Spell Disaster

Silver Hollow #2

by Leighann Dobbs, Traci Douglass

When elderly witch Enid Pettywood unwittingly summons a demon to Silver Hollow, it's up to Issy Quinn and her cousins to send it back before the committee finds out. Summoning a demon is a serious offense, and no one wants to see Enid suffer the punishment the committee is sure to hand down.

But a simple plan of vanquishing the pesky demon before anyone notices goes awry when the demon makes the leap from wreaking havoc with the town's electrical circuits to possessing a human. Even worse, it uses that human to commit murder. When another murder attempt is made, it quickly becomes clear that the demon is looking for a permanent human host... and the Quinn witches have only three days to stop it.

With the town Sheriff investigating the murder, Issy has to avoid casting suspicion on herself while trying to track down the demon and dodge Dex Nolan, the government agent sent to town to study paranormals. Too bad Issy can't seem to forget the stolen kiss she and Dex shared because she has no intention of getting involved with a human.

When the demon's evil intentions hit too close to home, Issy is forced to make a sacrifice that may haunt her for the rest of her days. Will she be able to stop the demon before it kills again?

Genres: Paranormal, Fantasy, Cozy Mystery, Mystery, Witches, Magic, Audiobook

256 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 12, 2016

About the author

USA Today bestselling author, Leighann Dobbs, discovered her passion for writing after a twenty year career as a software engineer. She lives in New Hampshire with her husband Bruce, their trusty Chihuahua mix Mojo and beautiful rescue cat, Kitty.

Her book "Dead Wrong" won the "Best Mystery Romance" award at the 2014 Indie Romance Convention.

Her book "Ghostly Paws" was the 2015 Chanticleer Mystery & Mayhem First Place category winner in the Animal Mystery category.

Reviews

[Brenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enid Pettywood quite often found her spells going wrong, so when she caught her heel in the pavement and tossed a spell to release it, the black hole she created released a demon, much to the horror of the witch community of Silver Hollow.

The Quinn cousins knew they had to make a plan, and fast, when the first person was murdered. With the demon needing three bodies sacrificed before the full moon, so it could permanently inhabit a human body, Issy and her cousins had to race against time – three days was all they had.

Avoiding the Sheriff as well as the FBPI (Federal Bureau of Paranormal Investigation) agent was going to be difficult – would Issy and the Quinn cousins be able to banish the demon before it did further damage?

Spell Disaster by Leighann Dobbs was so much fun! A light and entertaining paranormal cosy mystery which I found to read for a challenge. I thoroughly enjoyed it - the witches all had familiars, from dogs and cats to a plant and even a pig! I might need to look up the first in the series (this is #2) as I found Spell Disaster quite enchanting! Recommended.

[Dakota · Rating 2 out of 5]

So, i liked this book less than I liked the first one. I do want to know what happens to the characters but I don't know if I want to continue with this series. I like light paranormal cozies but this book tried too much and just didn't work for me. All the cousins have shops so I don't think they are that young but this felt like a YA series for me. And I feel like for people trying to investigate they just jump from one idea to another without even looking too much into it. And the magical aspects doesnt even feel natural. For a person wih an affinity to animals Issy doesnt listen much esp to her familiar. And you know how a demon possesses someone so let's bring your scratched up drugged cousin begging to be possessed with you. I feel so disappointed

[JoAn · Rating 3 out of 5]

The second in Ms. Dobbs Silver Hollow paranormal mystery series. The Quinn cousins must help an elderly witch who accidentally summoned a demon before the FBPI and the committee member find out what happened. Cute and fun read but the pacing is slow.

[Angelina Kerner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book Title: Spell Disaster (Silver Hollow Paranormal Cozy Mystery #2)
Book Author: Leighann Dobbs
Source: Downloaded from Amazon Kindle Unlimited.
Rating: 5 stars

Oh my stars! I mentioned last time that I added Leighann Dobbs to my favorite author list. She still is.

In book two of the series, Izzy with her family are back, with full readhead witch powers. Along with them, we see back the local police, FBPI, and learn that Izzy and her family are Northies AND there is A Southies. Witch coven enemies- makes things all the more fun!

So, someone gets killed and Izzy is again on the case. It doesn't help that Dex comes back into the picture, though I do wonder of what will happen in the books to come between them... especially since now they have a special bond. ;)

I can honestly say that I was shocked at the culprit, mainly because Izzy was focusing on the wrong suspects though I would have thought them to be suspects, too. All of the familiars are back and I still love them. They are coming along nicely with their powers.

The writing is fun and good for 16 years of age and older. Hardly any cursing, a feel of adventure, mixed with a cozy mystery. I highly recommend. Can't wait for third book!

[Anna's Herding Cats · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars, 0 heat

A little old lady witch accidentally summoning a demon? Oops!

The Gist: Issy and her cousins have got to hunt that pesky demon down and vanquish his butt before the FBPI comes down on them hard and starts hauling innocent paranormals to testing facilities. Yikes!

I enjoyed spending more time with Issy, her family and a hunky FBI agent who seems to be on their side. They're a good group. Creative and caring and just fun to be around.

The mystery. Ha. Yes, well, that was a bit easy to figure out as the demon power and body hops and causes all kinds of trouble. I figured things out way before they did but it was still light easy fun watching them stumble about.

It's an easy series. Nice little mysteries and town that's a little crazy and endearing.

[Dawn Michelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not fantastic, not horrible [it IS better than the first one and they use W A Y less music in this one so that was better too], I knew who the "bad" guy was early on [and was frustrated that NO ONE ELSE was seeing it] and I am not crazy with the "romance" aspect too [this is the first I have read about witches/paranormal's not being able to marry humans, but I guess if Vampires can go outside in the day and sparkle, anything is possible], but I don't hate them so there you go. And apparently, this is the last one I will be reading as the next two do not have any audiobooks. :-( Oh well.

[Emmalynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an enjoyable series so far. 3.5 stars

[Una · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun cozy read.

[Sherry Sharpnack · Rating 1 out of 5]

This has got to be one of the most clumsy, inane paranormal cozies that I have ever read. Highly disappointing, as I generally like Leighann Dobbs. She has far better cozy mysteries from which to choose. Take a pass on this one.

[Starla B · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just loved this book!! I still adore all the characters, and the story was wonderful. Although, I do have to admit I knew who the "bad guy" was pretty much right away. That didn't matter, though, I still loved reading it. Plus it was so fun to have a character with my name in the story. That doesn't happen often! :) I cannot WAIT until the next book comes out! I need to know what's going to happen in my...I mean Starla's....life next, as well as Issy and all her fabulous cousins! I do have to say...I wish we had a place like Grey's in town. I would LOVE to visit a magic hair shop!

[Elisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Issy, Grey, Raine and Ember are back and better than ever.

Another great supernatural mystery, great recurring characters I'm growing to love some sparks of potential romance and wonderful familiars who really make this series awesome.

[Steph Warren · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ll combine these two into just the one review, as they are similar in all the essentials (other than different plots, of course!). Before I get started I just want to say how much I love the covers for this series of books – sharp, bright and stylised, I was drawn to them immediately.

A Spell of Trouble and Spell Disaster are books 1 and 2 in the Silver Hollow series of ‘paranormal cozy mysteries’. The best way to explain the sub-genre is what you get if you cross Miss Marple, Mills & Boon (minus the sex), and witches. Each one has a murder-solving plot in the setting of a small, close-knit, old-fashioned community, with the usual red herrings and authorial sleight of pen to avoid the reader guessing whodunnit too far ahead of the amateur sleuth/s. The romance only goes as far as some passionate kissing, mainly because the love is between the main witch character Issy and the FBPI agent sent to investigate and root out paranormal activity in the area; so there’s plenty of ‘No! We musn’t!’ and romantic misunderstandings based on silly assumptions and the inability to communicate properly with the object of your affection.

This series stands out from the usual cosy mysteries due to the addition of the paranormal element. This mainly consists of witches and magic, although there is a werewolf recurring side character, and brief reference to a vampire. The human population lives alongside the paranormal citizens of Silver Hollow in blissful ignorance of their abilities, which adds an interesting complication when it comes to magical murders with a human in charge of the investigation. It also creates a slight discomfort, as to keep the police chief unaware of the paranormal involves numerous episodes of tampering with evidence, contaminating crime scenes and deliberately sending him on false leads. When the cases involved are actually murders of townsfolk, and the police chief is confirmed as a good guy who is keen to catch the killer/s, it seems morally wrong for the Quinn cousins to keep interfering for their own purposes. Even if their intentions are good, where do they draw the line? What gives them the right to decide what is in the best interests of the town? (I may be overthinking this a tad, for a fluffy mystery romance!).

Also morally dubious is Dex’s (the FBPI agent) rationale for continuing to work for an agency that he is aware abducts and tortures people with paranormal talents. He is ‘uncomfortable’ with this, which is a bit of an understated reaction in my opinion! His discomfort increases when it’s an attractive woman in the agency’s targets and he, of course, chooses the right side, but he still continues to work for the agency, making no effort to aid any of the paranormals already in their clutches. Not very knight-in-shining-armour of him.

In addition to Dex and Issy, there are some recurring main-side-characters in th form of Issy’s cousins: Raine, Ember and Gray. I really like that the four Quinns all have different magical talents, but all linked by a thread of caring and creativity, and I really liked all of the different familiars introduced. In the first book I felt that the Quinn’s were quite interchangable; I didn’t really get a sense of individual personalities and mainly identified them by their talent/familiar. This developed more by the second book, although Raine and Ember were still fairly swappable. I did love the use of a plant as Raine's familiar – a great unique idea! I also absolutely adore Brimstone (the talking cat), as the unattached elder familiar with all the wisdom and experience…and sarcasm.

Overall I would definitely read more of these books. They were like comfort-food…not necessarily high in literary nutrition, but easily-read light snacks and full of cosy calories!

[McKenzie Richardson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was pretty good. I will start by saying that I did not read the first book. I found this as a free ebook, not knowing it was a series, and gave it a shot. After reading it, it was almost like I didn't have to read the first one, because so much of the text was dedicated to recap of the first one. This got really repetitive and was not necessary to understand the story.

The writing was pretty good. Very descriptive (maybe a little too descriptive at times). I think it got a little too detailed as the book went on, especially once the narration split between following Issy and following Dex. The narrator often repeated what each person was feeling and it really wasn't necessary.

My big critique of this book was that OH MY GOODNESS THESE CHARACTERS ARE SO DENSE! The narrator pretty much gave all of the plot twists away in the beginning by giving too much detail. And the characters couldn't figure it out until the end. So the reader is stuck knowing what is going on while the characters bop around, following dead end after dead end. Not only that, but when they finally figure it out, the narrator gave to a recap of the whole situation, detailing events that the reader was able to pick up on from the start. The writing was overly simplistic and a little insulting to the reader.

Despite this, it was still an interesting read. I liked the whole demon aspect of it. I'll admit that I'm not a huge fan of romance stuff, but I was able to speed-read through those sections to get back to the main story.

A quick and simple read for when you don't want to think too much.

[Dharia Scarab · Rating 4 out of 5]

Since I don't normally write reviews unless I have something specific to say, here's the break down of how I rate my books...

1 star... This book was bad, so bad I may have given up and skipped to the end. I will avoid this author like the plague in the future.

2 stars... This book was not very good, and I won't be reading any more from the author.

3 stars... This book was ok, but I won't go out of my way to read more, But if I find another book by the author for under a dollar I'd pick it up.

4 stars... I really enjoyed this book and will definitely be on the look out to pick up more from the series/author.

5 stars... I loved this book! It has earned a permanent home in my collection and I'll be picking up the rest of the series and other books from the author ASAP.

[Kelsi Gann · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 Cozy Cups of Pumpkin Spice 🍁🎃☕️🍂/10

The Quinn's of Silver Hollow are at it again! When a spell gone wrong brings about demon, the Quinn's are in a race against the clock to discover whom it is inhabiting and banish it before it kills again!

As stated in my review of Dobbs' first novel, if you're looking for a simplistic pallete cleanser with witchy autumnal vibes, this is the series for you. Some plot points were guessable, so no, it's no Agatha Christie murder mystery, but it is exactly what's needed when you want a story that wraps you in cozy fall feels, allowing you to unwind without all the exhausting mental gymnastics.

I give it a:

Perfect for a fall day on which to each some pumpkin bread and jump in leaves/10.

[Kat (Ginger Bibliophile on YouTube) · Rating 3 out of 5]

It had a good premise, but sometimes dragged and turned more romance,narrating every other sentence with analyzing deep feelings over someone saying one line. Though when those chapters could be gotten through, it was interesting. A poor old women got her heel stuck in a grate and her spell to loose herself accidentally called up a demon that the Quinn cousins had to sneakily vanquish before it completed its killing spree and got to stay in a possessed human. All the while, Issy was trying to avoid falling for the paranormal FBI agent tasked to haul off any magical folks to the paranormal version of Area 51".

[Anne Wingate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Telegraphing Her Punches

It's obvious what happens. No doubt about it. There's no room for doubt. None at all.
Uh. . . If you believe that a doddering old wit--er, woman with her shoe caught in a crack can accidentally summon a demon which proceeds to murder . . . .
It's not so obvious as all that, is it?
Dobbs does her usual good work with the new Silver Hollow cozy witch mystery, leaving the reader wondering what's next with Dex and Issy.
You may sit around and wonder if you like. I am going on to the next book to find out. I have a hunch or two . . .
Recommended for all readers of clean witch fiction.

[Lisa]

Enid Pettywood and her pig familiar are walking across the street when she gets caught in a crack in the pavement. Before the Quinns can stop her, she casts a spell to release her foot, but instead conjures a demon. This, #2 in the series, is the tale of the Quinns trying their best to track down the demon before it kills too many people and also to keep their babysitter wizard (from book #1) from finding out a) it is a demon and b) Enid accidentally conjured it. And also prevent FBPI agent Dex Nolan, who's back in town for a 6-month stint, from noticing that it's anything more than some electrical fluctuations. All in a week's work for the Quinn cousins.

[Amanda J Lubit · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love characters but they became conveniently clueless throughput this book

I really like the setup of this series and the characters. I loved the first book so much I downloaded this one and started reading it the same day. But while the conclusion of the mystery was well done, I cannot get over how the characters were incapable of basic deductions for most of the book. They continually were blind to the most obvious suspect. It's a huge pet peeve of mine when characters suddenly lose their intelligence so the story can progress as imagined. Having said that I will still read the next book and hope this was a problem specific to this book.

[moxieBK · Rating 3 out of 5]

Spell Disaster (Book 2) — Leighann Dobbs (27 chapters) February 14-17, 2020

Second book in the series, and while it is not as entertaining as the first, It still is fun and with Bella, the familiar of Izzy stealing all the scenes she is is, it makes the story worth it.

In this book, the Quinns favorite witch, Enid with her familiar, a pig named Becky, accidentally unleashes a demon. The demon causes a death and the Quinns race to solve it again before another death and to keep the sheriff From figuring out it was a paranormal act.

The climax scene was excellent and well written. It also cementing some things between Dex and Issy, but the reader is left not quite satisfied.

Three star.

[Nancy Silk · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Humans Being Taken Over By Demons"

An elderly witch, Enid Pettywood, summons a demon to Silver Hollow. It's up to Issy Quinn to find the demon and send him back to his place before town officials learn of his arrival. But too soon the demon toys with the town's electrical system and eventually possesses a human. It turns into murder and mayhem and the Quinn sisters have only three days to stop the demon's wicked ways. An intense story from beginning to end. It's spellbinding and very well written by an awesome author.

[Micky Cox · Rating 4 out of 5]

The second installment in the Silver Hollow series and it is a very entertaining and intriguing story. Once again Dex from the FBPI is back in the area just in time to figure out what appears to the mortal eye as a serial killing, but is actually a rogue demon on the loose. We follow the Quinn's as they attempt to keep their town safe from the FBPI, the demon and the council that oversees paranormal ongoings. Well thought out and plotted to keep you intrigued and interested! I am very curious to see what direction the next book takes.

[Darla Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Elderly witch, Enid Pettywood, is having trouble with her spells and accidently summons a demon to Silver Hollow. So Issy Quinn and her three cousins set out to send the demon back before the committee finds out since summoning a demon is a severe offense. Before they know it, the demon has killed one person, tried to kill a second, and Silver Hollow is back on the FBPI's radar. The investigation takes the Quinn's on quite the chase and help comes from an unsuspected source.

This was a fun read and a great second book in the series.

[Heidi Bourbeau · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.0
I am really enjoying this series, that said this one brought me right to the line between right amount of angst to get over it amount of angst. But this is a me thing and especially right now. Your personal life effects your reading life in very interesting ways. I will just say that.

Again the town is adorable, the familiars are as well. I love the family this is based around and the general flow of the story. I will say for a cozy mystery, this does have some pretty epic reveals (battles) which make is really fun.

[Christine P · Rating 4 out of 5]

A demon is loose in Silver Hollow! An eldery witch who is a bit confused messes up a spell and lets loose the demon, the Quinn cousins are once again on the case before the demon can kill four red headed women and earn his place in the human world. They need to find out who's body the demon has taken over and try a spell of their own to send it back to where it came from, especially since the Quinn girls are red heads! Great characters, fun setting and a surprise ending!

[Jennifer Blackburn · Rating 4 out of 5]

The second book to the series was more interesting then the first . I did enjoy the first book however or I most likely wouldn’t have continued with the series. I got to know the characters better! A relationship is beginning to bloom. The animals are funny and are involved in solving the mystery. Looking forward to the third book to the series. If you like witches , magic, animals, and a cozy mystery this series just might be for you !!

[Lillian I. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun and entertaining mystery as the four witchy cousins of Silver Hollow work together to solve a paranormal-caused murder in their town without alerting the normals in their town that there's a something unusual going on. And for Issy, there's the added problem of Dex, the FBPI agent who has now moved to her town. Nicely told and a great read.

[Mary Barrett · Rating 1 out of 5]

One star on this one. Sorry

Normally I love everything I have read by Leighann Dobbs, but I guess this isn't my cuppa. Sorry, but I lost it at the demon. I have liked everything I have read by this author, until I got to this series. I am not into Vampires and Werewolves and paranormal stuff so this didn't appeal.

[Macwolf01 [Elise] · Rating 4 out of 5]

Spell Disaster is book 2 in the Silver Hollow series, a cozy-mystery series set it a smallish town that has witches, werewolves and other magical creatures. The main characters are cousins that are witches that run various business in town.

This book was better then the first, fast paced and flowed better. The characters are fun and cute, and the mysteries are well laid out.

4 stars.

[Vickie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Once again

I'm never disappointed in a Leighann Dobbs story.Spell disaster lives up to expectations. The Quinn cousins are once again in the midst of a mystery and a murder. Will Issy and Dex become an item? I recommend this book to any one be who likes a little paranormal twist to a murder mystery?Happy reading