Book Musings - Elemental Arcane by Phaedra Weldon

Name of the book : Elemental Arcane
Author's Name     : Phaedra Weldon
Genre                   : Fantasy, Paranormal, Urban Fantasy
Series                   : Book 1 of The Eldritch Files

Blurb :

Samantha Hawthorne lives a rather curious life in New Orleans running a magic and herb shop. As an Elemental Witch in the Big Easy and owner of a wolf Familiar as well as the head of a former Faerie Queen, curious is as quiet as it gets for Sam. 

Until children start turning into blood-thirsty Changelings and attack their parents. 

When one of these children shows up in front of her shop, Sam and her friends are determined to find out where they’re coming from and where the exchanged children are being kept and put a stop to it. But will they succeed when they find themselves pitted against ninja ghouls, one of the oldest and darkest enemies of the mortal world, and a secret from Sam’s childhood that could unravel her magic? 

My Musings :

Another new author to add to my wish and watch lists! I came across the author while browsing Amazon Kindle shop for more e-books as usual. I had to get it after reading the blurb. Who can resist a combination of magic, a witchy lead character and a mystery?

Did I mention that I love the cover? The illustration is perfect for the story and I especially like Samantha's portrayal. Samantha and her employees/friends, Kyle and Ivan find themselves in the midst of a series of attacks on human beings by Changelings, kids who are replaced by monsters. My first thought on Samantha was that she has issues, just like Captain Mildred Prescott has issues. She has two love interests which I don't usually like in a book but I don't even consider Robin a main lead of the plot. I am all for Samantha-Crwys partnership. Kyle and Ivan represent the usual normal elemental magic and the unusual new magic element of the book respectively. Who would have guessed there could be Cyber Witches.

The story started at a brisk pace and stayed that way throughout the book. The start was a bit confusing since it felt like I was in the middle of the book . But it evened out further into the book. I love the characters and the world built by the author. The magic system was interesting, predictable mixed with different. The comments like the Head PMSing made me laugh out loud. I got to say I didn't expect the twist at the end of the book. I kind of suspected Kyle being on the side of the baddie so I was surprised at the reveal of the villain of the story. Though it made sense in a way because there were clues throughout the book if I had paid more attention. The end kind of let me down since I was primed for more action. But it has whetted my appetite for more of Samantha and her world.

I started this book yesterday and it was a pretty fast read. The story and the characters kept me interested from the start till the end making me enjoy the dialogue. The minute after I post this review I will be buying the next book in the series. You will be hearing from me soon, I guess!

My one line review : Paranormal mystery with action thrown in makes Elemental Arcane an attention keeper

My rating : 5/5

My reread factor: 4/5

Floryie