Customer Reviews

The Trouble With Magic (Bewitching Mysteries, No. 1)

5 star:		(33)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(16)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

The Trouble With Magic draws you right in from the first page. Maggie, dissatisfied with her current job makes a leap of faith,and accepts a job offer to work for Felicity, owner of an upscale antique shoppe, and incidently a practising Witch. The two womnen quickly become friends, and their story spirals into an enchanting, intelligent, often witty tale of magic, self-discovery, murder and mystery. The result is the reader, at least this reader is left wanting MORE, PLEASE. Madelyn Alt is an intelligent, exciting new author who promises to become a great favorite.

This is the 1st of the series that features Maggie O'Niell, and her new friends - Felicity, who gave her a job at Enchantments, an antique shop/metaphysical treasure-filled business, Marcus, a darkly sexy man whom Maggie thinks is Felicity's man, a tough cop, whom Maggie is attracted to, etc.
When Felicity is called to her sister's house, she finds her sister murdered and she becomes the main suspect. Oh, did I forget to tell you Felicity's a witch? Maggie can't quite fathom the world of the metaphysical, shows us she is a sensitive, and begins her journey into this realm.
The 1st page catches you and the book is very entertaining -
Looking forward to the next in the series -
Ms. Alt joins the fine company of Victora Laurie, whose works I love -
Not for those who cannot accept "woo-woo" as it is called in the book - but a fine read.

Maggie's a nice girl with an awful job who meets a friendly witch, who offers her a nice job selling pretty things to rich people. The nice witch is a suspect in her sister's murder, and we get to meet all the other people in Maggie's life as she tries to clear her boss's name. There are some hunky guys. And Maggie apparently has some kind of psychic Gift.

Okay, so it's not particularly gripping or original, but it's got potential. The book ends with comments that foreshadow something big, bad, and definitely paranormal. Now that Maggie knows she has some kind of Gift, hopefully she'll work on learning how to use it in the next book. There's also the possiblity for a love triangle that would cause some big problems, and other love and family troubles, especially if Maggie decides to persue Witchcraft.

I'll check out the next one, but my big hope is that the paranormal aspects of the stories are expanded on, and that the author continues to spice up Maggie's blah life.

What fun, what fun! No better way to spend a winter afternoon (especially in Indiana, the scene of the crime) than curled up with a cup of tea and the THE TROUBLE WITH MAGIC. Maggie O'Neill is pure charm, and her sleuthing antics range from make-me-tremble brave to downright hilarious. I can't wait for the next one.

You know those books that set you up from the beginning to hate the bad guy and love everyone else, so you pretty much know from the first page who did it? This isn't one of them. Nor is it your typical "witch" book where everything revolves around the witches' special powers. This book had a resident witch and her band of ghost hunters, but the primary murder is centered around so much more, including sibling rivalry, adultery, and good old-fashioned greed. With all of that, you would never expect the humor the author delivers with sincerity. Overall, great debut and an entertaining book!

This is a great start to a new series, with just enough mystery and magic to keep me hooked.

Maggie's life is going nowhere when she stumbles into an antique shop and a whole new life. The shop's owner Felicity, who happens to be a practicing witch, immediately offers Maggie a job and as bit of unsolicited advice. Before she knows what hit her Maggie is drawn into to a world she never considered, people who seem to understand her and accept the way she is including the premonitions she has tried to keep to herself. Then Felicity's sister turns up dead and Felicity becomes the prime suspect. There are also a couple of very interesting men thrown in and quite of bit is made about tolerance of what we don't understand, all of which leads to a merry chase, a band of unexplained phenomenon hunters, and a strength Maggie didn't think she had. I like all of the characters a lot and found most of the story believable and not over done, at times I did find Maggie complaints about her upbringing and her church a bit much but not enough to keep me from impatiently anticipating the next in this fresh new series.

One of the best aspects of this book was, when it ended, it was left open for a sequel! Will Maggie open her mind to her obvious mystical talents? Will she date either of the very attractive men in her life... the dark and mysterious man, or the light yet strong guy? I was completely delighted with "The Trouble with Magic." While it is "chick-lit-ish," it is a refreshing change of pace from all of the "cookie cutter" chick-lit books that are flooding the market right now. The mystical aspects offer Alt's readers just the right twist to mix a main stream book with tons of suspense and a bit of spookiness. I'm looking forward to the next installment of Maggie and magic.

i'm not sure why i ordered this book when i found it listed in my recommendations--guess i was desperate for a new author.

well, i'm very glad i took the gamble in buying it--madelyn alt has a wonderful style, most of the characters are individual and well drawn (and i can't agree that the mother isn't awful when she finally appears--she's so controlling she can't even let her adult daughter peel vegetables as she pleases), and the mystery isn't bad for a first book.

the main weakness is the amount of time spent creating the series situation. i expect that the second book will be much stronger as a mystery when the author concentrates on that aspect.

and i will definitely be reading the second book--there's enough humor, interesting relationships and potential to make this a very entertaining series.

This juicy little book was only an appetizer - I can't wait for the next installment!!! Madelyn Alt has given us a new and exciting character. Maggie O'Neill's interactings with the people in her homesy town ring true and keep us anxiously anticipating her next venture into the unknown - as she discovers more than one kind of Magic becoming a part of her life!!!

This has the potential to be a delightful series if the author can fix a few things. First of all, Maggie is 30 yrs. old and the author uses alot of internal monologs to develop Maggie's character. Unfortunately her musings quickly become tedious and only serve to make the reader impatient with the heroine. Secondly, her issues with her mother and her Catholic upbringing are those of a young adolescent and not an adult....I wanted to say grow up, Maggie, and stop all your whining. Last, her interactions with the opposite sex, Tom and Marcus, are immature and silly. Surely, this girl who is supposed to be intelligent, perceptive and empathic can do better! On the other hand the characters of Felicity and Marcus are great and one hopes they will continue in the next book. The explanations of magic are charming and consistant and it's nice to see all the regular folks in the town who are practitioners of "woo woo", as it's called in the book. The author has a possible good series going here, and I hope to see more of this heroine after her "growing pains" are cured.