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Beginnings
*FINALIST in the Page Turner Book Awards 2023*Two best friends, a handyman and strange noises over the baby monitor.Things are about to get magical.Erica Murray comes from a family of witches, growing up speaking to spirits, but it’s a career in marketing that she’s after.When she’s turned down for promotion yet again, she realises it’s time for something new.
No, not new.It’s time to embrace who she really is.
Her best friend, Jess, has a new mortgage to pay and a daughter to raise but that doesn’t mean she’s not up for a new adventure. Whether that’s a paranormal investigation agency with Erica or finding out more about the handyman next door.
Their first potential client is a grieving father, fighting to keep his sanity and raise his baby son amid shadows, crackles on the baby monitor and what he swears is his late wife’s voice.
Erica and Jess aren’t the only ones searching for answers. Someone else is on the hunt.Someone who Erica can’t get out of her thoughts.Someone whose identification is strangely dated 11 years in the future.
Beginnings is the first book in Murray and Tidswell Paranormal Investigations, a series of witches, fae, spirits and things that lurk on the edges. Bring your own sage.
‘Fascinating concept, I possibly read it too quick trying to get to the next revelation all the time!’★★★★★
‘Beginnings is absolutely brilliant. I'm always a little skeptical when it comes to anything paranormal. I must admit Nice handles it all brilliantly, and you're drawn in with the opening line. You can't help but fall in love with Erica and Jess. Once you start reading, it's hard to put this book down, even for snack breaks!’The Faerie Review ★★★★★
The series
Best friendsSwearingSex, but nothing too explicitThings that go bump in the night (and day)
No, not new.It’s time to embrace who she really is.
Her best friend, Jess, has a new mortgage to pay and a daughter to raise but that doesn’t mean she’s not up for a new adventure. Whether that’s a paranormal investigation agency with Erica or finding out more about the handyman next door.
Their first potential client is a grieving father, fighting to keep his sanity and raise his baby son amid shadows, crackles on the baby monitor and what he swears is his late wife’s voice.
Erica and Jess aren’t the only ones searching for answers. Someone else is on the hunt.Someone who Erica can’t get out of her thoughts.Someone whose identification is strangely dated 11 years in the future.
Beginnings is the first book in Murray and Tidswell Paranormal Investigations, a series of witches, fae, spirits and things that lurk on the edges. Bring your own sage.
‘Fascinating concept, I possibly read it too quick trying to get to the next revelation all the time!’★★★★★
‘Beginnings is absolutely brilliant. I'm always a little skeptical when it comes to anything paranormal. I must admit Nice handles it all brilliantly, and you're drawn in with the opening line. You can't help but fall in love with Erica and Jess. Once you start reading, it's hard to put this book down, even for snack breaks!’The Faerie Review ★★★★★
The series
Best friendsSwearingSex, but nothing too explicitThings that go bump in the night (and day)
390 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 2, 2018
7 people are currently reading
11 people want to read
About the author
J.E. Nice
17 books5 followersFantasy author J E Nice lives in multiple worlds. When she’s not at home on the outskirts of the vibrant city of Bristol in the UK, she’s planning her escape to Scotland and adventuring with ghost hunters, fae, dragons and sky pirates.
She’s been writing her whole life and has tried to write books that aren’t fantasy but a dragon will inevitably pop up. Along with a detective. She has a thing about detectives.
You’ll find her on Instagram at @writeintothewoods where she shares her days, writing updates, dog videos and photos of cake. Because, cake.
She’s been writing her whole life and has tried to write books that aren’t fantasy but a dragon will inevitably pop up. Along with a detective. She has a thing about detectives.
You’ll find her on Instagram at @writeintothewoods where she shares her days, writing updates, dog videos and photos of cake. Because, cake.
Ratings & Reviews
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Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
July 31, 2023
3.5 stars - rounded up to 4
I wish this book would be made into a TV series! It would be a big hit.
Charmed meets The Ghost Whisperer with an extra special otherworldly touch.
Witches, fae, time travel, and spirits - all of them together in a tale shouldn't work right?! But Nice makes it work and she does it in style. Beginnings is a fast paced and downright addictive tale of magic and mystery, friendship and found family, adventure and love.
An intriguing mystery,
great characters to root for,
an adorable little girl,
a sexy - scratch that - drool-worthy handyman I'd rather want to claim for myself
a cute furry companion,
a very special grandmother,
and friendship as good as it gets
....
this book has it all and more.
The scene shifts were a bit too abrupt for comfort, especially since the pace is rather fast, but that is something easily fixed with a small formatting adjustment which may already be in place in the newer version of the book. Mine is an old one, and perhaps this is the problem.
That and the fact I found it a bit hard to orient myself within the setting at times are my only complaints.
Beginnings is a truly wonderful tale.
I wish this book would be made into a TV series! It would be a big hit.
Charmed meets The Ghost Whisperer with an extra special otherworldly touch.
Witches, fae, time travel, and spirits - all of them together in a tale shouldn't work right?! But Nice makes it work and she does it in style. Beginnings is a fast paced and downright addictive tale of magic and mystery, friendship and found family, adventure and love.
An intriguing mystery,
great characters to root for,
an adorable little girl,
a sexy - scratch that - drool-worthy handyman I'd rather want to claim for myself
a cute furry companion,
a very special grandmother,
and friendship as good as it gets
....
this book has it all and more.
The scene shifts were a bit too abrupt for comfort, especially since the pace is rather fast, but that is something easily fixed with a small formatting adjustment which may already be in place in the newer version of the book. Mine is an old one, and perhaps this is the problem.
That and the fact I found it a bit hard to orient myself within the setting at times are my only complaints.
Beginnings is a truly wonderful tale.
August 23, 2023
This was a fun read and a solid start to a series that DEFINITELY did not go where I expected it to. Plenty of interesting threads opened up for future installments, which I will be checking out for sure. The writing is good, the pace is quick, and the characters feel real and are likeable, for the most part. I will say there were a few moments where I thought things were perhaps a bit convenient or that a character acted a bit blasé to certain remarkable events, and the "antagonist" in this book felt a little underdeveloped, or at least the motives were a tad murky, but I'm thinking that character will potentially be reappearing and more answers will be forthcoming. I hope so. The author did her job well in making you curious to know more and find out how things play out. Overall, a fun, fast, feisty, feminine-led fantasy read!
March 13, 2020
Beginnings is absolutely brilliant. I'm always a little skeptical when it comes to anything paranormal. I must admit Nice handles it all brilliantly, and you're drawn in with the opening line. You can't help but fall in love with Erica and Jess. Once you start reading, it's hard to put this book down, even for snack breaks!
February 6, 2020
You have to read this book!
I really can't tell you about this book as there are so many surprises that you need to experience for yourself as the reader.
All I will say is that I could not put this book down and I went through all my emotions while reading it.
I really can't tell you about this book as there are so many surprises that you need to experience for yourself as the reader.
All I will say is that I could not put this book down and I went through all my emotions while reading it.
August 22, 2020
Magnificent ! Nice does a wonderful job with this story of friendship and so much more. Adventure, suspense and just all around wonderful characters! She grabs your attention from page one and never lets it go.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews