Tag Archives: Elizabeth Pantley

Meditation and Mischief by Elizabeth Pantley – a Review

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Meditation and Mischief by Elizabeth Pantley – a Review

 

Amazon / Bookbub

 

Description:
When this club selects a book, magic happens!This book club does more than read their books – they are absorbed into them to become the amateur sleuths! In order to leave the book, they must solve the mystery and reach The End.

In this journey they travel to The Golden Island Wellness Retreat for yoga, meditation, workshops, and spa treatments. They’ll bond with nature and improve their spiritual wellbeing. They’ll find their inner peace – and a dead body, of course.

Graduates from an acting college have gathered at the retreat for their ten-year reunion. Old friends reconnect, but apparently, so have old enemies. The book club must evaluate the attendees to determine whose baggage has led to murder.

 

 

 

Review:

Meditation and Mischief by Elizabeth Pantley is the 8th book in her Magical Mystery Book Club series. Refresher: The magical library consists of 8 members, who choose a book, and they are transported into the story, with cozy mysteries that they have to solve. This is a fun, enjoyable, lighthearted series, with wonderful characters and a magical cozy mystery.

In this journey, our book club members are whisked away to The Golden Island Wellness Retreat, a tropical resort, as they become transported into the story. The resort has yoga, spa, meditation, workshops for a perfect vacation spot, which includes a college reunion during their stay.  In a short time, a man is murdered at the spa; and the book club members must now try to find the killer.  The dead man, Owen, is a famous tv star, and all the members (especially Molly) see him as he is now a ghost.  It’s up to our amateur sleuths to solve the case before they can return home.

This was once again a fun adventure, with a number of red herrings that kept throwing them off; a number of the suspects were part of the college reunion.  There was a lot of humor, as the club had a lot of shenanigans throughout.  I loved Frank, who is my favorite (cat who talks); I like Paige, who is the leader and always reasonable. Mollie, the resident ghost, who is unseen, to others, but the book club sees her, and she secretly discovers some clues. The big surprise is that Gee Gee makes an appearance, since she is able to visit a couple of books.

What follows is a another terrific, enchanting and fun addition to this series, that has all the members trying to find clues, as well as suspects. I really enjoy this series, as it is so very entertaining.  All the characters in the Magical Mystery Book Club are very good, with Paige leading the way. There were a few surprises along the way, which changes a few things at the end. Mediatation and Mischief was a wonderful lighthearted fun magical mystery, which was very well written by Elizabeth Pantley.  I look forward to the next book.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy supplied for review

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Sprites & Scuttlebutt by Elizabeth Pantley – a Review

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Sprites & Scuttlebutt by Elizabeth Pantley – a Review

 

 

Amazon / Bookbub

 

Description:
This book club is hooked on traveling into books to become the amateur sleuths! In this journey, the club travels to the Kingdom of Everglow.

The royal family is rocked to the core when a key staff member falls dead at a community event. In the turmoil that follows, any evidence of what happened is destroyed, so they must go by the recollection of witnesses who were too busy enjoying the celebration to offer any valuable testimony.

The royal family is further distressed when they return to the castle to see signs of a break in that somehow defied their complex security system. They wake the next day to discover that one member of the royal family has fallen into a deep, deathlike sleep.

Can the Snapdragon Inn Book Club uncover the plot behind this attack on the royal family? Can they find the antidote to wake the sleeping royal from a supernatural slumber? Can they bring peace back to the worried royal family and the frightened community?

Let’s hope they can, since they must solve the mystery and reach The End to get out of the book and back to their home in Colorado.

 

 

Review:

Sprites & Scuttlebutt by Elizabeth Pantley is the 6th book in another enchanting and fun Magical Mystery Book Club series.  Refresher: Paige and Glo, inherited the grandmother’s country inn, which comes with a magical library.  The magical library consists of 8 members, who choose a book, and they are transported into the story, with cozy mysteries that they have to solve. This is a fun, enjoyable, lighthearted series, with wonderful characters and a magical cozy mystery.

The surprise beginning has us discovering that there is more to our wonderful talking cat, Frank.  We learn everything about Frank’s past, which covers hundreds of years, including being a king, with an evil sorcerer changing him into a cat. Of course, now, Frank is a very content enjoying the mystery trips that are part of the mystery book club.

The Snapdragon club members pick a book and they are whisked away into the Kingdom of Everglow, which is comes across as a fairyland location, with sprites.  Upon arrival, they see a key member of the staff being killed during a celebration, shocking the royal family.   The Royal family welcomes the group, to help solve the murder, with them treated like royalty; especially king Frank, who is considered and treated like royalty.  Lots of fun with this.

The next day, everyone is shocked that one of the princesses is in a deep sleep, and no one can wake her.  The Snapdragon members are assigned to try and discover who did this to the Princess, as well as solving the murder of the staff member.  The crew will need to interview people within the community, who may have clues to both incidents.  A garden party gathering with most people in the community, enables them to find information as they mingle, eavesdrop, question and observe those attending.  Can the Snapdragon Inn Book Club uncover the plot behind this attack on the royal family, as well as find the antidote to wake the princess?

What follows is a fun story that has all the members trying to find clues, as well as suspects. I really enjoy this series, as it is so very entertaining.  All the characters in the Magical Mystery Book Club are very good, with Paige leading the way. I loved most of the characters, especially Frank, my favorite.  I also like Mollie, the resident ghost, who in Everglow is unseen, and she secretly discovers some clues. 

Sprites & Scuttlebutt was another terrific, enchanting and fun magical addition to this series, with wonderful characters. There were a few surprises, especially learning all about our hero, Frank.  Sprites & Scuttlebutt was a wonderful lighthearted fun magical mystery, which was very well written by Elizabeth Pantley.  I look forward to the next book.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy supplied for Review

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Hexes and Hooligans by Elizabeth Pantley – a Review

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Hexes and Hooligans by Elizabeth Pantley

 

 

  Goodreads

Description:
Would you join a book club that gets sucked into their cozy mysteries? These people did, and now they are hooked on traveling into books to become the amateur sleuths!

The book selection of the month takes the club into a charming and idyllic world of gnome-like people who love the earth, celebrating, and honey. What they don’t like is the mysterious ailment that is turning students at the local college into hideous versions of themselves.

The timing is terrible, as it coincides with the upcoming Honeybee Moon Festival, the community’s biggest celebration of the year.

The event is only a week away. Can the motley group determine what’s causing the students’ transformations, stop it from spreading, and get them back to normal? They better, since it’s the only way they can exit the book and get back home to Colorado.

 

 

Review:

Hexes and Hooligans by Elizabeth Pantley is 5.5 (a Novella) of her fun and entertaining Magical Mystery Book Club series.  Refresher: Paige and her Aunt Glo, inherited the grandmother’s country inn, which comes with a magical library.  The magical library consists of 8 members, who choose a book, and they are transported into the story, with cozy mysteries that they have to solve. This is a lighthearted and fun series, with wonderful characters and a magical cozy mystery.

As club members arrive, they are all anxious to choose another book, and be on their merry way to another adventure. They choose a story line which for a change, does not have murders.  The book is called Beauty is the Eye of the Hexer, and once the first chapter is read, the globe rotates and they are on their way.   I like Paige and Glo, and most of the members of the club, but I adore Frank, the talking cat.  Mollie, the ghost is a good character, who continued to stay with the group.

Upon arrival at a beautiful small town with residents that are all gnomes.  Immediately, they meet three young girls, who are upset, as they fear they have been hit with a virus. Paige, Glo and the group look at the girls, and they look very healthy; but once they meet many of the residents, they will realize that the girls, and future school members that get infected, consider themselves different looking (though they look beautiful); is this a curse against those that do not look like gnomes? 

All of the book club members act as visiting professors at the college, and there they try to find clues as to what is happening.  Soon they realize that it is not a virus, but someone bad, has created a hex against those hit with so called virus. They go to different classes to look for clues to try and solve the mystery, especially with the upcoming Honeybee Moon Festival. It was funny when they suspected different people and brought them to the inspector, only to find out they were wrong.

What follows is a fun story that has all the members trying to find clues, as well as suspects. I really enjoy this series, as it is so very entertaining.  All the characters in the Magical Mystery Book Club are very good, with Paige and Glo being the leaders, and Frank (the talking cat) always enjoyable.  

Hexes and Hooligans was another terrific and fun addition to this series. There were a few surprises throughout, which was lots of fun to read. Hexes and Hooligans was a wonderful lighthearted fun magical mystery, which was very well written by Elizabeth Pantley.  I look forward to the next book.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy supplied for review

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Secrets and Scallywags by Elizabeth Pantley – a Review

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Secrets and Scallywags by Elizabeth Pantley – a Review

 

Amazon / Bookbub

 

Description:
When this club selects a book, magic happens. They become the main characters in the story when the mystery comes to life.

This month’s book selection takes them to a charming island community that’s abuzz over a mysterious boat that washed ashore. Rumor has it that it’s the same pirate boat that sunk a year ago in the bay. The one that supposedly sank with treasure aboard.

When the club meets the ghosts of the men from the boat, they learn the astonishing secrets of the treasure. These ghosts can’t move on until it is found.

Can the motley group find the treasure and free the ghosts? They better, since it’s the only way they can exit the book and get back home.

 

 

Review:

Secrets and Scallywags by Elizabeth Pantley is the 5th book in her fun entertaining Magical Mystery Book Club series. Refresher: Paige and her Aunt Glo, inherited the grandmother’s country inn, which comes with a magical library.  The magical library consists of 8 members, who choose a book, and they are transported into the story, with cozy mysteries that they have to solve. This is a lighthearted and fun series, with wonderful characters and a magical cozy mystery.

Our mystery book club gains a new member, Valeria, as all the current members welcome her, and explain how things work in their special secret magical library.   The book they choose contains pirates and lost treasure, which takes them to a charming island community. The residents are all taking about the boat that washed ashore, and it was the same boat that was attacked a year ago, by pirates.

The club meets the 4 ghosts and Bucko (ghostly parrot) from the boat, who are able to communicate with them, but unable to touch.  They learn about the secrets of the treasure, which the captain pleads with them to help take on a quest to free them.  Seems the pirates that destroyed their boat, stole their treasure, but most important, they stole a valuable bracelet that belonged to the captain’s mom. The club needed to retrieve the necklace, for them to enable them to be free and continue their mission to stop the bad pirates.

What follows is a fun story that has all the members trying to find clues where the missing necklace and gems might be found.  I really enjoy this series, as it is so very entertaining.  All the characters in the Magical Mystery Book Club are very good, with Paige and Glo being the leaders, and Frank (the talking cat) always enjoyable. I really like all of the club members, and get a kick out of Mollie, their own resident ghost.

Secrets and Scallywags was another terrific and fun addition to this series, with all of the members in the middle of this mystery; trying to save the ghosts. There were a few surprises throughout, which was so much fun and a blast to read. Secrets and Scallywags was a wonderful lighthearted fun magical mystery, which was very well written by Elizabeth Pantley.  I look forward to the next book.

Reviewed  by Barb

Copy supplied for Review

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Genies and Gibberish by Elizabeth Pantley – a Review

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Genies and Gibberish by Elizabeth Pantley – a Review

 

Prolific Works

Description:
This club gets whooshed into a book. They become characters! To get out they must find the killer.

Whenever this group chooses a book, magic happens. The mystery comes to life, and they find themselves part of the story. To exit the book and get back home, they need to solve the mystery and reach The End.

This time, the club chooses a book set in a mansion atop the mountains of Arizona. They discover a strange antique oil lamp that contains a shocking surprise.

Could this enchanted lamp have something to do with their host’s fall from a door to nowhere? Or could he have been pushed out the door by one of the strange people who belong to the quirky group who live here?

This brave, crazy, motley group must work together to unravel the mystery in their latest inside-the-book journey.

 

 

Review:

Genies and Gibberish by Elizabeth Pantley is a novella that is set in between book 4 and 5, in her fun Magical Mystery Book Club series. Refresher: Paige and her Aunt Glo run a magical library, that consists of 8 members, who choose a book, and they are transported into the story, with mysteries that they have to solve. This is a lighthearted and fun series, with wonderful characters and a magical cozy mystery. Whenever this group chooses a book, they read the first page of this cozy mystery, and the magic comes to life, as they are transported into the story. Once the mystery is solved, they are able to return home.

The book chosen by the club members has them sent to a mansion on a mountain in Arizona, where they meet the wealthy owner, who is not only extravagant, but is also not very well liked by staff, as well as his own book club members. The group arrives at the mansion and the owner happily allows them to join in on their meeting.    In a short time, the owner is found murdered, with so many people who are suspects, including the neighboring club members and the soon to be ex-wife.

The group discovers a mysterious oil lamp, which Moonbeam accidently rubs, which brings a genie or two. Since she is the one who rubs the lamp, the genies insist she make three wishes, which she refuses to do, causing problems for the genies.  Eventually, everyone convinces Moonbeam to make a wish, which will force suspects to reveal the truths, including the genies. 

I really enjoy this series, as it is so much fun to read.  All the characters in the Magical Mystery Book Club are very good, with Paige and Glo being the leaders, and Frank (the talking cat) always enjoyable, Mollie the ghost, a recent new member, and all the rest of the group a lot of fun.

Genies and Gibberish was another terrific and fun addition to this series, with all of the members in the middle of this mystery. There were many suspects, with different clues, as they continued to get more information to solve the crime. There were a number of surprises throughout, which was so much fun and a blast to read.  Genies and Gibberish was a wonderful lighthearted fun magical mystery, which was very well written by Elizabeth Pantley.  I look forward to the next book.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy supplied for review

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Bakeries and Buffoonery by Elizabeth Pantley – a Review

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Bakeries and Buffoonery by Elizabeth Pantley – a Review

 

Amazon

Description:
It’s a magical book club! When this group chooses a book, magic happens. The mystery comes to life, and they find themselves part of the story. To exit the book and get back home, they need to solve the mystery and reach The End.

This time, the club chooses a book called The Great Cake Rivalry, because, well … cake! They read the back cover and it’s unanimous. So off they go into another grand adventure into a town aptly named Frosting.

Frosting is a rural town in an idyllic setting. The people live quiet lives most of the year. But in the spring, things change. The Annual Cake Competition becomes the focus of every man, woman, and child. They take this competition seriously. The cakes are spectacular. The festival is fabulous. For a week there are contests featuring all kinds of cakes. The people of the community become official tasters and vote for the winning cakes in each category.

The grand finale is a display of finely decorated cakes, made by the town’s bakeries. The winner of the best design receives a prize package that would make any baker dizzy.

Sadly, this event has been tainted. Once a year, each one different, but all somehow related to this event, a person is murdered. The main investigator is stumped, but that could be because he’s an inept buffoon.

Can the book club help the people of this community figure out who is causing this disturbing pattern of deaths, and stop another murder from happening? Can they figure out why some of the citizens dress so oddly, and why they always wear those unique backpacks? All while they fill themselves to the brim with cake, of course.

 

 

Review:

Bakeries and Buffoonery by Elizabeth Pantley is the 4th book in her fun Magical Mystery Book Club series. Refresher: Paige and her Aunt Glo, inherited the grandmother’s country inn, which comes with a magical library.  The magical library consists of 8 members, who choose a book, and they are transported into the story, with cozy mysteries that they have to solve. This is a lighthearted and fun series, with wonderful characters and a magical cozy mystery.

The group gathers for their next meeting in the library, choosing a book called The Great Cake Rivalry and off they go on another adventure, ending up in a town called, Frosting.  It is a quiet town, but when spring comes around, the Annual Cake Competition becomes the focus of the town, where bakeries compete for prizes.  The competition is very serious, and in the last few years, there has been a murder each year, which no one has solve.   The town are all obsessed with the wonderful cakes, which include an amateur baking contest, which the group participates in, as well as attending the festival.  It was fun to watch all the members of the club try to find clues to the murderer, as well as enjoy all the cakes, and food along the way. 

Bakeries and Buffoonery was a terrific and fun addition to this series, with all of the members in the middle of this mystery. There were many suspects, with different clues, as they continued to get more information, including doing their own baking in the amateur contest. I really enjoy the camaraderie between the club, and love the concept of becoming part of the chosen book.  I really like Paige, Glo and other members, but of course I loved Frank, the talking cat.  There were a number of surprises throughout, which was so much fun and a blast to read.  Bakeries and Buffoonery was a wonderful lighthearted fun magical mystery, which was very well written by Elizabeth Pantley.  I look forward to the next book.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy supplied for review

 

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Cowboys and Chaos by Elizabeth Pantley – a Review

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Cowboys and Chaos by Elizabeth Pantley – a Review

 

Amazon

 

Description:
This is no ordinary book club! When the group chooses a book, they are whisked away from reality to find themselves totally immersed in the story. The characters, the setting, and the murder all come to life. In order to exit the book, they’ll need to solve the mystery and reach The End.

This time, the club chooses a mystery that takes place in a quaint western town – in the old Wild West. That sounds like great fun, until they arrive in the dusty old town in the Arizona desert, among cowboys and saloons. They discover that the outhouse isn’t the worse thing about this trip.

The good news is that Paige, Glo, Zell, Frank, and the other members of the club discover plenty of surprises here, and they have a great time visiting a piece of history. They’ll get to live through many exciting moments as they unravel this cozy mystery story.

 

 

Review:

Cowboys and Chaos by Elizabeth Pantley is the 3rd book in her fun Magical Mystery Book Club series.  Refresher: Paige and her Aunt Glo, inherited the grandmother’s country inn, which comes with a magical library.  The magical library consists of 8 members, who choose a book, and they are transported into the story, with cozy mysteries that they have to solve.

In Cowboys and Chaos, Paige, Glo, Frank (cat who talks), and the rest of the book club members are transported to the Old Wild West, Bandana, AZ.  Upon arrival, they are shocked to meet with Gee Gee, their beloved great grandmother, who they thought was dead, but instead was living the rest of her life in the old west, where she had remained when in her last story.  There is also a new addition to the book club, Atticus, who joins the club.

When checking out the town, they end up in the saloon, which has two levels; first level is bar, food, and card playing; the second floor is a brothel. They overhear others discussing a girl named Molly, who has been missing; which leads them to follow-up on her disappearance, as this was the mystery they needed to solve.    Early on, to their shock, they meet Molly, who is dead and a ghost, only the book club members can see and talk to Molly. Molly was a fun, lovable character, who was determined to help the book club members find the person who killed her.  

Cowboys and Chaos was another fun story, with all of the members in the middle of this mystery. There were many suspects, with different clues, as they continued to get more information and also work with the sheriff, still convincing the town that they were friends of Gee Gee.  It was a lot of fun, to become part of the past, with cowboys, cute dresses and bonnets, not to mention the dangerous situations, with gunslingers, and villains.   There were a number of surprises throughout, which was so much fun and a blast to read.  I really like Paige, Glo and other members, but of course I loved Frank, the talking cat.  Cowboys and Chaos was a wonderful lighthearted mystery, which was very well written by Elizabeth Pantley.  I look forward to the next book.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy supplied for review

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Vampires and Villains by Elizabeth Pantley – a Review

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Vampires and Villains by Elizabeth Pantley – a Review

 

Amazon


Description:
Paige and her joyful Aunt Glo have learned that the home they inherited comes with a magical library. They put together a book club group of loveable kooks to explore the magic. They’ve recovered from their first book journey, and they all agree on their next book which takes place on a cruise ship bound for Hawaii. Problem is, they were so excited about the cruising idea that they didn’t read the entire blurb on the back of the book. (“It was entirely too long,” explains Zell.) Once on the ship, they meet a charming and likeable man who blends seamlessly into their motley group. Too bad they don’t know why he’s so scarce during the day but shows up to join them every evening for dinner, drinks, and a show. When a dead body shows up on board, their new friend is labeled a suspect. Can they help him out by finding the real murderer? Or is he the real murderer? The book club will need to solve the case to get off the ship, out of the book, and back to their home.

 

 

Review:

Vampires and Villains by Elizabeth Pantley is the 2nd book in her fun Magical Mystery Book Club series. Refresher: Paige and her Aunt Glo, inherited the grandmother’s country inn, which comes with a magical library. Upon arriving at the Inn, they meet the resident cat, Frank, who talks (love Frank). With Frank’s help, they discover a secret library in the locked basement, which is enchanted.  They learn that they need to continue the existing magical book club, and bring in 6 more members. 

In Vampires and Villains, Paige, Glo, and the eclectic and quirky members, pick a new book, which is a cruise to Hawaii; since they are short one member (from the previous book), a new member, “Million” joins.  This is a misfit group with each very different (talking cat, teenager, 80-year-old original member, etc) but they have become friends.

After boarding the ship, they meet intriguing new characters, including vampires.  Vincent, a vampire, who they immediately like, joins them often at dinner, and becomes their friend.  When a dead body is discovered, Vincent is considered a possible suspect, but the group is determined to find the real murderer, and help save Vincent.

The story was fun, with all of the members in the middle of this mystery, as they find a dead body at the casino; the ships security are mostly Vamps, and they take over. The team spends lots of time enjoying their cruise, and excursions, as well as trying to find new clues. As the mystery moves on to being solved, and the killer apprehended, the story winds down toward their return home.

Vampires and Villains was another enjoyable story, that was very well written by Elizabeth Pantley; which was totally different and unusual.  There were a number of surprises throughout, which was so much fun and a blast to read.  I loved the talking cat, Frank. Vampires and Villains was a wonderful lighthearted mystery and I look forward to the next book.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy supplied for Review

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