Red House

Roxie Mathis #2

by Sonya Clark

There’s high water everywhere and she’s about to drown on dry land.

Roxie Mathis lost her home and her livelihood to a devastating flood. The trauma of almost drowning has left both her life and her magical abilities in disarray. The return of sexy sorcerer Blake Harvill has her even more confused.

Hired to evict ghosts from a bed and breakfast, Roxie’s confidence takes another hit when she encounters a violent spirit she’s crossed paths with in the past. When innocent people are trapped in the house, Roxie’s going to have to tap reservoirs of power she’s never touched before. In magic, like physics, everything has an equal and opposite reaction, and Roxie can only hope her desperate spellwork won’t kill her - or conjure up something even more dangerous.

193 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 1, 2012

About the author

Sonya Clark discovered she was a writer at the age of thirteen. Ray Bradbury whispered it to her through the pages of his books. The Vampire Lestat encouraged this lunacy in florid fashion, and Pennywise the Clown muttered dire warnings of what would happen should she neglect her calling. It took many years – many, like, a lot, yo – for her to figure out how to actually finish a manuscript. Once she unlocked that mystery, there was no turning back.

Sonya writes a few different flavors of romance – paranormal, sci-fi, and contemporary. She loves music, has a weird thing for the abstract art of Wassily Kandinsky, and a long-standing obsession with Robert Johnson that will one day result in a blues-themed novel. She lives with her husband and daughter in Tennessee.

Reviews

[Icy Sedgwick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Red House is about paranormal investigator Roxanne Mathis, who just so happens to be a practicing witch. Aided and abetted by her ancestor, vampire Daniel, and sexy sorceror Blake, Roxie has to fight to clear a B&B of malevolent spirits - all while facing some demons of her own.

I don't normally read paranormal romance but Red House is closer to urban fantasy, and there's enough of the cool energy-blasting and ghost busting to make me rather keen for the next instalment, Hoodoo Woman. Roxie is a strong and independent heroine, with a taste for the blues and a capable streak that made me warm to her pretty much instantaneously, and Daniel is one of the coolest vampires I've come across in a very long time. Even though Blake is by turns an arrogant so-and-so and a dangerous man, he's also Very Sexy and the type of hero someone as strong as Roxie needs. He doesn't save the day, just lends a hand when she needs it.

I think a lot of books related to witchcraft could suffer in the wake of movies like The Craft, or TV shows like Buffy, and it's nice that the female protagonist is granted power of her own, to do with as she will. Roxie chooses to use it to help people, by clearing houses of unwanted spirits, rather than using her power for personal gain. There is little in the way of religion here, as Roxie forges a strong bond with the natural world, and she's such a positive, normal character that I couldn't help but like her.

I read it in about four sittings. Sonya writes in such a way that it's nigh-on impossible to put her books down, and her world-building is incredible - it feels both painfully real, and delightfully otherworldly at the same time. Roxie has a clear, straightforward narrative voice, and she's very easy to root for. The combination of the supernatural and other cultures makes for interesting reading, and I keep wanting to look up all of these other forms of practice for extra reading.

Fantastic book!

[Sara Townsend · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this sequel to MOJO QUEEN, heroine Roxie Mathis starts off in a bad place. Having lost her home and her livelihood in a devastating flood that swept across Tennessee, Roxie has lost all confidence in her magical abilities. When she is hired to rid a B&B called Maple Hill of a particularly malevolent ghost, this could be the job that sets her career back on track. But has she got the confidence to get her mojo back and finish the job?

I really enjoyed Roxie’s first adventure and was looking forward to reading her further adventures in this story. Sonya Clark doesn’t disappoint, and this story is just as enjoyable as the first. As an additional bonus we learn more about Roxie’s background in this story, even coming across an ex-boyfriend – Ray Travis.

Roxie is a likeable heroine, and the troubles she has to overcome in this book add an extra dimension to her character. She’s a strong and independent-minded woman, but this book shows she has a vulnerable side as well.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and look forward to the next one in the series, so I can get another dose of my favourite witch. Although personally I’m secretly hoping that Roxie dumps Blake the sexy sorcerer, who is no good for her and gets back with Ray Travis – he seems like the solid dependable type that every girl needs in her life.

[Nerine Dorman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is not a review per se, more like a bit of long-overdue praise for Sonya, who’s one of the authors I worked with when I was still editing for Lyrical Press. So yes, I unashamedly give this book five stars because that’s how much I adore her writing, and I’ll stand by my rating. I give praise where it’s due.

Red House is book two in Sonya’s Mojo Series, which starts with the aptly named Mojo Queen (so if you’re looking to get started, pick up that one first, you won’t regret it).

Once again, in Red House, Sonya blends all the elements I love: Southern Gothic, music, magic and mysteries, all laced with memorable characters (like Daniel, the country music loving vampire ancestor) and fantastic dialogue.

Roxie does root work. This means she does everything from making mojo hands through to house cleansings. But things haven’t gone well for her since she lost her house in the flood, and in way she’s lost her mojo almost literally. And it doesn’t help that the first job she takes on to get her groove back is possibly even more challenging than the one she was faced with in book one.

All actions have consequences, especially the magical ones, and it’s how characters deal with these situations that gives me a quiet thrill. So that’s all I’ll say about the plot, and suggest that if you’re looking for urban fantasy with authentic-feeling characters who face real-life issues along with supernatural ones, then go read this book. If you’re a long-term fan of the Supernatural TV series or Charlaine Harris’s Sookie Stackhouse novels, then Sonya Clark’s tales will hit the mark.

Mojo Queen

[Jeannie Zelos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Red House Sonya Clark
I was supplied with this copy by publisher but as always on the basis that my opinion is honestly held and not influenced by whether the book was free or paid for. Integrity of reviewers is important to me, and false reviews do no favours to authors or readers.
Well – what can I say about this book? Except – it was so good I simply have to read the first one and see how it all started. The main characters, well to begin we have Roxie: She's a witch trying to get past the recent disasters where she almost drowned, lost her home and business to the floods and yet she still keeps on trying – however hard she finds it, and however much she struggles, and currently she is really fighting herself not to give in and go under. Then there’s Daniel her vampire ancestor, and the only one of her family who understand her – he's a great character and has some good lines, and is a real friend to Roxie and of course Blake....oh Blake – the sexy sorcerer – of course he disappeared from Roxie's life without a word and Daniel is Not Happy about his reappearance. Roxie isn't sure – her heart says yippee and her head says slowdown – which will she listen to?
We wade straight into the story and see from the start just how dangerous Roxie's job can be – but with no home and no business she needs the work to try to rebuild. She is asked to take on a haunting of a local popular B&B Maple Hill, trouble is the floods seemed to have stirred up more than water and the ghosts have definitely come out or the woodwork here and gained in power. It proves to be a dangerous job for Roxie.
Blake – he the great seducer and his relationship with Roxie goes from stop to full on and back to stop. We learn more about him and why he's like he is, and that there's a soft centre to the hard nosed seducer. Maple Hill needs all of them to pull together if they want to put the ghosts back in the box so to speak, and leaving them out isn't an option Roxie will countenance. The sex scenes between him and Roxie are hot – well written, no sappy cringe making phrases and fit the story well. Some authors just haven’t got what it takes to write sex in a novel and reading it is an exercise in endurance but not Sonya.
I loved this book – great plots, and interesting stories of the people and places brought in, not just a one plot novel but lots of divergences to keep the story interesting, and that’s what makes a boo for me. This is definitely a keeper for the re read collection along with the previous book which is now on my “want” list. And I want to read more of Roxie and Co in future novels. I'll be looking to see what else she's written to – clearly an author whose style I enjoy.
Its priced at £3.20 for 184 pages – I'd have liked it to be even longer but that’s just my personal preference and for a good story the price is comparable with others. Published by Lyricalpress.
Stars – a well deserved five stars from me – I simply loved this story and the characters within it.

[Jennifer Clark · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. I actually think it was a bit better than the first in the series. Can't wait to see what comes next!