I Buried a Witch

5* OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG SOOOO GOOD. THIS IS JOSH LANYON DOING A GOOD TALE WITH FULL-ON ROMANCE, NOT JUST A GOOD TALE WITH A SIDE OF ROMANCE. DAMN THE WAIT FOR BOOK 3!!!!

I got a copy of this book from NetGalley and was so impatient to load it on my Kindle that I ended up with 14 copies. If only the book was 14 times as long as it was!!! I did not want it to end. It was one of the sweetest, saddest (in a lighthearted way, not big, ugly tears-and-snot way), most romantic-without-feeling-faux original tales I've read. I think seeing big, growly, uncompromising John Galbraith so gone over Cosmo is one of the most swoony things ever, lol!

OK, that's the fangirling over with. Maybe, but no promises! So, this book takes up two weeks after the leads' wedding and they've just arrived home from honeymooning in Scotland. And pretty much from the moment they get back, it's action, action, action. Witches are dying, Cosmo isn't sure who's a friend and who's not a friend, who's an ally or not, who he can trust, even people he's known for years. It's even better than book 1, especially as there are little touches of the so glaringly obvious that I'm wondering why John didn't clock about magic. Maybe it's that aspect of his personality or his bloodline that has him in unconscious denial, but whatever, it led to an implosion followed by an explosion once Cosmo's true self came to light. And that's the first time I felt a pang of pain in my chest and a sting in my eyes, because Cosmo was hurt. Really hurt and scared and not really able to defend himself, because, hey, magic=obfuscation and rules where humans are concerned...

As the blurb makes clear, this tale isn't sweetness and light. John with his mind made up is a stubborn beast and whilst I understood where he was coming from, I was also a bit annoyed at him for packing his bags that quickly. Maybe a lesser guy would've resorted to the bottle, but nope, once his mind was made up, that was it. And, though the blurb of book 3 makes clear that things are back on track with him and Cosmo, there were many times where my heart hurt and where I wanted to smack John for being a silly, stubborn, unrelenting arse, and cuddle Cosmo. And poor little Pyewhacket!!! Thank goodness he's a cat with 9 lives.

I loved everything about this book (I especially loved that JL is a rare author who knows how to use commas correctly, no pun intended; most authors/editors don't seem to know the 'and/or' rule, which really gets my goat. Sorry, mini rant over). And now, I'm impatient that I'll have to wait until 13/03/2020 to read the final part in the series, but yay, Josh Lanyon has it up for pre-order, meaning that date is a dead cert (happy dance!).

I've read several JL books now and I've mostly thought that they're intelligent tales that happen to have gay leads and a side of romance. Here, she breaks that mould and gives me the full-on romance that I wanted for these guys. Maybe it's the fact that they're opposites attracting in more ways than the proverbial that makes them so romantic in my eyes. There's certainly elements of the star-crossed here, and I suspect that magic will save the day, big time, in book 3, and John will see the error of his ways and will go even swoonier over Cosmo. Seriously, the romantic element to this tale DELIGHTED me. I can't quite pinpoint it, but John and Cosmo do it for me. And seeing a bit of grovelling from the big guy might not be amiss. Hint. Hint.

And yes, there are the same little touches of magic here that there are in book 1 that delighted me (Cosmo does the Samantha Nose Twitch barely a few pages into the tale, and Bridget surely must be related to Mary Poppins) as well as the sass and wit I remember. The French in this is pretty much picture perfect, and there's even a romantic night in Paris that I hadn't been expecting, and is where John's resolve began to crack.

There will be lots of little loose ends to tie up in book 3. I'm curious about various side characters who've popped up and who've made a bit of an impact, but not so much of an impact that I am sure about their roles in the grand finale. I'm thinking I'm going to love to see Nola's face with the reveals in book 3. Anyway, I think I should stop here, as I need to go back and re-read slowly, because I'm pretty sure I'll have missed stuff in my haste to devour this. Let's just say that both books 1 and 2 make my Top Ten 5* tales for 2019.

ARC courtesy of JustJoshin Publishing Inc and NetGalley, for my reading pleasure.

Spoilers…

Ever witnessed an accident? Two cars screaming towards one another, all forward momentum and potential lethality. You see it all about to happen and there is nothing you can do to stop it. That’s how I felt about Cosmo and John’s marriage. All the lies Cosmo told, all the spells he tried to cast. Of course John was going to freak when he found out Cosmo’s HUGE secret. Hello, Cosmo, remember in book one when John told you to never lie to him again? Well, lying about being a witch is the biggest and most continuous lie you’ve ever told him!

What Cosmo did was unforgiveable, but their relationship needs an alignment. It has no balance. John holds all the power. His decisions are final. Where is Cosmo’s voice in this? What about his opinions? John dismisses them as if they don’t matter at all. How is that a relationship? It certainly isn’t a healthy one. I liked the way Cosmo slowly comes to realize this as their separation grows. He is not himself in this marriage, and he can’t continue to live a lie.

Which leads to the compromise wherein John will take Cosmo back if he promises to only use magic as a last resort. Um, how could Cosmo agree to that? Magic is who he is. Why should it be a last resort? I guess some would see this as John compromising, but I see it as more controlling. It’s almost as if John is saying, I’ll partially accept you as you are as long as you try to be what I am comfortable with you being. How long can that really work? Under what circumstances can Cosmo’s resorting to magic be deemed acceptable in John’s eyes? Saving a life? Preventing a witch war? It’s hard to say, and the Commissioner is not exactly one to try and find middle ground when it comes to magic. I guess we’ll find out in future books if this “compromise” is going to work.

Despite my concerns, I am really enjoying this series . It’s kind of the standard Lanyon relationship story – younger, more mellow guy falls for the gruff, older cop; hilarity and murder ensue – but it has this big dash of magic and a supernatural element that brings a whole other degree of mystery and potential disaster to the plot.

As always, the book ended before I was ready to let go of the story, but it left me with so many questions.
Why is John so resistant to magic and spells?
Will we ever find out what happened in Somalia?
Is Jinx a witch? Is John one? (Unbeknownst to himself, of course)
Will Cosmo return to practicing full-blown magic? How can he not as heir to the Abracadantes line of witches?
I hope we’ll find out in Bell, Book,and Scandal, the third book in the Bedknobs and Broomsticks series.

"Mainly by Moonlight," the first book in Josh Lanyon's new Bedknobs and Broomsticks series was more of a whirlwind introduction to the unlikely marriage between stoic police commissioner John and glittery antique store owner / cocktail cupcake creater Cosmo. In between magical spells and a murder, Cosmo blythly ignores the warning signs that perhaps wedding John without full disclosure is not going to turn out well.

As "I Buried a Witch" progresses, it becomes a case of that traditional adage "Marry in haste, repent in leisure" as their marriage goes off the rails, and Cosco realizes he has no one to blame but himself. It's a more mature feel to this book - less frivilous and more hard reality about love NOT conquering all. We get more insight into John as well:

"The ability to negotiate a hard bargain is the ability to walk away from a bad deal. John - it was right there in the fierce lines of his face, in the steely gleam of his eyes - was prepared - always prepared - to walk away. I was not. Could not even contemplate it. Not then. In those four minutes I learned more about him than I'd learned in four weeks ..."

As Cos comes to an epiphany about his relationship, the underlying murder mystery continues and deepens as a possible serial killer called The Witch Killer is introduced, who may be connected to the Reitherman murder from "Mainly by Moonlight." And while the murder cauldron is boiling away, there is plenty of steam between John and Cos, with several scenes illustrating why their unlikely relationship works so well ... at least in bed.

Lanyon keeps our interest in the ongoing murder investigations, while amping up the relationship between Cos and John, giving it more texture and depth. I'm looking forward to the third book in this series and give "I Buried a Witch" 4.5 stars.

Five Stars*****
The second in the new series by Josh Lanyon that revolves around mortals, wiccans and witches. I suggest you read the first book to get a good feel for the characters in this exciting mystery that had me riveted to the pages.
Cosmo an antique dealer has happily rushed into marriage with police commissioner John Galbraith. John is a tough and intimidating man that has fallen head over heels for Cosmo.
I never warmed up to John in the first story and his continual controlling manners did not make me exactly happy with him in this book. Sure, Cosmo may have lied by omission but how do you break it to your mortal husband that you have magical powers? Well needless to say John finds out and this maybe one of the shortest marriages on record. John is livid and leaves Cosmo. My heart ached for the sweet witch as he is such a decent man.
The storyline really becomes involved with betrayals, warped secret societies and a deranged serial killer on the loose.
Jinx is one of my favorite secondary characters. She is John's sister and is interested in learning the craft. Jinx and Cosmo have become good friends and I loved the dynamics of their friendship.
Cosmo has a killer to catch while watching his marriage unravel. I was thrilled to see he finally gets a spine of steel and refuses to be ashamed of who he is.
I loved this second novel even more than the first. I am a die hard fan of Josh simply because her writing, plots and attention to detail are flawless.
This cosmic mystery/romance had it all. A gripping plot, tender and funny moments and some very steamy scenes. I cannot wait for the next installment. If i could magically make it appear, I would.

The second book in the Bedknobs and Broomsticks series picks up right where the first one left off.

After Ciara tries to kill Cosmo because she thought he killed Seamus, Cosmo and new husband John go on honeymoon to Scotland. They come back to San Fransisco to continue settling in and it's not exactly smooth sailing.

Meanwhile, Cosmo is certain that Ciara didn't kill Seamus and had nothing to do with putting Rex in a coma. But no one, not even his husband, will listen to him. What's a Craftsman left to do?

The mystery in this isn't as fleshed out as Lanyon's earlier works. The world building is delightful and not overbearing. The books leaves us with tantalizing questions...

I can't wait for book 3.

This is becoming one of my favorite series.
I love the humour, the interesting world building, and the well thought cast of characters.
It's an engrossing and entertaining read that kept me hook till the end.
Can't wait to read another book by this author.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

I Married a Witch is the second in the Bedknobs and Broomsticks series of cozy paranormal mysteries. I’d strongly suggest reading them in order because they are very closely related.

In addition to building the events of the previous book, Lanyon adds some new murders of practitioners of Wicca that may or may not be related to the killing in the first novel. Cosmo suspects that they are and can’t resist getting involved, much to John’s displeasure. John is of course wrong to try to keep Cosmo from investigating, because in true cozy mystery fashion, Cosmo figures out the culprit in the Wicca murders while the police are still bumbling around with no clue. However, just as with the first book, several plot threads are left hanging at the end of the story, including the identity of the culprit in another murder attempt targeting Cosmo.

Much of the focus is on John and Cosmo’s romance, though, and that’s where the book really shines in my opinion. The familiar is out of the bag when Cosmo confesses to John that he is a witch. Needless to say, John doesn’t take the news well, especially once he realizes he was under a spell when they got involved, and John walks out on Cosmo. Cosmo’s pain over John’s rejection of him as a witch and his fear that their relationship is over got me completely emotionally invested in the story. I even teared up a time or two, and that’s rare for me.

The entire book is written from Cosmo’s point of view, although the blurb suggests otherwise. John’s the strong, silent type, and it’s hard for both Cosmo and the reader to get inside his head because he doesn’t communicate well. I wish we got more of John’s perspective, because I found myself getting irritated with how cold and cutting John is rather than empathizing with him at all.

While I’m not a huge fan of John at this point, I am hooked on the series. I’m looking forward to the third book, which is coming out next March. Maybe John will redeem himself, and we’ll finally get answers about who’s behind some of the nefarious deeds that have yet to be explained.

A copy of this book was provided through NetGalley for review; all opinions expressed are my own.

this book was a good, easy read. it flowed well and the characters were interesting and real. i did have a sense of foreboding that all the lies that Cosmo had told John were going to come back to bite him, which proved true. the relationship seemed slightly uneven with john seeming to hold all the power, but then not all relationships are equal..I really enjoyed this book, and want to read the rest of the series. It is one that I will recommend to others

Spectacular!

I absolutely love - love this series! Wonderful characters, creative *magical* plots, hot romancin’, and beautifully written, as all of Josh Lanyon’s stories are.

Cosmo is a total doll, and John is all the good things a Lanyon dreamboat should be. I can’t wait to see what happens next for these guys.

Performed by Kale Williams, I adore what he brings to these characters in the audio version of I Buried a Witch. His smooth, sensual voice is perfect for the romantic scenes, and the light-hearted delivery of Cosmo is just perfect for this cutie.

It’s a wonderful story, made even better in audio.

Cosmo’s marriage has always existed under a thin veil of mishaps and secrets. First off, it was a love spell that brought him and Police Commissioner John Galbraith together. Then, after Cosmo had seen to it being removed, there was the forgetful spell he cast not once, but twice in order to make sure John had no idea exactly how bent someone was on doing Cosmo harm—as in the dead kind of harm. But the biggest whammy has to be that Cosmo is a pure bred witch—one with powers that he put aside more than two years ago in order to try and live a more normal (read human) life. When that cat comes out of the bag, things go terribly bad for John and Cosmo and that doesn’t even begin to cover who is going around killing wiccans and who may be targeting Cosmo as their next victim.

I Buried a Witch is the second novel in Josh Lanyon’s Bedknobs and Broomsticks series. As it picks up pretty much right after the first, it goes without saying that if you haven’t read Mainly by Moonlight, this novel will not make a great deal of sense. Even for me, someone who loved the first book, it took me a moment to recall all the characters mentioned in these first few chapters and their relationships to each other and Cosmo. However, the author does a good job of jogging the memory with brief recaps here and there, which really helped. The fast pace of this story and how the murderer tied into the existing characters was really quite good. There is no denying that Lanyon writes a solid mystery and often includes a slow burning romance in them that is usually fraught with poor timing, reluctant commitment, and miscommunication. This story, while paranormal, is no exception. I will also say that Lanyon continues to impress me with her foray into a genre that stretches her abilities in many good ways.

I really like Cosmo. He is well-meaning, if not a little foolhardy when it comes to his own safety, and he loves John—so much so that he allows John to begin to mold him into someone he really isn’t all due to the fear that once John discovers he’s a witch, their relationship will implode. He’s not far off the mark with that worry, I must say. But that doesn’t diminish how caring and kind Cosmo is to everyone—even those who mean him harm. No, if this review were only about Cosmo then I could end it here with the sure knowledge that Lanyon has once again created a man who tugs at the heart strings and makes you care, despite being a fictional person. However, the same can’t be said about John who, in my book, doesn’t deserve Cosmo and is pretty insensitive when it comes right down to it.

John wants everything on his terms—including how Cosmo acts. John makes very little attempt to compromise and when he does discover that Cosmo is a witch, it’s like he turns off every emotion that he feels and steels himself against his husband. I suppose it should help that things get resolved somewhat in the end, but I think the future is unlikely to run smoothly in the Galbraith household. And perhaps that is the true talent of this author—that she can create two diametrically opposed characters and make you feel strongly about both. I want to love John—I don’t–but still I want to because Cosmo certainly does.

So maybe this novel, which I didn’t want to like as much as the first, is actually quite good and the conflict in it necessary to make what are admittedly fantastical characters very real and approachable. I think you must decide that for yourself. Until then, I can assure you I am eager to read the final installment in this trilogy and, despite my reservations about John, these two men together are really quite wonderful at bringing out the best in each other.

I really enjoyed the first book in this series but then the Covid pandemic arrived and disrupted my reading, so I didn't have time to read the second book when it came out. It was really good to finally settle down with this second book in the series. It took me a bit of time to remember what had happened in book one and to catch up with all the characters but I was soon immersed in the detecting and spells of Cosmo.

I think Cosmo is one of my new favorites from the Lanyon characters. In this story Cosmo gets involved in the race to find a serial killer. He thinks this might be linked to another murder and he starts to carry out an 'under the radar investigation'. Of course his husband John (police chief) doesn't like this and refuses to consider Cosmo's ideas and suggestions about the case. This eventually leads to a major row and some deep revelations which turn their relationship upside down.

Of course Cosmo eventually discovers who the murderer is, but there are so many other questions that need to be answered and he goes through much heart rending. The main mystery is eventually solved but it is clear that there are a number of big reveals ahead. I am looking forward to some kind of big finale at the end of the series (which I am anticipating) and then I will need to read these books from the beginning.

Much as I loved Cosmo, I really dislike his husband John. He is too controlling and it is clear there is darkness in his past. I like all the little unanswered issues and questions because they are so tantalizing and provide a murky glimpse into the future. I think Big Things are going to happen because I can feel a build up but we can't tell where we are going just yet. These niggling feelings make the series gripping and give it a nice frisson of darkness.

I actually enjoyed the rift between John and Cosmo because it bought grit and tension to the story. I didn't like John in the first book and I still don't trust him. It makes a nice change to have a main character that I dont trust and a main character that I love (Cosmo of course and his cat). It is shaping up to be a thoroughly enjoyable series.

Many thanks to Just Joshin Publications for providing this copy via Netgalley in exchange for an unbiased review.