Eight Enchanting Elixirs Book Review

 

Eight Enchanting Elixirs

Book 8 of Kitchen Witch Mysteries

By: Lynn Cahoon

Publish Date: July 28, 2026

Publisher: Kensington Publishing/Kensington Cozies

Mysteries and Thrillers

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Book Review:

I enjoyed this book and gave it 4 stars. It did take me a minute to get back into this world because I haven't read all the books and I was a little confused. Once I got back into the world, I enjoyed myself and got invested into the story. 

Someone is after Mia and isn't happy that she is testing so well. She has to do retest sooner than she planned and she is a little stressed. Her Grandma is also stressed because an ex-lover is back in town and she is engaged to someone else. Grandma is also Mia's trainer, so she stressed about that. Mia's test was really hard, and it almost kills her because the tester thinks she cheated the first time and ends up being furious when Mia's test results are higher than last time.

Mia doesn't want to be at the new level because she just wants to be a kitchen witch and cook for people. This higher level has a lot more responsibilities. 

The day after her test results the small town finds the tester dead. She has frozen to death. Who killed her and why. Luckily Mia is able to prove it wasn't her because she had friends and family over waiting for the results of the test. 

Mia's boyfriend and the police chief's wife and daughter are stuck in a home for training of their hellhounds and aren't able to help her figure out who is after her. 

The coven wants her to join the local group and keep pushing her, but she is more interested in who killed the tester than becoming a member of the coven. Soon it comes to the acknowledgement of the small town that the incident is ruled an accident, but in actually means that the incident is a coven problem and they will take the case into their hands and figure out who the killer is. 

What I like about this book is the family and friendships between all the characters and the love they show each other. I would recommend this book but also read them in order so you are able to follow the story line better.

Japanese Gothic Book Review

 

Japanese Gothic

A Folk Horror Novel of Japanese Mythology, murder, and Family Duty Across Two timelines

By: Kylie Lee Baker

Publish Date: April 14, 2026

Publisher: Harlequin Trade Publishing/Hanover Square Press

General Fiction (Adult)/Horror/ Mystery and thrillers

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Book Review:

This is Kylie's second book, and I enjoyed it but not as much as her first book. I gave this book 4 stars. 

I wouldn't call this book horror because I wasn't scared, but it did have some moments that I was given the eek. This book takes place in Japan during two timelines. Present day and 1877. 

In present day a young man comes to Japan to be with his father who has a heart condition. They are both originally from the states, but his father decided he wanted to be in Japan for the time being. The young man, Lee, is taking a break from college and he has some mental issues. 

In 1877 there is a young woman, Sen who is training to become a samurai by her father. This is unusual for the time period. During this time women are not thought of as warriors and the samurais are coming to an end. She isn't sure where she fits in the world.

They meet through the closet in the house that Lee's father has rented which use to be Sen's home.

The story was very interesting, and you can tell that the author did a lot of research on this subject. I like how she was able to combine two different time periods together and make it interesting. I love how the two characters got along for the most part and tried to help each other out. The ending of the story was one I had to read twice before I was able to figure it out.