Get Lost in a Book ReviewsSpellbound 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:
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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