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Pepper in her first trimester...and what a trimester it is!

All of Magnolia Cove is buzzing when soothsayers arrive to offer blessings to Pepper's and Axel's unborn child. But when one of the soothsayers foresees death, the celebration quickly turns sour.

Don't worry because there is a solution. But when the solution turns deadly and someone winds up murdered, it looks like any and all of Pepper's relatives could be guilty--even Axel!

Can Pepper figure out who committed the murder before the killer strikes again? Or will she become the next victim?

188 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 13, 2020

651 people are currently reading
413 people want to read

About the author

Amy Boyles

158 books1,529 followers
Hey, I’m Amy,
I write books for folks who crave laugh-out-loud paranormal mysteries. I help bring humor into readers’ lives. I’ve got a Pharm D in pharmacy, a BA in Creative Writing and a Masters in Life.
And when I’m not writing or chasing around two small children (one of which is four going on thirteen), I can be found antique shopping for a great deal, getting my roots touched up (because that’s an every four week job) and figuring out when I can get back to Disney World.
If you’re dying to know more about my wacky life, here are three things you don’t know about me.
—In college I spent a semester at Marvel Comics working in the X-Men office.
—I worked at Carnegie Hall.
—I grew up in a barbecue restaurant—literally. My parents owned one.
If you want to reach out to me—and I love to hear from readers—you can email me at amyboylesauthor@gmail.com.
Happy reading!

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5 stars
593 (60%)
4 stars
273 (27%)
3 stars
103 (10%)
2 stars
7 (<1%)
1 star
3 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews
Profile Image for Bethany.
188 reviews
May 16, 2022
Y'all, I have never wanted to read a cat's backstory so much in my life!
Profile Image for Micaylah.
82 reviews30 followers
July 21, 2023
I'm confused...

So Pepper gets married and in the next book she's pregnant? And we have to read some other book to find out what happened to Rufus? Really? If this was your editor's idea fire them. Not liking this, and I'm disappointed in this book series now.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Loretta TheMoodyRedhead.
1,044 reviews4 followers
March 1, 2024
Southern Omens

Ok y’all, Pepper is at the point in her stubbornness and lies that I can’t stand it anymore! She lied to Axel so many times throughout this book. I’m surprised he didn’t do anything about it except tell her he was upset and then pretty much just roll his eyes. I’d be hella upset! It isn’t just her anymore, she’s housing a human. If something bad happens to her, the same thing is happening to an innocent infant who has no control over her outcome.

Yes, this is fiction, but it still enrages me! Maybe that’s just good writing though. You know, the kind that makes you feel something even if that feeling is anger. Ya, I’m angered.

So Pepper gets a celebration that is called Presents Day. It’s when soothsayers tell the mommy-to-be the future of her unborn child and the hope is that the news is awesome, like telling Pepper her daughter will be the next Queen of England or that she’ll be the one to solve the problem of world hunger. Stuff like that.

But since this is a magic town and Pepper is the subject, you know something bad is bound to happen. Yep, something worse than bad happens when one of the sayers predicts death. Death to the baby?! Presents Day is supposed to be a great day for the mommy-to-be, but this day is anything but for unsuspecting Pepper.

Then, Pepper discovers Betty is going to die. And the predicted death does occur and the first person arrested is one of Pepper’s relatives because that relative was seen arguing with the victim only moments before the death.

Since this involves Pepper’s family, she decides to get to the bottom of things and find out who the killer is. She doesn’t want Axel to know though, so when he asks where she’s going she tells him she’s just going to her store when she’s actually going out to break into someone’s house!

Another thing struck me as crazy when I first started this book was that Pepper is in her first trimester of pregnancy and the baby isn’t even Axel’s! Haha, I’m kidding!! What I was actually saying is that in the last book Pepper had just gotten married and the ink wasn’t even dry on the marriage certificate and then in this book, here she is pregnant. Dang, witches and werewolves work quickly! Will the next book have their child already graduating high school?! Lol.

Next is book 18 of 28 Southern Jinxed.
Profile Image for Alexis.
412 reviews4 followers
August 7, 2022
WE NEED A PREQUEL JUST ABOUT MATTIE! Without ruining the entire book I’m just gonna leave that right there! I loved this story so much; I’m starting to notice that after book fifteen the action and fun has really started to soar from the pages. First of all we find out the most exciting news since Axel’s proposal, Pepper is pregnant! Finally our most favorite Sweet Tea Witch is gonna be a mama! This was a really really fun book, where I think we learned a lot more about Magnolia Cove. Once again Pepper is introduced to a new tradition she wasn’t familiar with from the mortal world. Instead of a fun baby shower with games and cake she is presented with something incredible different she almost didn’t know how to react. There were tons of strangers afoot and to top it off everyone was dressed in garb from the Renaissance Festival. Now the reason all of these strangers were there was the real kicker; these people were Soothsayers! They came to tell Pepper the fortunes of her child to be. Right off the bat she was incredibly weary of the entire process and really didn’t want to engage, she should have listened to her gut instinct. The fortunes were very very dark and ended up in a death sentence for someone! Betty decides to take it upon herself to carry the burden of death…I truly don’t want to spoil anything for the readers but this installment really has you on THE VERY EDGE of your seat. Nothing is how it seems and our Sweet Tea Witches truly need to come to together to set everything straight. Run don’t walk to this installment it’s none stop interesting
Profile Image for Lita.
2,538 reviews7 followers
January 18, 2021
This was a fun little read but I was very annoyed with the author's repeated use of people running their fingers down their faces. Not only was it irrelevant to the story, but reading it so many times kept pulling me out of the story and irritated me unnecessarily.

I've read stories where people roll their eyes, chew on their bottom lip, rub their chin, shrug their shoulders, place their hands on their hips, or adopt the akimbo pose (same thing) so many times I just want to quit reading. Not only does it add nothing to the story, it detracts from it and irritates readers. So a story that might have gotten 4 stars gets 3 because I'm so annoyed. If the next book is like this one, I'm done with Amy Boyles. I've read almost all of her books and it's been fun, but this wasn't as much fun as it could have been.
Profile Image for Reen Graham.
110 reviews
October 30, 2020
I look forward, with glee, to when Amy Boyles gives us a new book to read. Her writing is fun, and she has the best action descriptions for her characters. For example, “She quirked a brow.” I can see the characters moving about. I think that’s awesome. I love all her witchy characters, and non-witchy characters. They are never terrifying, they seem like regular folks going about their everyday business. As if a witch town could be normal lol! Boyles books are a quick read, which is a good thing for a slow reader like me. There are many spag issues (spelling, punctuation, and grammar). But an inside source tells me Boyles turns out two books a month, so I can definitely forgive her. I’ll always be pleased to find a new book to read from her. Keep writing to us, Amy. Love your writing 💕❤️
199 reviews
October 25, 2020
Pepper is pregnant!?!?

Pepper is pregnant and just when you would think she would be settling down she is the guest of honor for presents day. The premonitions go horribly wrong and trying to correct leaves someone dead. Pepper is neck deep investigating while Garrick is busy hauling in different members of her family. Can Pepper figure out who the killer is our will she get herself and her baby killed trying. I love this series and the characters, the book is hilarious and I am so excited for the baby to come! I recommend this book, series and author. Can't wait for the next book!
Profile Image for Angela Griffin.
1,667 reviews6 followers
April 7, 2022
Plenty of surprises!

Pepper's Presents Day doesn't go as planned... Big surprise! What IS surprising is the number of foolish choices so many characters made during this murder mystery. Betty, Garrick, even Axel (for trusting Pepper) seem determined to merrily board the train headed for Foolery. And Pepper is the worst, blithely endangering her child on at least five occasions. One heartbreaking surprise concerns Sassafras' best friend, and a potentially intriguing one is a certain snowy owl...
Profile Image for Linda (ellsky) Jackson.
495 reviews6 followers
September 18, 2025
Babies on the brain. Another great installment in this Sweet Tea Witches series. As Pepper and Axel are expecting to expand their family, we have some crazy witch traditions to spoil some of the fun, including a horrible family recipe for morning sickness and some soothsayers who may not be what they seem. Betty had some tough decisions to make in this one, and her normal snarkiness was sadly missing. Mattie revealed something amazing at the end, and I'm excited to see how that impacts things going forward.
Profile Image for Kat Green.
1,147 reviews19 followers
November 6, 2021
Southern Omens (Sweet Tea Mysteries) Book 17

Since Pepper is pregnant, she's A bit on the hormonal side, so things tend to feel a bit more dramatic than usual. When the Soothsayers come to the Presents party and a smart ass kid soothsayer foretells a death is to come, needless to say Pepper freaks out. Garrick has a job to do & Cordelia has a meltdown. Who is the murderer and how is the mystery solved? Read to discover the answers. 😍
464 reviews
April 15, 2022
The soothsayers

In this book written by Amy Boyles Pepper is to have seers tell her about her baby's future. When one is killed it looks like Pepper or Betty did it. Cordelia is fit to be tied when Garrick begins to arrest them or by one. He has a plan but didn't let them know what was happening. Cordelia is mad and breaks up with him. In the meantime Pepper is investigating. She also learns that her mom left her something I'm the vault. I really enjoyed this book.
890 reviews6 followers
December 16, 2020
Enjoyed following Pepper and Axel's adventures, only her family could turn a simple pregnancy into a major celebration with problems. Love the characters, they are someone you could just sit down and have a glass of sweet tea with and just chat for hours. Never fails to entertain, would highly recommend this book and this series.
667 reviews7 followers
September 9, 2022
Southern Omens (Sweet Tea Witch Mysteries book 17

This is another winner. I highly recommend all her books and different series. Amy Boyles has a great imagination and writes great mysteries. Her characters are great too. I have read 30 or more of her books and loved everyone of t.hem. Diana Romano
Profile Image for Jennifer Ann.
140 reviews2 followers
May 25, 2024
Pepper, as usual, is infuriating in this story with little regard to her health and safety but rather needing to solve the murders and mysteries of Magnolia Cove. That being said, I'm still going to read these because they are just fun.

Also, I need more of Matties backstory because this little carrot dangling wasn't enough!
Profile Image for Abbie .
613 reviews3 followers
September 16, 2020
Laugh out loud murder

Amy Boyles rocks! The characters are so vibrant and entertaining. It's like visiting the relatives to read about the goings on in Peppers life. Start reading, you'll be glad you did.
Profile Image for Janet Epperson.
523 reviews3 followers
September 17, 2020
Oh my goodness Pepper can sure give Axel as scare. She of course comes out all right and solves the murder. Her cousin Cordelia ends up upset with her boyfriend Garrick. Turns out Peppers cat Mattie was not always a cat. Another great book in this series.
Profile Image for Krista Walsh.
761 reviews
September 18, 2020
Another fabulous addition to this series

Another fabulous addition to this incredible series. Boyles has done it again. Really great book. Can't wait to see what she comes up with next.
Profile Image for Jennifer.
211 reviews2 followers
September 22, 2020
Loved it!

Another great story by Ms. Chase. The action and storyline is wonderfully crafted. Such a tangled web of intrigue...and secrets! Looking forward to the next book in this series.
Profile Image for Amy.
940 reviews2 followers
October 10, 2020
Oh Pepper...

Pepper is back with the family, and this time it's Presents day!
Sounds like a great time...NOT...
I love this family. This series is a definite smooth read. I highly recommend it!
620 reviews1 follower
October 18, 2020
Don't Miss Out On This Book

Amy's books are filled with murder, mystery, snarkiness, love and loyalty. I love her books . This one was filled with all of the above, a page turner, and interesting from start to finish. Pepper, Axel and their family draws you in from page 1.
Profile Image for Lauren.
30 reviews2 followers
October 31, 2020
Pepper is up to it again

Up to what? Getting herself into another magical mystery! This one she is right in the middle of, her whole family seems to be! Read this installment to find out what Pepper must do.
Profile Image for Patrea Beard.
447 reviews2 followers
January 2, 2021
Entertaining

Simple cozy mystery, just as entertaining as the previous books. Pepper learns about how the cat Mattie can talk. Cordelia is rethinking her relationship. Betty doesn't have quite as many fun bits as usual. Quick read.
Profile Image for Jamie Puleo.
485 reviews26 followers
April 13, 2021
Another fun addition to the series. This series can be read for free with a Kindle Unlimited membership, and I'm finding that when I am having trouble concentrating on longer books, these are an easy way to enjoy reading without thinking too hard. Only two left!
1,044 reviews1 follower
February 27, 2023
It's Sleeping Beauty who stays awake

Pepper is pregnant and witches come from out of town to predict the future. One witch predicts death, so another witch says it's not the baby's death.
Profile Image for Tak.
39 reviews
July 12, 2024
Starting to get irritated was Axel and the “grr I’m a man and I’ll look after you” crap. I understand the alpha idea but this is coming across as controlling and sexiest. Even with her being pregnant it doesn’t mean she loses her personality.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
507 reviews3 followers
September 13, 2020
Fun series

Another fun story in Pepper's life. The characters are well developed and likeable and the plot and subplots move quickly. A very fun series.
Profile Image for Myra Ball.
649 reviews
September 15, 2020
Never a dull moment

This was another excellent addition to the fun Southern series. Piper and Axel are expecting a baby now so the dynamic is different yet just as fun.
Profile Image for Brenda Ellis.
659 reviews8 followers
September 17, 2020
Who to believe

Another baddie trying to take out the Craples and take over the town but dies in the process. Now to figure out who did it and who can be trusted.
Profile Image for Matthew Murray.
1,002 reviews
September 20, 2020
Enjoyed

Another winner and the reason why I enjoyed reading your books and I am really looking forward to your next book.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews

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