Bewitched Beginnings (Midlife Strikes, #1) by Mara Webb

Bewitched Beginnings (Midlife Strikes, #1) Reviews

• 
  Emily Pennington

  Tess' New Normal . . .
  
  Depending on how you look at it, starting over can be exciting, reaffirming, and can bring out your strengths. Of course the reason for the new beginning might be a painful start to your new life. When Tess Chase finds her husband enjoying the young nursing assistant from the hospital where he was a doctor, Tess wisely packed up and moved out. Her grandmother had left her a run-down hotel on the sea front. Fortunately the cash part of the inheritance provided funds to fix it up. She would be reopening in just a few days. When she visited her dad who had experienced a stroke, she recounted her visits with 7 ghosts. He thought she was joking, but he enjoyed the stories – even though they were true.
  
  Her big grand opening was happening the next evening, but she tossed and turned and could not sleep. As she looked at the foot of her bed, something like smoke was swirling. She tried to stand up, but she was pinned to the bed. It hung like a cloud, then a voice said “Tess”. Next thing she knew, it was morning. Was that a dream she had 3 hours ago? Or the 8th visit with her grandmother’s ghost?
  
  With no idea how she got off the island and into her bed, she reads a text from her sister to get to the hotel right away. Michelle then told her the pool-cleaning guy left tools behind and came back to get them. The gate was open, so he went directly to the pool. As Michelle gave her the details, she watched an ambulance carry a dead body away, and the police wanted to talk to her about it. Who was dead? And when Michelle gave her the victim’s name, she knew she was in trouble. Casey Quinn… her ex-husband’s new bride-to-be. How would she explain away the motive that made her the prime suspect? Her only alibi was her dead grandmother who met her on the island last night and somehow got her home and in bed. And no one would ever believe that! Can the dusty box of magic books from the attic give her some answers? Because she is apparently a witch! And has no memory of returning from the island to her bedroom. How will she clear her name? Will she be able to track down the real murderer?
• 
  Liralen

  Cute—I enjoyed the sense that Tess's new book-club coven was going to be more about gossiping and drinking than anything magical. If nothing else, they're likely to provide a hefty dose of liveliness.
  
  Unfortunately, I was reading for this: Gran gave me the hotel and I must have had the keys in my possession for weeks before I even dared visit the place. Months on and I still hadn't explored every room, it was a huge building that was in desperate need of work... (9). I've long been in passive pursuit of a cozy mystery series that is less cottage-core and more castle-core, because honestly, what's with all these heroines who discover that they have magic and can do just about anything with the wiggle of a finger...and then happily move into a tiny little cottage and get their kitsch on? I want the stories in which the heroine finds herself in possession of a crumbling castle or mansion or, yes, hotel, and she both restores it and solves mysteries in it, and it's book 10 before we even realise there's an attic because there are so many rooms to explore.
  
  The trouble here is that the hotel exists, but that's it: Tess sometimes goes out back to the pool, or sits at the reception desk, but not once in the book does she go deeper into the hotel. Was it built as a hotel, or is it a renovated mansion? No idea. How many rooms? No idea. What's the decor like? No idea. Is there a kitchen? No idea. And so on... Obviously not all readers are looking for a house story as much as a cozy, but as someone who basically wants the house (hotel) to be a character in the story, I'll likely pass on future books in the series.
  
  Otherwise...the book had typos and other errors on just about every page (I felt a wave of hit strike me (44), not the one's from Jack (45), hang out for ours (48), etc. etc.), to say nothing of the comma splices in just about every paragraph. Not a huge surprise (self-published books don't typically have the resources of traditionally published books), but not my reading preference if I can avoid it.
• 
  Paranormaly Romantic

  
  Reviewed at Paranormal-y Romantic
  
  I had fun with Bewitched Beginnings including more than a few chuckles, a mystery to figure out, and some delightful characters to encounter. When Tess finds herself divorced and starting over again it isn’t quite the adventure she would have wished for. Being accused of murder was the last thing she would have expected… right up there with seeing her dead grandmother’s ghost.
  
  Unfortunately for Tess, her ex-husband’s soon-to-be bride ends up dead in the swimming pool of Tess’s recently inherited motel and for various reasons – mainly one officer’s stubborn bull-headedness she’s the main person of interest. And if she doesn’t figure out who really is the killer, well her newly discovered witchcraft and the ability to see the dead aren’t going to be of much use in prison!
  
  Bewitched Beginnings delivers a strong story, lots of quirky and unique characters, a touch of magic, and some extremely suspicious people. If you love Paranormal Women’s Fiction, getting in at the start of a new series, a mystery to solve, and suspects galore to choose from… then this start to the Midlife Strikes series is right up your alley. I enjoyed my time in this story and will definitely be looking for the next one to come.
  
  *I received an e-ARC of this novel from the author or author’s team via Booksprout. The opinions expressed in this review are my own – good, bad, or indifferent. I was not financially compensated for this review and no expectation of a positive review was promised.*
• 
  Jeanne

  Bewitched Beginnings is book #1 in the Midlife Strikes series by Mara Webb.
  
  Tess Chase is about to open the remodeled hotel she inherited from her grandmother, but that isn’t all she inherited.
  
  This is a great start to a new series. Tess, her family, and friends are interesting characters. The mystery was intriguing especially with the second part of Tess’ inheritance. I can’t wait to see how her skills develop!
  
  I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
  
• 
  Dena

  more mystery
  
  The age thing with menopause is no joke. I don’t know why there is a pause in the word because it really isn’t pausing unless you are pausing in the middle of your midlife. Why can’t women have a midlife crisis? Okay so the mystery was really a mystery I had no idea who dun it. The relationships are slow to develop. I feel like there is a whole back story missing but then again now that she knows about witchcraft maybe we will know a little bit more.
• 
  Debbie Benson

  I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review. Tess has a lot to deal with. She is newly divorced, finding out she is a witch and being suspected of murder as well opening up her hotel. Tess is cleared of suspicion and the real murder was not who I suspected which is a sign of a good mystery.
• 
  Erin

  I thought this had an enjoyable storyline. After a murder, if found at a hotel she inherited, she becomes the prime suspect since it's her ex-husbands new fiancé. Interested for more in this series.
• 
  Lesley Hewitt

  A really lovely book
  
  Tess finds out all the women in her family have magic, they are witches. Tess inherits a hotel from her grandmother and a body is found floating in the pool. This book was wonderful, such a lovely read.
• 
  ★ ☆ Booksaholic ★ ☆

  Good but...
  
  I had to dnf 38% in because there were just so many grammar issues. The story was going good but it seemed like there were spelling mistakes, and wrong words used all over the place.
• 
  Diane Gates

  Good book
  
  Good story. Real characters. Kat is going to be a hoot. She's kind of nuts. Tessa and Chris seem to be on their way to romance. Can't figure out what a hot flush is. Thought they were hot flashes.
• 
  Su

  Proof reading
  
  I adore everything that Mara writes, such great stories!! But the books need to be proof read more expertly in the future.
• 
  Stephen Levesque

  Totally enjoyed it! This is a well written and has well developed characters. The story is catching and with the strong characters makes for a very enjoyable read. Great Reading Everyone!
• 
  Christina M

  Far too many errors in this book to be considered a completed story. I have never read such a poorly edited book. The sad thing is the author has been informed of the editing issues by readers who have written hundreds of reviews. Instead of updating the book and correcting the thousands of mistakes she chose to ignore them. So going forward, I too will choose to ignore future endeavors from this author.