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The Magic Bean Paranormal Cozy #1
Deja Brew
Accidentally summoning a talking dog was not how Louise “Lou” Danvers wanted to end her first day in her new town. Moving a thousand miles after inheriting an apartment in her Mom’s hometown was one thing. Finding out that she comes from a family of witches was another. Surprise? Still reeling from the new information, Lou finds herself at odds with the owner of the local coffee shop. No big deal, right? Until the owner shows up dead, right outside Lou’s front door.
Now the prime suspect, Lou’s got to hurry and solve the murder before she’s tried in the court of public opinion. When the victim turns out to have ties to a drug ring, the whole case gets more complicated. Especially when the same drugs are found in Lou’s new apartment.
Between the talking dog, her new magic lessons, gaining a family, and the ridiculously handsome, single-father ex-cop who seems to pop up wherever she goes, Lou’s got more than enough to keep her busy. When the police chief decides she’s guilty and will go to any lengths to prove it, Lou has to hurry and figure out who actually ‘dunit’ before she’s locked up for good.
Now the prime suspect, Lou’s got to hurry and solve the murder before she’s tried in the court of public opinion. When the victim turns out to have ties to a drug ring, the whole case gets more complicated. Especially when the same drugs are found in Lou’s new apartment.
Between the talking dog, her new magic lessons, gaining a family, and the ridiculously handsome, single-father ex-cop who seems to pop up wherever she goes, Lou’s got more than enough to keep her busy. When the police chief decides she’s guilty and will go to any lengths to prove it, Lou has to hurry and figure out who actually ‘dunit’ before she’s locked up for good.
355 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 16, 2019
398 people are currently reading
274 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
April 22, 2019
This author needs to admit she can’t edit and get someone else to edit her books. Typos, missing words, duplicate words - characters asking the exact same question of the same person and getting the same answer multiple times across chapters - this was more of a rough first draft of a book full of first pass errors.
Story on a par with other cozy witch mysteries so if the writer paid more attention / got help it could evolve to a decent series.
Story on a par with other cozy witch mysteries so if the writer paid more attention / got help it could evolve to a decent series.
April 29, 2019
Terrible writing. This book makes no sense
This is one of the worst books I’ve ever read. It makes no sense. The writing was stilted. The plot line was ludicrous (and yes, I’m ignoring the fact that magic is involved when I say that). I’ve read a number of books in this genre and this was by far the worst.
Examples, you ask?
The child of a police consultant runs away. Main character (who is suspected of murder, and who both the consultant and child greet as “hey murderer”) finds child. Child won’t tell the main character her address, so they go to the police precinct. An officer offers to drive the child home, but the police chief says no, main character should do it.
Let’s go over that.
The police chief orders a murder suspect to drive a child home to a police consultant’s home. Ok. Sure. Makes absolutely no sense.
Multiple times two characters will talk about or to another character and then a few pages later, “I didn’t know you knew (character we were just talking about)”
Um, ok. Did you develop amnesia in the last 2 pages?
It was already clearly stated you knew each other.
Multiple times main character was encouraged to go talk to another character and get answers, sometimes pretty smugly. But, that never led to relevant information.
I thought this was the author’s first book, so I was going to give her a break, but in fact she’s written 4 books in another series. I can only imagine what a mess they are. Get an editor. Make sure your plot makes sense. And stop contriving stupid, illogical reason to push a love interest on the story.
Terrible book. I wish I had those hours of my life back.
This is one of the worst books I’ve ever read. It makes no sense. The writing was stilted. The plot line was ludicrous (and yes, I’m ignoring the fact that magic is involved when I say that). I’ve read a number of books in this genre and this was by far the worst.
Examples, you ask?
The child of a police consultant runs away. Main character (who is suspected of murder, and who both the consultant and child greet as “hey murderer”) finds child. Child won’t tell the main character her address, so they go to the police precinct. An officer offers to drive the child home, but the police chief says no, main character should do it.
Let’s go over that.
The police chief orders a murder suspect to drive a child home to a police consultant’s home. Ok. Sure. Makes absolutely no sense.
Multiple times two characters will talk about or to another character and then a few pages later, “I didn’t know you knew (character we were just talking about)”
Um, ok. Did you develop amnesia in the last 2 pages?
It was already clearly stated you knew each other.
Multiple times main character was encouraged to go talk to another character and get answers, sometimes pretty smugly. But, that never led to relevant information.
I thought this was the author’s first book, so I was going to give her a break, but in fact she’s written 4 books in another series. I can only imagine what a mess they are. Get an editor. Make sure your plot makes sense. And stop contriving stupid, illogical reason to push a love interest on the story.
Terrible book. I wish I had those hours of my life back.
March 19, 2019
Following in her mother's footsteps
A great read. Similar but sooo different to her other books. Hate to say it but it's a more mature attitude to witches, life, death and murder. It still has the light relief from the enigmatic Mocha (her familiar) and the world weary, precocious 10 year old but the other characters are more grown up with a view of life and death that is almost zen like. Accepting the inevitable as you do the weather. Cancer is treated with respect, understanding and sympathy both for the victim and the people that care.
A letter giving her details of an apartment she inherited after the death of her mother throws her into a whole new world. A world of witchcraft, familiars, murder and drugs. Now as the number one suspect and with the chief of police looking no further she has to find the killer especially when another murder occurs. Will she be able to clear her name? Will she get a handle on what magic is? Will she ever admit to being enamoured with the PI and his very independent daughter?
A great read. Similar but sooo different to her other books. Hate to say it but it's a more mature attitude to witches, life, death and murder. It still has the light relief from the enigmatic Mocha (her familiar) and the world weary, precocious 10 year old but the other characters are more grown up with a view of life and death that is almost zen like. Accepting the inevitable as you do the weather. Cancer is treated with respect, understanding and sympathy both for the victim and the people that care.
A letter giving her details of an apartment she inherited after the death of her mother throws her into a whole new world. A world of witchcraft, familiars, murder and drugs. Now as the number one suspect and with the chief of police looking no further she has to find the killer especially when another murder occurs. Will she be able to clear her name? Will she get a handle on what magic is? Will she ever admit to being enamoured with the PI and his very independent daughter?
March 23, 2019
Fun, but I have a bone,or two, to pick with Déjà Brew
While I liked the story, it had a fun premise, interesting and quirky characters (Sarai is definitely going to be a handful), and it set up some great potential rivalries for future books, I must admit that it was a tad long winded at times. Nothing major, but some of the information was repeated frequently throughout the book, and it just felt tedious at times. Then there is the completely underwhelming reaction that Lou had when she discovered her magical identity. Not even a scream, just a stressed out disbelief and wanting to sleep it off. Okay, not the worst plot device ever used. But my main gripe is the ending where the truth of Samantha’s past is dangled like a carrot on a piece of string before Lou, and then we’re just left dangling with some cryptic BS about her not being ready yet. That just ticked me off. Not the way I want to go into the next book. Not cool 😒
3 stars ⭐️
.
While I liked the story, it had a fun premise, interesting and quirky characters (Sarai is definitely going to be a handful), and it set up some great potential rivalries for future books, I must admit that it was a tad long winded at times. Nothing major, but some of the information was repeated frequently throughout the book, and it just felt tedious at times. Then there is the completely underwhelming reaction that Lou had when she discovered her magical identity. Not even a scream, just a stressed out disbelief and wanting to sleep it off. Okay, not the worst plot device ever used. But my main gripe is the ending where the truth of Samantha’s past is dangled like a carrot on a piece of string before Lou, and then we’re just left dangling with some cryptic BS about her not being ready yet. That just ticked me off. Not the way I want to go into the next book. Not cool 😒
3 stars ⭐️
.
March 22, 2019
Wonderful!
This was a more complex story than I originally thought it would be and I loved that! I expected the usual cozy where girl shows up, finds out she's magical, finds a body, gets accused of murder, solved is easy peasy. Nope, not here. Well, to be honest, that's the main plot, but it's so much more than that. Things don't happen predictably in this story, there is a lot of very good world building here and an interesting cast of characters. There are some mysteries remaining at the end of this story but you still feel satisfied with the ending. I really can't wait for the next win this series.
This was a more complex story than I originally thought it would be and I loved that! I expected the usual cozy where girl shows up, finds out she's magical, finds a body, gets accused of murder, solved is easy peasy. Nope, not here. Well, to be honest, that's the main plot, but it's so much more than that. Things don't happen predictably in this story, there is a lot of very good world building here and an interesting cast of characters. There are some mysteries remaining at the end of this story but you still feel satisfied with the ending. I really can't wait for the next win this series.
May 15, 2019
This could have been a good book, however I found several places
the book took weird jumps in the flow of the story.
also it seemed like Summers wrote parts of the story as short
stories or such. I would read details in one chapter to find the
same details were repeated in the next and next chapter. As if
she had writer several versions of the book the pushed them
together to pad out the book.
and I found typos, this was not caused by misspellings but
rather words that were not picked up by the spell checker.
I have often wondered if I should sent a note to the author
informing the of such errors?
the book took weird jumps in the flow of the story.
also it seemed like Summers wrote parts of the story as short
stories or such. I would read details in one chapter to find the
same details were repeated in the next and next chapter. As if
she had writer several versions of the book the pushed them
together to pad out the book.
and I found typos, this was not caused by misspellings but
rather words that were not picked up by the spell checker.
I have often wondered if I should sent a note to the author
informing the of such errors?
January 29, 2021
Needs Help
I am an avid reader and had a really hard time getting through this book. Sheer determination got me through to the end. There are numerous grammatical mistakes as well as plot mishaps (forgot to grab her phone when she left but miraculously has it when a dead body shows up). The book jumped around so much that it was like reading Time Travelers Wife all over again. A good editor could point these issues out before it reaches the public.
Given how painful this book was to read I’m afraid to invest time in book 2. The story has potential, but will require a lot of work so the story makes sense.
I am an avid reader and had a really hard time getting through this book. Sheer determination got me through to the end. There are numerous grammatical mistakes as well as plot mishaps (forgot to grab her phone when she left but miraculously has it when a dead body shows up). The book jumped around so much that it was like reading Time Travelers Wife all over again. A good editor could point these issues out before it reaches the public.
Given how painful this book was to read I’m afraid to invest time in book 2. The story has potential, but will require a lot of work so the story makes sense.
April 25, 2019
New witchcraft/cozy series.
Lou just lost her mother, and her mother left her an apartment in a town she had never been to, but it was the place where her mom grew up. Everything is a little strange and then to top it off a dog shows up in her apartment talking to her, and she is being told she is a witch.
Then the coffee shop owner downstairs is murdered and Lou inherits the coffee shop. Now she has to figure out what is going on and who the real killer is so that she can continue to live in this place that is starting to feel like home.
Lou just lost her mother, and her mother left her an apartment in a town she had never been to, but it was the place where her mom grew up. Everything is a little strange and then to top it off a dog shows up in her apartment talking to her, and she is being told she is a witch.
Then the coffee shop owner downstairs is murdered and Lou inherits the coffee shop. Now she has to figure out what is going on and who the real killer is so that she can continue to live in this place that is starting to feel like home.
September 19, 2019
So poorly edited
Not original, but promising characters. Unfortunately the book needs a good editor. The police chief gives a detective "week hours" to find evidence; the protagonist goes with her two cousins to a house and sees one of those cousins on the sofa. The timeline is weird: for example, protagonist arrives in town after dark, goes to bed and wakes up the next morning having been in town 30 hours? Also, folks go inside (or outside), chat a bit and go inside (outside) again. Just so many inconsistencies it was painful.
Not original, but promising characters. Unfortunately the book needs a good editor. The police chief gives a detective "week hours" to find evidence; the protagonist goes with her two cousins to a house and sees one of those cousins on the sofa. The timeline is weird: for example, protagonist arrives in town after dark, goes to bed and wakes up the next morning having been in town 30 hours? Also, folks go inside (or outside), chat a bit and go inside (outside) again. Just so many inconsistencies it was painful.
September 22, 2019
Magical!
Lou inherited an apartment in her mother's hometown. Ready to look at it after her mother's long fight with cancer was lost, she was overwhelmed with problems within hours of her arrival. She first find that her mother still had family there, then is told that she has magic. Since she was raised as human, it's a lot to take in, and that's before she is accused of murder! Great fun read, well written, with lovely characters, I already ordered book 2!
Lou inherited an apartment in her mother's hometown. Ready to look at it after her mother's long fight with cancer was lost, she was overwhelmed with problems within hours of her arrival. She first find that her mother still had family there, then is told that she has magic. Since she was raised as human, it's a lot to take in, and that's before she is accused of murder! Great fun read, well written, with lovely characters, I already ordered book 2!
May 2, 2019
Excellent read!
A heartwarming and thrilling mystery. I'm happy there is another book to read with these characters. They are fascinating and endearing. I especially loved that there was no cliffhanger; there aren't needed the imagination is engaged with the story as well as this one is. Enjoy!
A heartwarming and thrilling mystery. I'm happy there is another book to read with these characters. They are fascinating and endearing. I especially loved that there was no cliffhanger; there aren't needed the imagination is engaged with the story as well as this one is. Enjoy!
August 30, 2019
A cute start that I hope gets better
This is not the best written book by Natalie Summers but it does have great potential to grow into a something better. Persist through the discrepancies and fill in a few gaps along the way and you'll find a nice introduction to the characters of this magical town.
This is not the best written book by Natalie Summers but it does have great potential to grow into a something better. Persist through the discrepancies and fill in a few gaps along the way and you'll find a nice introduction to the characters of this magical town.
May 1, 2020
big yikes, huge no
Mistakes, typos, duplicated words, situations that don't make sense, characters that repeat themselves. This needed an editor. 9/10th of the book is the main character not understanding basic English, getting unnecessary translations to "English please" and people saying "I know the answer to your question but I can't tell because we don't talk about these things and I want to be mysterious so this book can be longer than it needs to be". I found it extremely boring and annoying.
The dog was cute.
Mistakes, typos, duplicated words, situations that don't make sense, characters that repeat themselves. This needed an editor. 9/10th of the book is the main character not understanding basic English, getting unnecessary translations to "English please" and people saying "I know the answer to your question but I can't tell because we don't talk about these things and I want to be mysterious so this book can be longer than it needs to be". I found it extremely boring and annoying.
The dog was cute.
August 6, 2019
Interesting
I enjoyed the premise of this book, but had a hard time getting thru the first part of it. It explained some as I continued to read. I hope the second book gives more explanations that had been left out of Deja Brew. Keep writing, Natalie Summers!
I enjoyed the premise of this book, but had a hard time getting thru the first part of it. It explained some as I continued to read. I hope the second book gives more explanations that had been left out of Deja Brew. Keep writing, Natalie Summers!
August 22, 2019
Very entertaining book!
This author was new to me, I found it a story I could pick up and then put down to get on with work. It led you slowly through each chapter, I never saw the perpetrator coming. Good ending!
This author was new to me, I found it a story I could pick up and then put down to get on with work. It led you slowly through each chapter, I never saw the perpetrator coming. Good ending!
March 23, 2019
Wow
I have read your other series and enjoyed them and now with your new book that I have just finished and enjoyed.
I have read your other series and enjoyed them and now with your new book that I have just finished and enjoyed.
April 27, 2019
Love it
She sure got off on a bad note. Being suspected of murder two times . No one believing her then finding out she a witch
She sure got off on a bad note. Being suspected of murder two times . No one believing her then finding out she a witch
April 27, 2019
Fun
I enjoyed this book.It was the first book of this author I have read. Looking forward to the next in the series
I enjoyed this book.It was the first book of this author I have read. Looking forward to the next in the series
May 8, 2019
Amazing
This was an amazing book. I love the characters, the storyline was unique and kept me guessing who did it til the end. I highly recommend this book.
This was an amazing book. I love the characters, the storyline was unique and kept me guessing who did it til the end. I highly recommend this book.
June 7, 2019
Repeat
I enjoyed book except for the repeat of the same sentence over and over. It was even repeated to one person at 3 times, in different locations
I enjoyed book except for the repeat of the same sentence over and over. It was even repeated to one person at 3 times, in different locations
October 29, 2021
Cute story
I may have read these in the wrong order. This sounds a lot like one of Ms Summers other books. I enjoyed it.
I may have read these in the wrong order. This sounds a lot like one of Ms Summers other books. I enjoyed it.
October 16, 2024
I had such a hard time getting through this one /:
October 22, 2024
Did not finish….stiff unconvincing dialogue,unbelievable contrived occurrences 9yes even outside magic).i tried but after 40 pages of effort i gave up.
October 23, 2024
DNF - very repetitive, lots of plot holes
October 23, 2024
DNF. This plot was terrible. I love a good witchy book or even a cheesy and cute magic book but this was neither of those things.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews