Patti LarsenBesprekingen

Family Magic is most definitely my genre of book, with witches, demons and vampires. Syd wanted out of the family coven, she hates the way magic makes her feel physically. she also has trouble at school she is lonely, always the new girl with no friends, she just doesn’t fit in.

Things turn out very differently when she learns that someone has it in for the Hayle Coven and she seems to be the only one that may be able to stop them.

I loved Syd’s character and her grandmother was a hoot.

This is an exciting, funny at times, magical read that keeps you on the edge of your seat.

I can’t wait to read the other books from The Hayle Coven Novels.

I got this book for free about 4 years ago but as I accumulated books, this one just moved further and further down my tbr. The writing is great which is what kept me hooked. This is the first book in a 4 book series. However, I won’t be continuing the series because the reviews on them have been rather iffy.

I am going to start with saying that the writing made Run very entertaining. We are introduced to the main character Reid who is in an unfortunate situation, fighting for survival. He gets into survival mode quick and tries to figure out his situation all while avoiding creatures hunting him and other children down.

We don’t learn anything in this book. Reid and fellow children are running from their lives from these hunters that have animalistic qualities. The description of the hunters made me think of the Hunters in the video game Left 4 Dead 2. Other than that this was a good read but I won’t be reading the other books in the series.

Cute book, pleasant read.

Cute book, pleasant read. I foresee a romance soon. Very formulaic, but that is not a bad thing. I do like that the main character doesn't put up with a lot of guff.

Bed and Breakfast and Murder is a somewhat entertaining book. It was written so that there could be sequels to it which is maybe why something was missing. There was not much bed and breakfast just trying to figure out who murdered the hated man. The book was awarded three stars in this review.

Fiona Fleming has returned home after breaking up with her cheating boyfriend in NYC. She also had had a good excuse. Her grandmother had left her the B&B that the grandmother ran, so Fiona decided that it was time for a change.

John Fleming used to be the Sheriff of the small town of Reading in Vermont. Fiona grew up learning a lot about police procedures and law enforcement. Her father even taught her how to use a gun in a safe manner. Fiona's dream was to become a law enforcement officer when she grew up.

But in High school, for whatever reason, John Fleming made it clear that he did not support the idea of his daughter becoming a law enforcement officer, thereby ruining Fiona's dream. So Fiona ran away. She moved to NYC.

Now she is back. She begins running the B&B that she inherited. But less than 1 week after she returned home, a man named Peter Wilkins showed up and told her that her grandmother has signed off the deed of the B&B to him and that she had 48 hours to vacate the premises. The very next day Pete Wilkins is found dead in the fish pond in the front yard of the B&B, and naturally Fiona is the main suspect.

This is told in first person POV which is a little hard to get used, but the more I read, I more I became used to how Fiona thinks. Fiona's problem is that she desperately needed to find the murderer, clear her name and get her B&B back.

Just a cautionary word. This novel opens with some pretty salty language!! No swearing, but there other words that one would not want to hear coming out of a young ladies mouth!!

One other thing. The "Sidekick" in this novel is not a human. Rather it is a dog. A Pug dog named Petunia. A very LAZY pug dog named Petunia. I am not a fan of dogs.

But once you get past the salty language and the dogs bad habits, this turned out to be a great read.

I gave this 4 stars because I had to deduct one star for the dog.

Book 2 in the Fiona Fleming Series.

Most of the important people (main characters) in the town of Reading, Vermont, are invited by Mayor Olivia Walker to the opening of the new Ski resort that is supposed to bring lots of tourism to the town. However, while the town are celebrating the ski resort opening, an unexpected snow storms hits them and they are all snowed in. The plows have been taken off the roads and noone can get to them.

One of the founding families of the town of Reading is the Patterson family, and the current heir to that family is a college aged spoiled brat named Mason Patterson. When the news broke that he had offered seasonal jobs at the resort to his friends from college, rather than honouring the family agreement to offer those jobs to people from Reading first. the mayor and the townspeople are not very happy.

When Mason is found dead during dinner, the three investigators swing into action, questioning suspects and looking for clues. The three investigators being the current Sheriff Crew Turner, the former Sheriff John Fleming, and the Amateur Sleuth Fiona Fleming.

Between Fiona's unexpected trip outside in the snow with no jacket, the discovery of Masons peanut allergy, and a vial of the peanut oil found on the floor near his seat, the true murderer is eventually uncovered.

Another excellent Cozy mystery of the enclosed space type - where everyone is shut into one place and unable to leave. Like the Murder on the Orient express or The Mysterious Affair at Styles.

This was okay. Not a must read but not a dnf either. I probably would read the next book in the series but I would not go hunt it down.

Started off slow, but really picked up halfway through.

A quanto pare non vado d'accordo con angeli e affini nemmeno se non perdono piume in giro (essendo senza ali) e non hanno in testa una specie di lampada al neon che funge da aureola.
Già il solo fatto che Vita e Morte si chiedano:-Chissà perché non ci è permesso avere dei figli?- non rappresenta un inizio promettente, tuttavia non è certo l'unico motivo per cui questo libro non mi è piaciuto per nulla.
Prima di tutto la trama: nulla di originale, noiosa e... ehi, i colpi di scena e l'azione che fine hanno fatto? Per me li ha mangiati Lilith il serpente, non c'è altra possibilità. Praticamente per più di metà libro non succede niente. Una protagonista frignona, debole, inutile e con milioni di complessi mentali che passa dal regno della Morte a quello della Vita alla Terra in base agli ordini impartiti da mammina o paparino. Combina danni con i compiti assegnati e si deprime ancora di più. Ma non è finita qui! Perché poi di punto in bianco diventa l'esatto opposto, diventando una potenziale omicida pronta a mandare a quel paese tutti quanti. Quando si dice Out of character...
E infine questo: va bene le personificazioni della Vita e della Morte, ma non puoi spiaccicarci dentro anche Zeus con il suo seguito, qualche dio egizio perché fa trendy e pure e per di più persino la personificazione del karma!
Il tutto mi è parso come un'accozzaglia di elementi per nulla uniforme senza un vero e proprio scopo.

Almost seemed liked two books - one about a demon witch who wants nothing to do with her family; and one about a new witch at school trying to be normal and fit in. The first storyline is definitely the better.

Fiona (Fee) inherits her grandmother Iris’ bed and breakfast. It gave her an accuse to move home to Vermont from New York City and a cheating ex-boyfriend. What she didn’t expect was for a property developer, Pete Wilkins to claim that Iris had signed the deed to the inn over to him. The next day his body is found in her garden pond. Now she is the #1 suspect in his death.
There are some books that you just slide into the story this is one. It was a relaxing, quick-paced read that flowed from the pages. The characters of the town of Reading are well described, the mystery is interesting and comes with a surprising end.

Good start to a series, a few downs with the ups.
An intriguing storyline, but a few scenes and background characters could have been cut for a better flowing tale.

I have found a new author that has grabbed my attention. She blends humor and sarcasm in a story that is sassy and full of great characters. Fee has just returned to her small town to run the B&B her grandmother left her. I loved her character so much I wanted to be her friend. She is funny and sure knows how to upset the new sheriff in town.

Fee has a pug who is a big plus for the story. Petunia is perhaps a bit overweight and maybe a bit stinky sometimes, but oh my the dog stole my heart. I don't think Fee was well received by the employees at the B&B but after all, she really knows little about running the place. The author had me loving this story from the beginning with Fee and her attitude. When a body is found on her property, the finger pointing starts. There is a cast of suspects that the sheriff will have to interrogate. Crew is the new sheriff and Fee is not really impressing him much. Could it be that Fee's dad use to be the sheriff? Fee is determined to find out answers on her own which doesn't sit well with Crew. There are quite a few surprises in the story and you better hold on tight as the ending will blow you away. I was shocked and loved the unexpected turn of events. I didn't see it coming and was so impressed with the authors twists and turns in the story. This is one author I am excited to find. I can't wait for the next book in the series. What will Fee get into next? Will Fee and Crew become friends? Grab your copy and get comfy. This is one story you will be glad you read.

I received a copy of this book from The Great Escape Book Tour. The review is my own opinion.

This book was just kind of okay. The writing was technically pretty good and had nice imagery, but the story really dragged on. About halfway through I found myself just wanting it to end. It's just back to back scenes of Trio and friends finally finding somewhere better or safer or whatever only to have one of the random bad groups show up and magically they've infiltrated everything and their only option is to run away. Again and again.

At one point they were even inside of a literal bunker and a gang of actual teenagers just walks right in and suddenly their only option is to immediately pack up and run away. I would have enjoyed some legit conflict between Trio/Beckett and Cade but Cade and his seemingly endless army of unquestioningly loyal child soldiers are kind of glossed over and then there is no actual interaction with him other than to shove him away until the next time he shows up. This whole book just seems like a huge stall tactic to fill up pages. At one point I was even joking with my friend about the puppies just being "plot puppies" because they served absolutely no purpose to the story other than to complicate things and extend the plot. The main character, while walking towards an actual thing she has an actual motive to go to suddenly discovers these puppies and basically just turns around to show the people she just left these sweet puppies she just found.

Then there's Poppy who must be the most amazing escape artist and tracker the world has ever seen even though she's something like 8. No matter what she always manages to escape to catch up and find them even though they had a head start and are actively trying to conceal themselves. Then Trio just laughs about it and thinks it's cute or something and defends her when Beckett gets mad even though she's an actual child roaming through the ruins of a city with something like 2 or 3 different kinds of zombies, murder police, and multiple gangs of evil children.

And they ended trusted Genki repeatedly even though he continuously stabbed them in the back despite the protagonist never even liking him to begin with. And why did Dauphine even stay with Genki? Why did Genki even care about her so much other than the vague reason that he's greedy? Were they in love? Was there some complicated abusive relationship going on? Did her stabbing him in the back even matter? How did Cade know about all of Genki's extra hidden caches? How did Genki manage to plot his final betrayal with Cade while Dauphine was with him? Why wouldn't Cade just immediately murder him? How did Cade track down two people sneaking off on their own but failed to find Beckett's entire group? Why would Socrates EVER destroy all his books, especially after going through such great lengths to find every single missing book from the library? Why would he as a character even have a system like that in place when they seemingly mean more than his life to him? Why did he never move into the bunker or even send someone over to check it out? He could have even brought his books there if he wanted. Why does Emile never do anything besides protect Socrates? What is he to her? Why do we never learn any actual substance about their relationship? I don't think she even had a single line of dialogue. What was Nico's deal? Why was she so against Trio that she'd be willing to throw away her place in the group, out them to Cade, risk Beckett's life, and ultimately give up her own life trying to screw her over? She even tripped children and then ran away instead of helping them. She's almost like a Disney villain and is made out to be this utterly irredeemable character with no positive traits. Why does Trio have absolutely no problems physically or morally murdering nameless minions but whenever the opportunity arises to kill Genki or Cade she just can't do it for some unknown reason even though it would solve at least 80% of her problems? She's even shown that she doesn't even need her special powers to do it. I have so many questions. I can't even list them all here.

Just finished this book. First thought is 'Wow!'. I've read other peoples reviews of book and they say "it just pulled me in..". That is one description of this story. Frankly it started out, in my opinion, as juvenile with a predictable unfolding. But as it went along, I found I was drawn in and did not expect things to happen as they did. (Don't want to spoil anything for anyone.)

Recommended by a Buzzer and snapped it up for free. Glad I did! This was a thrill ride and a fairly short read.

Main characters are all kids/youngish teens. Will probably draw some comparisons to Maze Hunter, Lord of the Flies and/or Hunger Games, but IMO should be YA with strongest caution. No language or sex, but the violent themes, including cannibalism and disembowelings, are pretty hardcore. IMO, NC17.

Here's why, without spoilers:

Foster kids are being drugged, kidnapped and dropped into remote woods where someone or something is hunting them.

Unlike Hunger Games where violent deaths are implicit, this book contains many violent deaths all described fairly graphically.

Written in episodic or serial style, so there is no resolution. You have to read the next book in the series to continue where the story leaves off.

A good thriller, verging on horror. Suspenseful, fast paced and tautly written. Likable main character to root for.

Definitely a find and a great hook into the series! Next book is worth buying. Glad it was recommended to me.½

Birthright: A Daeva and Drach Novella by Patti Larsen is a young adult novella but adults will love it also, that seems really to be the start of an awesome series. The girl is a mix and lives in a demon world and doesn't fit in and the boy is a mix of dragon/human and doesn't fit in. It is super exciting how they get together and Who and What they are. Looks like a lot of fun ahead. There is a story at the end of the novella called Henry, READ IT FIRST. These characters are in the book and it made no sense at the time. After the book, I read the short story Henry, then it made sense. So, read Henry first and help yourself out. I wish I had known, I would not had wondered what that was all about until the short story. My only complaint of the book, everything else was great. Can't wait for the next full book.

Eve (The Eternal Daughter Series Book 1) by Patti Larsen is a wonderful fantasy tale with mythology thrown in there, which I love. Eve is a product of Life and Death. They came together to have a child, although it was forbidden, they did it anyway. Now Eve, 16, is a failure as an angel of Life like her sisters and a angel of death like her brothers. Her failures cause pain in the long run to those mortals she has tried to help and to her parents and siblings. She struggles to find who she is and what is her gift/purpose. When she does, everything changes. Wonderful story! Had me from page one! Love mythology and it had the Fate sisters, Destiny, and so many side characters/ creatures. Great fun, dialogue, twists, turns, and surprises. Loved it!!!

Sydlynn Hayle -- the most annoying little teenager ever and the reason that I did not find this book more annoying than interesting.

Let me tell you why! I do not care what my mother said or did if it would have been me talking to my mother like a spoiled selfish brat she would have smacked me to the floor and left me lying there to pick up my teeth. I understand she was trying to be a normal teen but, no matter what you have to have respect for your elders.

I liked the concept and the story just I could not connect at all with the characters.

Eve is the first book of the Eternal Daughter series by Patti Larsen.
I received this book free through Kindle Scout. I voted for this book to be published and for this I 'won' a free book. Free or bought, this book is worth reading.
I was caught in the story from the start, a girl born of Life and Death who seems not to be able to do anything right by either parent. You'll feel for Eve, who never seems to get anything right, but she's a survivor and it's her journey to find out why things seem to work in reverse for her (anything else gets into spoiler alert area). The characters were well written, and had depth.
The story held my interest and was well developed … the farther into the story I got, the more I didn't want to put it down. I just kept wondering what was going to happen to Eve. She didn't become what I thought she was going to become at the end… but the 'unveiling' did make sense at the end.
If you liked her other books, you'll really enjoy this book. If you've never read her books, read this one a see what you've been missing.

This is a story about a sixteen year old girl. She wants what everyone wants. To fit in. To find her place. But being a teen, she’s dealing with all of that angst, those hormones. Being bullied at school, responsible for her insane grandmother, and clashing with her mother have Syd all torn up inside.

She must find herself. Discover what she wants. She thinks she doesn’t wanted her magic. Doesn’t want to be a witch. And she keeps her demon half locked down inside her. All of this frustration and anger find a way out sometimes, like a pot boiling over.

It seems like every time Syd makes up with her mother, something else happens and she’s screaming how much she hates her, the family, the coven, her powers, and witches. She wants out and doesn’t want to wait until she’s 18 to give up her power.

After a huge blow out with her mother, Syd’s dad is waiting for her. When she enters the basement, both of her parents are there, but her uncle butts into the family meeting. He insists they stop lying to Syd. Tell her the truth. She needs to get control of her demon now more than ever.

Syd’s never whiney. She grows strong as she learns more, faces herself and her demon. Embraces her power. The author keeps her in character, genuine and believable. She’s a teenager and stays one, showing her growth, her confusion, her determination, and her doubts.

As the end of the book drew near, I became worried. I couldn’t see how it would all work out. I was worried, afraid for the characters.

The very first sentence in the last chapter is to telling and true. I wish I could share it with you, but you’ll see what I mean when you read it. So insightful. So powerful. As strong as the characters and magic displayed in this book.

When I was younger, I was a huge fan of Sabrina The Teenage Witch. I imagined this book would be something like that. In some ways it was (they had a cat that was turned into a cat as punishment, which obviously reminded me of Salem the cat from the show), but in others it wasn't. The main difference to me was that the heroine, Syd, was nothing like Sabrina. For about the first half of the book, I was very annoyed at her. She kept complaining that she didn’t want her powers but she had no reason and no idea why she wanted it so badly -so basically "just because." I also didn't understand why she had to be so mean to her mother all the time and the constant arguing and fighting over nothing got old pretty quickly. I suppose this is teenage behavior, a sixteen year old's way of rebelling, but it was just boring to read through it. Anyway, I soldiered on and the second half got better as the element of the attack on the coven was introduced. In my opinion, this is when the story picked up and I got interested in what was going on. Even though some things didn't make sense to me and I didn't fully understand this whole world of magic, I couldn't help but speculate about who was behind the attack, etc...

*I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

Sydlynn just wants to be an ordinary girl, but it is kind of hard when you’re half witch and half demon. She is also the sole heir of her entire coven. Can she figure out why magic makes her physically sick before having to take on this huge responsibility? Or will she be able to rid herself of her power and have a normal life on her own?
This book contains a lot of believable characters and plot twists that will keep you turning pages. I liked how the demon father kept calling his daughter Cupcake. Sydlynn's mother really did try hard to balance being a coven leader and a normal-ish mother to her confused rebellious daughter. The crazy grandmother who can only be quieted by tequila or chocolate will make you smile. Sydlynn, herself, starts out being a big whiner, but really pulls it together as she finds her own path.
I would recommend this book to anyone who has ever felt out of place and lost in the great sea of humanity. I would also recommend this book to anyone who likes fantasy, mystery and witches. This is a wonderful YA book and I enjoyed reading it very much.

Sydlynn just wants to be an ordinary girl, but it is kind of hard when you’re half witch and half demon. She is also the sole heir of her entire coven. Can she figure out why magic makes her physically sick before having to take on this huge responsibility? Or will she be able to rid herself of her power and have a normal life on her own?
This book contains a lot of believable characters and plot twists that will keep you turning pages. I liked how the demon father kept calling his daughter Cupcake. Sydlynn's mother really did try hard to balance being a coven leader and a normal-ish mother to her confused rebellious daughter. The crazy grandmother who can only be quieted by tequila or chocolate will make you smile. Sydlynn, herself, starts out being a big whiner, but really pulls it together as she finds her own path.
I would recommend this book to anyone who has ever felt out of place and lost in the great sea of humanity. I would also recommend this book to anyone who likes fantasy, mystery and witches. This is a wonderful YA book and I enjoyed reading it very much.

This is my first read by Ms. Larsen. I liked it very much. I am reading Family Magic now. This story has it all magic, witchcraft, comedy. The characters are easy to like and interesting. There is even a talking demon cat. A different take on the witch genre.