I received this book for free from in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
"The Witch's Halloween Hero"
by
Kristen Painter
fantasy, magical realism in a Kindle edition that was published by Sugar Skull Books on January 20, 2016 and has 45 pages.
Explore it on Goodreads or Amazon, Audibles.
Other books by this author which I have reviewed include Blood Rights, Flesh and Blood, Bad Blood, Out for Blood, Last Blood, House of the Rising Sun, City of Eternal Night, Garden of Dreams and Desires, Miss Frost Solves a Cold Case, All Fired Up, "Prologue to The Vampire's Mail Order Bride", The Vampire's Mail Order Bride, The Werewolf Meets His Match, The Gargoyle Gets His Girl, The Professor Woos the Witch, The Vampire's Fake Fiancée, The Shifter Romances the Writer, The Dragon Finds Forever, The Vampire's Accidental Wife, The Reaper Rescues the Genie, The Detective Wins The Witch, The Vampire's Priceless Treasure, The Werewolf Dates the Deputy, "When Birdie Babysat Spider", Miss Frost Ices the Imp, Miss Frost Saves the Sandman, Miss Frost Cracks a Caper, Miss Frost Braves the Blizzard, "The Werewolf's Christmas Wish", The Vampire's Cursed Kiss, Her First Taste of Fire, The Trouble With Witches, Moody and the Beast, The Vampire's Sunny Sweetheart, Miss Frost Chills the Cheater, Lost in Las Vegas, Wrapped Up in Christmas, Mystified in Music City, Sucks To Be Me, A Sky Full of Stars, Suck It Up Buttercup, The Forgettable Miss French, Sucker Punch, The Suck Stops Here, Nixed in New Orleans, Miss Frost Says I Do and Spider Too, The Witch's Christmas Catastrophe
A short story, 4.5 in the Nocturne Falls magical realism fantasy series, revolving around a caring, supportive town of supernaturals. The couple focus is on the hopeful Stanhill and the forgetful Corette Williams.
My Take
Oh, wow. Painter kicked me in the head within a few paragraphs. All that optimism, and then that wayward spell . . . with a deadline. A short one!
Stanhill is so sweet and so honest. An easy judgment when Painter uses third person dual protagonist point-of-view from Stanhill’s and Corette’s perspectives.
Ooh, it’s Corette who proposes the idea of a wedding chapel, setting us up for a future romance…ooh là là.
It’s a nice blend of character and action with Painter revealing the supportiveness and caring of Nocturne Falls in a short form. Although I do wish Corette hadn’t put it together so quickly.
The Story
It’s the night of the Black and Orange Ball, the biggest social event in Nocturne Falls, and Stanhill intends to propose.
Except Corette doesn’t remember who he is and magic will erase him from her mind forever at midnight.
The Characters
Bartholomew Stanhill is Hugh’s rook (and his former valet) AND in love with Corette.
Corette Williams is a witch (and coven secretary) who runs a bridal shop, Ever After. She has three daughters, who are also witches. Pandora Williams, the middle daughter, is a real estate agent who hooked up with Professor Cole Van Zant and his daughter, Kaley in The Professor Woos the Witch, 4. Marigold, a green witch who runs a florist shop, Enchanted Garden, has a precocious daughter, Saffie, who’s in love with young Charlie Merrow. Charisma is a life coach. Their dad was a cheater.
Nocturne Falls is . . .
. . . a small town that celebrates Halloween every day of the year, the better for its supernatural citizens to blend in. The Ellinghams, a vampire family, owns most of the town. Elenora is the vampire grandmother. The intimidating and secretive Alice Bishop is a powerful witch and Elenora’s secretary. Sebastian Ellingham is in charge of the family’s and town’s finances . . . and, man, is he cheap, lol. Hugh Ellingham is the matriarch’s second oldest grandson, and he’s blissfully married to Delaney (The Vampire’s Mail Order Bride, 1). The youngest, Julian, is the family playboy.
Bridget Merrow, a werewolf and the sheriff’s sister, owns Howler’s Bar and Grill, a dive bar. Sam Kincaid is Ivy’s brother and the sheriff’s brother-in-law. He has a secret crush on Bridget. Sheriff Hank Merrow is a werewolf married to Ivy Kincaid (The Werewolf Meets His Match, 2). Charlie is their young son. Birdie Caruthers, a werewolf and the sheriff’s aunt, is the police receptionist.
Missy Tressler hired the Williams witches to help her forget. Oops.
The Cover and Title
The cover is appropriately orange for a Halloween book with its orange walls and signature jack-o-lantern all lit up. There’s a garland of black and orange pennants with flying bats strung along the very top and a black spider dangling down on the right. In front of the wall is a pair of black wrought iron staircases descending from the left and right to a single flight of curved stairs with a centered yellow rug. In a slinky, sparkling black evening gown, the red-haired Corette strikes a cocky pose while Stanhill stands slightly behind her on the first step. A goodlooking guy, he’s striking in a tux. In front of him is the jack-o-lantern stuck to the black metal upright of a sign from which dangles a round wooden board providing us the series info in a pale yellow. The rest of the text is white. The title is centered at the top in a thick black outline. The author’s name crosses Corette’s ankles against a black background. An info blurb is immediately below it.
The title is all about Stanhill and if he can be “The Witch’s Halloween Hero”.
