Witches' Brew (Vampires and Wine, #1) by Morgana Best

Witches' Brew (Vampires and Wine, #1) Reviews

• 
  MelMon Sanchez

  A couple of editing issues but all in all a great romantic cozy mystery. Could use a bigger push on the romance.
  A great read!
  
  Pepper sure has allot to absorb as she makes her way to live with her 3 aunts. Meeting 2 handsome men in one day is just the begining. Murder and mystery soon follow suite and now it is up to Pepper to make sense out of it all. Albeit the mercurial Mr. O'Callaghan does not make the situation any easier with his conceit and odd requests.
  
  A real tailspin of a tale filled with all sorts of things that go bump in the night. And explanations on how wrong we have been about them throughout the years.
• 
  Lucinda Race

  When Pepper relocates to Mugwort Manor to live with her 3 eccentric aunts she has no idea what's in store for her. Enter the handsome Lucas, full of mystery and don't forget the dead body that crashes through the skylight. Delightful twists and turns in the first book in the series- and yup, I bought book 2 already.
• 
  Nola Arganbright

  Fun for Halloween season
  
  A great Cozy Mystery with a good plot and sub plots. Great characters and a new twist to paranormal characters.
• 
  Sally906

  This story is SO Australian it even has a Yowie shifter rather than a werewolf. A Yowie is an Aussie version of Big Foot.
  
  A cosy romantic suspense, Pepper arrives at her aunts B&B just in time to have a body plunge to the ground from the roof. Also arriving is Luke - the heir to the winery at the other end of town. There are immediately attraction sparks between the two as Pepper is drawn into solving a twofold mystery - one who killed the man on the roof, and two, she thought she was a witch but what is she? And what is Luke? Can there be a future for them when this is over!
  
  Enjoyed it so much I am going to grab the second in the series to see what happens next with Pepper and Luke
  
• 
  SA Krishnan

  Enjoyable and fun cosy mystery
  With the quirky aunts, a thoroughly annoying man and a murder, Pepper has her hands full, running the bed and breakfast. The paranormal element added to the cosy mystery and made it more fun. In the beginning, Pepper did not understand much as her aunts did not discuss much with her. But as the story moves forward, her role in the story and the twists and the turns were very enjoyable. Liked it.
• 
  Sherry Sharpnack

  Largely forgettable formulaic witch-meets-family-history story.
  Valkyrie “Pepper” can’t find a job w/ her classical literature degree. She moves in w/ her three elderly aunts to help run their bed and breakfast (w/o breakfast) in a creepy house. She literally runs into a new guest of the B&B as they are both entering it—hate-at-first-encounter—when a body literally falls through the skylight. Who-dun-it! And what are the mysterious noises from the “forbidden room” of Pepper’s childhood? The aunts have a lot of secrets….
  And thus the series is set up.
• 
  Su

  A quick, fun read
• 
  Melliane

  
  Mon avis en français
  
  
  My English review
  
  I saw this free novel on kindle and as I like cozy mystery, I was quite curious to discover a new series as well as a new author.
  
  Pepper, despite her degree in hand, can’t find a job, so when her aunts ask her to come to the city of Lighthouse Bay to help them run their Bed and Breakfast, she sees this as a solution to her problems. But the town is full of secrets, and her aunts seem to hide many things. And then there is Lucas O’Callaghan, that charming man who thinks that all the women are after him, which really annoys our dear Pepper.
  
  It was a nice novel overall and I had a good time, but I have to say that I didn’t get as hooked as I thought I would. It’s a book that won’t necessarily leave me with a memorable memory, but it’s an easy read.
• 
  bex

  Low 3 star
  
  The culprit was a bit too obvious to me although some of the details were too far out to guess. But I'm known for putting pieces together so maybe they're not so blatant to other readers.
• 
  Lise

  Witches' Brew is a solid cosy setting in Australia. (Funny, I just mentioned recently I hadn't read too many books set in Australia and here we are again!) There is, of course, a paranormal slant to the story which unless you strongly object to supernatural elements is not so wild as to require a massive suspension of disbelief. I found it to be rather charming. This was a nice, light read and a good distraction to everyday life.
• 
  Sue Shep

  What a fun little book. Witches vampires and shifters. A murder mystery in a small Aussie town.
• 
  Barbara Hackel

  Witches Brew (Vampires and Wine, Book 1) is the newest start of a series by Morgana Best. The story opens when Valkyrie aka Pepper arrives at her three aunt's bed and breakfast. They have kindly offered her a job there when they found out she had lost yet another position in Sydney. The B & B is a family legacy, and since Pepper's parents disappeared (presumed dead), they are her only family. She had visited there when she was a child, and loved the close proximity to the ocean and the area in general. However this time things are a little different. The house and rental cottages need work. The aunts are just barely breaking even, and Pepper is determined to turn things around. However before she barely walks in the door, a dead man drops through the stained glass skylight in the reception area where she and another guest are waiting. From there we meet the guest, other guests, and of course the policemen. Over a short period of time so many strange things happen and strange habits of characters are mentioned! While letting the police solve the murder there are many other details the family must focus on. 
  
  The surprises are many, and some of them hit me as quite a shock. It is a great deal of fun to read this book, and I believe it is one of Morgana's best ever. I reluctantly put it down half finished when I realized it was well past 1am and I needed some sleep. I couldn't wait to finish it in the morning, and was up early to do so. I can't recommend it enough for a fresh look at the supernatural characters we thought we knew "all" about! Grab your copy and enjoy. I am waiting (impatiently) for the second book in the series!
• 
  Lisa Millett

  Witchy mystery
  
  Pepper Jasper has decided to move in with her eccentric aunt's who run a failing bed and breakfast. When she arrives a body of a man falls from the roof and lands in front of her. When questioned by the police Pepper begins to feel that something strange is going on. She finds that her aunt's are secretive and their bed and breakfast is failing because they don't serve breakfast and they have weirdly themed cottages for lease. There are a bunch of strange guests including Lucas O'Callaghan who seems to believe that he is God's gift to women. When Pepper begins to investigate the rooms she finds a locked door with strange lights and noises coming out of it but her aunt's tell her that the room is forbidden to every one. As Pepper is trying to make sense out of everything around her there is still a murder to solve. Filled with fun, quirky characters and things that go bump in the night, this is a fun cozy mystery that was enjoyable to read.
• 
  Coco.V

  💝 FREE on Amazon today (2/12/2018)! 💝
  
• 
  Katter

  Witches' Brew is a sweet and uncomplicated story, full of mystery, suspense, and a slight hint of romance. The heroine's name is Valkyrie, or Pepper, as she likes to be called. To be completely honest, I am not sure which is truly the MC's real name.
  
  Anyway, Pepper has to move from Sydney to Light's Bay because things are too expensive there. The poor dear didn't have enough foresight to see that her college degree in English Lit was completely pointless, so now she is plum out of luck on the job prospects.
  
  Her three aunts, Agnes, Dorothy, and Maude, all run a B&B at the small beach town of Light's Bay and have offered Pepper a job. Naturally she takes it and leaves her old life behind. She has never been close to her aunts, simply because her parents kept their distance from them.
  
  However, now that Pepper's parents have been missing for the past five years, she is eager to not only have a job, but to also be around family. The three old ladies are known for their eccentricities but they seem harmless enough so no one really seems to mind them.
  
  That all changes when shortly after Pepper arrives at Mugwort Manor, a body falls through the foyer skylight. Talk about a plot entrance! It was quite a surprise! Pepper thought her life would now be quiet and calm because she is staying in a small beach town. Oh how wrong she was!
  
  Someone has been killed and there is a murderer on the loose, the question is, who is it? There are multiple people staying at the B&B cottages at Mugwort Manor, and many of them act suspicious. There is the William's couple which seem rather haughty, Marius Jones, and last but not least, Lucas O'Callaghan, an infuriating man who thinks he is all that and a bag of chips!
  
  There is also an inspector on the case named Owen who Pepper doesn't completely trust. His manner is unsettling, not to mention rude! Oh, and just in case I forgot to mention it, the aunts are witches. This book actually reminded me a lot of 'Practical Magic'. The movie anyways, I have never read the book.
  
  This was all around a cute story that I enjoyed reading. While the plot does get resolved and the bad guy is put away, there are still a lot of questions that need to be answered. What does Peppers future hold? Does she have any special abilities? What secrets are the aunts holding? What is with the black cat? And what is Lucas?
  
  I just can't get over how quickly and agilely he shimmied up that tree. At the beginning of the novel there was a mentioning of something called the 'Bushland Panther', a legendary creature that had been spotted all over Australia. I can't help but feel that tidbit was foreshadowing.
  
  I don't think the little black cat is a Bushland Panther, I think perhaps Lucas may be a beast of legend. That would explain his agility and hearing! In this book the things that go bump in the night are real, as you can see by the series name, so I would not put it past this author to make Lucas something extra special.
  
  There are some implications at the end of what might happen, but the only way to be certain is to read the next story and I will be more than happy to do so! This was such a delightful little novel and I am so glad that I stumbled across it. Plus this was the first book I have read that takes place in Australia. What fun! Aussie Aussie Aussie, Oi Oi Oi! (I know this isn't the proper use for cheering but I felt like saying it anyway!)
• 
  Emily Pennington

  Pepper Jasper was returning home to live (temporarily, she hoped) with her crazy aunts. She was broke and her aunts needed her help with their Bed & Breakfast business which was not doing too well. As the cab dropped her off, she could see that Mugwort Manor was run down. A fancy car drove up fast and splashed mud all over Pepper. Their first guest had arrived. He went inside to register, just as a body fell through the skylight!
  
  Lucas O’Callaghan called the police and they all moved into the dark, dreary living room. Lucas told them he had just inherited the Ambrosia Winery nearby. Pepper’s aunts somehow looked strangely frightened? The body had marks on it as if an animal had attacked, and there were bruises on his throat. As they sat there, the aunts talked with Lucas about having purchased wine at a discount from Henry, the deceased owner. Lucas responded that business would continue as before and about there being a demand for that type of wine. Pepper felt like she was missing something and there was another meaning in the words.
  
  After showing Lucas to his cabin, Pepper returned for lunch at the Manor. Her aunts handed her wine, which she refused -- but they insisted she drink. What was going on? Why was Lucas acting so strangely? What secrets were being kept from her?
  
  This was a fun read, with all kinds of zany characters. What I enjoyed was that it wasn’t easy to figure out who killed the man on the roof. We have an assortment of suspects to choose from, but it just is not obvious. But don’t worry, the story line will guide you here and there until you are totally confounded – and then spring the solution on you! The reader will enjoy this book – don’t miss your strange visit to the Manor! You won’t forget it! I received a copy of this book from Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review; needless to say, I also bought my own copy to read it again!
  
• 
  Lise

  2.5 Stars
  
  I sorta liked the book but found some things frustrating. The flighty Aunts were a bit too cliché and very vague. They never answered questions that were important to their niece and important to moving the story forward.
  Examples:
  Page 102: “That’s a conversation for another time .”
  Page 125: “That’s a conversation for another time .” is said TWICE ON THE SAME PAGE! 😡
  Page 131: “I can give you a long summary of the history later.” Later never comes btw.
  Page 134: “We’ll talk about it later.” But they don’t! 😣
  (All page #’s are from the Nook version I read.)
  
  Valkyrie or Pepper is the main character. Her real name is Valkyrie but goes by Pepper for no apparent reason. “Aunts, everyone else calls me Pepper. The agreement was that if I returned to help, you would call me Pepper, and I could live in one of the cottages” Yet the Aunts always call her Valkyrie. It’s irritating! Pepper/Valkyrie faints. A lot. Get scared? Faint! Get some weird news? Faint! Find out shifters are real? Faint! I’m worried no one is using concussion protocol with her.
  
  I did appreciate that the author explained that this is set in Australia so she would be using Australian spellings for words like neighbour instead of neighbor, etc. She also included Australian slang and terms for everyday things. Again this was extremely nice and probably necessary so she wasn’t constantly emailed about typos. However, I expect an author to write using the vernacular of the country where the story is set and would be irritated if she used American terms like trunk for boot knowing this was set north of Sydney.
  
  Or worse still when an author sets a story in America but uses British or Australian terms for everything. Yes, I’m calling you out again Rebecca Raisin! You are the guiltiest of the guilty doing this. Tsk, tsk!
  
  It’s a cute-ish book and I might read the next in the series hoping it gets better if the book was free for at least only 99 cents.
• 
  Renee Arthur

  Well now, this was an interesting paranormal cozy that I could really sink my teeth into. Valkyrie, aka Pepper is down on her luck job wise. Her three aunt's invite her to join them in their ancestral home to help run their bed and breakfast. The B&B doesn't actually serve breakfast and their cottages are all themed oddly. Then there's the mess of a website that Pepper is going to sink her teeth into as soon as she can. Before any of that can happen, a dead body falls through the stained glass set into the roof! I should probably tell you that Pepper and her aunt's are simple ordinary witches. However the sweet old aunts are a little eccentric and are probably hiding things from Pepper, like what's in the forbidden room. I love the characters and plot of this book. Once I started it, I just had to keep reading. I couldn't put it down. This seems quite a bit different from the paranormal cozies I like to read and I totally enjoyed it!
• 
  Tess Ailshire

  Not bad. What would have gotten it more stars would have been answering more questions than Book 1 did. One understands not everything will be answered in Book 1 of a series, but it's not unreasonable to expect some answers. Most annoying to me was Valkyrie's inability to decide who she is. Is she the poor relation who has nowhere else to go and has to come help her elderly aunts, or is she a family connection the aunts are going to take under their wings? Neither fully suits the story, nor does the story match the description's "desperate plea from her aunts". Is she Valkyrie or is she Pepper? Is she a strong woman or a pushover? It's the inconsistencies that annoyed me.
  
  Some editing and proofreading issues are minor, but not expected from a "bestselling author" who presumably has a proofreader.
  
  I got this book on a free book offer from Amazon. I might read the rest, if they show up on free book days, or if my library has them.
• 
  Giselle Schneider

  A Marvelous Story Full of Mystery!
  
  A marvelous story full of mystery! This book sends readers to the edge of their seats with thoughts racing over possible suspects, but of course the twists at every corner leaves much for the imagination as more suspicions and clues and surprises arise. The ending is definitely unexpected. And the relationship between Pepper and Lucas is a brilliant addition as it starts out so rocky and full of emotion and confusion.
  
  My issue, which drops a star, is due to repetitiveness. I can't stand when authors give information over and over and over again. The worst part is when this occurs a handful of times within three pages. There are literally conversations that repeat themselves with various different characters in a short amount of time. I get that all involved with the plot eventually need to be in on the information, but the information can be referenced to rather than repeated.
  Also, the kiss was a kiss, not an almost kiss. Lips touched.
• 
  Hanna

  A quick and easy read.
  Overall I enjoyed it. But there's also no denying the many inconsistencies or the fact that I was frequently annoyed.
  Mostly by the many references to "that's a conversation for another time". Half-way through the book I was ready to scream or strangle someone every time one of the aunts mentioned it.
  It also doesn't just tweak the paranormal lore/ rules, (i.e. glittering vampires, ugh), no, it tosses it out the window entirely. Like shifters with no heightened senses, no improved smell, hearing, nothing.
  When I read this I was quite put off and thought that's like saying vampires don't drink blood and lo' and behold a couple chapters later...
  The writing style seemed to switched from overly detailed one minute to fairly generalized the next.
  
  But like I said despite all these issues I actually did enjoy reading it, and if the rest of the series ever shows up in KU I might actually consider picking up the next book.
• 
  Dawn

  This is a charming, silly, feel good story of Valkyrie Jasper (who likes to be referred to as Pepper). She needs to return home to her 3 aunts as she cannot support herself. They are engaging and totally off the wall. If I had to return home to relatives like these, I'd consider myself fortunate. Their endearing personalities almost replace Pepper as the protagonist. The plot is thin; however, the characters themselves are charming and mysterious enough to keep me turning the page.
  
  Some secrets are given away by the aunts to Pepper that had me rolling my eyes and laughing at the absurdity. But then again, who am I to say what is and what isn't true in the world of magical creatures.
  
  If you are going on an airplane ride or want read a book relaxing on the sand at the beach, this is a good one to take.