Quick reminder! We will have three amazing featured poets here to tonight, among others, and we hope to see you here! Starts at 7:00pm. Going until...? Open mic to follow.

#fireflybookstore #keepinitkutztown #lehighvalley #berkscounty #openmicnight #poetryreading #authorevent #poetryevent #openmic

Come see CAW (Cartersville Area Writers) at the Rose Lawn May Market, May 2–3, 2026!

Meet local authors and connect with fellow writers. Discover how CAW can support your writing journey.

For more information, find us on Facebook or visit CartersvilleAreaWriters.com.

Rose Lawn May Market: Rose Lawn Museum, 224 West Cherokee Avenue, Cartersville, GA 30120 https://www.roselawnmuseum.com/events/may_market.php

#CartersvilleGA #LocalAuthors #CAW #CartersvilleAreaWriters #RoseLawn #SupportLocal #GeorgiaWriters #AuthorEvent #MayMarket

Spellbound by Murder by Stacie Ramey

Veronica Blackthorne’s grandmother suffers a fall and asks her to come to help her with the bookstore, so Veronica immediately moves herself and her sixteen-year-old daughter to Mystic Hollow, Connecticut.

They arrive just in time to help with the book festival.

A handsome male author invites Veronica to meet him in the bell tower. She goes at the designated time but instead of meeting, she climbs to the top and finds his body on the ground below. Did he jump or was he pushed?

When it is discovered that the author had been poisoned, it is determined that he was murdered.

Granny becomes a suspect.

Veronica, her daughter and quirky townspeople work together to solve the murder.

I was kind of excited about reading this one. I do like a cozy mystery and stories with witches. I thought the cover was appealing.

This book didn’t work for me. I do enjoy cozy mysteries and so, I would have been fine with this premise. What didn’t work was that the author decided to make these characters more like Gilmore Girls fan fiction.

Don’t get me wrong, I loved the Gilmore Girls but there were things on the show I didn’t like, and this book is full of all the things I didn’t like about the show.

I always hated it when Lorelai and Rory started talking fast. They shared their sarcastic remarks about whatever subject and talked as fast as they could. Half the time I couldn’t catch what they were saying. It didn’t work on television, and it really didn’t work in print. Most of the supposedly humorous lines weren’t that humorous. They were snarky and snarky never worked for me. Usually when someone gets snarky with me, I walk away.

I wish the author had forgotten the fan fiction and developed her own characters with their own personalities instead of copying what someone else had done.

The description on Goodreads describes it as a Gilmore Girls meets Charmed. I did enjoy Charmed for a while but didn’t really see so much of that connection in this book. Yes, it is a community of witches, but the magic spells used seemed too far fetched for me to dismiss my disbelief.

The book didn’t work for me. There will be some readers who will love this book and that is great but when reviewing a book, I must be honest with how it made me feel and I didn’t enjoy it. I almost didn’t finish it more than once. I did finish it because I received it with a request to review. If it helps, I have only had a couple of books that I wasn’t able to finish and I did finish this one.

Reading a book is always a personal experience. I belong to a book club that has been around for over 30 years. We just discussed a book this month that I loved, half the group hated it. That group can be tough. They hold nothing back. Luckily most of us did love it and I have added that author to my to read more list.

If you love cozy paranormal mysteries, this may be a good fit for you. Thankfully we all don’t like or dislike the same things, and you may really enjoy this one.  

First published March 10, 2026.

Thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for sending this book for review. All opinions are my own.

I include links to purchase for readers who can’t wait to get their hands on a book. As an associate, I earn from qualified purchases.

Books by Stacie Ramey:

Spellbound by Murder

The Sister Pact

The Secrets We Bury

What I am currently reading:

Down Cemetery Road by Mick Herron

Everyone in this Bank is a Thief by Benjamin Stevenson

I will be attending several author events over the next few months. I will share that information as it happens. If you could meet any author, who would you like to meet?

IHappy Reading!

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Local author Sawyer Cole Hobson and more authors will be on hand for the Soul Purpose Book Fair coming up in a few weeks! Details-->#Wisconsin #BookSky #AuthorEvent #BookFair #SoulPurpose #BayParkSquare #Ashwaubenon #GreenBay #Bookstagram @colesbooknook @soulpurposegb #WisconsinAuthors #LGBTQIA

https://bargain-sleuth.com/2026/03/03/%f0%9f%8f%b3%ef%b8%8f%e2%9a%a7%ef%b8%8fauthor-event-sawyer-cole-hobson-and-more-at-soul-purpose-gb-book-fair-march-14-2026/

Midwest friends, check out this great deal on tickets to the #BookedEauClaire Festival in September. Half off tickets available for a limited time. Details here--> #Wisconsin @Booked_EauClaire @bookedeauclaire.bsky.social
#EauClaire #BookFestival #ChelseaJean #LGBTQIA #AuthorEvent #Deals #Savings

https://bargain-sleuth.com/2026/02/28/booked-eau-claire-september-18-19-2026-get-your-1-2-off-tickets-now/

We are going to hold the scheduled Open Mic tonight! We hope you will join us at 6:30.

#fireflybookstore #keepinitkutztown #lehighvalley #indiebookstore #berkscounty #openmicnight #poetryreading #authorevent #poetryevent #openmic

Another upcoming author event 🚨 klaxon 🚨 !

On Thursday 26th February, we have a creative writing workshop with One Came Back author, Rose McDonagh.

Details on the website - https://www.tickettailor.com/events/theedinburghbookshop/2031127

#books #livres #writing #ecriture #Edinburgh #Edimbourg #bookshops #librairies #bookstodon #writing #ecriture #RoseMcDonagh #author #AuthorEvent

Join us tomorrow 2–3:30pm for a conversation with Diane Lauer Hallman, author of Nurturing Wisdom! Explore the S.I.M.P.L.E. System and meet the author at Firefly Bookstore. Free event, and open to all.✨

#fireflybookstore #keepinitkutztown #lehighvalley #indiebookstore #berkscounty #authorevent

Ottawa Small Press Book Fair tomorrow! I had so much fun last time that I can't wait to go back. There will be some fantastic authors there this weekend, and I will also have plenty of Blind Date with The Book Purge bundles, so there'll be something for everyone. Plus, it's a great chance to get yourself a little treat, or do some Xmas shopping for the book lover in your life.

#ottawaevents #ottawa613 #ottawasmallpressbookfair #ottawaauthor #horrorauthor #authorevent #thebookpurge #bookstagram

TOMORROW Saturday! We will have Jennifer Ott visiting us and sharing her YA book of viking adventures and a talking skull. Please stop by and say hello!

#fireflybookstore #keepinitkutztown #lehighvalley #indiebookstore #berkscounty #booksigning #meettheauthor #authorevent