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The Bayshore Witch Legacy #1
Coven of Secrets
A broken witch. A missing sister. A grisly murder.
Once touched by darkness, always tainted. Roxanne Cole swore off magic for a reason. But now her little sister Kathryn has gone missing, and the only person willing to help is her pretty-boy nemesis, Ray Hammond. Roxy’s not sure she can trust him, but with nowhere else to turn, she’s forced into an uneasy alliance.
When the coven's high priestess also goes missing, it seems her sister’s disappearance is just a small piece of a much bigger puzzle. And the more she works with Ray, the more she realizes he’s just another temptation that could add to the ever-increasing magical missing persons count.
As bodies start dropping and the death toll rises, it becomes clear someone is declaring war on the Bayshore Witches. Now, if Roxy wants her little sister back, she’ll have to decide what, and who, she's willing to sacrifice.
If you liked Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman or Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake and Merry Gentry series, you'll love C. J. Beaumont's up-and-coming supernatural thriller, the Bayshore Witch Legacy series.
Pre-order today to join Roxy in her chilling quest to save the only family she has left.
Note: This is book one of a slow burn paranormal romance series that must be read in order to make sense.
Once touched by darkness, always tainted. Roxanne Cole swore off magic for a reason. But now her little sister Kathryn has gone missing, and the only person willing to help is her pretty-boy nemesis, Ray Hammond. Roxy’s not sure she can trust him, but with nowhere else to turn, she’s forced into an uneasy alliance.
When the coven's high priestess also goes missing, it seems her sister’s disappearance is just a small piece of a much bigger puzzle. And the more she works with Ray, the more she realizes he’s just another temptation that could add to the ever-increasing magical missing persons count.
As bodies start dropping and the death toll rises, it becomes clear someone is declaring war on the Bayshore Witches. Now, if Roxy wants her little sister back, she’ll have to decide what, and who, she's willing to sacrifice.
If you liked Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman or Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake and Merry Gentry series, you'll love C. J. Beaumont's up-and-coming supernatural thriller, the Bayshore Witch Legacy series.
Pre-order today to join Roxy in her chilling quest to save the only family she has left.
Note: This is book one of a slow burn paranormal romance series that must be read in order to make sense.
264 pages, Paperback
Published October 4, 2019
72 people are currently reading
193 people want to read
About the author
C.J. Beaumont
12 books845 followersUSA Today bestselling author C. J. Beaumont writes slow-burn YA/NA paranormal romance, blending magic and suspense with real-world issues rooted in her own battles with chronic and mental illness. When she’s not fusing mythology and mystery, you can find her reading, swimming with a mermaid tail, and devouring Lore Olympus and The CW’s Nancy Drew. She lives in Bay Minette, Alabama, with her husband and son, just north of Orange Beach and Gulf Shores. If you like her books, she recommends books by Alice Hoffman and Sarah J. Maas. They have both enchanted and inspired her. Subscribe to C. J.’s newsletter for a free book: begin The Bayshore Witch Legacy today!
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 71 reviews
July 15, 2021
To start, this is a DNF. I made it about 30% through the book before I quit in disgust. I meant only to take a break, but I've found myself so reluctant to pick this story up again I doubt I ever will.
I wanted to like this book, I really did. But reading it was an exercise in frustration, as it's so close to being different and unique and written well, only to fall down in a bunch of small but unignorable places.
And a couple of really big ones.
1) I don't like the heroine:
No, not because she's neurodiverse, but because she is patently unlikable. She is, without sufficient explanation, a truly royal b*tch to literally everyone she crosses paths with. Which is actually fine, honestly, because heroines--or even women in general--shouldn't always have to be nice. And heroines who have been through what this character has should definitely act believably like trauma victims, and the unfortunate reality is people who are in pain aren't always the nicest sorts to be around.
And women should get to be antiheroes too.
What I don't like is that there are no consequences for her not-so-nice behavior. Everyone is surprisingly tolerant of her ranting, her shouting, her suspicious nature, her lashing out, and her otherwise impaling them on the mile-high spiked walls she hides behind. Everyone seems to laugh it off, shrug it off, sigh tiredly but tolerate her, or otherwise forgive her her trespasses no matter how badly she treats them. Even the male going-to-be love interest seems strangely drawn to her, and poised to forgive years of inexplicable freezing out and verbal abuse at her hands with not overly much fuss.
Which...as long as we're talking fair realism in characterization--having an entire town of people just kinda shrug in the face of her hostility makes them seem like either sycophants or doormats. Or like the author wasn't sure how to write those conflicts without derailing her plot and so opted out of trying.
2) I don't respect the heroine:
The heroine:
* Gets judgey with and fights with her sister, but never tries honest communication with her as a way of resolving issues. But hey, if they had an honest talk the author wouldn't have a plot!
* Gets judgey of literally everyone she talks to. Everyone. It's exhausting to read.
* The aforementioned rudeness, hostility, and even downright abusive behavior to others with few to no consequences. (I don't know if the author meant for these other people to come across as smarmy but if she did, I feel like she failed--since the heroine sees everyone through such a negative lens I am more inclined to lean towards reading her as an unreliable narrator than most of the people she speaks to being legit unfriendly, suspicious, and/or evil.)
* She enters an emergency flailing like a child and quickly alienating everyone willing to help her resolve it. She then doubles down on this.
* She tries to solve said emergency the dumbest, most time consuming way possible and so, of course, does very little good. Her own behavior literally becomes one of the obstacles that needs overcome in order to solve said emergency.
* She doesn't seem that intelligent--for instance, she's genuinely shocked to discover people are gossiping about her in a small Southern town.
3) The heroine does not come off as all that bright:
Drilling down on this a bit because it does deserve to be it's own category.
I mean, mostly it's implied by how she behaves, such as chugging nothing but coffee on an empty stomach, wrecking her nervous system and her digestive track, throwing up in the bushes as a result, then sitting right back down to do it again. Because apparently both "Common Sense" and "Self Care" are ancient esoteric philosophies so complicated she's utterly unable to grasp them.
But the stand-out moment is when she loses her sh*t over the idea that a small Southern town has the gall to gossip about her. I mean, her sister just got kidnapped and she's spent the the entire day making a near-lunatic spectacle of herself, then she's shocked (shocked, I tell you!) to discover people might have a few whispered words to say about this. Her reaction to this revelation starts edging into pearl-clutching territory.
Which might make sense if the character is a recent transplant, but she grew up there. Did...did she spend her entire childhood blind, deaf, and in an isolation bubble? Because that's the only way I can imagine one wouldn't realize that small towns gossip.
Or...maybe the author never lived in a small town herself, much less one in the South where gossip doubles as both national pastime and Olympic sport? I mean, it's one of the Great Truths of the South--you have 'skeeters in summer, sweet tea in every restaurant, church on Sundays, and People Will Talk.
I genuinely can't decide if this is a research fail or a writing fail, but either way, the result was me literally staring slack-jawed at the book wondering just how low the MC's IQ really was.
4) Her behavior is weirdly inconsistent:
For instance: apparently knocking on every door in town and bothering complete strangers as they go about their day is easy, but facing down a smarmy desk clerk at the police station and refusing to leave until they give her the missing persons paperwork is whineHARDwhine. I mean, there doesn't seem to be any other explanation why, after lashing out at and/or inconveniencing everyone in town, suddenly she fails to dig her heels in at the bad attitude of a glorified secretary.
And this is just one of several areas where her established pattern of behavior just kinda...unravels without explanation. There are points you can almost feel the author needing to hurry the plot along (gotta keep that action pacing!) and not deal with small details like a realistic but more in depth portrayal of this character's interactions with the cops.
Or the author just wanted to make her a Woobie--after all, having the cops loudly ignore her makes her much more of a figure of pity and makes the odds feel more stacked against her than the less flashy but more realistic scenario of letting her fill out missing persons paperwork, then "losing" it at the bottom of a giant stack of documents or "misfiling" it in the garbage can.
5) I have seen better portrayals of neurodivergent characters:
Yes, I get it, the MC is supposed to be neurodivergent. When I first realized the fact, I was celebrating this book, and hungry to see what the author would do with her.
The answer is...nothing.
By the time I got to Chapter 10, the heroine felt like little more than a list of neurosis wrapped up in a ball of anger. I can tell you in detail every one of her mental health issues--depression, anxiety, self-harm, suicidal, built walls around herself, paranoid, low self-esteem, and so on--but I don't have an equivalent list of reasons to like her, or root for her, or want her to win. Her favorite color, things she did as a kid, her favorite thing about her sister or her grandmother, good memories she has with them, why she's friends with the people she is, what she likes best about her town, if she likes the rain or autumn or small pink flowers? No clue. She's barren as a character except for her neurosis--those are almost the only defining character traits she has, which makes her less a Main Character and more the DSM given legs and a smart mouth.
Worse, I don't even think this character is capable of overcoming her internal or external issues. She's shown no signs of it thus far, and I genuinely cannot think of one single thing that makes this character strong. The instant the false bravado of anger deserts her, she's toast.
And, you know, none of that is necessarily awful, especially if balanced with enough good that I could like and/or root for her. But...as it stands, I'm supposed to believe this heroine can overcome her issues and stop a killer, but from what I've been shown of her coping skills I honestly don't believe she could handle ants showing up at a picnic without melting down.
6) And can we talk about that second attempted suicide scene?:
I'm putting this under a cut for very obvious reasons. But yes, I'm gonna go there because I have a few things to say about this.
This has two solid stars because on Goodreads there is no such thing as a 0 star rating which automatically makes this a one star, and the sheer technical quality of the writing bumps this up a star. Real effort was made here, and I appreciate that. I also appreciate the attempt at a neurodiverse heroine, despite my dislike of the outcome.
But I can't give a higher rating because where this book falls down, it falls down very hard indeed.
I wanted to like this book, I really did. But reading it was an exercise in frustration, as it's so close to being different and unique and written well, only to fall down in a bunch of small but unignorable places.
And a couple of really big ones.
1) I don't like the heroine:
No, not because she's neurodiverse, but because she is patently unlikable. She is, without sufficient explanation, a truly royal b*tch to literally everyone she crosses paths with. Which is actually fine, honestly, because heroines--or even women in general--shouldn't always have to be nice. And heroines who have been through what this character has should definitely act believably like trauma victims, and the unfortunate reality is people who are in pain aren't always the nicest sorts to be around.
And women should get to be antiheroes too.
What I don't like is that there are no consequences for her not-so-nice behavior. Everyone is surprisingly tolerant of her ranting, her shouting, her suspicious nature, her lashing out, and her otherwise impaling them on the mile-high spiked walls she hides behind. Everyone seems to laugh it off, shrug it off, sigh tiredly but tolerate her, or otherwise forgive her her trespasses no matter how badly she treats them. Even the male going-to-be love interest seems strangely drawn to her, and poised to forgive years of inexplicable freezing out and verbal abuse at her hands with not overly much fuss.
Which...as long as we're talking fair realism in characterization--having an entire town of people just kinda shrug in the face of her hostility makes them seem like either sycophants or doormats. Or like the author wasn't sure how to write those conflicts without derailing her plot and so opted out of trying.
2) I don't respect the heroine:
The heroine:
* Gets judgey with and fights with her sister, but never tries honest communication with her as a way of resolving issues. But hey, if they had an honest talk the author wouldn't have a plot!
* Gets judgey of literally everyone she talks to. Everyone. It's exhausting to read.
* The aforementioned rudeness, hostility, and even downright abusive behavior to others with few to no consequences. (I don't know if the author meant for these other people to come across as smarmy but if she did, I feel like she failed--since the heroine sees everyone through such a negative lens I am more inclined to lean towards reading her as an unreliable narrator than most of the people she speaks to being legit unfriendly, suspicious, and/or evil.)
* She enters an emergency flailing like a child and quickly alienating everyone willing to help her resolve it. She then doubles down on this.
* She tries to solve said emergency the dumbest, most time consuming way possible and so, of course, does very little good. Her own behavior literally becomes one of the obstacles that needs overcome in order to solve said emergency.
* She doesn't seem that intelligent--for instance, she's genuinely shocked to discover people are gossiping about her in a small Southern town.
3) The heroine does not come off as all that bright:
Drilling down on this a bit because it does deserve to be it's own category.
I mean, mostly it's implied by how she behaves, such as chugging nothing but coffee on an empty stomach, wrecking her nervous system and her digestive track, throwing up in the bushes as a result, then sitting right back down to do it again. Because apparently both "Common Sense" and "Self Care" are ancient esoteric philosophies so complicated she's utterly unable to grasp them.
But the stand-out moment is when she loses her sh*t over the idea that a small Southern town has the gall to gossip about her. I mean, her sister just got kidnapped and she's spent the the entire day making a near-lunatic spectacle of herself, then she's shocked (shocked, I tell you!) to discover people might have a few whispered words to say about this. Her reaction to this revelation starts edging into pearl-clutching territory.
Which might make sense if the character is a recent transplant, but she grew up there. Did...did she spend her entire childhood blind, deaf, and in an isolation bubble? Because that's the only way I can imagine one wouldn't realize that small towns gossip.
Or...maybe the author never lived in a small town herself, much less one in the South where gossip doubles as both national pastime and Olympic sport? I mean, it's one of the Great Truths of the South--you have 'skeeters in summer, sweet tea in every restaurant, church on Sundays, and People Will Talk.
I genuinely can't decide if this is a research fail or a writing fail, but either way, the result was me literally staring slack-jawed at the book wondering just how low the MC's IQ really was.
4) Her behavior is weirdly inconsistent:
For instance: apparently knocking on every door in town and bothering complete strangers as they go about their day is easy, but facing down a smarmy desk clerk at the police station and refusing to leave until they give her the missing persons paperwork is whineHARDwhine. I mean, there doesn't seem to be any other explanation why, after lashing out at and/or inconveniencing everyone in town, suddenly she fails to dig her heels in at the bad attitude of a glorified secretary.
And this is just one of several areas where her established pattern of behavior just kinda...unravels without explanation. There are points you can almost feel the author needing to hurry the plot along (gotta keep that action pacing!) and not deal with small details like a realistic but more in depth portrayal of this character's interactions with the cops.
Or the author just wanted to make her a Woobie--after all, having the cops loudly ignore her makes her much more of a figure of pity and makes the odds feel more stacked against her than the less flashy but more realistic scenario of letting her fill out missing persons paperwork, then "losing" it at the bottom of a giant stack of documents or "misfiling" it in the garbage can.
5) I have seen better portrayals of neurodivergent characters:
Yes, I get it, the MC is supposed to be neurodivergent. When I first realized the fact, I was celebrating this book, and hungry to see what the author would do with her.
The answer is...nothing.
By the time I got to Chapter 10, the heroine felt like little more than a list of neurosis wrapped up in a ball of anger. I can tell you in detail every one of her mental health issues--depression, anxiety, self-harm, suicidal, built walls around herself, paranoid, low self-esteem, and so on--but I don't have an equivalent list of reasons to like her, or root for her, or want her to win. Her favorite color, things she did as a kid, her favorite thing about her sister or her grandmother, good memories she has with them, why she's friends with the people she is, what she likes best about her town, if she likes the rain or autumn or small pink flowers? No clue. She's barren as a character except for her neurosis--those are almost the only defining character traits she has, which makes her less a Main Character and more the DSM given legs and a smart mouth.
Worse, I don't even think this character is capable of overcoming her internal or external issues. She's shown no signs of it thus far, and I genuinely cannot think of one single thing that makes this character strong. The instant the false bravado of anger deserts her, she's toast.
And, you know, none of that is necessarily awful, especially if balanced with enough good that I could like and/or root for her. But...as it stands, I'm supposed to believe this heroine can overcome her issues and stop a killer, but from what I've been shown of her coping skills I honestly don't believe she could handle ants showing up at a picnic without melting down.
6) And can we talk about that second attempted suicide scene?:
I'm putting this under a cut for very obvious reasons. But yes, I'm gonna go there because I have a few things to say about this.
This has two solid stars because on Goodreads there is no such thing as a 0 star rating which automatically makes this a one star, and the sheer technical quality of the writing bumps this up a star. Real effort was made here, and I appreciate that. I also appreciate the attempt at a neurodiverse heroine, despite my dislike of the outcome.
But I can't give a higher rating because where this book falls down, it falls down very hard indeed.
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February 18, 2020🎁 FREE on Amazon today (2/18/2020)! 🎁
February 6, 2022
A good story.
Trigger earning: there is an attempted suicide in the beginning of the story. I like this story with twists, danger and mystery. Roxy is a damaged character, and other characters in this book are good characters. Roxy's grandmother is good. I do not like it when she tells Roxy a prophecy and never explains it. I hate that. Why not explain to Roxy what the prophecy means? I will be reading the next book.
Trigger earning: there is an attempted suicide in the beginning of the story. I like this story with twists, danger and mystery. Roxy is a damaged character, and other characters in this book are good characters. Roxy's grandmother is good. I do not like it when she tells Roxy a prophecy and never explains it. I hate that. Why not explain to Roxy what the prophecy means? I will be reading the next book.
November 14, 2021
This is a fantastic read! It’s well written and exciting and full of action, danger, murder and twists and turns to keep you on your toes. A gripping witchy read with some fantastic characters and I look forward to where we go next!
December 11, 2019
I really struggled.... struggled to put this book down, that is!
I loved that this book was a mix of fantasy and murder mystery. It was something different and yet oddly familiar.
I also was shocked at how much I felt like I was the lead, Roxanne, at times. The relationship with her sister Kat that the author was able to develop felt exactly like the relationship my own little sister and I have at times. It's uncanny!
This was also possibly the most normal. lead. Roxanne struggles with self-harm and suicidal thoughts which I will guess is incredibly relatable for some readers. It also may be triggering, so here's your warning.
I am absolutely craving book two. I think I've found a new favorite of new-to-me authors!
Thank you to the opportunity to read an ARC of this book. I have voluntarily read this book and the opinions expressed are my own.
I loved that this book was a mix of fantasy and murder mystery. It was something different and yet oddly familiar.
I also was shocked at how much I felt like I was the lead, Roxanne, at times. The relationship with her sister Kat that the author was able to develop felt exactly like the relationship my own little sister and I have at times. It's uncanny!
This was also possibly the most normal. lead. Roxanne struggles with self-harm and suicidal thoughts which I will guess is incredibly relatable for some readers. It also may be triggering, so here's your warning.
I am absolutely craving book two. I think I've found a new favorite of new-to-me authors!
Thank you to the opportunity to read an ARC of this book. I have voluntarily read this book and the opinions expressed are my own.
November 19, 2019
I received a free review copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Actual review is 4.5 stars. I thoroughly enjoyed this mystery! The only thing keeping this from five stars are some editing and continuity problems. But they are not as distracting as other books I've read recently. The characters are very likable and their motivations make sense. The enemies to lovers romance is an excrutiatingly slow burn. Which is fine! Just don't expect more than a peck by the end of the book. I find that to be more believable for an enemies to lovers set up. Can't wait for the next installment!
Actual review is 4.5 stars. I thoroughly enjoyed this mystery! The only thing keeping this from five stars are some editing and continuity problems. But they are not as distracting as other books I've read recently. The characters are very likable and their motivations make sense. The enemies to lovers romance is an excrutiatingly slow burn. Which is fine! Just don't expect more than a peck by the end of the book. I find that to be more believable for an enemies to lovers set up. Can't wait for the next installment!
January 11, 2020
Coven of Secrets (The Bayshore Witch Legacy Book 1) by C. J. Beaumont is a wonderful story to read. This is book number one in this wonderful start to a brand new series that I have fallen in love with. I highly recommend this story to everyone who loves reading about thrillers, suspense and paranormal romances.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
November 16, 2019
A thrilling story full of mystery, emotion and courage. I really liked reading the main character’s story. It wasn’t just the mystery of looking for her sister but her own demons she has to wrestle with along with the rest of the story.
And oh man the story leaves off in a cliffhanger leaving you anxiously waiting for the next book!
And oh man the story leaves off in a cliffhanger leaving you anxiously waiting for the next book!
April 26, 2020
A magical witch story with strong characters. Having your sister missing isn’t a great thing. Once you get involved, you can’t leave. Loved it.
April 13, 2020
At 17, Roxanne Cole had been a very troubled, young witch headed down a path of darkness and destruction when her beloved Granny had pulled her back from the brink of death at her own hands. Seven years later, she is still recovering but has, pretty much, been getting her life together, making a living as a legal transcriptionist, when Granny passes away. Granny had been the high priestess of the Bayshore Witches Coven and by rights and responsibility, Roxanne should have stepped up to replace her. However, because of her earlier experiences, Roxanne had completely renounced magic and her place in the Coven, and Olivia, a distant relation from another bloodline, had taken on the role. Roxanne is the guardian of her younger sister, Kathryn, a teenager who is also grieving the loss of their grandmother and, as a result, has become quite difficult to manage.
One day, Roxy catches the local television news and is shocked to see Kat being interviewed as the planner and organizer of Bayshore’s first-ever Witch Festival. Kat (who’s skipped school) and several other young witches, too young to be initiated into the Coven, have outed the Coven and announced to the world that witches and witchcraft really exist. As she waits for Kat to get home and explain herself, Roxy discovers that her younger sister may be going down the same dark path she had traveled so many years before.
The sisters’ confrontation goes off the rails right away. Kat is an angry, young woman and has been rebelling against the old ways and the Coven on social media and is disgusted with Roxy’s decision to leave magic behind. Soon Olivia arrives and to de-escalate the tension between the two sisters, convinces Roxy to let Kat come and stay with her and her daughter, Darlene’s, family. (Darlene’s daughter, Sylvia, is Kat’s best friend.) Roxy reluctantly agrees and the following morning she receives a call from Darlene that Kat disappeared during the night leaving behind her cellphone and other possessions.Frantically, Roxy searches for the missing teenager, and when she gets nowhere on her own, she has no choice but to accept the help of Ray Hammond, an old nemesis from high school. A former high school athletic stand out, pretty boy, and one of the “cool kids,” back in the day his buddies and their girlfriends had unmercifully bullied Roxy and been the source of much of her younger self’s anguish. But Ray was now a successful private investigator in town and may be able to get information and cooperation out of the Coven members that they have denied Roxy who they feel betrayed and turned her back on them.
But the case does not come to a swift conclusion as Kat’s whereabouts and well-being remains unknown and more witches, including the high priestess, Olivia, disappear. And when some of the missing witches are found murdered, Ray and Roxy know Kat isn’t just a disgruntled runaway but in the worst kind of danger.Coven of Secrets is tension-filled from the first sentence, and warning, it starts out with a suicide attempt. I was drawn into Roxy’s world immediately and wanted her to be alright, succeed, and overcome the problems she was facing. Her younger sister seemed to be reacting pretty much as teens do but she is a mystery yet to be revealed. The chemistry between Roxy and Ray, although immediately apparent to the reader, evolves slowly as the two work through the search for the missing witches.
The author has created a great hometown in Bayshore and a good backstory creating the existing conflict between Ray and Roxy which plays into her mindset from the very beginning of the book. The history and hierarchy of the Coven are solid, easy to understand, and interesting. I anxiously await the next book in this new series. I recommend this book for readers that enjoy stories featuring modern-day witches and thrilling mysteries involving paranormal themes.I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving a free copy.
March 11, 2020
Trigger warning: this book starts off with an attempted suicide, please be aware of this before you decide to read this book.
Roxy is a troubled witch who has denounced her magic and left her coven, but her little sister Kat is determined to get into the thick of magical business. Their grandmother hasn’t long passed when Kat helps several other young witches promote their coven and their witchy behaviour to their community at large.
Always at odds, Roxy and Kat have a difficult time communicating with each other after their grandmother passed and Kat decides to stay with their coven priestess to give each other some space. When Kat goes missing, Roxy goes on a mission to find her, even recruiting her old high-school nemesis, Ray Hammond.
But the closer Roxy gets to uncovering the truth, the more witches go missing and the more her ghostly grandmother warns her to stop looking for Kat. Undeterred and desperate, Roxy keeps searching, even when witch after witch begin disappearing from her coven.
Roxy is an abrasive main character but she has a lot of demons. The first scene depicts Roxy trying to commit suicide as the final act of a dark spell and although she doesn’t get the chance to complete it, she is forever haunted by the Shadow. This Shadow has some scary parallels to anxiety and depression, putting doubts and self-depreciating thoughts in Roxy’s head whenever she encounters a hurdle.
Despite this, Roxy pulls herself together time and time again to try and find her sister, even after several attempts are made on her life. She has an incredible strength of character even if she does push people away as often as she can.
The only part of the USA I’ve ever been to is the New York/New Jersey region and so I have no concept of the south at all. The southern town depicted in the book became very three-dimensional for me, brought very much to life with the vivid descriptions and the subtle and not-so-subtle inclusions – I’m talking rattlesnakes, people. The scariest thing I could have in my back garden is a fox. Also, a rattlesnake is a pretty cool way to send a warning, although Roxy might not agree with me.
Ray Hammond is a great love interest for Roxy: persistent, doesn’t take her crap and does his best to protect her. He handles learning about magic pretty well, too. As a human whose day to day involves dealing with other humans and their nature, his whole perception of the world is skewed when Roxy reveals her secret to him. Yet, he is still determined to be there for her, despite their rocky past.
I loved this book for its dark themes, its vivid characters and its high stakes. What I didn’t love it for was its cliffhanger. While there was an element of closure at the end of the book, when the fates of some of the witches are finally revealed, Roxy still didn’t find Kat and the mystery was even greater at the end of the book than when Kat first went missing. I’m a giant hypocrite because I’ve just finished a novel with a cliffhanger but I am always desperate to know what happens, this occasion included.
What I’m looking forward to in the sequel is a bit more closure, an advancement of Roxy and Ray’s romance and a truly epic battle between Roxy and whatever dark forces are at work that threaten her coven. I’m also anticipating Roxy will start using her magic even more, as she breaks several years of magical abstinence in Coven of Secrets and it would be amazing to see her embracing her skills again.
Roxy is a troubled witch who has denounced her magic and left her coven, but her little sister Kat is determined to get into the thick of magical business. Their grandmother hasn’t long passed when Kat helps several other young witches promote their coven and their witchy behaviour to their community at large.
Always at odds, Roxy and Kat have a difficult time communicating with each other after their grandmother passed and Kat decides to stay with their coven priestess to give each other some space. When Kat goes missing, Roxy goes on a mission to find her, even recruiting her old high-school nemesis, Ray Hammond.
But the closer Roxy gets to uncovering the truth, the more witches go missing and the more her ghostly grandmother warns her to stop looking for Kat. Undeterred and desperate, Roxy keeps searching, even when witch after witch begin disappearing from her coven.
Roxy is an abrasive main character but she has a lot of demons. The first scene depicts Roxy trying to commit suicide as the final act of a dark spell and although she doesn’t get the chance to complete it, she is forever haunted by the Shadow. This Shadow has some scary parallels to anxiety and depression, putting doubts and self-depreciating thoughts in Roxy’s head whenever she encounters a hurdle.
Despite this, Roxy pulls herself together time and time again to try and find her sister, even after several attempts are made on her life. She has an incredible strength of character even if she does push people away as often as she can.
The only part of the USA I’ve ever been to is the New York/New Jersey region and so I have no concept of the south at all. The southern town depicted in the book became very three-dimensional for me, brought very much to life with the vivid descriptions and the subtle and not-so-subtle inclusions – I’m talking rattlesnakes, people. The scariest thing I could have in my back garden is a fox. Also, a rattlesnake is a pretty cool way to send a warning, although Roxy might not agree with me.
Ray Hammond is a great love interest for Roxy: persistent, doesn’t take her crap and does his best to protect her. He handles learning about magic pretty well, too. As a human whose day to day involves dealing with other humans and their nature, his whole perception of the world is skewed when Roxy reveals her secret to him. Yet, he is still determined to be there for her, despite their rocky past.
I loved this book for its dark themes, its vivid characters and its high stakes. What I didn’t love it for was its cliffhanger. While there was an element of closure at the end of the book, when the fates of some of the witches are finally revealed, Roxy still didn’t find Kat and the mystery was even greater at the end of the book than when Kat first went missing. I’m a giant hypocrite because I’ve just finished a novel with a cliffhanger but I am always desperate to know what happens, this occasion included.
What I’m looking forward to in the sequel is a bit more closure, an advancement of Roxy and Ray’s romance and a truly epic battle between Roxy and whatever dark forces are at work that threaten her coven. I’m also anticipating Roxy will start using her magic even more, as she breaks several years of magical abstinence in Coven of Secrets and it would be amazing to see her embracing her skills again.
March 24, 2020
This is the first story in the Bayshore Witch Legacy series and it’s definitely a slow burn. At least in the romance department, which is perfectly fine by me because this series starts off with a bang, and just keeps going.
Roxanne is a witch who decided 7 years ago that she no longer wanted to be one. Things happened when she was a teenager, bad things, something’s scarred for life and given her a shadow figure of herself that taunts her at every opportunity.
But now, it’s 7 years after that incident and things have changed. Her beloved grandmother has passed and she’s the sole guardian to her younger sister Kat. A teenager. You’d think that two-word sentence, a teenager, would be enough for you to understand everything Roxanne’s going through, but it’s truly not. Kat (Kathryn) has just outed herself and the fact that witches are real to the whole world. News crews and all. After discovering damning evidence that Kat’s attempting necromancy among other black arts, Roxanne and Kat have a huge blowout and Roxanne goes to stay with the coven’s High Priestess’s daughter and granddaughter. Only problem? The next morning, there’s no trace of Kat. She’s disappeared and Roxanne gets help from the last person in the world she wanted to go to, Ray Hammond. Roxanne and Ray have history together. High School history. His friends bullied her, and he never did anything about it, so in Roxanne’s mind, that makes him complicit. But now, the two make a deal and he starts to investigate the disappearance. While doing that, he’s exposed to the fact that witches are real, and so is magic. Not that he’s happy about it. Especially when you add in the ghost of her grandmother, who makes periodic appearances to tell Roxanne to stop looking. Of course, Roxanne doesn’t listen.
But, Kat’s not the only witch in town to come up missing. The High Priestess has disappeared, and not only has the High Priestess, but the interim High Priestess as well. It’s evident that someone’s targeting the coven, and it’s up to Roxanne and Ray to find out who.
There’s so much action in this book, you don’t want to stop reading. It’s compelling. It’s heart pounding, it’s action. We’re talking witches, ghosts, murder. I’m obsessed now and I need more!
Roxanne is a witch who decided 7 years ago that she no longer wanted to be one. Things happened when she was a teenager, bad things, something’s scarred for life and given her a shadow figure of herself that taunts her at every opportunity.
But now, it’s 7 years after that incident and things have changed. Her beloved grandmother has passed and she’s the sole guardian to her younger sister Kat. A teenager. You’d think that two-word sentence, a teenager, would be enough for you to understand everything Roxanne’s going through, but it’s truly not. Kat (Kathryn) has just outed herself and the fact that witches are real to the whole world. News crews and all. After discovering damning evidence that Kat’s attempting necromancy among other black arts, Roxanne and Kat have a huge blowout and Roxanne goes to stay with the coven’s High Priestess’s daughter and granddaughter. Only problem? The next morning, there’s no trace of Kat. She’s disappeared and Roxanne gets help from the last person in the world she wanted to go to, Ray Hammond. Roxanne and Ray have history together. High School history. His friends bullied her, and he never did anything about it, so in Roxanne’s mind, that makes him complicit. But now, the two make a deal and he starts to investigate the disappearance. While doing that, he’s exposed to the fact that witches are real, and so is magic. Not that he’s happy about it. Especially when you add in the ghost of her grandmother, who makes periodic appearances to tell Roxanne to stop looking. Of course, Roxanne doesn’t listen.
But, Kat’s not the only witch in town to come up missing. The High Priestess has disappeared, and not only has the High Priestess, but the interim High Priestess as well. It’s evident that someone’s targeting the coven, and it’s up to Roxanne and Ray to find out who.
There’s so much action in this book, you don’t want to stop reading. It’s compelling. It’s heart pounding, it’s action. We’re talking witches, ghosts, murder. I’m obsessed now and I need more!
January 15, 2024
TW: suicide
I started reading this book right after posting my last review, so — let me keep rolling before the gas is out and I’m in darkness of no reading for however long this time around (not to mention writing this reviews with the latest nail fashion has been hell, long nails ain’t my jam but I’m sporting it, and making so many mistakes. I’m sorry. But I ain’t gonna fix them, cause it takes 10x longer and while dictation is real, it makes mistakes as well).
Okay, it was a slow burn, slow and slow. But bear with me. It’s a book about magic and investigation and murder and everything else in the book but answers. Rox for over an year after a suicide attempt is not using her magic, she left a coven she barely entered, and been keeping her sister away from the practice that has brought her pain; however, when you keep someone away from something, that thing just calls fo them. Rox’s sister has embraced her magic and has shown mere mortals that magic is real. After that she vanishes. Rox has one meltdown after the other while trying to get the police to search for her missing sister. They sit back and do nothing. Then the head of the Coven is taken and police is involved. A private eye from the high school and possible dormant crush is her only help.
Nothing concrete has been uncovered in this volume, but a lot of questions rose. I was entertained by the speaking cat, and ghost appearances, but it was painfully slow for this mystery to unfold. I honestly thought it was going to take me a week to finish this and was highly surprised when it ended with no answers, but common sense to dictate: there’s a witch hunt, and two people are dead and other two are missing. What are the nasty secrets that lurks, that kills? I’m starting to think it has something to do with Rox ex-boyfriend that tried to have her commit suicide on the first two pages of this book.
I kept reading for the sneak peek, and yet: no answers to the secrets named after the title. Oh well.
I started reading this book right after posting my last review, so — let me keep rolling before the gas is out and I’m in darkness of no reading for however long this time around (not to mention writing this reviews with the latest nail fashion has been hell, long nails ain’t my jam but I’m sporting it, and making so many mistakes. I’m sorry. But I ain’t gonna fix them, cause it takes 10x longer and while dictation is real, it makes mistakes as well).
Okay, it was a slow burn, slow and slow. But bear with me. It’s a book about magic and investigation and murder and everything else in the book but answers. Rox for over an year after a suicide attempt is not using her magic, she left a coven she barely entered, and been keeping her sister away from the practice that has brought her pain; however, when you keep someone away from something, that thing just calls fo them. Rox’s sister has embraced her magic and has shown mere mortals that magic is real. After that she vanishes. Rox has one meltdown after the other while trying to get the police to search for her missing sister. They sit back and do nothing. Then the head of the Coven is taken and police is involved. A private eye from the high school and possible dormant crush is her only help.
Nothing concrete has been uncovered in this volume, but a lot of questions rose. I was entertained by the speaking cat, and ghost appearances, but it was painfully slow for this mystery to unfold. I honestly thought it was going to take me a week to finish this and was highly surprised when it ended with no answers, but common sense to dictate: there’s a witch hunt, and two people are dead and other two are missing. What are the nasty secrets that lurks, that kills? I’m starting to think it has something to do with Rox ex-boyfriend that tried to have her commit suicide on the first two pages of this book.
I kept reading for the sneak peek, and yet: no answers to the secrets named after the title. Oh well.
February 29, 2020
Roxanne Cole is a non practicing witch along with her sister Kathryn who is an active witch in training but not with their coven Roxie would soon find out after she sees her sister on the tv, but she has to know about what she has been doing and with whom. When Kat gets home they fight and Kat wants to leave and stay at her best friends for a while, Roxanne wasn't having any of it. Darlene and Olivia her mother came to pick Kat up. Roxie had an issue with Darlene but she relented a after Olivia talked her down that they needed a break from each other. Roxie gets a call the next day that her sister is missing from the High priestess house. When she gets there they don't have any real answers and Sylvia Kat's friend told her that she left because of Roxie but Roxie knew better her sis would never leave without her phone or her purse sot she tries to get other help but she waited after talking to a policewoman whom had teens of her own. She was having a very bad day she was sick and she thought her blood pressure was up she was totally frustrated so she turned to the one person she liked the least in the world because he had a Private Investigation Agency, Ray Hammond was fine but she knew she was going to have problem with him but he was all she had. Suspense, Action and some Romance Great story line and the characters are very intriguing. Book 1 of the series, I was given an ARC as a gift from the author without obligation. I am providing an honest review.
August 12, 2020
Cool, unique story with some magical elements. I actually would’ve loved a bit more magical aspects. Roxanne has denied her witch nature because of some past bad stuff and doesn’t trust herself to use magic. She’s a flawed and slightly damaged character, but she has her moments of strength. Roxy’s younger sister goes missing under mysterious circumstances, so Roxy is pretty distraught. It was at times a bit over the top; she’s a bit of a mess, but I see the opportunity for growth with her. Roxy’s sister outed herself as a witch right before she went missing and some other witches start going missing, so there’s something really weird going on. Roxy asks a local investigator, Ray; a guy that she knew when she was younger to help out; they weren’t exactly friends in the past, but she needs all the help she can get. Loved how supportive Ray is and they do have some chemistry. This book is fairly light on the romance, so I’d like more of that in the future. I was a bit disappointed that we didn’t get more information about Roxy’s past or what’s happening with the missing people; this book ends in a cliffhanger. There’s still a lot of story to be told. Entertaining story the whole way through; looking forward to reading the next book.
December 16, 2021
Coven of Secrets by C.J. Beaumont is Book 2 in The Bayshore Witch Legacy series. This is a well written, fast paced, action filled, page turning adventure that has danger, twists/turns, murder and wonderful characters. Roxy has become guardian of her sister Kat since her grandmother died. Kat has disappeared after their horrendous fight over Kat practicing black magic. Now she reluctantly turns to Ray Hammond, a PI, who she has a history with (she cast a love spell on Ray in high school that went wrong). While looking for Kat, Roxy uncovers many secrets which her grandmother and wants her to stop looking and witches are being murdered. What else will Roxy and Ray discover? Am anxious to see where C.J. Beaumont will take our characters in the next book in the series.
February 23, 2020
I’ve not read anything by C. J. Beaumont before, but after reading Coven of Secrets (The Bayshore Witch Legacy Book 1) I’m promising myself that I’m going to change that track record. This was great stuff. A slow burn romance starting off, a thrilling adventure of a tale, a string heroine (I love Kathryn, she’s complex and interesting). Strong works-building and plot with really excellent writing ru pull it all together. I’m looking forward to the next book in this series and happily recommend this one.
January 4, 2020
“Coven of Secrets” is an amazing paranormal tale filled with intrigue and suspense surrounding the mysterious disappearances of witches. This adventurous tale has exciting main characters trying to solve this mystery. Watch out for twists that pull you into this tale and will keep you in suspense while making your heart drop at the cliffhanger!
I received a free copy of this book. This review was posted voluntarily
I received a free copy of this book. This review was posted voluntarily
February 19, 2020
Suicide triggers. A bit slow. The pace begins to pick up around Chapter 20. As I reached Chapter 30, I began to wonder if this is a complete story. Or maybe just an introduction. Turns out to simply be an introduction.
Action-packed. Easy-to-read. Tragic. Twisted. Unpredictable.
I received a copy of this book as a gift. This is my honest review.
Action-packed. Easy-to-read. Tragic. Twisted. Unpredictable.
I received a copy of this book as a gift. This is my honest review.
Read
March 3, 2020Coven of Secrets (The Bayshore Witch Legacy Book 1), my first read from author C. J. Beaumont, caught my attention in the opening pages & I never put it down until completed. I look forward to reading more in this series & from this author. "I received a free review copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review." (RIP Marley January 20, 2014 - July 24, 2018).
March 25, 2020
An amazing read that keeps your attention. Kat goes missing from a friends place and Roxy wants answers. Since the police are not doing anything; so Roxy must hire a private investigator. Ray is about facts until he sees magic and panics. Witches are missing can Roxy and Ray determine who is behind the kidnappings. Who died and will Kat be found?
February 23, 2023
Riveting Murder Mystery in the Bayshore Witches Legacy Series
Loved this book so much, didn't want to put it down... Love the characters, the setting and location... Can't wait to read book 2 ... Suspenseful with a hint of romance 😄 I'd recommend to anyone who likes suspense, murder mysteries and witches ... Language warning ... 5 Stars from me 😄
Loved this book so much, didn't want to put it down... Love the characters, the setting and location... Can't wait to read book 2 ... Suspenseful with a hint of romance 😄 I'd recommend to anyone who likes suspense, murder mysteries and witches ... Language warning ... 5 Stars from me 😄
June 27, 2023
A paranormal mystery ~
Starts off strong and just keeps going.
Nothing is what it seems and with that knowledge who do you trust?
I have an idea brewing in my mind but I now must start the second book to see if my psychological skills are on par.
Interesting characters and storyline.
Starts off strong and just keeps going.
Nothing is what it seems and with that knowledge who do you trust?
I have an idea brewing in my mind but I now must start the second book to see if my psychological skills are on par.
Interesting characters and storyline.
February 7, 2020
I didn't like the main character, Roxanne Cole. She had a tantrum about everything. I liked the story and the witchcraft is interesting.
I received a free ARC from StoryOrigin for an honest review.
I received a free ARC from StoryOrigin for an honest review.
May 20, 2020
Don't waste your time
From cover to cover, the .ain character is an uptight, unlikable, standoffish kind of person. The story is not very exciting, almost boring. Will not be continuing the series.
From cover to cover, the .ain character is an uptight, unlikable, standoffish kind of person. The story is not very exciting, almost boring. Will not be continuing the series.
August 6, 2021
Fantastic book! Read it, read it now!
Read
August 24, 2021this book was really well done i had a hard time putting it down
dnf-not-for-me
October 31, 20211/10: Couldn't get past the first few chapters; not for me.
December 16, 2021
I enjoyed this story from the first page. well worth reading.
January 4, 2022
What an amazingly twisted and fantastic story! Once I started reading I just had to keep going until the end.
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