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Wisteria Witches #2

Wicked Wisteria

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Strange things are happening to the books in Wisteria. Words keep disappearing from the pages. Who would do such a thing?

Zara Riddle is on the case! As both a witch and a librarian, she takes a special interest in finding out who or what is stealing the town of Wisteria's printed words.

With the help of her mentor witch aunt and a few unauthorized spells, soon Zara is deep into mystical trouble way over her head. Now her hunky shifter would-be boyfriend Chet is charging in with his macho guys to save the day. But when the trap is sprung, who's going to save Chet?

8 pages, Audible Audio

First published September 10, 2016

1608 people are currently reading
554 people want to read

About the author

Angela Pepper

60 books587 followers
USA Today Bestselling author Angela Pepper lives with her family in the rainy Pacific Northwest, surrounded by spoiled kitties, deer, raccoons, and the biggest woodpeckers you've ever seen.

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5 stars
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3 stars
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16 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 241 reviews
Profile Image for Arunimaa.
229 reviews225 followers
May 3, 2021
*4.5 STARS*

I can totally see this series being turned into a TV series. I can guarantee it turning out really well.

I loved this book even more than I had loved the first one. I love the whole witchy librarian concept. I really feel like I am watching a super cool paranormal show with kooky characters, who are missing a few screws up there but in a good way and a feisty, badass MC who has a flair for making inappropriate jokes to keep us entertained.

In this instalment, we have words suddenly disappearing from library books. And turns out, it's not just books but from all kinds of other places as well. From business cards to even banknotes. And Zara, being the very responsible librarian that she is, must restore all the ink that is being erased. But it can be a little hard to do so when she is cornered by a penny-pinching spirit at the library that suddenly decides to whoosh his way down her nostril and well, possess her.

I love the characters introduced so far a lot. Zara is such an awesome single mom. She can be really immature sometimes and it might have bothered me if I were reading something else but I feel her eccentric, childish character goes super well with the crazy vibe that this series has. And I just love her dynamic with her daughter Zoey. Reminds me so much of Gilmore Girls.

There also seems a possibility of romance. There is very obvious attraction from both parties but something is amiss still. Chet is definitely hiding something and while I am all in for their romance, he does get on to my nerves sometimes. But I still quite like him. I am super curious about his backstory, which I am hoping, will be dealt with in the next book whic, by the way, I have already begun to read. I super excited to see how and where it goes with all of these extremely fascinating characters.
Profile Image for Montzalee Wittmann.
5,212 reviews2,340 followers
October 7, 2018
Wicked Wisteria
Wisteria Witches Mysteries, Book 2
By: Angela Pepper
Narrated by: Tiffany Williams
This is a book I requested and the review is voluntary.
I love her books anyway but this series is the best! It is full of humor, snark, mysteries, magic, great dialogue, great characters, unpredictable scenes of chaos, and I was never bored! These books are a hoot! Absolutely crazy in a good way!
The narration complements the book by making the the snark just right, pulls off the humor flawlessly, and is wonderful keeping the voices different for the listener. Wonderful job! I enjoy each of these books!
I wish I could find a town to live in like this one in the book, everyone eats but no one gains weight!
Profile Image for Patricia Phare-camp.
18 reviews
May 31, 2017
Fun and mindless

This is the perfect amount of fluffy escapism one needs to rest the mind. No typos, no glaring grammatical errors, no misspelling to annoy this former teacher. Four stars because it's well written and a fun read. Less than five because it's not great literature, we'll leave the fifth star for historical greatness, which this is not. But it is good fun and sometimes a girl just needs literary junk food...
Profile Image for Theresa .
1,847 reviews77 followers
April 29, 2019
4 Stars... A ghostly possession, strange disappearances, wonky magic, a shady shifter, and one disgusting tasting bookwyrm; Zara Riddle definitely has her hands full... Another ghostly adventure that is fun and fantastical... The only complaint is that towards the end the story became somewhat choppy and a little challenging to follow, but it wraps up nicely and sets the reader up for future books... Overall, I enjoyed the read and look forward to more adventures with these zany characters.:)
Profile Image for Kara.
720 reviews1,269 followers
December 30, 2019
“Wicked Wisteria (Wisteria Witches #2)” is another fun non lesfic story that entertained us on a road trip with a fun story and terrific narration.

This book is hilariously unconventional and light hearted. We get a hipster chick, a ghost and a mystery of vanishing ink. Cute story. 4*
Profile Image for Amy.
63 reviews5 followers
January 15, 2023
Book 2 in the Wisteria series. This was great like book one with MORE! This was far more mysterious and nail biting and I can see the hidden sub-plot coming up and really tickling my curiosity! Going to keep going with the series.. On to 3!
Profile Image for Katter.
345 reviews9 followers
December 8, 2018
This second book holds the same amount of charm as the first. It's fun, silly and sweet! Zara is a quirky main character and it's never boring with her at the helm! So it all begins in the quaint town of Wisteria, the place that's brimming with supernatural folks.

One day while at an ice cream shop with the other ladies in the Riddle family, Zara yoinks a library book off of a table that was left there by a girl she dubs 'Hipster Chick.' While perusing the newly minted nonfiction rock star biography book, Zara notices something odd. The pages are going blank.

Right before her very eyes, the words are vanishing as if the ink is being drawn out of them. Unfortunately she's can't further inspect the odd novel because the Hipster Chick comes back and grabs the book so she can take it back to the library. Earlier Zara overheard Hipster Chick complain that the 'words are gone!' So it's not all in her heard. Her imagination isn't running wild. Those letter really are disappearing!

And what she initially thought was just an odd singular occurrence, seems to be spreading because when Zara gets to work she is notified of a strange problem. More books are turning up with missing print in them. What the heck is going on? Is it vandals who get a kick out of bugging bookworms, or is it something more?

Deep in her gut, Zara knows something else is going on. She felt it the moment she held that book in the ice cream parlor. Something or someone is erasing stories, and hopefully that is where it ends. But she doesn't think so. Danger is afoot! And it really is. Bad stuff is going down in Wisteria!

For the most part, Zara and her daughter Zoey are bumbling about having a good ol' time as the plot pieces come together. Unsurprisingly Zara gets possessed by another ghost whom she calls Mr. Finance Wizard. It's after that point when the plot thickens because surely this possession cannot be a coincidence. He's trying to tell her something about what's happening to the books and the town. But what the heck could it be?

That is the meat and potatoes of the tale. It's not a very difficult story to follow but it's still very enjoyable! The romance aspect of the book is pretty much nonexistent. Chet is still aloof and cold-ish, but the way this novel ends and the foreshadowing it gives makes me think things will get resolved in the third installment.

Angela Pepper adds a lot of little hints and snippets to her stories, or whispers if you will, that make everything richer and more interesting. So even though this book is a light adventurous romp, it has complexity to it. This author is quite good at slipping in information that makes the reader question things. And there's a lot of things to question!

There are SO many mysteries going on in the small secretive town of Wisteria. I can't wait to read about them! We do get to learn a bit more about Corvin and why he is such a weird little brat kid. Also, we learn that Chet dated a cute blonde some time ago. Is that perhaps why he's so standoffish with Zara? Is he still mooning over the other chick? I wanna know! As a side note, I'm really curious about that hairdresser, Morganna Faire. She's something special. I just know it!

Anyways, premonitions come true and by a weirdly placed showdown, Zara and Chet save the day. The ending was quite the surprise. It totally caught me of guard! I love it when that happens. Waffles are made and smiles are shared as life returns to 'normal.' Until the last couple pages. I always knew there was something special about Frank. He's my favorite!

Things leave off on a strange note, but it's a fun note none the less. I wonder where it'll lead to! I'm invested in the story now so I'll definitely be reading the next book as I have really enjoyed this series so far. It's delightful! 10/10 Flamingos!
Profile Image for Anniken Haga.
Author 10 books90 followers
August 4, 2019
When the worst of the move was dealt with, returning to this book wasn't hard.

Like with book 1, I felt like I flew through this one. It was a lot weaker than book 1, though.
There were a lot of grammar mistakes that could easily have been avoided, giving me the impression that the author was rushed.

The story was also a little all over the place. Sure, it was interesting and leads up to the next book, but I'm honestly not sure I've gotten enough story to want to continue the series.

I will, despite these two things, because Zoey and Zara are great characters. I'm sorry to say that I can't say the same about Zinnia or Chet.
Chet's hot and cold attitude is seriously getting on my last nerves and I just want to slap him with my kindle, to make him pull himself together. Then there's Zinnia, who's mostly just stupid. Ok, she's not stupid, but the way she acts is so all over the place! Sometimes she's a loving aunt, then she's a cold witch, then she's a secret agent?

I think that's my biggest problem with this series. All the secrecy. It's there to give the reader something to think about, but the way the character keeps avoiding the stuff, makes me think the author don't know the answer either. Nothing wrong with pantsing, but when a question do come up, find an answer for it and have it ready long before it actually need to be answered.
Profile Image for Allena.
491 reviews2 followers
May 6, 2021
So I thought this would be a fun read it in reality I couldn't stand it.
Zara acts like a child I get that's she's supposed to be quirky but she seems stupid but since she's a librarian she's smart and gone to school for it...
Zoey who is 16 acts like a typical teen though she pouts a little more than necessary.
Zinnia- ugh she treats them like they're children and I don't like how she doesn't tell them everything they kinda need to know living in Wisteria. It's not helping them to not know important things, instead she acts like it's a huge secret they have to earn. That's not protecting them any.
And Chet or chip whatever the neighbor guy's name is... I can't even
Profile Image for Curly's  Ramblings.
2,034 reviews6 followers
October 5, 2018
Audiobook review: Wicked Wisteria once again takes fans on an entertaining and interesting story ride. The story’s main character, Zara, is corny, cooky, inquisitive, caring, and loves using one liners. Zara’s relationship with the next door neighbor will leave you pondering. Wicked Wisteria is a good edition to the series. The narrator did a good job with providing unique voices for each character and appropriate tone inflections for each scene. I received a free copy of this audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
Profile Image for Kelly.
5,661 reviews227 followers
January 25, 2021
Ahh, Wisteria. It's been a while since I dipped my toes into this world and, well, it's still a little on the quirky end of the spectrum. So's Zara, for that matter. I mean, she copes by using quips and sarcasm and jokes and that's okay, but...she also needs to learn that there are times when quips and sarcasm and jokes aren't going to cut it. Like when Zinnia is trying to teach her things.

To be fair, however, Zara does seem like the sort to need to learn some things the hard way. She's going to have to be zapped in the booty before she understands not to touch something. Or she's going to have to have her mouth turn black because she can't resist licking something she shouldn't lick.

Heh. She's kind of like a big kid, isn't she?

Anyway. Zara is learning a little more about her powers. Zinnia's trying her best to teach her (although maybe with Zara the tried and true method isn't the way to get through to her. Hmm. Just a thought.) while Zoey is dealing with not having her powers manifest yet at all. You know, there's a lot of quirk and personality in the Riddle family. A LOT.

Ghostly visitations, a hot and cold hunk of a neighbor, a little mystery, and some unforeseen consequences. Fun? Yes. Dangerous to those who rush into things without a solid plan? ALSO YES!

-Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal
Profile Image for SciFiOne.
2,021 reviews38 followers
January 14, 2023
Wicked Wisteria ("Cozy Witches" book 2 of 8)

2023 Grade B-

Because Cozy Witches is a Kindle compilation, there is no useful table of contents. Thus it is hard to tell how far into a story the reading has progressed. So far the books seem to be about 40 reasonably short chapters each.

The author mentioned zany in the biography at the end. That is an appropriate term. If you like reading about the zany actions of the odd characters in the strange world they live in, then enjoy, because that part is well done and fun. If you prefer a bit more plot, character development, and world building, be warned, those are limited. The MacGuffin that drove the plot was a bit abstract and the conclusion not quite satisfying to me.

Personally, I could usually only take 30 to 45 minutes (about 3 chapters) at a time and tended to drop into light speed reading automatically. Still I enjoyed being in the world with the characters the author built, and I intend to read the next one.
Profile Image for Deedra.
3,932 reviews39 followers
December 7, 2018
Audible: Another fun, twisty ,turny visit to Wisteria.Zara gets herself into trouble investigating why words are dissapearing from pages. Tiffany WIlliams is the perfect narrator. I was given this book by the narrator,author or publisher free for an honest review.
Profile Image for Nancy Haddock.
Author 8 books419 followers
July 15, 2017
Okay, I'm hooked

Zara and her family are fun, as are the rest of the cast. I like Zara's sense of humor, and look forward to the next book.
Profile Image for Wolf (Alpha).
919 reviews12 followers
January 29, 2024
Amazing as usual!!! I love how the minute she gets rid of one ghost another is there to haunt her. I loved that she was gaining valuable knowledge about money and how they were able to save quite a bit. I like Chet and how they seemed to be getting along fairly well. The ending was a shock but once again there was an answer to the mystery of what was happening. I love how she’s accepting her witch powers finally.
Profile Image for Tania.
71 reviews10 followers
May 7, 2025
Second book of The Wisteria Witches Mysteries and it's my favorite so far. The protagonist is witty and funny and relatable. The secondary characters are interesting and entertaining. The story keeps you wanting more. Looking forward to reading the third book.
Profile Image for Mary Lou Hoffman.
1,954 reviews35 followers
November 3, 2018
WICKED WISTERIA is the second book in the Wisteria Witches series. The series does need to be read in the order of release.

I loved revisiting Wisteria and I want to return, soon! The characters are my kind of people – funny, snarky, bookish, kind, and prone to find trouble.

The story was well written and kept me entertained. This is the kind of book that I will re-listen to during my ridiculously long commute, just because it does make me smile and keep me in that good mood that I need.

My favorite secondary character this time is the bookworm, which I see as a cross between the Pillsbury doughboy and Slimer from Ghostbusters – adorable and mischievous.

I’m looking forward to more from this series.

Narration: Tiffany Williams did another superb job of bringing Zara and the rest of the Riddles to joyful, humorous life for me.

Note: While I received this book as a gifted audiobook copy, my opinions are my own and are given freely.



Title: WICKED WISTERIA
Series: Wisteria Witches #2
Category /Genre: Paranormal Cozy Mystery
Recommended for: 18+ due to sexual content
Listenability: OK for ears
Received from: Angela Pepper (as an Audible gifted copy)
Profile Image for Teddy.
29 reviews1 follower
June 14, 2019
Continuing on to the second book after the disappointing start to the series was a mistake.

The main protagonist, Zara, continues to act like a clueless moron who won't stick up for herself and can't see what's happening right under her nose.

Her secretive and controlling aunt does the unforgivable, and drugs her - but instead of bitch-slapping the aunt into the folowing week, she does NOTHING!

Her blind acceptance of such a heinous act by her aunt is soon explained when it is revealed that Zara has a very dodgy moral-code herself. She doesn't turn a hair at the aunt's suggestion of drugging a colleague who Zara has caused to have a magical accident...

She also does nothing when she's drugged, kidnapped, and held captive in a secret undergroound medical lab, and even continues to pant after the neighbour who works for them - How stupid is that? Can we say, "Walking-talking-doormat"...? Because that's what she is.

All in all it doens't make for an attractive or likeable main protagonist, which makes the book more irritating to read than enjoyable.
Profile Image for Leeanne  G.
311 reviews17 followers
December 30, 2020
I loved the first Wisteria Witches and laughed so much during that book. I didn’t laugh as much during this one, but the mystery was far better than the first. It was more magical and much harder to solve. The ending was bit disturbing for my taste, but I don’t do anything creepy and this ends on that kind of note.

This book was actually all a bit much for me. I kind of felt like Zara, overwhelmed and confused by everything that was going on around her. Chet and Zinnia were refusing to tell her much about what was going on, and therefore Zara accidentally caused many disasters.

There wasn’t as much of Zoey or Corvin, a character I really like and one that’s creepy but intriguing. While we get less of these two, we meet several new characters all of whom are very interesting. Some are magical, some are not.

I didn’t like this one as much as the first for the above reasons, but there is still enough unanswered questions that I want answered, and enough potential that I’ll willingly read more of this series.
15 reviews
November 24, 2017
Whoooo wouldn't love this book? I repeat, Whoooo?

Whoooo wouldn't love this book? I know Who did. Me that's, whooo!! You will have to read the book to really get my comment, but hey, It's a great book. I am atleast intrigued by each character, and look forward to learning more about them through this series! If you have any sense of humor at all, you will LOL many times through out. I like mysteries, as long as I can (eventually) find the answers to my questions. B/c of this I usually wait until full series is published, then devour them. I love Zara's wit and sarcasm. I find myself relating to her reactions, curiosity, and humor. I look forward to discovering Wisteria, and its unique and quirky residents. Thanks, Angela, for the escape. I depend on brilliant authors, like you. Also, thanks for sharing a personal piece about yourself. I probably wouldn't have given a written review (3x since it won't go through) had I not related.
All the best,
Mandy Laine
Profile Image for AR Boicourt.
29 reviews
November 9, 2023
I am enjoying the world as a whole, but Zara has to be one of the most clueless, selfish, and infuriating leads I have ever had to suffer through.

I hope she grows up through the coming books otherwise my Wisteria journey ends when I finish the audio boxset.
Profile Image for ✨ Ramille ✨.
30 reviews
July 11, 2024
(I'm writing this review after the fact, so I'll try to keep my comments solely to this book and not the series.)

This book felt like more of a mystery than the first one. In the first book, we see Zara housing the ghost of her house's former homeowner. After sharing her body with the ghost, Zara decides to figure out who killed her. While the mystery in Wisteria Witches felt like a sidebar to Zara and Zoey getting settled in their new town, now Zara is dealing with words disappearing from books at the library where she works. One thing leads to another, and Zara finds that disappearing words and her new ghost friend are connected. All of the reasons why I picked up the series are still present, but this book has more action and a more definitive plot.

Zara's wit and sarcasm is ever present, but she uses it a lot... especially in times that she shouldn't. One thing I love about this series is when the ghosts speak through her, using their own words and making her sound incredibly unlike herself. Moments like these play in my head, almost like I'm watching them. These books are filled with that type of vivid imagery.

I'm still on the fence about Chet. He won't let himself get close to Zara, so romance is almost certainly out the window at this point; I just want to know what kind of baggage he's carrying.

There's a twist at the end of the book, and it made me love Frank Wonder even more than I already did. If I wasn't already excited for the next book, that left turn opened another door to a closet of questions.
519 reviews7 followers
October 8, 2023
Strange things are once again happening in Wisteria. Print is vanishing from books in the library and elsewhere, even money is being affected with vanishing ink. Zara’s aunt Zinnia helps her to fix the books using a bookworm spell to restore the missing print, but what is causing it? And that’s not the only problem that seems to be happening, being a spirit charmed witch, Zara encounters a lost spirit who needs her help, but he may or may not actually be dead. Naturally, that seems to be only the beginning of the troubles happening at the moment.

Like the previous book, this one told a fun story that was well thought out and very entertaining. The characters were voiced well and distinctly enough from each other leaving no confusion as to who was supposed to be talking to whom. The plot kept me interested and entertained throughout the book, and the story kept me guessing until the end. I am already looking forward to listening to book 3 in the series so that I can see what sort of trouble Zara gets into next. Recommended.
2,000 reviews37 followers
June 18, 2019
A new ghostly visitor provides Zara with a bunch of finance and penny pinching tips and sets her on the path to discovering far more than she wants to know about what's happening in Wisteria in this second story in this witchy series.
I think I'm falling in love with the residents of Wisteria. Zara's relationship with her daughter and the bratty kid next door provide an interesting study in the perils of raising teenagers while that neighbour kid's sexy dad provides a bit of romance. Her fellow librarians are a quirky bunch, but then, aren't librarians always a little quirky?
Adventures abound and unexpected dangers threaten the lives of Zara, Chet and his fellow agents.
An exciting read, action packed, full of snarky patter and an intriguing mystery to solve.
Profile Image for Krystyna.
5,134 reviews55 followers
August 4, 2018
Ghosts in the machine

Awesome. Life is fairly quiet. Lessons in magic with her aunt, work and worrying about how to pay all the overdue bills. Her neighbour is as hunky as ever and warns her of a spirit walker (not a ghost but some who can detach from their body). However strange things start happening - books are having their text removed and a ghost has taken root in her head. The only problem is her research shows that he isn't dead. What is the Project Erasure tat he keeps getting whispers of. Can they find out? A great plot but am really wanting to know who the ultimate boss is. Great characters and Frank turning into a flamingo was a terrific ending.
Profile Image for Kathleen.
1,846 reviews9 followers
June 21, 2019
This was a delightfully entertaining read. Somehow I put it down and didn't pick it up for quite a while. I don't understand how I could put this book down. Once I picked it up, I finished it rather quickly. I liked the antics of the bookwyrm and the chaos that ensues.

Strange things start happening – some books are missing text and a ghost/spirit has inhabited Zara. Her research shows that he isn't dead. What is the Project Erasure? Is Chet and company in major trouble? Frank has a major revelation.

I received a copy of this book as a gift and am not required to leave a positive review.

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