
—it is cute that he decides to be a wolf and guard her in the bakery while she sleeps, also slightly stalkerish but I eat this shit up in fanfiction, so not a negative (though fanfiction does it better in my opinion)
—“I say this with all the love in the world, your magic isn’t very accurate.” I say the start of that when I’m trying to gently point out my husband has ADHD and insane time blindness.
—why is she jealous? She’s only found him physically attractive, she’s not mentioned anything about his personality? For a book that is supposedly low spice, I would want more on the personality aspect
—Luna the moon has only really in the first two books mentioned as the wolf god. She’s now all the shifters god?
—is “oh my goddess” worse then “oh my alpha”, will need to poll that.
—I feel like FMC is taking the fact he left town for two months after they had like 4 conversations too personally. You didn’t even know he was your mate until he told you directly after kissing you
—I am on FMC side on the trust/choice argument. MMC should have told FMC she was his mate before asking if he can try and curse her to never obey his curses so she could freely make decisions.
—that said, the weight of that scene is not there. It is not something that has meaning in the interaction, mainly because of the FMC chatty narrative.
—weirdly so descriptive of the silver rental car. No other car gets described but this one always does. Even in dialogue which feels chunky
—Roxy still does not feel like a real character, she’s too not right. I can’t really have a good word for it. But it’s not working
—girls night didn’t feel great, but more so I don’t believe in their friendships
—shifters howl when they’re sad apparently it’s a mate thing
—at least the book acknowledges that the FMC has been willfully stupid and ignorant. I think this is something people like—not me, but other people.
—“but the male you are” it’s just like those people who call women “females” only somehow worse
—I don’t fully get the mating dance analogy, it’s used once before so it’s surprising it comes up again while they’re about to fuck.
—“when you have a love that’s as predetermined and undeniable as ours…” girl it’s been what an hour maybe two?
—STOP USING MALE WHILE THEY FUCK
—“expected him to nut quickly” I feel like if you’re not comfortable with writing sex, or cannot do it in a way that doesn’t sound like a thirteen year old, just don’t
—FMC talks about how past lovers haven’t found her clit, but like—-the MMC apparently has just licked her nipples so maybe not the time?
—either way she cums from penetration while he bites her and they’re mates now
—side note why does every FMC take the MMC surname? Where is the no name change representation
—“my pussy cream” seriously you could just not put sex in because it feels like it’s not the author’s comfort level and trying to do smut for smut sake it not needed
—why does he have claws while he’s human now?
—the Luna vs Luna not consistent on how (the)Luna is referred to
—math is no writer’s strong suit, but MMC was 19 when they were cursed 15 years ago, that’s 34 not 35.
—he pretty woman’s her with a shopping spree
—mate-ly duty? What is that?
—I turn out don’t have a mating kink like the MMC and I don’t find that hot.
—also I hate that seed is used so often.
—the head witch being evil did surprise me, mainly because the mystery part of the cozy mystery has been neglected for the mate/love story bit. I didn’t think we were still trying to solve the mystery
—proof reader truly needed
To TLDR
It’s a huge improvement from book 1, but still feels unpolished and that Spade needs an editor (or a better one), due to how much exposition happens internally, rather than having characters show us. Spade does not appear comfortable writing sex scenes, and the series would be better without it. There’s some really great ideas here, but I don’t think her skill level matches the idea in execution currently. I also think if you’re labelling this as a cozy mystery, there should be more mystery.
September 16, 2026
Right off the bat I’m disappointed to see that this will be the last book occurring in Moonburrow. It’s been a fun little series. Bye Gus - parting is such sweet sorrow.
Penelope overcomes her fear of wolves, allowing her to work with Chief Deputy Riordan as they try to determine who has been killing witches since Olivia’s ghost refuses to leave until they do. An unfortunate spell gone wrong at the library eventually results in Penelope discovering a witch’s journal indicating there is a lodestone hidden somewhere in Moonburrow. This information changes the focus of their search.
Penelope eventually gets a clue about Riordan’s feelings for her and actually does something about it.
I though Avalon was an island and that The Lady of the Lake was somehow related.
Exciting conclusion to the mystery, although the perp had been on my radar as suspicious.
There were a lot of typos in this book.
Penelope overcomes her fear of wolves, allowing her to work with Chief Deputy Riordan as they try to determine who has been killing witches since Olivia’s ghost refuses to leave until they do. An unfortunate spell gone wrong at the library eventually results in Penelope discovering a witch’s journal indicating there is a lodestone hidden somewhere in Moonburrow. This information changes the focus of their search.
Penelope eventually gets a clue about Riordan’s feelings for her and actually does something about it.
I though Avalon was an island and that The Lady of the Lake was somehow related.
Exciting conclusion to the mystery, although the perp had been on my radar as suspicious.
There were a lot of typos in this book.
September 14, 2026
Of Magic and Murder raises the stakes for the Murder in Moonburrow series with a premise built around curses, mystery, and unanswered questions. The idea that someone who came to Moonburrow to break one curse may now be the key to breaking another immediately creates intrigue, while keeping Riordan's story mysterious gives the book an appealing sense of anticipation.
I enjoyed the magical mystery atmosphere and the feeling that there is still much more beneath the surface of Moonburrow. As a third installment, the story adds another layer to the wider series while leaving readers curious about what the characters and the town will face next.
I enjoyed the magical mystery atmosphere and the feeling that there is still much more beneath the surface of Moonburrow. As a third installment, the story adds another layer to the wider series while leaving readers curious about what the characters and the town will face next.
September 14, 2026
Was it cute? Absolutely.
Was the storyline good? Yes!
Did I love the characters? For sure. (I adore little Gus popping in)
It's got cosy vibes, but also a murder and a little bit of spice. It's the perfect book to read in between some big, heavy books.
I wanted to give this a four star, but unfortunately there were just a few too many editing errors. If they're cleaned up, I'd push this up a star.
But still a good solid vibe read. Will definitely read the next book(s) in the series when they come out.
Was the storyline good? Yes!
Did I love the characters? For sure. (I adore little Gus popping in)
It's got cosy vibes, but also a murder and a little bit of spice. It's the perfect book to read in between some big, heavy books.
I wanted to give this a four star, but unfortunately there were just a few too many editing errors. If they're cleaned up, I'd push this up a star.
But still a good solid vibe read. Will definitely read the next book(s) in the series when they come out.
September 16, 2026
I enjoyed the characters and developing relationships. Pacing was a little slow due to too much backstory or Penelope’s internal rambling that was often too long & unnecessary. This is a great series I wish would add more books because it’s an interesting town with likeable people. The new shadowvale series should be good. This book had drama, action, and was a fun fast read. One issue I normally wouldn’t care about was typos but every chapter had them! Hope author fixes the kindle version plus later book reprints. This is definitely a good series to read!
September 16, 2026
2.5starts rounded up because of Gus. He is what saved this book. There were so many minor grammatical things that should have been caught. She repeated herself so often throughout the book to the point where I was rolling my eyes multiple times. I wanted to know what happened to Riordan and Gus but that is only part about this book. Plus if you are on the third book and you can't type the name of the main bakery since book one, you are pushing out books to fast and I lose respect.
September 19, 2026
loved it
This has been such a well written series with great storylines and characters. This book in particular had a lot of intricate twist and turns Add in shifters, witches and a cute opossum and it was a winner.
This has been such a well written series with great storylines and characters. This book in particular had a lot of intricate twist and turns Add in shifters, witches and a cute opossum and it was a winner.
September 10, 2026
Lovely
As always it was such a lovely read. I feel like i blow through these so fast. This one was a tad spicer than I like to read but I just skipped those bits
As always it was such a lovely read. I feel like i blow through these so fast. This one was a tad spicer than I like to read but I just skipped those bits
September 12, 2026
good story
I think wolves and witches as mates are one of my favorite story. The killer was a total surprise to me. Looking forward to reading more in this series
I think wolves and witches as mates are one of my favorite story. The killer was a total surprise to me. Looking forward to reading more in this series
September 13, 2026
Great series
Well written with wonderful characters. I highly recommend this series to their paranormal readers. Capturing story line that will keep you glued to the book
Well written with wonderful characters. I highly recommend this series to their paranormal readers. Capturing story line that will keep you glued to the book
September 15, 2026
3.5 he falls first, fated mates, forced proximity
September 15, 2026
I loved the story! However the lack of proofreading and amount of mistakes made it very difficult to read.
September 16, 2026
Cute, but sooo many typos.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews