Foster has had writers block for three years and it shows no sign of stopping. Her publishers sends her to the west coast to ghost write a memoir for an heiress. She imagines someone older, with a handful of cats, but who she meets is the painfully shy and beautiful Abigail Spencer. Abigail Spencer has only recently returned home after many years away, she's cautious around people and prefers to spend her time with her rescued horses or reading. Foster's arrival changes everything and the two women grow close in ways neither could have imagined in a million years.

This is not at all what I expected from the blurb. It was brilliant because Missouri Vaun is brilliant. Let go of your expectations and just enjoy the ride!

I loved the characters in this book. On the cold pacific northwest coast, Vaun creates a cast of warm and welcoming. These women are badass and brilliant and inspiring. I loved every single one of them, each with their own little flaws and quirks, but with huge hearts and strong will, lends to dynamic and three-dimensional characters that jump off the page and into your heart.

The descriptions are so beautiful and so vivid, you really feel like you are part of the story. The cold and the mist of the coast seeps into your bones. The love of books the leading ladies have pours into every passage and makes you feel like you have kindred spirits in Foster and Abigail. Vaun is a truly gifted writer and grew to be one of my favourites over the last year.

I wouldn't mind if this got turned into a series and we got to read Evan's story next! I'm not ready to let this world or these characters go.

I received an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I ARC received via NetGalley and in exchange for an honest review.

Ok this took me by surprise because the blurb explain but really doesn't.

Foster Owen is a successful mystery writer who suffering writer block. Abigail Spencer was studying abroad and now has inherited a rundown mansion.

You think that where the story ends they meet instant love and even though it was what happen it was much more then that it has a supernatural element in the story that I love .

There were some history events that I wish we explore more but this was a solid written story that had me engage to the very end.

I was expecting a story about a writer meeting a shy woman who becomes their muse, and frankly, hot damn, that wasn’t what I got at all! It went way sideways instead and I really liked this change in direction. Witches, warriors and pentagrams are always a joy. Amazing, but it finished far too soon, which sadly reduced the suspense and quality of the story. This book should have been number one in a series and could then have ended on a cliffhanger or two.

Okay, I admit it. I loved the cover, saw it was by Misssouri Vaun, didn’t give the blurb much more than a passing glance and decided I’d probably enjoy it well enough, even if it didn’t wow me. What I expected from the story didn’t seem terribly complex. Writer struggling with writer’s block gets offered opportunity to write family history for reclusive heiress. They meet, delve into some family history, fall in love and live happily ever after. Right? Not a sausage!

I loved the surprise of this. I love it when the blurb doesn’t tell you everything and the story takes you on an unexpected journey. The writing is very atmospheric and the descriptions made me feel very present in the story. Often Vaun’s descriptions are of things that seem inconsequential until you realise you have an exact mental image of the environment.

“Her glasses had fogged up the second they’d stepped into the warmth of the cozy kitchen. She swiped at them with her sweater and held them away from her face as she waited for the glass to adjust to the room temperature.”

She could have just said that they had stepped into the warm kitchen. I think that a large part of my enjoyment of Vaun’s books is the way she describes the mundane.

I was completely sucked in by the story and events but I wished a little more time had been spent on Foster and Abigail both individually and together. I got a bit more of a sense of Foster, her recalcitrant cat and her personality than I did of Abigail. Perhaps that was the intention but without a sense of who they are as individuals I find it harder to believe in an insta-love connection.

Book received from Netgalley and Bold Strokes Books for an honest review.

So I have to say right from the outset, this book is not what the blurb makes it out to be. Yes, the blurb explains it somewhat, but there's a hell of a lot more to this story than what you see there. I suppose I should have expected that, based on Vaun's previous works, but based on the blurb I just didn't expect this book to take the direction that it did. And yes, I'm being intentionally vague here so I don't spoil it for you. You know what though - the book won't be spoiled if you know this part... just don't uncover it if you want it to be a complete surprise... <spoiler>Apparently, the town of Spencer's Cove is full of witches. Abigail doesn't know it, but she's about to inherit witchy powers on her birthday, and things will get real, real interesting.</spoiler>

Now, with that being said, this book was very good in quite a few ways, but also left me wishing that there was a bit more explanation and history to some of the events. Personally, I would have liked to have understood a bit more of the politics and back story. And yes, I'm still being intentionally vague so I don't ruin it for you.

The MCs Abigail and Foster do have an insta-love thing happening, which usually makes me run away screaming, but in this particular case it actually made sense. The writing's solid, the theme of this story was different enough to keep me from being bored, and the chemistry between Abigail and Foster was palpable. For me, this landed at 3.5 stars, but keep in mind that I'm really not a huge reader of this particular genre. For fans of the non-predictable story with a bit of a <spoiler>supernatural</spoiler> flair, you will likely enjoy this one.

**Many thanks to Bold Strokes for providing me with an ARC copy in exchange for my honest review.

4.5 stars-Wow! This book was not what I expected from the blurb. I don't want to give away any spoilers, so I'm going to be vague in this review. BUT... you have to give this one a try. It is intriguing, exciting and spellbinding. You won't regret it for a second!