What do you think?
Rate this book
Wizardly Woes
Take a sometime wizard, send him back to his paranormal hometown, add in a cast of quirky characters and supernatural beings, including a smart Irish Wolfhound familiar, sprinkle with magic, then top off with a big dollop of humour, and you have A Wizards of Little Hope Cozy Mystery.
After losing his wife five years ago, Bran sank into a mire of depression and over-eating. Two years of grieving later, he got his act together, moved back to his hometown of Little Hope, and embraced his wizardly credentials.
Now he's the proud owner of a hippy shop in a town brimming with wizards, witches, and all manner of supernatural oddballs.
When a customer's husband is found dead in the old quarry, and the local police chief won't hear a word about foul play, it's up to Bran and his familiar Kale the Irish Wolfhound, his brother Forest, and their cousin Roger the Lodger, to chase down the clues, catch the killer, and get the poor woman some answers.
But Bran's family are an interfering bunch of old wizards, and Captain, his grandfather, refuses to take a backseat when there's a mystery to be solved.
Falling for a childhood friend who's just returned to town couldn't have come at a more inconvenient moment, but Bran's determined that nothing will stand in the way of another chance at happiness.
But will she still like him once she gets to meet the family? It's a big ask. Will they even get to go on a date with the killer seemingly intent on upping the murder count?
Get ready for a wild ride where one sneeze can see you turned into a rabbit, the local baker is a real giant, and even the pub is run by a pair of vampires. Watch out for Grenadine the super-sentient spider too!
After losing his wife five years ago, Bran sank into a mire of depression and over-eating. Two years of grieving later, he got his act together, moved back to his hometown of Little Hope, and embraced his wizardly credentials.
Now he's the proud owner of a hippy shop in a town brimming with wizards, witches, and all manner of supernatural oddballs.
When a customer's husband is found dead in the old quarry, and the local police chief won't hear a word about foul play, it's up to Bran and his familiar Kale the Irish Wolfhound, his brother Forest, and their cousin Roger the Lodger, to chase down the clues, catch the killer, and get the poor woman some answers.
But Bran's family are an interfering bunch of old wizards, and Captain, his grandfather, refuses to take a backseat when there's a mystery to be solved.
Falling for a childhood friend who's just returned to town couldn't have come at a more inconvenient moment, but Bran's determined that nothing will stand in the way of another chance at happiness.
But will she still like him once she gets to meet the family? It's a big ask. Will they even get to go on a date with the killer seemingly intent on upping the murder count?
Get ready for a wild ride where one sneeze can see you turned into a rabbit, the local baker is a real giant, and even the pub is run by a pair of vampires. Watch out for Grenadine the super-sentient spider too!
221 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 3, 2023
36 people are currently reading
34 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
January 4, 2023
Kind of Slow and Confusing . . .
As with all story lines, there is a different approach by each author in creating their story. Usually a cozy begins with a murder or crime of some kind to immediately pull the reader in. I think most of us prefer fast action and characters who reveal their personalities through their thoughts and actions rather than the reader being told the facts. Not only does it sound more interesting, but it is easier to remember a character’s attributes when action puts the thoughts in your head. The scene itself as well as the characters have to come alive for me. Humor is also helpful, but that’s just my peculiar quirk perhaps. This one had some slow spots so the reader wasn’t carried along in the suspense or excitement. Pieces were there, but not necessarily put together in a way to excite the reader to join in the hunt. There is so much variety at the author’s disposal with a supernatural group of characters, limited only by imagination. But hippies? Humor usually saves the day for me, but it felt like the author was trying too hard or my American concept of humor did not mesh very well with this one.
Kale the Irish Wolfhound was a cutie. And despite my dislike of spiders, I enjoyed Grenadine’s sassy bossiness.
When we got to the murder part where the customer's grumpy husband Albert is found dead in the old quarry, the police were useless. Sheila, his wife, didn’t seem like the death upset her in the least since she showed up for her Tarot reading as if that were perfectly normal behavior. Bran’s family jumped in to take up the investigation and made more of a mess of things. A romance over a childhood friend also kept Bran distracted and his lady friend might have issues when she meets his crazy family. Will they catch the killer? Will there be more deaths before that can happen? Grab your copy and see if you can figure it out without getting lost. I do suggest taking plenty of notes.
As with all story lines, there is a different approach by each author in creating their story. Usually a cozy begins with a murder or crime of some kind to immediately pull the reader in. I think most of us prefer fast action and characters who reveal their personalities through their thoughts and actions rather than the reader being told the facts. Not only does it sound more interesting, but it is easier to remember a character’s attributes when action puts the thoughts in your head. The scene itself as well as the characters have to come alive for me. Humor is also helpful, but that’s just my peculiar quirk perhaps. This one had some slow spots so the reader wasn’t carried along in the suspense or excitement. Pieces were there, but not necessarily put together in a way to excite the reader to join in the hunt. There is so much variety at the author’s disposal with a supernatural group of characters, limited only by imagination. But hippies? Humor usually saves the day for me, but it felt like the author was trying too hard or my American concept of humor did not mesh very well with this one.
Kale the Irish Wolfhound was a cutie. And despite my dislike of spiders, I enjoyed Grenadine’s sassy bossiness.
When we got to the murder part where the customer's grumpy husband Albert is found dead in the old quarry, the police were useless. Sheila, his wife, didn’t seem like the death upset her in the least since she showed up for her Tarot reading as if that were perfectly normal behavior. Bran’s family jumped in to take up the investigation and made more of a mess of things. A romance over a childhood friend also kept Bran distracted and his lady friend might have issues when she meets his crazy family. Will they catch the killer? Will there be more deaths before that can happen? Grab your copy and see if you can figure it out without getting lost. I do suggest taking plenty of notes.
January 4, 2023
I did enjoy this book, however I must say that I found the cozy mystery aspect of it was treated secondary to everything else in the story. There was a mystery, there were amateur (wizard) sleuths and it was solved, so I can't say that there wasn't a mystery at all.
But the book focused much more heavily on building the world (a rural tourist town in the UK where magic and magical creatures are real) and the characters - with a heavy focus on family relationships and a budding romance with the MC. And on that front, it was well written and kept me interested.
There's also a definite focus on British humor, which I'm of the opinion people either like and understand or don't like and don't understand. I do enjoy it, but I can see it throwing some readers off.
Personally I would read another of the author's books, but I have to say that I found it to be more of a humorous fantasy novel than a cozy mystery.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
But the book focused much more heavily on building the world (a rural tourist town in the UK where magic and magical creatures are real) and the characters - with a heavy focus on family relationships and a budding romance with the MC. And on that front, it was well written and kept me interested.
There's also a definite focus on British humor, which I'm of the opinion people either like and understand or don't like and don't understand. I do enjoy it, but I can see it throwing some readers off.
Personally I would read another of the author's books, but I have to say that I found it to be more of a humorous fantasy novel than a cozy mystery.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
January 10, 2023
Not bad whatsoever, just not quite my taste
Bran is in his mid 30s, but he could have easily been a true hippie straight from the 60s, it has that sort of vibe. The writing style feels loose, free, casual. Not to be taken too seriously.. And that in itself is great, but the danger can be that it can come across as disorganized, and yes, it did feel a bit that way. Lots of characters, lots of things happening, past tense and present tense mixed through each other: mayhem! And that had two sides: on the plus side: it was fun, there definitely was lots of humor, and it sure was unique, but on the negative side: sadly it didn’t quite do it for me. And I personally like a bit more focus on the mystery. But like I said, it’s not bad in any way. If you want to buy this book, please do read the preview. If you like that, you’re sure to like the whole book.
Bran is in his mid 30s, but he could have easily been a true hippie straight from the 60s, it has that sort of vibe. The writing style feels loose, free, casual. Not to be taken too seriously.. And that in itself is great, but the danger can be that it can come across as disorganized, and yes, it did feel a bit that way. Lots of characters, lots of things happening, past tense and present tense mixed through each other: mayhem! And that had two sides: on the plus side: it was fun, there definitely was lots of humor, and it sure was unique, but on the negative side: sadly it didn’t quite do it for me. And I personally like a bit more focus on the mystery. But like I said, it’s not bad in any way. If you want to buy this book, please do read the preview. If you like that, you’re sure to like the whole book.
January 2, 2023
While this is listed as a Cozy Mystery, it felt more like a prelude to a romance series. I did enjoy the paranormal/occult/New Age theme. It took to about halfway in to actually get to the murder, and most of the investigating was done towards the end. Between was a look at family traditions, family relationships, and dealing with a very old issue over an accidental death.
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.
January 3, 2023
Bran had to learn to live again after losing his wife and he is now living a new life in his hometown. Kale might now be my favorite familiar of all time. This story has everything you want in a cozy mystery with magic tossed in and a family that is soo hilarious. I adore everything in this story and look forward to more!.
January 8, 2023
Crazy cozy mystery
Not sure what to make of this book but I did enjoy it. It sets the scene for the following books.
Not sure what to make of this book but I did enjoy it. It sets the scene for the following books.
Want to Read
January 10, 2023Book Adrenaline 99
January 15, 2023
A lovely very enjoyable read with endearing characters, great banter, laugh out loud moments, magic, adorable Irish wolfhound familiar and so much more.
The story has so many magical feel good moments that it lights up a rainy day as read it engrossed from start to finish and left me wanting more adventures with these quirky loveable cast.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
The story has so many magical feel good moments that it lights up a rainy day as read it engrossed from start to finish and left me wanting more adventures with these quirky loveable cast.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
March 8, 2026
A new series and author to me, but I'm already really looking forward to reading book 2! So nice to find a series like this where it's more male-centred, and nice to have it set in Britain, too. I enjoyed the story, the humour and the characters; I look forward to seeing how they develop over the rest of the series.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews