Blog Tour Review of Bewitching Boots by Joyce and Jim Lavene And A Giveaway

Publisher: J. Lavene
Series: Renaissance Faire Mystery #7 (Amazon has it incorrectly marked as book 8)
Format Read: Kindle book
Source: the authors in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: 
Buying Links: Amazon* | Barnes & Noble 
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

Jessie is thrilled when she finds Bill Warren, an old fashioned shoemaker, and he agrees to come back to Renaissance Village with her. She’s not so thrilled when claims to have elf magic, and he falls for Princess Isabelle. The dancing slippers Bill makes for Isabelle make him a suspect when the princess takes a leap from the castle terrace. Now, Jessie must find the lady or lord who helped the princess with her last dance before she loses her star attraction.

Bea's Thoughts:

I enjoy going to Ren Faires so a cozy mystery set at one caught my attention. I've read Lavene before but not any of the books in this series. That wasn't a problem though, the book worked well as a stand-alone. I wasn't prepared for the book to be a paranormal cozy mystery; I have a love/hate relationship with those. Most I've read didn't work for me; either the paranormal aspect doesn't work or the cozy mystery aspect falls apart. Happily, that wasn't the case here.

The new cobbler at the Faire (and I loved the debate and misunderstandings around the words cobbler and shoemaker) claims to be the descendant of an elf and to have real magic. Does he? The book never actually tells us, but drops little hints for the reader to draw their own conclusion. There are some paranormal events involving ghosts that work well and are mostly believable. The Lavenes smoothly blend the paranormal aspects into the story and while they're important, they don't overwhelm the story.

Jessie and her husband Chase are appealing; sweet but not overly so, multifaceted, and with differing opinions, they felt like the neighbors next door. They are also newlyweds and Jessie harbors some insecurities about her husband's fidelity when she discovers that he's training a new knight who happens to be female and he didn't mention it to her. As they deal with that, they also have a murder and several attacks to contend with. There are red herrings, clever clues, smart little touches, and details that provide a wonderful picture of the background workings at a Ren faire. I enjoyed learning about Faires and will look at the one I attend with a new perspective.

I really enjoyed "Bewitching Boots". It was fun, enjoyable, humorous, and kept me guessing.

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TOUR WIDE GIVEAWAY

The authors are giving away a Bewitching Boots tote with a print copy of the book and a $20 Amazon gift card.

 a Rafflecopter giveaway