Boswell Book Festival 2026
8–10 May, Dumfries House

Tickets are on sale for the 2026 Boswell Book Festival, the world’s only festival of biography & memoir. The festival is a programme of stories taken from the lives of people past & present.

https://www.boswellbookfestival.co.uk

#Scottish #literature #bookfestival #biography #memoir

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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Paisley Book Festival 2026
15–17 May

The Paisley Book Festival is a platform for celebrating books, reading and writing in Paisley over the course of three days.

Now entering its seventh year, the theme for the 2026 Paisley Book Festival is “Everyday Heroes, Everlasting Icons”.

For the full programme of events, visit the PBF website:

https://paisleybookfestival.com/programme-full/

#Scottish #literature #Paisley #books #bookfestival

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/

A cozy bookstore in Scotland lets you sleep upstairs while you 'live out a dream' selling books

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://www.upworthy.com/live-in-bookshop-in-scotland

Kirkcudbright Book Festival 2026
5–8 March

Kirkcudbright Book Festival celebrates local & national voices, local history, Scottish culture, children’s authors, crime fiction, nature and the environment & much more – full programme online now

https://www.kbtbookfestival.org/full-programme

#Scottish #literature #kidlit #crimefiction #naturewriting #ScottishCulture #bookfestival #Kirkcudbright

Still glowing from Ever After 2025, TIFA’s first romance festival. Three days of author talks, workshops, High Tea, Tarot magic, and the enchanting Ever After Ball. A stunning celebration of stories, romance, and community, an unforgettable end to the festival year. #ViewsSheWrites #BookFestival

https://viewsshewrites.com/ever-after-2025/

Delighted for my chums who laboured mightily to bring the #Edinburgh Women's Fiction Festival to life, and who have now seen their #Bruntsfield based festival included in The List's annual Hot 100 in Scots culture! https://list.co.uk/news/the-list-hot-100-2025-100-26-47697

#Edimbourg #books #livres #bookstodon #EdinburghWomensFictionFestival #BookFestival #WomensWriting #TheList #Hot100