Review - Of Potions and Portents by Nyx Halliwell

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Of Potions and Portents

by Nyx Halliwell

Series: Sister Witches of Raven Falls, #1
Genre: Coxy Paranormal Mystery
Release Date: August 27, 2019

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Of Potions and Portents is the first book in the Sister Witches of Raven Falls Cozy Mystery Series. Join a set of magickal sisters as they solve paranormal mysteries that fans of Charmed, Hocus Pocus, and The Good Witch will love. ***Bonus recipes and craft instructions in every book!

Kitchen witch, Spring Whitethorne, longs for love and a “normal” social life. Finding the time—not to mention the right guy—is a lost cause. Her days are spent cooking up products for the Lotions, Potions, and Herbs line for Conjure, the metaphysical shop she runs with her sisters, and her specialty blend—Sex Magick—is helping everyone else in town find romance, while she’s working her broomstick off preparing for the upcoming Beltane celebration.

That is until Tristan McGregor, the sexy chief of police, threatens to shut down her kitchen and accuses her of murder. Two people have died, entangled in an—ahem—compromising position, and covered in Sex Magick.

On top of that, she discovers an unsettling portent about the chief in his tea leaves, and when he steals a kiss, she realizes it's only because he’s under the influence of the Sex Magick enchantment.

Or is he?

With her cursed mockingbird familiar, Hoax, her sassy sister witches, and a whole lot of peppermint tea, Spring must solve the mystery before Tristan puts her behind bars. But as the fires of Beltane nip at her heels, introducing the chief to the world of magick could send her chances at love up in smoke.

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Mystery and magic served with a healthy side of romance – what a fun read “Of Potions and Portents” was, and it looks to set the stage perfectly for an entertaining series!

Halliwell has created a wonderful world for her stories in this series, one that centers around a magical close-knit family, their quirky familiars, and the demons they must keep at bay to keep their town, and potentially the world, safe. She adds the right mix of humor and romance to keep her storytelling light but injects just enough mystery and darkness to keep you on the edge of your seat and turning the pages.

Spring and her sisters are all such unique characters and I loved how each added something different to telling Spring’s story. Tristan was the perfect match for Spring and I loved how open he was to Spring’s unique abilities as he starts to suspect and then see that maybe there is a bit of supernatural out there, perhaps even within himself. I also loved how bad-a$$ Spring is, something she grows into in the book, and how Tristan, an alpha male in his own right, accepts that she is strong and powerful and stands beside her.

One of my favorite aspects of this books is the use of humor, and Halliwell executes that perfectly in not only her main characters, but in her supporting cast, my favorite being Spring’s familiar Hoax, a “spirit, cursed by an evil sorceress into the form of a mockingbird who can’t fly.” Hoax likes to spend most of his time mimicking and occasionally hexing customers, but mostly he just likes to use foul language every chance he gets – a familiar after my own heart! He always seems to pop in with an inappropriate comment or action at just the right time to break up the tension or cause a bit chaos, and I loved that he was a bit protective of Spring, especially when she and Tristan, the police chief, have a romantic moment.

Our fingers brush and I startle, the fire in my chest flaring to life at his touch. I lose my balance and nearly fall backward. A strong hand grabs hold of my arm and steadies me.

Lifetimes pass between us as I stare into his eyes. It’s like I’m locked in; I can’t look away. The dreams that haunt me rush back and that fire in my chest bursts so hot I can barely breathe.

I could have stayed there the rest of the night but Hoax dances behind Tristan, flapping his wings and smacking the chief. “Take your filthy hands off her.”

This was a fun cozy paranormal mystery that blended all those aspects perfectly and should appeal to anyone who likes any combination of those three things. This book has its own happy ever after but also sets up a series arc that should provide more of the same fun that this book had.

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