Twenty-three-year-old Jancie Sadler was out of the room when her mother died, and her heart still longs for their lost goodbye. Aching to ease her sorrow, Aunt Starla gives Jancie a diary that changes her entire life. In entries from the 1930s, her great grandmother revealed how she coped with her own painful loss by seeking out a witch from nearby Coon Hollow Coven. The witch wore the griever’s moonstone locket, which allowed whoever could unlock its enchantment to talk with the dead.
Determined to find that locket, Jancie goes to the coven’s annual carnival held in her small southern Indiana town of Bentbone. This opposes her father’s strict rule: stay away from witches. But she’s an adult now and can make her own decisions. She meets Rowe McCoy, the kind and handsome witch who wears the moonstone. He agrees to let her try to open the locket, but they’re opposed by High Priestess Adara and her jealous desire to possess him. Desperate for closure with her mother, Jancie persists and cannot turn away from a perilous path filled with magic, romance, and danger.
The Coon Hollow Coven Tales series is about a coven of witches in a fictitious southern Indiana community, south of Bloomington, the neck of the woods where I spent my favorite childhood years surrounded by the love of a big family. The books are rich with a warm Hoosier down-home feel. There are interesting interactions between coven members and locals from the nearby small town of Bentbone. If magic wasn’t enough of a difference between the two groups, the coven folk adhere to the 1930s lifestyle that existed when the coven formed.
The upcoming Labor Day weekend means the valley coven’s yearly carnival, a perfect chance for Jancie to seek out the witches. After her mother dies from cancer, Jancie needs closure – even if the only way to get her closure is to disobey her father who doesn’t approve of witches and magic. Her great aunt Starla, on the other hand, encourages Jancie to seek out the coven member who’s the moonstone story teller. However, there may be a price to pay if the moonstone locket opens…
My Thoughts
I love the fantasy writing of author Marsha A Moore. Whether she is writing about a haunted yoga studio, or a coven of witches – she always sucks me into her fictional worlds. I’m particularly fond of witch stories and I loved all the elements, herbs, fairies, familiars, and characters of this novel.
Although the villain, I loved High Priestess Adara. She had her entire coven manipulated and saw herself as invincible. Her obsession with Rowe became her downfall, but she never would have seen it coming, due to her arrogance.
“She’s the one chosen to help me, and I vow to protect her.”
And let’s talk about Rowe… *fans myself*. I couldn’t possibly pick out a better ‘book
boyfriend’ if I tried. Rowe was a widower witch with long dark hair and a familiar owl by his side. I was happy to see him and Jancie thrown together by the griever’s moonstone. It was simply magical!
And who can blame High Priestess Adara for wanting to possess Rowe. I mean, hello?! 😉
Jancie was great too. A bank teller by day, her life was thrown into a total whirlwind the day she stepped on carnival grounds. I loved the family connection and learning the real reason her father wanted her to avoid witches. Every page revealed a new surprise!
I loved the romance between Rowe and Jancie and the circumstances that brought them together. The world that surrounded them was vivid and descriptive, told by the author in great detail. I felt like I could smell the herbs in the gardens and the extra details about the fairies was awesome. I love when tales of mythology and folklore mix together!
A satisfying conclusion rounded out the end of book 1 and I look forward to reading book 2! I highly recommend this promising new series to fans of witchcraft lore and paranormal romance!
*** In the interest of full disclosure, I received a copy of Witch’s Moonstone Locket in exchange for a fair, honest, and thoughtful book review. This is no way swayed my opinion nor rating. ***
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About the Author
The magic of art and nature often spark life into her writing, as well as watercolor painting and drawing. She’s been a yoga enthusiast for over a decade and is a registered yoga teacher. After a move from Toledo to Tampa in 2008, she’s happily transformed into a Floridian, in love with the outdoors. Marsha is crazy about cycling. She lives with her husband on a large saltwater lagoon, where taking her kayak out for an hour or more is a real treat. She never has enough days spent at the beach, usually scribbling away at stories with toes wiggling in the sand. Every day at the beach is magical!
Read her ENCHANTED BOOKSTORE LEGENDS for adventurous, epic fantasy romance.
For a FREE ebook sample of her writing, read her historic fantasy short story, LE CIRQUE DE MAGIE, available at Amazon and Smashwords.
Learn more about Marsha at her website:
http://MarshaAMoore.com
and chat with her on Twitter
http://twitter.com/MarshaAMoore.
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/marshaamooreauthorpage
A Well Read Woman 