I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy from Great Escapes Book Tours. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Herbs and Homicide
by Astoria Wright
Series: Faerie Apothecary Cozy Mysteries #1
Series Rating:
Published by Novelwright Mysteries on September 27, 2018
Genres: Cozy Paranormal Mystery
Pages: 218
Format: Paperback
Source: Great Escapes Book Tours
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Get Your Copy at: Amazon
Also in this series: Chaos in the Countryside
Looking for a unique paranormal cozy mystery series that's lighthearted and fun? Settle into the cozy countryside of Moss Hill, where house-elves rent rooms, sprites live in gardens, a leprechaun is the best tailor in town, and a half-elf/half human named Carissa Shea owns a pharmacy known as The Seelie Tree Apothecary shop. Life couldn't be more idyllic for Cari, but healing humans and fae folk proves challenging at times, especially when secrets unfold in The Faerie Apothecary Mysteries. About Book 1: Herbs and Homicide In the small town of Moss Hill, customers of all kinds visit Carissa Shea's Seelie Tree Apothecary Shop. That includes tall and short, young and old, human and faerie. Being half-elf/half-human herself, Carissa personally knows and cares for them all. So, when a grumpy brownie, a type of house faerie, named Miss Morgan dies in her shop, Carissa is devastated. As she learns more about her customer's death, she realizes Miss Morgan might have been the only thing standing between the Seelie, faeries of light and goodness, and the Unseelie, faeries of darkness and evil. On top of it all, the Sidhe guard, protector of all fae residents, rule it a murder and name Carissa as a suspect! Now she must prove her innocence and find the real culprit before it's too late - not just for her but for all of Moss Hill.
Can they find the killer before it’s too late?
Herbs and Homicide by Astoria Wright is another cozy mystery that I couldn’t put down. The mystery in this one was pretty well thought out, and I loved how she was able to incorporate some of the Unseelie into this book along with why they are coming here.
Carissa Shae
Carissa Shae is back in her first full-length novel, and she comes with a mystery right off the bat. I do feel bad for Cari since she is a suspect in the murder and she doesn’t even know with why. She runs into trouble along the way, but she eventually figures it out. We learn a lot about her and the other different characters in this book as well.
What I like about Carissa is that she wants to help everyone out and to be there for them as well. Carissa will do anything in her power to clear her name. Another thing that I like about Carissa is that she always listens to her gut about things an average person wouldn’t think of to do. The last thing that I liked about Carissa is how she was able to stop the Unseelie’s from wreaking havoc on her home. The one thing that I don’t like about Carissa is she doesn’t listen to what Chaos has to say.
The Mystery
The mystery in Herbs and Homicide ran throughout the whole book, and I loved it. We learned a lot about a mean old brownie that wasn’t who everyone thought she was. The murder took place in Carissa’s shop, so she is the murderer, right? Wrong. Why would she do that? Carissa and her band of loyal friends fight to figure out why this happened. It was like being on a pretty big roller coaster ride to figure everything out. I did like the mystery since it was different and I love the whole faerie twist to this cozy.
Five Stars
Herbs and Homicide by Astoria Wright have laid out an excellent foundation for this series. I am still trying to figure out who would be Carissa’s love interest now. This book is easily a great book and one that didn’t take me a long time to read. I loved the whole Seelie and Unseelie touches to it as it made for a fabulous read and a great way to bring in new species to light. Ms. Wright is doing an excellent job, and I can’t wait to read more from this series. I am giving this book a five-star review and highly recommending it to anyone that loves the paranormal and cozies.
Other Books in the Series
Chaos in the Countryside
by Astoria Wright
Series: The Faerie Apothecary Cozy Mysteries #0.5
Published by Novelwright Mysteries on September 27, 2018
Genres: Mystery, Cozy, Paranormal
Pages: 156
Format: Paperback
Source: Author
Buy on Amazon My Book Review
Looking for a unique paranormal cozy mystery series that’s lighthearted and fun? Settle into the cozy countryside of Moss Hill, where house-elves rent rooms, sprites live in gardens, a leprechaun is the best tailor in town, and a half-elf/half human named Carissa Shea owns a pharmacy known as The Seelie Tree Apothecary shop. Life couldn’t be more idyllic for Cari, but healing humans and fae folk proves challenging at times, especially when secrets unfold in The Faerie Apothecary Mysteries. About Chaos in the Countryside The quiet town of Moss Hill would be in trouble if not for one daring nature faerie: a sprite known as Chaos. Though she is little, she is…fierce isn’t the right word. Spirited is more accurate. She’s traveled far and wide to warn the half-human, half-elf Carissa Shae about a danger that’s coming to the countryside. Carissa’s Seelie Tree Apothecary shop is no stranger to faeries, but with this new arrival, its owner, and Moss Hill, will never be the same. Is this cozy town ready for a little Chaos?
Tour Schedule
February 14 – A Chick Who Reads – REVIEW*
February 14 – 3 Partners in Shopping, Nana, Mommy, & Sissy, Too! – SPOTLIGHT
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February 15 – Ascroft, eh? – CHARACTER GUEST POST
February 16 – Mythical Books – GUEST POST
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February 19 – Cozy Up With Kathy – REVIEW, AUTHOR INTERVIEW*
February 19 – Socrates Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
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February 20 – Lori’s Reading Corner – GUEST POST
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February 22 – Books a Plenty Book Reviews – REVIEW
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Until the next time,
Happy Reading!
About Astoria Wright
Astoria Wright is the author of The Faerie Apothecary Mysteries, including the bestselling prequel novella Chaos in the Countryside. Intrigued by myths and inspired by cozy mystery writers before her, Astoria tries to combine two worlds with human and faerie neighbors trying to solve puzzling crimes on the fictional island of Moss Hill. She’s also a poet, which shows in the Moss Hill poetry anthology “written” by the characters in the series. Her goal is to bring Moss Hill to life in her stories, because who doesn’t wish we lived in a town with magical faeries as neighbors?
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- 2019 Cloak and Dagger
- 2019 Craving For Cozies Reading Challenge
- 2019 Cruisin' Thru The Cozies Reading Challenge
- 2019 Goodreads Reading Challenge
Thank you for your review on “Herbs and Homicide” by Astoria Wright and for being part of the book tour.
Sounds like a book that I would really enjoy reading. It’s now on my TBR list.
This author is new to me and I’m delighted to have read your review. She’s now on my TBR list. And, her high Goodreads rating provided further excitement about this book for me. Thank you for sponsoring this paranormal cozy mystery giveaway!