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theavidreaderandbibliophile's review against another edition
4.0
Eclairs, Scares and Haunted Home Repairs by Erin Johnson has readers traveling back to Kusuri in the month of June. Imogen Banks and her friends have recently received a home from the town council. The group is checking out the house to see what repairs they need to make. It will not only be their home, but their new bakery as well. The house is in a state of disrepair and no one has lived in it for the last ten years. Imogen and Iggy are exploring the tower room when they see a semi-translucent man with a rope around his neck hanging from the rafters. The image disappears before the others can arrive in response to the screaming. Ms. Tomoko, of the council, believes the twins who have a bakery in town are behind the antic and promises to have a word with them. The group begins working on the home by repairing the large holes in the roof. They arrive the next day to find all their hard work has been undone plus someone has written threatening messages in red. Imogen decides to dig into the houses history and is surprised by what she learns. No matter what they do to the house, it continues to fall apart. The bakers decide to consult the local necromancer to see if she can aid them. Imogen is unsure if someone living or dead is the culprit, but she intends to get answers.
Eclairs, Scares and Haunted Home Repairs is the ninth book in the Spells & Caramels series. You do need to read the books in order as they build upon each other. The Spells & Caramels has great characters that are friendly, warm and magical. This group of bakers have been through some difficult situations and they are looking forward to settling down in their own home and bakery. They should have known that it would not go smoothly. Erin Johnson has a casual, engaging writing style which I enjoy. I find myself immediately drawn into the story with its unique world. The story has steady pacing with vivid descriptions of the characters, the baker’s new abode, the forest filled with unusual monsters, and their magic. Our bakers are finding mates, but they still maintain their close friendship. I have enjoyed watching them grow closer and become a family. It is nice that Imogen is getting to know her brother, Horace. He can still be exasperating and vague with his answers. Horace is working on a new project and I hope he is successful. My favorite character is Iggy, the magical flame. I just love his witty and often sarcastic comments. They add just the right touch. I think it would be delightful if the author gave us a novella telling a story from Iggy’s perspective. I believe it would be highly entertaining and humorous. The mystery was intriguing with its various twists and turns. The necromancer was a unique character. I would not want to venture into her lair. The ending will delight fans of the series (I do not want to spoil it for you). I am eager for the next Spells & Caramels novel. I will be sad to see this charming series come to an end. Join Imogen, Iggy, Hank and their friends on their latest adventure in Eclairs, Scares and Haunted Home Repairs.
Eclairs, Scares and Haunted Home Repairs is the ninth book in the Spells & Caramels series. You do need to read the books in order as they build upon each other. The Spells & Caramels has great characters that are friendly, warm and magical. This group of bakers have been through some difficult situations and they are looking forward to settling down in their own home and bakery. They should have known that it would not go smoothly. Erin Johnson has a casual, engaging writing style which I enjoy. I find myself immediately drawn into the story with its unique world. The story has steady pacing with vivid descriptions of the characters, the baker’s new abode, the forest filled with unusual monsters, and their magic. Our bakers are finding mates, but they still maintain their close friendship. I have enjoyed watching them grow closer and become a family. It is nice that Imogen is getting to know her brother, Horace. He can still be exasperating and vague with his answers. Horace is working on a new project and I hope he is successful. My favorite character is Iggy, the magical flame. I just love his witty and often sarcastic comments. They add just the right touch. I think it would be delightful if the author gave us a novella telling a story from Iggy’s perspective. I believe it would be highly entertaining and humorous. The mystery was intriguing with its various twists and turns. The necromancer was a unique character. I would not want to venture into her lair. The ending will delight fans of the series (I do not want to spoil it for you). I am eager for the next Spells & Caramels novel. I will be sad to see this charming series come to an end. Join Imogen, Iggy, Hank and their friends on their latest adventure in Eclairs, Scares and Haunted Home Repairs.
hugbandit7's review against another edition
5.0
This is such a fun series that I was thrilled to be able to read the newest installment. Imogen is a refreshing character and a bit crazy too. I love how she injects the human world into her situations and interactions with those from the magical realm. I noticed in this book there seemed to be more movie references.which was amusing and had me trying to guess the movie from the clues and lines. I don't think I guessed many of them!
Imogen, Hank, and the gang have been given a home that is haunted but they don't know that until they start working on the home to repair it and bring it up to snuff for their new bakery and school. Imagine their surprise when the house seems to implode on itself and undoes all of their hard work. This sets them off on their latest adventure to determine who is trying to keep them out of the house and why. The answer might surprise you.
I enjoy how the author finds a love interest for most of the characters. It is fun to watch these new romances develop. There is humor in the story and Iggy has the worst (or best!) timing when making his comments. Iggy certainly doesn't know how to curb his tongue and almost gets the gang in trouble with his comments. But it is all in a days work for Imogen, Hank, and the gang. We do see a little bit more of Horace and I'm wondering if perhaps he will be around more for Imogen (since he is her brother) and knowing that the Kingdom he fought to bring down might welcome him now that things have changed.
Overall I really enjoy this series and I do suggest starting at the beginning to follow the personal relationships of the various characters.
We give it 5 paws up!
Imogen, Hank, and the gang have been given a home that is haunted but they don't know that until they start working on the home to repair it and bring it up to snuff for their new bakery and school. Imagine their surprise when the house seems to implode on itself and undoes all of their hard work. This sets them off on their latest adventure to determine who is trying to keep them out of the house and why. The answer might surprise you.
I enjoy how the author finds a love interest for most of the characters. It is fun to watch these new romances develop. There is humor in the story and Iggy has the worst (or best!) timing when making his comments. Iggy certainly doesn't know how to curb his tongue and almost gets the gang in trouble with his comments. But it is all in a days work for Imogen, Hank, and the gang. We do see a little bit more of Horace and I'm wondering if perhaps he will be around more for Imogen (since he is her brother) and knowing that the Kingdom he fought to bring down might welcome him now that things have changed.
Overall I really enjoy this series and I do suggest starting at the beginning to follow the personal relationships of the various characters.
We give it 5 paws up!
socorrobaptista's review against another edition
4.0
Com maldições, perseguições, chantagens, e outras situações complicadas, esta narrativa mantém o humor apesar de momentos bem tensos. Gostei bastante.
shelbyleannblacker's review
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
lolasreviews's review against another edition
4.0
I am always happy to be back in this world for another adventure with Imogen and her friends. And despite some issues I have with the stories, they are just so fun and I always enjoy reading them. And I love Iggy. I really like these characters and the mysteries and the fun atmosphere these books have with a tinge of magic.
In this book the characters have bought a house, but something is not right. Strange things are happening and they have to figure out what's going on. What happened in the house? Why did the previous owners left? What's the whole story? Is the house haunted? What is causing all these strange phenomena? There is a lot to figure out. The story started off a bit slow at first in my opinion, but that's mostly because their progress gets undone every time and that was just frustrating to read about and I didn't get why they wouldn't first figure out what's going on before putting more time and money (not sure how they can afford all these repairs anyway) in it.
Slowly the pieces of the puzzle start to come together, what's going on with the house and more information about the previous owners comes to light. There is a great twist toward the end and I liked the way all those little hints we got throughout the story fall on their place. I really liked that reveal. I did however found it strange that in a magical community no one ever thought of the thing that what was causing part of the troubles. And for a group of witches they also seemed awfully afraid of ghosts. But even with those issues, I thought it was an entertaining story and it kept my attention. The addition of the crows/ ravens also was interesting and while their change was a bit fast it was clear the author did her research about these animals.
The whole series follows this tight group of characters that grows with each book, they seem to pick up new friends everywhere. But it's easy to remember who is who and every character has their place and their own personality. There is some relationship drama for the side characters. There are some some new characters and familiar ones that play a role in the story. And it's just so fun to watch these characters all interact with each other.
I am still not sure what to think of the ending. This is exactly what I wanted to see happen in book 7, but now we're 3 books further and that plot line is obviously forgotten. They have made their home here and settled and it's clear the series just took a different direction after book 6. But now suddenly part of that forgotten plot line pop up again and I am not sure whether to be interested or not. Mostly I just think the book could've ended here with book 8 or the story should've continued with the main plot earlier. I am not sure, I feel conflicted about the whole thing. And I really didn't like how Hank and Imogen went along with someone else their plans. It just rubbed me wrong as this is about them, not others. Ah well we'll see what I think of book 10.
I like how the author incorporated the magic and paranormal world in this series, but there also seems to be some inconsistencies here and there. There are some things I would've expected a magical community to treat differently and someone could've used a spell for a certain something and didn't and we even know that exact spell exists. Sometimes I still have a hard time figuring out how everything works. We suddenly find out there's such a thing as necromancer, but is this just a different type of witch or what? It doesn't really gets explained and explored as much as I like, but at the same time the whole series is just so fun to read. And I do like all those little touches about how magic comes in handy in their daily life, all those little hints are a lot of fun.
To summarize: iIhad a lot of fun reading this book. There is just something so fun about this series. I like the tight group of characters we follow in this series and the mysteries and adventures they land in the middle of. I do have some issues with things that happen in the book, but even so I enjoyed reading this book. The mystery is quite interesting in this one and I liked the reveal at the end and how everything suddenly fell on it's place. The start did feel a bit slow as they don't make much progress on the house. There also was something related to the house which seemed like a magical community should've been able to discover much earlier. And everyone is surprisingly afraid of ghosts. There are some minor things that didn't quite make sense or aren't explained as well as I would've liked. The overall story is awesome tough and it's fun to read. I like the characters and reading about them. I am still not sure what to think of the ending, this is an event I wanted 3 books ago, not now and now it just feels like it doesn't fit with the change of tone form the last few books. We'll see what I think of it in book 10. Which is the last book in the series, it will be sad to say goodbye to these characters.
In this book the characters have bought a house, but something is not right. Strange things are happening and they have to figure out what's going on. What happened in the house? Why did the previous owners left? What's the whole story? Is the house haunted? What is causing all these strange phenomena? There is a lot to figure out. The story started off a bit slow at first in my opinion, but that's mostly because their progress gets undone every time and that was just frustrating to read about and I didn't get why they wouldn't first figure out what's going on before putting more time and money (not sure how they can afford all these repairs anyway) in it.
Slowly the pieces of the puzzle start to come together, what's going on with the house and more information about the previous owners comes to light. There is a great twist toward the end and I liked the way all those little hints we got throughout the story fall on their place. I really liked that reveal. I did however found it strange that in a magical community no one ever thought of the thing that what was causing part of the troubles. And for a group of witches they also seemed awfully afraid of ghosts. But even with those issues, I thought it was an entertaining story and it kept my attention. The addition of the crows/ ravens also was interesting and while their change was a bit fast it was clear the author did her research about these animals.
The whole series follows this tight group of characters that grows with each book, they seem to pick up new friends everywhere. But it's easy to remember who is who and every character has their place and their own personality. There is some relationship drama for the side characters. There are some some new characters and familiar ones that play a role in the story. And it's just so fun to watch these characters all interact with each other.
I am still not sure what to think of the ending. This is exactly what I wanted to see happen in book 7, but now we're 3 books further and that plot line is obviously forgotten. They have made their home here and settled and it's clear the series just took a different direction after book 6. But now suddenly part of that forgotten plot line pop up again and I am not sure whether to be interested or not. Mostly I just think the book could've ended here with book 8 or the story should've continued with the main plot earlier. I am not sure, I feel conflicted about the whole thing. And I really didn't like how Hank and Imogen went along with someone else their plans. It just rubbed me wrong as this is about them, not others. Ah well we'll see what I think of book 10.
I like how the author incorporated the magic and paranormal world in this series, but there also seems to be some inconsistencies here and there. There are some things I would've expected a magical community to treat differently and someone could've used a spell for a certain something and didn't and we even know that exact spell exists. Sometimes I still have a hard time figuring out how everything works. We suddenly find out there's such a thing as necromancer, but is this just a different type of witch or what? It doesn't really gets explained and explored as much as I like, but at the same time the whole series is just so fun to read. And I do like all those little touches about how magic comes in handy in their daily life, all those little hints are a lot of fun.
To summarize: iIhad a lot of fun reading this book. There is just something so fun about this series. I like the tight group of characters we follow in this series and the mysteries and adventures they land in the middle of. I do have some issues with things that happen in the book, but even so I enjoyed reading this book. The mystery is quite interesting in this one and I liked the reveal at the end and how everything suddenly fell on it's place. The start did feel a bit slow as they don't make much progress on the house. There also was something related to the house which seemed like a magical community should've been able to discover much earlier. And everyone is surprisingly afraid of ghosts. There are some minor things that didn't quite make sense or aren't explained as well as I would've liked. The overall story is awesome tough and it's fun to read. I like the characters and reading about them. I am still not sure what to think of the ending, this is an event I wanted 3 books ago, not now and now it just feels like it doesn't fit with the change of tone form the last few books. We'll see what I think of it in book 10. Which is the last book in the series, it will be sad to say goodbye to these characters.
saralynn95's review against another edition
4.0
captivating
this was one of my favorites of the series. johnson’s world building is so fun, the characters lovable, and the plot spell binding. definitely would recommend!
this was one of my favorites of the series. johnson’s world building is so fun, the characters lovable, and the plot spell binding. definitely would recommend!
karen_the_baroness's review against another edition
5.0
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy from the Author. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Eclairs, Scares and Haunted Home Repairs by Erin Johnson reminds me of one of the home improvements shows on HGTV. Well if the houses kept on undoing the changes that they were doing. Each time I read one of these books by Ms. Johnson I feel as though I am hanging out with my friend. Then when I am finished, I end up missing the characters and story.
I didn’t like the way that no one was giving them straight answers regarding things that were happening. Another thing that I didn’t like was Madam Shi she's a scary person. That walkway to her house and the poor taxidermied animals were freaky.
I am interested to see if Imogen and her friends will return to the Badlands Island or stay in their home country again? I kind of want them to return to the Badlands as they seemed happy there.
Eclairs, Scares and Haunted Home Repairs by Erin Johnson was a great book, and I can’t wait for more. I am a little sad that Ms. Johnson will be wrapping up the series in the next book. I am giving this book a five-star rating as it was an awesome read.
A special note: The first book in the series Seashells, Spells and Caramels is available on Audible now. Ms. Johnson's sister reads the story, and I hear she is brilliant. So, check it out, HERE.
Anyways until the next time enjoy this review brought to you by,
This review was originally posted on Baroness' Book Trove
Will Imogen and her friends figure out why their house is haunted?
Eclairs, Scares and Haunted Home Repairs by Erin Johnson reminds me of one of the home improvements shows on HGTV. Well if the houses kept on undoing the changes that they were doing. Each time I read one of these books by Ms. Johnson I feel as though I am hanging out with my friend. Then when I am finished, I end up missing the characters and story.
What I like:
- Imogen in this one is even more sassy and funny than before. I enjoyed seeing that part of her especially when she had to deal with the house issues.
- The way Hank wants to make sure that everyone is on board with the house whenever something comes up that he didn’t expect to happen.
- The way Horace just comes in to check up on them.
- I love the mystery in this one since it was so unexcepted but so cool at the same time.
- Iggy was terrific in the way that he let his comments slide out and some other parts that I can’t say.
What I don’t like:
I didn’t like the way that no one was giving them straight answers regarding things that were happening. Another thing that I didn’t like was Madam Shi she's a scary person. That walkway to her house and the poor taxidermied animals were freaky.
What I’m curious about:
I am interested to see if Imogen and her friends will return to the Badlands Island or stay in their home country again? I kind of want them to return to the Badlands as they seemed happy there.
Five Star
Eclairs, Scares and Haunted Home Repairs by Erin Johnson was a great book, and I can’t wait for more. I am a little sad that Ms. Johnson will be wrapping up the series in the next book. I am giving this book a five-star rating as it was an awesome read.
A special note: The first book in the series Seashells, Spells and Caramels is available on Audible now. Ms. Johnson's sister reads the story, and I hear she is brilliant. So, check it out, HERE.
Anyways until the next time enjoy this review brought to you by,
This review was originally posted on Baroness' Book Trove
laileanah's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
3.0
This was semi cute.
In truth I'm kinda tired of this series.
I just wanna finish the final book.
In truth I'm kinda tired of this series.
I just wanna finish the final book.