Official Review: The Chihuahua Witch by Sally Wilshere
Posted: 22 Apr 2021, 20:05
[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Chihuahua Witch" by Sally Wilshere.]
Kara Murphy loves her job fixing up and restoring old homes and buildings, and her newest project is to transform a house, a barn, and the town’s former meeting house into an inn, theater, and restaurant. Unfortunately, the owner, Roger McDoll, insists that she hire his nephew’s construction crew, who definitely aren’t interested in taking orders from a woman. She also begins a romance with Denton Williams, the town surveyor. As the job moves along, Kara has to contend with belligerent workers and a death on the property. Then a skeleton is unearthed, and workers begin to see the ghost of a slave named Mattie. What else could go wrong?
The Chihuahua Witch by Sally Wilshere combines romance, crime, and the paranormal to create a thrilling story that I enjoyed reading despite the problems it has. An intriguing opening chapter quickly pulled me into the story. It has a good pace, and I was never bored. However, the first half of the book focuses on Kara and Denton’s romance and didn’t give much attention to the crime and paranormal aspects. I wish the different plotlines had been better intertwined instead of focusing primarily on the romance before shifting. There was also a good amount of humor, which helped make it a more enjoyable reading experience.
My favorite thing about the story was the characters. They were all very well written and believable. Kara is a fantastic main character. She’s a strong woman and more than able to stand up for herself, but she also has moments where she’s not afraid to be vulnerable with Denton. The only issue I had with her characterization is that it’s stated that she’s interested in the paranormal, but this is only shown once early in the book. Denton is a good match for her. He knows she’s able to take care of herself, but he still worries about her and wants to help her. The author also did a wonderful job of giving some of the side characters some depth by having them act in certain ways, often negative, when first introduced, then later showing other sides of their personalities. A good example of this is Roger McDoll, who seems like a jerk at first, but he later shows a softer side of himself when talking about the aunt he inherited the property from. And by the end of the story, he and Kara have become friends. Even one of the main bad guys of the story has moments where he isn’t so bad.
The biggest problem, and my least favorite thing about this book, was the large amount of editing mistakes. There were misspellings, incorrect words used, and missing and misplaced punctuation, which distracted me and impeded the flow of the story.
With the multitude of editing mistakes and the other things I had an issue with, I am rating this book 2 out of 4 stars, although I would have given 2.5 stars if I could have because of the great characterization. If you enjoy stories with romance, crime, and ghosts, then you’ll enjoy this book. However, there are a few sex scenes, some violence, drug use, and profanity, so I would not recommend it to anyone under eighteen.
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The Chihuahua Witch
View: on Bookshelves
Kara Murphy loves her job fixing up and restoring old homes and buildings, and her newest project is to transform a house, a barn, and the town’s former meeting house into an inn, theater, and restaurant. Unfortunately, the owner, Roger McDoll, insists that she hire his nephew’s construction crew, who definitely aren’t interested in taking orders from a woman. She also begins a romance with Denton Williams, the town surveyor. As the job moves along, Kara has to contend with belligerent workers and a death on the property. Then a skeleton is unearthed, and workers begin to see the ghost of a slave named Mattie. What else could go wrong?
The Chihuahua Witch by Sally Wilshere combines romance, crime, and the paranormal to create a thrilling story that I enjoyed reading despite the problems it has. An intriguing opening chapter quickly pulled me into the story. It has a good pace, and I was never bored. However, the first half of the book focuses on Kara and Denton’s romance and didn’t give much attention to the crime and paranormal aspects. I wish the different plotlines had been better intertwined instead of focusing primarily on the romance before shifting. There was also a good amount of humor, which helped make it a more enjoyable reading experience.
My favorite thing about the story was the characters. They were all very well written and believable. Kara is a fantastic main character. She’s a strong woman and more than able to stand up for herself, but she also has moments where she’s not afraid to be vulnerable with Denton. The only issue I had with her characterization is that it’s stated that she’s interested in the paranormal, but this is only shown once early in the book. Denton is a good match for her. He knows she’s able to take care of herself, but he still worries about her and wants to help her. The author also did a wonderful job of giving some of the side characters some depth by having them act in certain ways, often negative, when first introduced, then later showing other sides of their personalities. A good example of this is Roger McDoll, who seems like a jerk at first, but he later shows a softer side of himself when talking about the aunt he inherited the property from. And by the end of the story, he and Kara have become friends. Even one of the main bad guys of the story has moments where he isn’t so bad.
The biggest problem, and my least favorite thing about this book, was the large amount of editing mistakes. There were misspellings, incorrect words used, and missing and misplaced punctuation, which distracted me and impeded the flow of the story.
With the multitude of editing mistakes and the other things I had an issue with, I am rating this book 2 out of 4 stars, although I would have given 2.5 stars if I could have because of the great characterization. If you enjoy stories with romance, crime, and ghosts, then you’ll enjoy this book. However, there are a few sex scenes, some violence, drug use, and profanity, so I would not recommend it to anyone under eighteen.
******
The Chihuahua Witch
View: on Bookshelves
I love the touch of paranormal that it has! Thanks for a great review!