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Book Review of Fire Burn and Cauldron Bubble (Jolie Wilkins, Bk 1)

Fire Burn and Cauldron Bubble (Jolie Wilkins, Bk 1)
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Upon receiving my Nook over a year ago, my initial thought was how much space I would free up by eliminating all of the paper bound books with an e-book version. As all good intentions go, it sounded like a legitimate plan but has never transpired. Instead, I find myself browsing Barnes & Noble frequently and my librarys digital catalog often for books to acquire and the pattern I am seeing with this plan is that many of these books are books I dont already own in paper format and, more often than not, are written by new to me authors. Such is the case with the first book in the Jolie Wilkins series, Fire Burn and Cauldron Bubble by H.P. Mallory. Of course, I couldnt just limit myself to this book. When I saw the first book for another series by this author, I had to acquire that one too.

Honestly, folks, this whole Nook business isnt helping me manage my reading in the slightest. Putting a Nook in my hands seems to have the same effect as putting crack in the hands of a drug addict. Im going to use it and probably dig myself deeper into this pit of Mount TBR. Im thinking an intervention with Dr. Phil is required next. While I am waiting for Dr. Phil to swoop down and give me my dose of reality, I may as well share my thoughts and impressions of Fire Burn and Cauldron Bubble.

If I were being 100% honest here and I believe honesty is the best policy with any undertaking, anytime you have paranormal creatures with British accents, you have my undivided attention. Doesnt matter what kind of paranormal creatures we are dealing with, either. Warlocks and Vampires with English accentscount me in. Kilt wearing Fairies with Scottish accentsI am so there. Theres even a pervert ghost who enjoys watching our heroine disrobe.

Our heroine, Jolie, doesnt know shes a witch when this story begins. Shes a psychic who has no idea what the extent of her powers really are. She is hired by a warlock to assist him in solving a mystery involving the death of his client and when she inadvertently resurrects the ghost, the rest of the underworlds focus and attention is riveted on Jolie and not in a good way. Jolie is thrust into this paranormal existence and is uprooted to England to live with the warlock (such a hardshipI wish I had her problems) and begin learning to use her powers. Jolies abilities have brought down some very unwanted attention by some of the less scrupulous members of the paranormal community who want to use her powers for their personal gain.

Overall, I liked Jolie but I did find myself getting bored pretty quickly with how fickle she comes across. I get that the male members of the paranormal world arent your normal run of the mill men. They exude a lot of pheromones, for lack of a better description, and they have no trouble acquiring female company. Jolie is attracted sexually to practically all of them and the feelings of desire are reciprocated as well. Unfortunately, the one she really wants holds her at arms length. Sadly that relationship is not resolved by the end of this book, so readers will have to tune in to the rest of the series to find out if Jolie and Rand end up together.

Overall, a decent start to a series with a lot of loose ends that hopefully get tied up as the series moves along. The kilt wearing Fairies with Scottish accents have captured my interest so I will be checking out the next book to see what transpires next.