This was a quick and quirky read!! It reminded me a lot of Bewitched with a bit of a whimsical twist. I definitely recommend this book if you are looking for something light-hearted and fun!

A light hearted, very entertaining story. With her life changing, and not for the good, Carmen returns to her hometown to live. Carmen and her mother are secretly witches, the good kind!!!😁 As her new job, she's assigned as an Influencer. She must use her skills to improve life for her step brother and one other young woman. I do believe Stephanie Grey has developed a new genre....lots of good emotions and entertaining stumbles along the way to success. No crime, no dead bodies, no heavy romance, no eerie or creepy....just a good, clean, fun read!

I enjoyed this book though I do wish the plot had a little more to it. The chair are interesting though a bit superficial.

This is the first time that I have read anything by this author. I was not disappointed. This story was very engaging and the characters were pretty realistic. I found this story to be funny and cute. I would definitely recommend this sweet and light hearted cozy.

This was a fun story that reminded me of the tv series Bewitched. At times it felt YA to me. I did not connect to the characters as much as I would have liked.

Found it to be cute and funny at first, but it turned saccharine and a tad too far-fetched for me at some point, not to mention that magic being used for everything just felt too 'easy' and there was no setbacks, no limitations, no consequences. Just felt too easy and comfortable and like a perfect escape route - blame it on magic.

This is the kind of book you smile through the whole time. It was just a joy to sit back and read it. I have been reading a lot of emotionally heavy historical fiction books so to read this funny and light hearted book was a great change. I laughed pretty hard through a lot of it. And during this year, that was needed. Thank you for giving readers this book!

I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book provided by NetGalley.

A light hearted, very entertaining story. With her life changing, and not for the good, Carmen returns to her hometown to live. Carmen and her mother are secretly witches, the good kind!!!😁 As her new job, she's assigned as an Influencer. She must use her skills to improve life for her step brother and one other young woman. I do believe Stephanie Grey has developed a new genre....lots of good emotions and entertaining stumbles along the way to success. No crime, no dead bodies, no heavy romance, no eerie or creepy....just a good, clean, fun read!

My full review can be found on my blog after 26th October 2020

Ms Grey’s writing style is light-hearted, humorous, and easy to read. Nothing too heavy or thought-provoking; a perfect fit with the cosy genre. Her prose is appropriate for the story and she’s obviously an intelligent woman. The world-building was good and added to the story rather than bog it down.

I loved Carmen’s girlfriends. Siobhan, Tess and Enid each had different personalities but were fabulous and exhibited the traits that I love. The scenes of friendly banter between the four women was hilarious. They were supportive, loyal and had some brilliant ideas to help Carmen out. Just what besties do. There were lots of characters I really liked in this book and liked to hate. 😉

As a self-contained novel, the fact that every story thread was concluded to a satisfactory is also a HUGE plus. I hate loose ends and cliffhangers.

You can tell by the 2-star rating that this book didn’t grip me. It was OK but there was a lot about it that niggled. I’m not going to list everything; however, I will highlight my main grumbles.

The way magic was portrayed in this book isn’t very sophisticated and it was overused. Think the old 1960s US sitcom Bewitched: no need for spells, potions, or equipment. Just a wiggle of a finger and anything you want just happens. Now don’t get me wrong, I LOVE that show. However, it annoyed me that the characters in this book relied on it ALL THE TIME. Any threats or difficulties in the plot were easily dealt with. This meant that there wasn’t any tension or stakes in the story; there wasn’t anything to grip me on the edge of my seat.

However, my biggest gripe was with the plot. I found myself rolling my eyes and huffing in disbelief and frustration. There were several big twists and elements to the plot that just jarred. Stuff that felt so surreal that it jolted me out of the story with disbelief. I accept that imagination is the only limiter when writing fantasy, however, we’ve still got to believe what we’re reading. It’s the job of the author to create that credibility, to set up the story so that the fantastical is acceptable.

A Witchly Influence is OK but it’s not my cup of tea. I’m always reluctant to write reviews for books that I don’t enjoy reading as much. However, I feel it’s important to share critiques from both sides of the fence. This novel turned out to be too Nickelodeon and YA-esque for my tastes. It’s a cosy paranormal with that’s already received lots of 5-star ratings from happy readers.

This was a very fun read! Who wouldn't like to have magical powers to instantly make dinner, clean the house, or decorate the house?

This book is full of charismatic characters. Some of the characters are witches and some are mortal. I loved the clever plot to have Carmen use her powers to help improve the lives of two mortals. Especially when she used her magic slyly in front of them. I also liked the Erasers whose job it was to erase memories from mortals who had seen a witch using their magic. Poor Finn, Carmen's step-brother who lived with her, he was always having his memory erased because he was able to sense Carmen's magical powers.

The story was a little predictable but was charming to watch the mortals realize their potential and become the best person they could be. The ending alluded to future mortals for Carmen to influence so hopefully the author will be adding more books to create a series.

Thank you to NetGalley and BHC Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Warning: lots of language

This book was filled with a neat world, lots of interesting characters, and puts us right into a very relatable situation - starting over.

Carmen just got divorced from her cheating husband. On top of that push into the unknown, she's also been offered a new job that will allow her to work from home. This home? It's back in her old home town. It's here that she meets Abby, her charge. She also reconnects with Finn, her talented but unmotivated stepbrother. Oh, and to make things more interesting, Carmen is also a witch, now tasked by fate to help influence others.

While we don't get all the information all the time, you can detective out other character's roles, powers, and general background. With such a rich world of different characters, this could easily grow into a nice series, looking more at Carmen's friends (or even the pencil). There are two big stories in this book - Abby's path and Finn's path. I have to admit, I thought they would cross at some point, but it never panned out. Overall, it was a nice, resolved story that left you satisfied at the end.

A Witchly Influence was an absolutely engaging and quick read. I loved how the magic was so prevalent and intertwined throughout the story. A book definitely worth your time.

What a fun story, I loved it. Great world building and character development, a lot of humour and a story that kept me hooked.
It's the first book I read by this author and won't surely be the last.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Review featured at www.books-n-kisses.com

3.5 Hearts What if witches were really fairy godmothers? Carmen moves back to her hometown and becomes, for lack of a better title, a life coach. But then that is what the witches in this book seem to be. They help the people of the world make the word a better place. In this novel Carmen is set to help Abby and, of all people, her step-brother Owen.

I enjoyed the book. It was cute and had a nice amount of humor. The characters in Carmen’s world are so funny. I don’t see myself running out to tell the world about it but I will certainly pick up the next in the series.

Disclaimer:
I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

A Witchly Influence by Stephanie Grey is a comedy, which opens with Carmen finalizing her divorce from her husband, Michael who cheated on her. She is kind of at loose ends, even after her best friends show up to commiserate. When she returns to work on Monday her boss informs her that she has a new job, but will be keeping her old one, too, sort of. See...Carmen is a witch. Her current job is in permitting, witchly permitting. Her new job will be as an influencer: a witch who tries to help get people on the correct path in life. There are some rules, however. She can't directly interfere, mostly, and no one is telling her what the correct path is; she has to figure it out. She is given two clients: Abby, a special education teacher, and her stepbrother, Finn. She sells, her townhouse, buys a house in New Bern, all with the help of magic, and is ready to begin.

An amazing and extremely interesting cast of characters trails through Carmen's life, no the least of which are Abby and Finn, who are human. Most of the rest are not, but they are terrific characters. In the year it takes for Carmen to set their lives on the right paths, she builds a guitar using magic; she time travels and spends a week as her teenage self; and she changes witchly protocol forever. This is an extremely entertaining story with characters we all know, but they are witches and so do things differently. Carmen is empathetic, carefree, and determined. She is not always a rule follower, but that makes all the difference. What a cute book. I recommend it.

I was invited to read a free ARC of A Witchly Influence by Netgalley. All opinions and interpretations contained herein are solely my own. #netgalley #awitchlyinfluence

This was a light, fun-filled read. It was one of those stories you'd sit and read in a day. If you're a fan of rom coms and love a good witchy tale, you're sure to enjoy this one.

The story was good, but too much being told what was happening over discovering for myself. Would have enjoyed a more detailed plot and characters to keep the story from dragging in many areas.

Carmen Devereaux is a witch. But that doesn’t mean she’s not susceptible to heartbreak. Divorcing her husband might not quite reach that level but it still sends her home to North Carolina. It may not be entirely where she grew up but it’s where her family is now. And Fate has decreed that Carmen will no longer be working granting permits. Instead, she will be an Influencer, helping to age sure that people get to where they should be in life. Her first two people are both in the town she’s moving to and one is her stepbrother. She struggles a little, even going through time to help them out.
This was just a nice book. Is the solution for the friend a little bit of a cheat? Yes. Are all the solutions she comes up with a little too pat? Yes. Is Carmen just a little bit of a Mary Sue? Yes. But this is just a nice story at a time that I needed to read something light and sweet.

Four stars
This book comes out October 1st
ARC kindly provided by BHC Press and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

If you are looking for something fun, light-hearted and a little bit of an escape you will enjoy A Witchly Influence. While the story starts in December and proceeds over a calendar year it's a good read for Halloween given the supernatural elements featured. Carmen Devereaux, newly divorced from a mortal, is assigned a new job as an Influencer. Moving back home she's tasked with helping her stepbrother and new friend make positive changes-all the while hiding her magical abilities. While storylines using magic and supernatural abilities could be contrived or silly Stephanie Grey has done a thorough job flushing out the details of the world she has created and making it fit in neatly-so much so I'd love to have some of Carmen's abilities! While this is a bit of a departure from my usual books, the story is a cute, quick read that is perfect for a fun escape!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

I thought this book was mediocre. It took me a long time to get into it and at points it dragged. I enjoyed the concept but the writing style lost me a bit. I felt that there were too many parts that were repetitive or didn't have a lot of meaning to the overall storyline.