Bobbi Brooks has enough trouble keeping her cafe from burning down on the best of days. Learning she has fire-magic? It's bound to go up in flames...
It's a beautiful day in the small town of Devil's Orchard when Bobbi's grandmother informs her she's actually a witch. Not just any old witch, either.
Bobbi is part of a long line of demon-slayers.
Bobbi, who can't step on a cockroach without squealing, is a demon-slayer? Yeah right. She's tempted to write the whole thing off as a stress-induced hallucination. Especially when the dumpster-diving fox starts talking...
But then she stumbles over a body that's unfortunately very real, and very dead, and life gets even more complicated. Because people in small towns love to talk. Like about how great a shot her grandmother is with her little .22 pistol. And how her dislike of the dead guy gives her motive. Or how she's just crazy enough to pull the trigger.
They're not technically wrong, but Bobbi knows her grandmother's innocent, and she'll do whatever she can to prove it. Even if she has to find the killer herself.
She'll have to use her newfound magic to do so, but a spell is just a recipe, and Bobbi's good at following those.
This witch thing should be easy... Right?
All Work and No Slay is a hilarious, full-length paranormal cozy mystery filled with plenty of sass, snark, sarcasm, spells, snooping, snacks, spirits and sleuthing. And one of Bobbi's prized recipes!
Cute little read. Lots of characters to keep track of. There’s a bit too much going on at times. Not sure if I’ll finish this series or not. It was a free book with Amazon Prime.
This book is extremely boring and naive, even for "witchy cosy mysteries". I have no idea how it got 4.4 stars on Goodreads. I'm a very forgiving reader, but it's too bad even for me.
The strong points: the characters (Granny!), the originality, the humor, the pace.
The points where I feel the author needs to learn some: the rudeness that was just too much to the point where it wasn’t funny anymore, the writing itself could use some polishing, the mystery element could use a bit of polishing too.
Having said all that, I did enjoy a lot of this book. I did smile a lot. So, all in all, a promising start!
The description of this book says it's a "paranormal cozy mystery filled with plenty of sass, snark, sarcasm, spells, snooping, snacks, spirits, and sleuthing," and y'all, that pretty much sums it up.
I do enjoy a witchy cozy mystery, and this one did not disappoint.
What I enjoyed: Bobbi and her grandmother's dynamic. These two had me tickled at their interactions. Bobbi just wants to run a successful business, and Granny thinks she should live a little and stop using recipes as they are written. Oh, and Bobbi needs to work on her craft not only as a witch but also as a demon hunter. And then there's the matter of her childhood friend moving back with his fiancé who has it out for Bobbi.
The mystery is engaging, the snooping is fun, and the spell casting can go awry, but this witch cozy mystery is worth every moment spent reading it.
I experienced this as an audiobook, and that definitely enhanced the story. Even my husband was listening and quickly found himself engaged in the story. Granny is his favorite character.
This is going to appeal to those of you who enjoy Jessica Fletcher with a side of sarcasm, spells, and demon hunting.
A hilarious, fun, fast pace, fantastic paranormal cozy mystery and a wonderful start for the series.
All Work and No Slay is the first book in the new paranormal cozy mystery 'Witches of Devil's Orchard'.
Bobbi Brooks owns a small cafe, Devil's Lunchbox, in a small coastal town of Devil's Orchard in Northern California; as soon as she turns thirty-three, her life has turn up side down, physically falling down from the roof of her cafe. She learns that she is a demon slayer, and her mother is not her mother but actually is her grandmother, her life will never ever be the same. Lydia, Bobbi's eccentric outspoken grandmother/ex-mother, who does not want Bobbi to call her 'Granny' is a tough nut who try to teach Bobbi how to use her magic.
Bobbi's cafe had an unexpected visit from Health and Human Services' Inspector due to Christopher Boyd, her landlord, was trying to void her lease and evict her. Like the health inspection problem is not enough, there are demons coming through the rift that they will have to deal with. Then after she confront Christopher about the health inspection, he is found dead in her cafe and both Bobbi and her grandmother are suspects, they need to work fast to solve the murder that they didn't commit.
Then come Sheriff Grant Daniels, Bobbi's erstwhile partner in crime when they were in high school, too bad that the sexy hot sheriff has a fiancée :-(
This book is my first book by Skye Sullivan and I really enjoyed it. It's a page turning cozy mystery that provides something for everyone with magic, mystery, suspense, and some romance. I wish I could visit Devil's Orchard and took Bobbi's hike out to Orchard Points and other scenic trails with her yummy lunchbox; it's sounds so beautiful and charming with coastline on one side and the redwood trees on the other.
The mention of alkonost the mythological bird-woman is very interesting and hauntingly beautiful. I love cozy mysteries with animals so this book is also hit my favorite spot, I enjoy learning about Kitsune, the smart two tails mysterious fox that can communicate with Bobbi. I highly recommend this book to any reader who enjoy paranormal mystery full with humor. I'm looking forward to the next book in the series.
I received a free copy of this book from the author via Booksprout and I am voluntarily leaving my honest review with great pleasure.
Bobbie is just a local cafe owner with a unique granny and trying to make it through each day. Her old best friend has moved home to be a local cop and he's not the tall lanky boy she remembers but he didn't return home alone. When the local thorn in everyones side turns up dead in her shop freezer the local's are pointing fingers and hr granny is looking a little more like a suspect.
In order to prove her granny is innocent she needs to find the killer before it's too late and they strike again. As if finding a killer isn't enough to keep her busy she learns that she's also a witch and future Guardian of the Rift. At least she's come into her magic so she has some tricks up her sleeve and she's got her sassy fox familiar by her side. Will they find the murder before it's too late?
I love Bobbie she's clearly my spirit character she spends her days making these amazing lunchbox's and spends her evenings reading. She's just adorable her character I found refreshing she feels so real and I just love her. Her sassy fox and granny are the perfect complement to Bobbi a perfect team.
This is my first book by the author totally picked it based on the cover had a house which could be the haunted house in the story. I love the authors storytelling she's created a captivating hilarious story that was hard to put down I had to know what would happen next. I plan to continue on the series because I can't wait to see what happens with Bobbi in the next book and see what our next recipe is. I think I'm going to try them out. Highly recommend for fans of fun paranormal mysteries.
This is a fun paranormal cozy mystery the reader will love! This intriguing story line holds the reader’s complete attention to build up suspense. On a lovely day in Devil's Orchard, Bobbi Brook's grandmother tells her she is a demon-slaying witch. While she is still trying to figure that out, she stumbles over a body and things gets even more complex. The gossips say her grandmother is an awesome shot with her little .22 pistol and she really disliked the dead guy, so she has a motive and is crazy enough to pull the trigger – which is all true, but someone has to stand up for Lydia!
Knowing her grandmother is innocent, she is going to have to search for the killer herself so she can clear Lydia’s name! And perhaps she can try a spell or two to help now that she is a witch? She owns a café, and spells are recipes, so she should probably be able to whip up a spell or two, right?
The characters we meet are well developed, interesting and likable. The combination of suspense, intrigue, and (my favorite) humor, will lead the reader to a satisfying solution to the crime. If you love cozy mysteries, this is a great choice to add to your library!
We jump straight into the story with no pre-amble, whilst I am not a fan of the storyline being stretched out unnecessarily this is the opposite with major plot points being condensed into the first 3 paragraphs of the first chapter, Our hero Roberta "Bobbi" just accepts these bombshells seemingly without question, I think there is potential for the storyline moving forward, there is clearly a long reaching arc both with the demon slaying and the love interest. The murder victim is universally unliked, with there being many potential killers and of course Bobbi is implicated and needs to investigate all the while learning her new role. The author clearly has a love of Asian food which comes through in spades! I was drooling at some of the descriptions she writes about the bulgogi tacos sound delicious! The addition of the Kitsune familiar is great as she adds the sass.
I will read the next book, I am hesitantly optimistic that this series will evolve from a good series to a great series
All Work and No Slay (Witches of Devil’s Orchard #1) Author: Skye Sullivan
In a Nutshell: The story introduces us to Bobbi Brooks, a cafe owner in the quirky town of Devil’s Orchard. On her thirty-third birthday, her grandmother, Lydia, reveals a family secret: they are a line of demon-slaying witches. Bobbi is highly sceptical, but when a body is discovered in her cafe freezer and her grandmother becomes the prime suspect, she has no choice but to get involved. To clear the family name, she must learn to harness her fire magic while being guided by a snarky, talking fox familiar.
My Thoughts: While the writing flows beautifully and the plot moves at a cracking pace, I found the protagonist, Bobbi, a bit difficult to connect with at times. She can be quite disrespectful to her grandmother, and some of their exchanges bordered on being outright rude, which made her less relatable for me. In her favour, she does look after her customers who are essential or key workers by offering good discounts.
However, the saving grace is her familiar, Kitsune. She is very cool and definitely the highlight of the duo. I also found the heavy focus on Japanese food and culture quite intriguing, though I’m still curious as to why Bobbi is quite so obsessed with it.
Verdict: An easy, fast-paced read with a very smooth writing style. Even if the main character’s attitude isn't quite to your taste, the mystery and the wonderful fox familiar make it worth sticking with. I’m interested to see if Bobbi mellows and finds some manners in book 2.
This is a new-to-me author and I enjoyed her debut work very much. Well written, and she obviously has a good proof reader as the story flowed smoothly with no hiccups or obvious typos (in the ARC). The victim is a slimeball, detested by most of the townsfolk and almost deserving of being shot. But I love the fact that I really did not guess who dunnit at all!
I like the way Bobbi comes to grips with whatever life throws at her, from her discovering that she is a demon slayer, to learning how to control and weald her powers. I enjoy Granny very much, she is just the sort of person one can aspire to (ha ha ha!) and Kitsune is brilliant too! Looking forward to more from this new author.
I liked this book enough to get through it (even though I found myself skimming toward the end), but I definitely won't be continuing with the series. About halfway through I realized I'd lost the plot. I think part of this has to do with with a set of brothers who are central to the plot, but arent developed enough for me to remember which name goes with which character. Overall, the characters are pretty basic and unmemorable. Except the grandmother. She's grating.
Even the main character is bland. She's a brand new witch, and everything comes easy for her. Even a few growing pains would have been an opportunity to add some much needed humor to the story.
Overall, this book wasn't awful, but it also isn't something I would recommend.
Just not that interested in the characters or the plot. Did not finish.
Amazon synopsis: It's a beautiful day in the small town of Devil's Orchard when Bobbi's grandmother informs her she's actually a witch. Not just any old witch, either. Bobbi is part of a long line of demon slayers.
Bobbi, who can't step on a cockroach without squealing, is a demon slayer? Yeah right. She's tempted to write the whole thing off as a stress-induced hallucination. Especially when the dumpster-diving fox starts talking...
But then she stumbles over a body that's unfortunately very real, and very dead, and life gets even more complicated. Because people in small towns love to talk. Like about how great a shot her grandmother is with her little .22 pistol. And how her dislike of the dead guy gives her motive. Or how she's just crazy enough to pull the trigger.
They're not technically wrong, but Bobbi knows her grandmother's innocent, and she'll do whatever she can to prove it. Even if she has to find the killer herself. She'll have to use her newfound magic to do so, but a spell is just a recipe, and Bobbi's good at following those.
This is a new author for me and I was impressed by how polished and well-written the story was. Usually the first book of new authors have a few bumps but this book was really well edited with a great mystery plot. There are several unique ideas that are impressive for a paranormal cozy. I like that I couldn't predict the ending and the characters have depth that is sometimes missing from cozy mysteries. I'm looking forward to reading more from this talented author.
Bobbi runs her own Cafe in Devil's Orchard and conducts walking tours. Her grandmother also likes to step in and try to help but she's very feisty person who tells Bobbi she's from a long line of demon slayers. Bobbi can't even step on a cockroach without feeling bad so she can't imagine being a demon slayer. When the owner of the building that her shop is in turns up dead, it looks like Bobbi is on the hook for the murder but is she really? She will have to scramble pretty hard in order to prove her innocence but will she make it in time?
When Bobbi Brooks discovers her landlord dead in the fridge belonging to her business, she realizes that both she and her grandmother are now suspects. Determined to clear their names, she uses her newly discovered witch powers to try and figure out just who had done it.
An enjoyable cosy paranormal mystery featuring a witch, her kitsune familiar, and her grandmother, and set in a small coastal town. There are magical and demonic hijinks, an annoying “mean girl”, in addition to the mystery solving shenanigans of the heroine. A fun cosy read for fans of the genre.
This is the first in a new series. Bobbi kind of seems like a doormat at first. She grows into her own as the story expands. Love her newfound magic skills and how she is trying to navigate them. It seems she regrets not starting something with Grant back in the day and now it's too late. The fox is so funny, especially when he tries to create havoc. Great job of making the killer hard to figure out, at least to me. Wondered at one point about them, but no motive I could see. Great read.
I almost gave up on this book initially and if I had, I would have missed a treat. Bobbi and her Granny are such wonderful characters, the action and the fun just keep on coming, how can I forget her familiar? The list of suspects keeps growing, and, surprise, surprise, the guilty party was not even on the list! There is enough excitement generated to keep the pages turning and enough laughter to create a good balance. A good blend of the normal and paranormal, go ahead and read.
This was okay. I liked the story, it's on my list of light reads before bed. I got kind of annoyed at the way Bobbi and Granny interact. There is such a lack of intimacy there that felt really unnatural. There is also this level of snarkiness with all the character's interactions that felt forced and wooden. I'm sticking with it and seeing how the next one goes though. I hope the character development improves as the books continue. I did think this was a fun light read and I love a long series.
As much as I love cats,it would be so cool to have a fox as a pet .Well if it talked and didn't smell but the fox in this delightful mystery I bet is rare. I normally wait till I have read all the books in a series to give a review but I enjoyed this one too much to wait. If you ate reading this to decide if you want to read the book, read it and everything Skye Sullivan has written. I'm hoping MS Sullivan writes a lot more books in this series .
I’m getting into reading the series of books with witches and their familiars, which have been either cats or dogs. This series has a fox as the familiar. All are solving murders that happen and this first book is no different. This was the first book that I had no clue who actually done it until it was revealed. I’m looking forward as I continue on with this series and just see where each book takes us.
This was a fun read, with snarky characters. There is a good storyline but reading this was very much like playing an old pinball machine. One never quite knew what direction the story was going. The one major issue I had with this book was the real rudeness in the exchanges between the Grandmother and her granddaughter. These exchanges went beyond sarcasm.
I enjoyed this humorous mystery. Bobbi is a chef and witch. She investigates a murder. I like the plot and characters. There are several suspects and motives. Demons are also in town. Bobbi's grandmother hunts them. The plot kept me guessing who the murderer is . I will be reading this series.
I enjoyed this series overall. I've read all of the books and its worthwhile. I love the quirkiness of the characters. The first rules of magic, the humor and the romance. The plots were good but they didn't always quite add up. But they were fun! Not quite perfect but worth reading. The authors next series is pretty perfect so far. Read these and continue on.
I loved these books. They are fun and snarky. Not only do we follow the FMC who is newly learning about her powers but her grandmother is a firecracker. (Seriously my husband was listening in and even he was laughing out loud)
Cozy mystery with witches and demons- just an overall fun read and can’t wait to continue!
I highly recommend this laugh out loud, magical book, and the series in which it begins, to readers who love reading cozy mysteries with intense action, and snarky hilarity. Enjoyl
This was a cute read. The writing was not great. The MC's role as a witch and demon hunter had very little to do with the plot. I expected the demons to come up somehow, but the didn't, so I'm not really sure what their purpose was in the story.
I like Granny - um Lydia and all she brought to the table. This book was funny, suspenseful and I can't wait for the next installment. I gave it 5 stars because it's a book I know I will read again.
Fun,? Yes. But it was your standard paranormal quirky somewhat over the top story, not as silly as some I’ve read, but I will not be going out of my way to read any more in this series.
I read most of it. Skimmed large parts. The MC and her grandmother leave a lot to be desired. The dialogue between them is supposed to due snarky...it just reads as mean and nasty.