leondumoulin.nl: Somebody Tell Aunt Tillie She's Dead: Toad Witch Series, Book 1 ( Audible Audio Edition): Christiana Miller, Marie Rose, HekaRose Publishing.
Table of contents
- Somebody Tell Aunt Tillie She's Dead (Toad Witch Mysteries, book 1) by Christiana Miller
- Somebody Tell Aunt Tillie She's Dead
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Aunt Tillie, on the other hand, presents an Irascible and brimming zest for life. It is also amazing to read how spells and generational protectors of inherited magicians and communicators with the underworld work. Mara finds out that Gus is under the spell of Eros, the god of lust and love. Strapped in a cage, Eros is adamant on setting him free. Unlike her other previous books, this edition comes as a short story, and we can see the author struggling to put things in order.
The plot, however, puts forth a great story only that perhaps it was edited in a rush. Overall, the entire Toadwitch mystery series presents a fun read into the mystical, magical world of evil and the few good people left here on earth. Well, you have to read the books unravel that one on your own.
If you see one missing just send me an e-mail below. Scott Bolton is an indie author who after 14 years away, returned to his H. Scott Bolton has a lot of plans for new books this year and the first book in the H. Fist series is free on the Kindle. Give it a Try. Christiana Miller Books In Order. Mitch Rapp is back! Kyle Mills takes Rapp on another outing inspired by real life tensions. The president of Russia, Maxim Krupin, has inoperable brain cancer and decides with nothing to lose he's going to start a war with the West.
As much as I love Mara, I'd have to say Gus was my favorite character. He is honestly just so funny and crazy you never know what he's going to do next. Gus is also a great friend to Mara. I teared up when they had to part ways for our girl to go live in Aunt Tillie's house. I missed Gus right along with Mara and felt her joy whenever he popped back into the story. If you are looking for a paranormal story that has it all, this is it!
You'll laugh, you'll cry, and you'll probably pee your pants at some point whether it be from laughter or fear or both. I just can't begin to emphasize how well this book integrates humor and drama in just the right amounts. Whatever emotions, or bodily functions, this book evokes in you, there is no doubt you will have a great time. Jan 02, Angela Holtz rated it really liked it. From Lilac Wolf and Stuff The cover is cartoonish and eye catching. In fact it was the cover that caught my eye on one of those free-ebook pages on Facebook. So yes, I downloaded this for the Kindle.
I don't have a Kindle so I read this on my phone. I actually couldn't put it down, my phone went with me everywhere for a few days. My oldest asked me last night, "Why are you reading on your phone??? Nope, but I did just request it. The characters are a hoot and a half. Mara and Gus are the only two that get really in-depth treatment. Mara being the main character, and it's all from her perspective in the first-person. And of course Gus is her best friend, he is a gay witch. So he's perfect in all ways but that one. He's also very aggressive and pro-active, which is the opposite of Mara.
If it weren't for him she never would have made any movement in the story. It works really well, is all. She moves from L. It's a tiny town on the northern end of Wisconsin. I think it was called Devil's Point. She finds the cottage gorgeous but slightly haunted. Against all her instincts, she decides to move in. She finds a love interest and lots of fun and creepy things happen.
I won't give any more away but I was shocked more than once. This book was not at all predictable. If you have a Nook like me, you can request it be made available in Nook format as I just did today. Seriously fun paranormal read. Romance is in here a little but it's not anywhere near the main story line. I would call it quirky paranormal Mar 19, Annette M Guerriero Nishimoto rated it liked it. Today's review is on Somebody Tell Aunt Tillie She's Dead by Christiana Miller While looking for a book to read between author requests, I came across this quirky, snarky, cute tale full of ghosts, love, and friendship.
And though I loved it, and had difficulty putting it down, it was chock full of editing mistakes. Mara is an untrained witch trying to make ends meet just like every other person living in LA. While waiting at a red light she pulls out her trusty tarot deck and pulls three cards to Today's review is on Somebody Tell Aunt Tillie She's Dead by Christiana Miller While looking for a book to read between author requests, I came across this quirky, snarky, cute tale full of ghosts, love, and friendship.
While waiting at a red light she pulls out her trusty tarot deck and pulls three cards to see what is going to happen in the coming year. The Fates have transformation, sorrow, and change through destruction in store for her. What a wonderful thing to learn on of all days, her birthday. Mara then looses her job, is black listed in Beverly Hills, and is evicted from her apartment.
Good thing she still has her best friend Gus who keeps reminding her that she is in fact a witch and should use some of her power to help herself out. After all, he never seems to suffer any negative effects. So she crafts a spell for herself. After having strange dreams that seem all to real, Mara finds that her aunt Tillie has died in a tragic car accident and she is the only heir. But things are rarely what they seem, and Mara is thrown into a journey she will never forget. A great first book in this series even though it is full of mistakes.
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I will be looking for the next installment. Aug 20, Fangs for the Fantasy rated it did not like it. It's Mara's birthday and according to her tarot card reading things aren't going to go well for her. Proving that Mara's skills are top notch, it's not long before Mara finds herself banned from Beverly Hills, unemployed and facing homelessness after being evicted from her LA apartment.
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Luckily for Mara, she inherits a home when her Aunt Tilly dies. Unfortunately for Mara, this house is haunted by a very pissed off Aunt Tilly, who's certain that Mara doesn't have the sense God gave cabbage and n It's Mara's birthday and according to her tarot card reading things aren't going to go well for her. Unfortunately for Mara, this house is haunted by a very pissed off Aunt Tilly, who's certain that Mara doesn't have the sense God gave cabbage and not at all pleased that Mara is responsible for her death.
Is anything going to go right for Mara this year? It's not meant to be serious whatsoever and in fact never takes itself seriously. Miller tries to infuse her book with humour, through awkward situations and back and for conversations between Mara, our protagonist and her GBFF Gus. Unfortunately, most of it is problematic as hell, thereby sucking out whatever humor was possible.
Somebody Tell Aunt Tillie She's Dead (Toad Witch Mysteries, book 1) by Christiana Miller
For all of Mara's string of bad luck, she's actually had a pretty good life. Mara lived in an apartment in LA with a pool for well below market value thanks to the kindness of her gay landlord. Normally I wouldn't mention the sexuality of someone's landlord but Miller goes to great lengths to establish that Lenny is gay and is only kicking Mara out of her apartment in order to get laid by Manuel. Apparently, Manuel's family has a problem with Mara's witchcraft but no problem with his sexuality. Yeah, these kind of bigots tend to hate everyone who doesn't conform to their belief system, not just pagans.
Of course, Mara feels betrayed by Lenny because he chose a hot young lover over her. Lenny is not only gay he's flamboyantly so. Lenny even blames Mara for her eviction because of her unwillingness to hide her religious practice. Flaunt your religious beliefs and sexual preferences at your own peril. It's something we boys have known for centuries.
Gus is downright sassy and seems to spend a good portion of life listening to Mara whine and pretty much being at her beck and call. Every damn thing about Gus is fabulous, including of course his attire. Apparently, "Gus is more fond of skirts than any woman" Mara has ever known.
Somebody Tell Aunt Tillie She's Dead
Mara of course is largely celibate but not Gus who always seems to be fucking someone, which mystifies Mara. It takes me months. It's a whole, incestuous, underground network that we don't let you fag hags in on. A place for us who shine like a veritable sun to share our boy toys. Do you see what happened there? Mara, as well as the other straight characters don't engage in promiscuous sex whereas, the gay characters are either constantly having sex or allowing sex to take over so much of their lives that they make major decision based on whether or not they are getting laid.
Along with being Mara's personal cheerleader and general support, Gus is also super bitchy. Yes, yet another trope. When one of Gus's numerous lovers decided to cheat, Gus curses him to have hives. He deserved it, I caught him in a hot clinch with that curvy tranny singer over at the Queen Mary, when he thought I was in the john. Putting that word into the mouth of a gay character does not suddenly make it not a slur. All of these terms are clearly problematic because they're homophobic and putting these words into the mouth of gay characters doesn't suddenly make it okay.
For the most part, James's greatest sin is being a lecher. Yep, another gay man who sleeps around. Matthew however is power hungry to the point where he has no problem murdering his own daughter because she is pregnant with the King's bastard. So in short, we have evil gay, lecherous gay, catty and flamboyant gay and it's all celebrated with slurs. Yeah for inclusion everyone. When Mara ends up moving to Wiconsin she meets a local teacher named Paul. Because Paul is handsome and works out, Mara immediately assumes that he's gay and comes up with the weakest reasoning for this leap.
Most men out there are gay. Our stats are a little different here. There are only three characters of colour. The first is Mrs. Lasio, "a heavyset, older Latina woman. Lasio is deeply religious and therefore takes issue with Mara's practice of witchcraft. We are meant to see Mrs. Lasio as someone who is ridiculously superstitious who actively oppresses Mara.
Lasio is responsible for Mara's eviction. Lasio gets hers in the end when she is also evicted. We also have Mama Lua, who is a large Jamaican woman. We are told repeatedly how powerful Mama Lua is. It's Mama Lua who performs a cleansing ceremony on Mara. However Mama Lua is never allowed to develop into a real character and remains a magical servant at best.
I know that I've talked so much about the problematic elements of this story that I haven't really gotten to the plot. Unfortunately, I'm not done with the problematic elements. Mara is yet another example of an isolated woman. Mara's parents are both dead, though both make a ghostly visitation to warn her away from her stupidity. Mara doesn't seem to have a relationship with any women with the exception of course of her dead Aunt Tillie. Mara bemoans being a so-called "fag hag" but makes no attempt to befriend women. Ding Ding Ding, I do believe we have found yet another trope.
Look, I don't go into chick lit expecting much. Generally speaking, I hope for a few good laughs and a satisfying end to the story but what I got was one bigoted trope after another, making the story itself almost irrelevant. I couldn't invest in Gus's friendship with Mara because he is such a homophobic trope. I wasn't pleased when Gus dropped everything once again to help Mara out and even decided to leave LA and move to freaking Wisconsin to be with Mara. Feb 05, Judi Easley rated it liked it Shelves: Full review on my blog.
First of all, the title is off the mark. Aunt Tillie knows very well that she's dead, and she's not happy about it at all. In fact, she blames Mara for her death! Poor Mara, just one in a whole pile of problems. The cover art caught my eye with all the color, but it was because it was so bright. I like a lot of the elements on it. However, the house in the book sounded so wonderful and My Review: However, the house in the book sounded so wonderful and cozy.
The one on the cover just doesn't do it for me. But I love the toad picture! This book was fun and scary and tense. It had great spell-casting. The best I've ever seen in a book! Between Gus and Mara, those spells were awesome! Then there was Mara's card reading. She was really good, too good.
That's what kept getting her in trouble. The book is basically divided into three parts, before the move, the trip, and after the move. The first part was way too long. The relationship between Mara and Gus is wonderful and it is important to establish it. But it goes on too long. The trip was funny with her conversations with the toad and what she did and didn't eat or do. The second half of the story, with the house, Paul, the whole scary stuff, is really the story.
Paul is too flat; he needs to be more developed. I would have liked more family history in the second part, too, to support some of what was going on. It felt more like a play at times than a novel. Since this is the first of a series, I am really hoping that things get better in the second or third book, when and if I get there. For those of you who like witchy books, this might be one to try.
Like I said, the spell-casting was really awesome. And you have to meet the toad! This was a BookBub acquisition. My honest review is done for no compensation of any sort. All opinions are fully my own. Easley for Blue Cat Review Aug 16, April rated it really liked it Shelves: I was not really sure what to expect for this book. It was more a paranormal read with twists and turns, than a romance or mystery. It was entertaining and engaging throughout. The characters are immensely likeable, Mara and Gus have a terrific dynamic. They have an awesome friendship and I really wish there were more of that and less of the underlying drama.
The main plot with the doom and gloom could have more show and less tell. I found myself really wanting to know more of the build and ebb o I was not really sure what to expect for this book. I found myself really wanting to know more of the build and ebb of the curse. There is a slight romance, but really not in depth courting and certainly not a HEA.
The steamy scenes are mostly closed door, you have hints of detail but never any of the good naughty bits. It is all from Mara's POV, which limits things. The glimpses into peoples thoughts and dreams helps, but I would have liked a little more perspective from the supporting cast. I loved the banter throughout and found myself wishing for more dialogue.
I am definitely interested in more from this author and would love to see this book have a sequel. There is so much more story left to tell. I loved the tarot reading and the witchy festivals, would love more of that. I listened to the audiobook narrated by the delightful Marie Rose. I love her voice, she has a great little raspy that sells the snark. Her pace is perfect and she has terrific energy in the read. I also have to give kudos on the accents, just the right touch, not to heavy at all.
Very smooth transitions from Mara to Lissette.
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Definitely a narrator I will look for again. Overall, I really enjoyed the book, even though it was not what I expected. I went into it thinking it was a paranormal romance or a cozy mystery, it is neither of those things, but still a great read. Disclosure - I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts, ratings and opinions are my own. This is such a great fun read. It has a little of it all. It has magic and mystery. A little bit of dark magic, a little bit of light magic.
Big city, small town. Witty best friend, death and destruction. Love interests and did I mention magical toads? But when Mara moves into her inherited home, she discovers Aunt Tillie never moved out. She's still one pissed-off old lady, even postmortem, and she blames Mara's magical meddling for her death. When Mara accidentally releases a demon and awakens the spirit of the most powerful witch in history, Tillie's ready to kill her - literally.
It's the only way she can think of to save the girl from herself. The witch and the demon, however, have other plans for Mara's body! I truly enjoyed this book! Narrated beautifully by Marie Rose ,this is the story of Maura who is tossed out of her apartment and is trying to live in Aunt Tillies old house.
Maura is a witch with a curse on her and what can go wrong usually does for her. Tillie is a ghost with an agenda. A fun,funny romp through the world of witchcraft! I really enjoy audiobooks so Im biased yes, but the narration brings new life to an old format. What did you like best about this story? How does this one compare?
This was a different kind of read for me. I totally enjoyed the twists and turns along with the laughs and smiles. There were a few areas that just about broke my heart but most were a total delight. You along with Mara will have to work out what it right, wrong and happening. When playing with magic one must be careful things maybe be given in a way that you do not want.
There is always a price to pay for any wish that comes true. Poor Mara has lost just about everything her job, her apartment and now her aunt that she has never known. Once she moves into her aunts home everything is off balance and nothing is as it seems. She has weird dreams that could be the death of her. There is evil around and she has to work it out before she ends up dead. Spirits are all-round some good some bad. Rose as narrator was a delight with her many different character voices. You have no trouble knowing who is talking or what they are feeling.
She gives the right tone to each emotion if the character laughs so does she which made it a wonderful listen you could really get into. I love the evil witch laugh which had me looking around. As I shopped I would laugh or chuckle everyone around me looked at me funny.
There are no background noises or any place where the volume changes if a break was taken you cannot tell. Here male and female voices were a delight to listen to. She has a very smooth voice you have no trouble listening to for hours. I am looking forward to listening to more audios by her. I loved Gus he was so funny making me laughs with his sarcastic way he really made the story so much fun.
I really enjoyed the other characters each brings so much to the story. Aunt Tillie is a trip that you can never really get a handle on. I even enjoyed the evil ones. I adore the house and all it brings to the story. If you are looking for a book that has a little of everything you have found it. This is filled with magic, mystery, mayhem and tons of humor. It really was a very fun humorous listen that I totally enjoyed. The ending was great and could be the end but I do believe this is a series. It can be read as a standalone with an ending that leaves you wondering a few things but a good ending.
Christiana Miller Narrated by: Marie Rose This is a great book about spirits, mostly evil, trying to come back using a human body. Other spirits help or don't care. Our witch goes through a lot but she has her best friend who is a witch too she can call on if necessary. Good fantasy, characters, plot and ends with a shock and it is a good ending. Enjoyed this odd witch story, odd in a good way! The narrator was awesome! Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend?
Fun, quirky chick lot with a good reader. Easy to become absorbed in the story. It was just fun and light. Love the relationship between Mara and Gus. Which character — as performed by Marie Rose — was your favorite? If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be? Great film to lose yourself in. Liked the story and the light, witty banter between Mara and Gus.
It got kinda creepy although it ended ok. The narrator was great. She didn't just read or even overact. Her funny best friend Gus tries to help, but it isn't until she gets paperwork telling her that she has inherited a cottage in northern Wisconsin that she has hope.
But things just get more scary and more complicated. There is scary stuff without horror, characters that certainly are, excellent imagery, and fun. Marie Rose seems perfect as Mara, perky and able to project the feelings of the moment.
This was a 'chance' I took reading an author I hadn't read before , based upon the premise I was very happily surprised! I'll gladly add the rest of this author's titles - past and future- to my collection! I love the story, being mystical and special without being boring. I am now looking for book 2! It is definitely chick lit with ghosts and witches. It is a lot more fun than many of the books in the 'light reading' category. The characters and story are well written.
Who was your favorite character and why? Mara because she is a complete person with or without a man. When she does get help it doesn't feel as though she had to be rescued. Which scene was your favorite? Fortunetelling for the spoiled rich in L. Or anything with that crazy landlady. Gus steals the scenes he is in, but I think if he had gone head to head with the crazy landlady it might have been a toss up. I'll check out the next book in the series. I thought it was a very complementary mix of author and narrator - which is essential in such a light, characterful tale with lots of witty asides and so on.
Although the story was substantial, it was the dialogue that I felt was the shining part. It was that interplay, and the range of interesting characters behind it that really kept me engaged and listening. I very much enjoyed the character of Gus in particular, although all of them were well-written.