Tag Archives: Southern Relics Mystery

Book Review: Vintage Vampire by Bella Falls

25 Thursday Aug 2022

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Author: Bella Falls
Publisher: Evermore Press
Series: Southern Relics Cozy Mysteries
Genre: Paranormal Romance, Cozy Mystery
Rating: 4 Stars
Medium: Audio Book

Following the events of the last book, Ruby Mae and Luke are now engaged and what should be a celebration doesn’t stay that way because while the two do love each other, Luke’s past is a long and secretive one. He doesn’t talk much at all about his past and his family save for the little we had learned about him in the last book, but with this strange growling distance Ruby Mae feels is growing between them, she confronts him about it.

After confronting him, we’re whisked away to Italy and drawn into his family to learn first hand just why he left, why he doesn’t talk about them, and why it seems like the weight of the world hangs heavily on his shoulders.

Spoilers ahead.

This is definitely going to be marked as my second favorite from the series. I really loved getting a better glimpse at the vampire politics that revolve in this world but also a front row seat at Luke and his family. The history is long considering he’s centuries old, carrying the burden of his sister’s death for all of those years.

Everything starts off on egg shells from Ruby Mae fully realizing just how much money Luke actually has, coming from basically vampire royalty, to his family who doesn’t like witches in the first place. His parents, of course, do not approve of his choice in a betrothed – so much so that even after being told he’d proposed to Ruby Mae, Luke’s father pushes a vampire at Luke because wouldn’t she be a better betrothed.

Things get even more interesting when Isabella, Luke’s sister, calls to Ruby Mae from beyond the grave, drawing Ruby Mae to her old room and entwining the witch in helping to untangle the mystery surrounding the vampire’s death. Nothing is as it seems, and it becomes harder when someone tries to kill Ruby Mae on two separate occasions.

The centuries old mystery was weaved wonderfully, and I will say personally I wasn’t sure where the threads would leave as far as who had caused her death for most of the book, though I was a little suspicious of the culprit early on because he rubbed a little wrong in the beginning.

I loved that Isabella was able to find some peace because the truth of her death was able to come to light, but also that the family could settle what happened better with knowing the truth.

I can’t wait to see where this series will go in the future.

Book Review: Pickups and Pirates by Bella Falls

23 Tuesday Aug 2022

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Author: Bella Falls
Publisher: Evermore Press
Series: Southern Relics Cozy Mysteries
Genre: Paranormal Romance, Cozy Mystery
Rating: 4 Stars
Medium: Audio Book

After a hurricane hits the Crystal Cove, an old pirate ship and the myths behind the ship and the owner of the ship, notorious pirate Captain “Bonny Anne” Bonnet, a race to find her treasure befalls our story.

Honestly, I think this was my favorite of the books so far. I loved the pirates, the history, and the treasure hunt that we take part in from the perspective of Ruby Mae.

Spoilers beyond this point.

I have to say that I love both of the starts of this book – the dip into the past with the prologue of the book to set up the treasure hunt we’ll be going on and helping us start already in the history of the events – but also just watching Ruby Mae and Luke as they walk along the cost and learn about the pirates themselves. The interaction with Cane’s son is honestly just the absolute cutest, as was the inclusion of the fun way to ‘find your pirate’ name.

I loved the dive into the mystery and the riddles that had to be figured out, coupled with the fact that they were in a race against someone else to try and the treasure because they weren’t the only ones hunting it. Though, thankfully, they had magic on their side to assist them.

As well, I actually liked the inclusion of Charli and Mason from Honeysuckle Hollow joining us for this adventure, on loan from their town. It helped both with Charli’s magic helping to draw her toward the treasure, but it was also kind of fun to get a glimpse of them from another character’s perspective.

Over all, I really loved the story, especially how it ended and what the treasure really was. It was a really sweet story to be told and I was glad to join the hunt and the resolution.

Book Review: Rags to Witches by Bella Falls

18 Thursday Aug 2022

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Author: Bella Falls
Publisher: Evermore Press
Series: Southern Relics Cozy Mysteries
Genre: Paranormal Romance, Cozy Mystery
Rating: 3 Stars
Medium: Audio Book

I have to say that I did enjoy this one more than the first, maybe the characters are starting to grow on me as I get into the book and their story a little more.

While attending the wedding of a friend, the night is going beautifully and even Ruby Mae and Luke are having a good time. However, at the reception, the groom is stabbed and of course Ruby is on the hunt to find out who had tried to kill Harrison and why.

Potential spoilers beyond this point.

I feel like our main character, Ruby Mae has either grown a little between this book and the last, or maybe the author is getting a slightly better handle on the character as a whole. She feels a little more her age, a little more wise, because when she starts to dig into the attempted murder, she actually reaches out for help. Instead of thinking she can do it alone, and blundering her way through the mystery, by asking for aid of the head of the coven she’s granted access to the library for her research.

But also by asking for help, she’s not alienating people by making sneaky decisions and moving forward against people’s wishes. I found that I liked that she wasn’t only asking for the help but also listening to others. It made the mystery flow well and I enjoyed getting to know the other members of the coven that she’s been bonding with since joining.

Over all the mystery was weaved well throughout the story, and I loved that the key item for this mystery was a magical sewing machine. I think it’s so interesting and smart on how it was presented and used in the story. It was also interesting that the company came to collect the item at the end, giving a hint at just how much that’s going on in the outside world, away from our little town we’re not seeing. As a reader, I enjoy knowing that the authors are aware of the world even if we only get a hint of the world continuing to move on its own outside our scope. Knowing there might be other stories that might get told later in this same world.

Book Review: Flea Market Magic by Bella Falls

16 Tuesday Aug 2022

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Author: Bella Falls
Publisher: Evermore Press
Series: Southern Relics Cozy Mysteries
Genre: Paranormal Romance, Cozy Mystery
Rating: 3 Stars
Medium: Audio Book

I picked up Flea Market Magic because I finished the other series by the same author and wanted to check this one out to see if it would be both of the same caliber and contain the same lovable characters. I was pleased to find that this is set in the same universe as her Southern Charms Cozy series with Charli – something easily distinguishable because of the use of the Spell Phones that are in the book.

As a whole the concept is interesting. Ruby and her family live in Jewell, NC – which qualifies as its own township so the neighboring town they would normally be part of technically has no jurisdiction within their borders, which comes into play a little when the family finds a dead body not just on their land but in one of their buildings. The family themselves deal with antiques and refurbished goods, but also host a flea market with stalls from other people on their land. While out picking through other flea markets to pick up new products, they also keep a keen eye out for any magical related items.

One of the other key features of the family, which I found interesting, was that they store magical items in a family vault that only the family can find and open. And while they do sell magical items to the magically inclined community, they also do a fair bit of safe keeping on the more dangerous relics that they stumble across to keep them out of the wrong hands or off the market entirely.

Possible Spoilers beyond this point.

Like I said above, I find the concept interesting and I am intrigued to be able to dip into the same universe as her other series but see a new aspect of the world and the lore. Ruby’s family tends to stay a little to themselves it seems, making sure to keep the family business going, but at the same time our main character is dating a vampire. I do like that we’re getting to see more of the vampires in this series because in last series while there are some vampires living in town we don’t get a deeper dive into them.

As a whole, I’m not entirely sure how old Ruby is supposed to be but she does come off as naive and impulsive. She’s been told that this magical item is dangerous. She’s been told not to touch it or try to use it, no matter how much it might help them. She’s even been shown what happens to the people who have used it, because just before she uses it she has to help save the woman who used it before her. But instead of listening to the people around her from family members to her own vampire boyfriend that has seen people use it to no good end, she forges ahead like she has an idea of what she’s actually doing.

She also seems really reckless about using her magic in front of the non-witch folk, which is both dangerous and technically against the magically inclined rules that she’s supposed to be following. To the point where one of the guys actually starts to get uppity about what she might be doing, suspicious because she does things to him on two different occasions.

For someone who’s grown up in magic all her life, knowing the rules and how careful they have to be – I feel like if she’s as old as I wanna pin a finger on how old she should be she’s technically too old to be doing both of these things.

While the other series got four stars from me across the board, because I’m a little unsure of the characters and I didn’t bond with them as fast as I did the characters from her other series, I’m dubbing this three stars. It’s definitely an interesting concept, and I’m intrigued by the family dynamic, the vampire boyfriend dynamic, as well has her needing to join the local coven as part of her deal for some help to see how that plays out. And I will continue the series at least for another book, but at the same time I wasn’t as impressed with this book as I was the other series.