5.0 out of 5 stars
Cozy mystery that's just darn good A fun read with good character development and plot. Funny and a well-crafted mystery. Written with care. Enjoyed reading it. The witches were good and bad, the cat familiar was realistically portrayed, and the plot followed along in a rapid pace with all the clues in evidence. 5.0 out of 5 stars
A fun read and a page-turner, well done! This Cozy Mystery is a page-turner. An easy and fun read, you won’t want to put it down. The characters are woven together beautifully, and you will truly love Lilura and her Familiar as “retirement” evades them. |
5.0 out of 5 stars
Journey To a Mythical, Mysterious and Magical Land Reading can take you places you have never been before.” Some attribute those words, or variations on them, to Dr. Seuss. Janie Sullivan’s delightful novel, A BLOODY BLADE AND A BALLOTT BOX affirms the idea that books can take you to wonderful places. In fact, the novel transports you to an imaginary village where humans and witches live together. Lilura, who goes by Lilly, is a witch who recently moved to Ebonglen with her “Familiar”, a witch’s magical cat (From now on I'll always be suspicious of cats). Lilly settles into this mystical village where she readily befriends white witches, black witches, warlocks, shapeshifters, hobbits, and even a green dragon. But when the mayor of the town is murdered at the end of the election cycle, everyone tries to help the local constable find the murderer. The writing is impeccable, and the characters are cleverly portrayed. Early readers will love the characters and adventures. So will more experienced readers. Janie has created an enjoyable story around a mythical world that people of all ages will enjoy. 5.0 out of 5 stars
A Cozy Read for a Cozy Evening! What better way to spend a snowy and cold day -curled up in a fuzzy blanket with a good book!! "A Bloody Blade and a Ballot Box" by Janie Sullivan definitely warmed things up for me! I had fun sinking into the storyline of this well written, descriptive cozy mystery. The main character, Lilura, also known as Lilly and a WITCH (!) is convinced it's time to retire. She takes off on her journey to find her retirement paradise with her new familiar, a mysterious cat named Gwinny. There are many interesting twists and turns and lively characters, both good and bad. Time was my friend because before I knew it, I was at the end and discovered a real surprise in "who done it"! Well done Janie Sullivan!! |
5.0 out of 5 Stars
Nice Cozy Mystery-with a Supernatural Twist When is a witch not a witch? When she doesn’t want to be, maybe? That seems to be what Lily Kobe has in mind when she retires from teaching young magical creatures and sets out to find a happy retirement place for the bookshop she’s always dreamed of. Ebonglen seems just such a place, since it caters to both regular folks and the not-so-regular. Even before she gets settled in, however, Lily and her new familiar, Gwinny the cat, get caught up in local politics and murder, And Lily just can’t help herself. She’s got to find the murderer, and through several twists and turns, and with the help of new friends, she succeeds. This cozy mystery seems slanted more toward a younger audience, and it will appeal more to females than males—not enough action and no violence. It’s advertised as the first in a series, so hopefully most of the many introductions are out of the way and later books can get into the characters in greater depth. One tends to think that Ms. Sullivan modeled Gwinny the cat on her own cat, Cleo (see back cover of book)—her descriptions of the self-absorbed familiar seem so, well, familiar. The book is well-plotted, with a cast of characters that are poised to take off on many adventures together. 5.0 out of 5 stars
What Fun...And Trying to Figure it Out Is a Challenge! This new series is a fun and thoughtful read about the ancient world of witchcraft with a lot of modern-day issues for spice. I was surprised to see it was listed for 12 and up because this fancy was grown up, but then, why not? A perfect book for grandmothers and granddaughters to share. I didn't figure it out until the end and am now looking forward to the next addition with these characters two-legged, four-legged and everything in between. |
A Bloody Blade and
A Ballot Box is available in both eBook and Paperback on Amazon. Click on the button to the right: |
For a FREE signed bookplate, send your address to me via email: [email protected]
|