Bea and A Voracious Reader Review Mosaics and Magic by Nancy Warren

Series: Vampire Knitting Club #14
Read As A Stand Alone: Yes, but not recommended
Publisher: Ambleside Publishing 
Source: Kindle Unlimited
Release Date: September 28th, 2022
Buying Link: Amazon* 
* affiliate link; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through this link.

Blurb from goodreads:

Beware the crystal ball...

When Lucy and Rafe are given a crystal ball as a wedding present, she’s shocked when it foretells doom. For the newlyweds, this was supposed to be a time of joy and celebration. But when a terrible accident befalls one of their wedding guests, Lucy and Rafe must postpone their honeymoon. And as the evidence begins to unravel, it becomes clear this was no accident.

Lucy and her undead knitters must navigate punting on the Cherwell River in Oxford, complicated and contentious relationships among their guests, and clues that don’t make sense. It may have looked like a random tragedy, but as every knitter knows, when you place the separate strands in a certain light, there’s always a distinctive pattern.

This is book 14 in the Vampire Knitting Club series. There's no blood, gore, swearing or sex, just quirky characters, a compelling mystery and a lot of fun.

Grab your copy today and join the club.

Woo, another Vampire Knitting Club book and we have a review on Halloween, which seems very appropriate, lol.

Be sure to check out Carol's blog, I'm A Voracious Reader. 

Our Thoughts:

Carol's Rating ~ 4 bites and a nibble

Bea's Rating ~ 4 stars

Plot

AVR: This mystery was a bit hard to solve. Things just didn't seem to fit just right and fall into place easily so I was kept guessing bewtween suspects. This one? No, this one. Ah, maybe not? I like that Lucy and Rafe can’t get away from murder even on their wedding day. Sorrynotsorry. lol

Bea: Woooo! We finally got Rafe and Lucy's wedding! And of course, things went wrong, lol. The theft and the murder were intriguing, with several suspects and no clear front-runner. I had my suspicions and several times wondered if it was the character that eventually was revealed as the villain. But I failed to actually figure it out.

Characters

AVR: I'm enjoying the character growth though I would have liked to see more of Violet in this addition. Her life seems to be in the most flux and it would be nice to see her heading in a more positive direction. Lucy is finally moving forward and that’s a good thing.

Bea: I missed Violet also and would like to see what Warren does with her. While Violet wasn;t there, many others were and it was good to see them. Lucy has grown so much over the books and I've enjoyed the journey. The vampires don't change as much but seeing their personalities and quirks is interesting. And we got to meet Lucy's best friend Jennifer, who I also enjoyed.

World building

AVR: Lucy is doing more with her magic and it's about damn time. Jeez, you'd think it was something horrible the way she behaves towards it. The world is expanding with the addition of a store in Cornwall and Lucy's best friend Jennifer also being a witch. Everything is flowing along quite nicely now. I like it.

Bea: It was good to see Lucy do more with her magic, and the growth there is impressive. Too bad she's still a poor knitter. I appreciate the humor and juxtaposition of her owning a yarn and knitting store while being such an inadequate knitter. 

Romance

AVR: The romance balances the mystery just right. And they're finally married and settling in, but the romance is alive and sweet.

Bea: Still sweet, and swoony. They are married finally but instead of being on their honeymoon, they are hunting for a thief and a murderer, who may or may not be the same individual. Both Rafe and Lucy keep their spirits, and romance, up. They do the sweetest things for each other.

AVR's fave quote:

Rafe: "I thought this day would never come." re: their wedding Awww! Us, too, Rafe. Us, too.

Rafe: "And to Lucy, I want you all to know, and to say this in public, that I didn't know you were the woman I was searching for until I found you." swoons

Bea's fave quote:

Lucy and Rafe: "Show-off." I muttered it under my breath, but of course vampires have extremely good hearing.

He said, "Well, you can show off the next time you tuck into a plate of roast beef and Yorkshire pudding and I can only watch you."

Rafe and Lucy: "I've got a collection of jewels I've picked up over the years, but I bought this one new for you. I saw it and knew it would look right."

 I ran up and threw my arms around him. "You are the best husband ever," I said.

He looked down at me with a wry smile. "Let's see if you still feel that way when we've been married an entire week.v