A lot has changed for Jinx Hamilton in just a few months. After the mishaps that befell her in Witch At Odds, Jinx just wants to enjoy the rest of the summer, but she’s not going to be that lucky. Just as she’s poised to tell her friends she’s a witch, secrets start popping out all over the place. Between old foes and new locations, Jinx isn’t going to get her peaceful summer, but she may just get an entirely different world.
Juliette Harper is the pen name used by the writing team of Patricia Pauletti and Rana K. Williamson. As a writer, Juliette's goal is to create strong female characters facing interesting, challenging, painful, and at times comical situations. Refusing to be bound by genre, her primary interest lies in telling good stories.
This has become my all-time favorite series. Although there is a recap in the beginning and throughout each book, I highly recommend you read them in order.
I am not going to reveal much as anything would constitute a spoiler. I will say that the story has many characters, all of whom are important in some way, so do not discount any of them that may seem minor at first. All are well developed and I have come to care for more than a few. I have already started book 4. Who needs sleep anyway???
In the third book we find both Tori and Jinx descended from ancient ancestors who had the gift of magical powers. Both girls continue working in their Coffee Expresso shop and both work on learning how to conduct magic spells and learn the history of magic. Jinx noticed that a new shop owner was moving in and unbeknownst to her it was non other than Brenna Sinclair. The very same person that both she and Tori had sent back to be bound for eternity. Myrtle has gathered the girls together to go on a field trip to a hidden realm called Shevington. Here is where all the magical folk reside. The Mayor of Shevington and the Alchemist want both Jinx and Tori to eventually take over their jobs and run Shevington. As they were enjoying their stay something sinister was on its way to Shevington. Will the girls be prepared to fight this foe?or will the magical world be in the hands of their enemy.
I love this series! I might have reach a road block though. I went to get the next book off of Amazon and the next book is no where to be found! There are suppose to be 12 books in this series and I go to get book 5 and poof no book. Got to do some research into this.
Again, an easy read. The whole series really borders on YA fiction, which is ok. The Jinx character has lots of potential, but her, along with most of the other characters, really don't get fleshed out as well as I'd like. And some of the techniques the author uses really started to get distracting. There was *way too much* recapping of the previous two books. Not necessary. If you're writing a series, assume your readers are reading the series and not picking up book #3 to start. And the "back at the ranch" type move on top of the overuse of the "4th wall" breaks ... it almost made me stop reading. Although, there's another book or two following and I'm curious where the author's going to go with it. So much of the action seemed to be Jinx figuring out her powers by accident. Not sure if I'll bother reading any more or not.
Book 3 definitely felt like a “middle of the series” book. It didn’t have quite the same charm as the first 2 in the series. In addition, there was a lot of jumping around to the story, different plot lines, flashbacks etc, and I felt these tactics interrupted/prevented a smooth flowing story line. I also felt it was unnecessary to spend so much time having the main character, Jinx, rehash the first two books to catch up readers who may be late to the series. That was a distraction as well.
The ending did open up enough to invite me in to continue the series, though I hope the author has resolved their writing issues and returned the charm of the first two books. It is based on this that idea I am giving it 3 stars. Though if book 4 persists with this new style of story telling, I will undoubtedly come back and change this to 2 stars. Which is unfortunate as I was truly surprised and captivated by the first 2 books in the series, which easily rated 4 stars.
After confronting their mothers Jinx and Tori so many unanswered questions.. Myrtle gives them some but it's complex and a trip is planned to Shevington so they can see for themselves.
Meanwhile Brenna has reappeared and taken over one of the shops in Briar Hollow.. she's been scheming with another creavit, Iraenius Chesterfield, who's provided her with an amulet to restore a fraction of her powers lost when Jinx and Tori tried to fix the mess they'd made.
Using artifacts and the girls mother's, who appear at just the wrong moment, she tries to get through the portal into Shevington.. Jinx has to trust Beau, Festus, Darby and Rodney to protect them all.
Jinx and Tori are finally getting to know more about their magical powers and their lineage.
They are also getting to know more about the other magical beings that inhabit their world, including Myrtle, the werecats, their mothers, Aunt Fiona, and other assorted creatures.
Of course, there is still evil in their world in the person of Brenna Sinclair, but how did Brenna survive her ordeal in the last book? Is someone helping her? Who could it be?
For all the talk, though, of training Jinx Nd Tori, there really isn’t much training going on, and our 2 young witches are still finding out most things by instinct.
As many reviews before me said it was a back & forth, from the past to the present. Unlike most ppl, I really enjoyed the back story of everyone, old & new. To me, it shows the stories advancement. It’s letting the readers know, Ok, this is how this started, that is why this happened & this this why these ppl are acting like this or that. I give kudos to the author, in how she gives the story but saves some for later. Just enough to keep me (maybe not anyone else..but me) coming back for more. I Love this Series. (P.S. - I know from ready the clips of the other books, I’m not going to like some things that happens, but I’ll stick with).
A Fascinating series! A lot more going on in the book and sometimes it was hard to keep up! Anything else I would say would be a spoiler. Read it yourself! I highly recommend it!
Amazon synopsis: Jinx just wants to enjoy the rest of her summer. Is that too much to ask? In Briar Hollow, the answer would be, “Yes!” Just as she’s poised to tell her friends she’s a witch, secrets start popping up all over the place. Between the reappearance of old foes and the revelation of hidden realms, Jinx not only doesn’t get her peaceful summer, but her whole world is about to be turned upside down — again.
I just didn't enjoy this one as much as the previous ones. There was a ton of story recap as well as "new historical" background info that actually didn't lend anything to the story. Then unfolds a new dimension in The Valley with some weird plot twists where Jinx is evidently (in her words) The Chosen One. However, no one really knows her powers and/or abilities. Just breathing seems to in trance everyone - it was just a bit much. A few twists at the end bring the plot almost back to the fun in previous books. At least enough to get me to keep up with the series. Maybe all the "review of the previous book" nonsense is over.
Definitely a cumulative series, so don't try and read out of order. Book 3 has Tori and Jinx learning more about their powers...and their neighbors, as well as their mothers' powers. While Breanna moves in to the neighborhood and tries to get into the basement, Tori and Jinx take their first trip through the portal to meet the gang in Shevington...and some dragonlets.
*Spoiler alert: And Beau gets an amulet to borrow semi-permanently.
Perhaps the only flaw, if it is indeed one, is that to truly enjoy this book, it should be read in sequence with the others. Not the worst thing, since that also applies to LOTR. As with that series also, each of the characters gets deeper and more real as the story progresses. Book 4 is calling me, I must go now.
Series started slow but it has definitely taken off for me. I am thoroughly invested in Jinx, Tori, Chase, Festus.....well their are a lot of endearing and interesting magical "beings" and watching Jinx's story grow more complex and slowly unfolding and bringing in the, just as interesting, back stories is keeping me wanting more!
I love it. The only thing I hate is how quick it ends. Of course this is a light hearted read and not very stressful. That’s what I love about it. Of course there are build ups. But the author always delivers.
I so love this series and book 3 did not disappoint! The characters are real and engaging! Being a witch myself I relate to so much! Thanks for another great read! On to book 4
If you're looking for a series to read, the Jinx Hamilton mysteries are a riot! Very well written, great characters, and riveting action, make these a great read! Great for teens and up!
A laugh out loud lighthearted romp as our heroine witch discovers more of her power gains more friends and enemies and deals with the mishaps that now a fixed part of her new life, a fun read recommended, Baz
These books are fast and easy reads. I like them because they're entertaining without being too intense, and sometimes a person needs that in between extremely emotional books. Plus there's talking cats and one unicorn appearance, and you can never go wrong with that really.
I am enjoying this series about a young woman who discovers that she is a witch. Since she has never been trained in the use of her skills, she makes a few serious mistakes. A very good read.
Another wonderful magical mystery. Can't wait to read the next book. I enjoy this series tremendously. Thank you for the pleasure of reading and sharing in Jinx and Tori's adventures.
Another delightful read. Everyone gets a piece of the action here. But I think my favorite part is the introduction of new magical creatures and lands. I’m anxious to start the next book.