Eastside Witch Hunt

Midlife Supernaturals, Book 2

By: T.J. Deschamps

Narrated by: Cassandra Medcalf

Length: 7 hrs and 38 mins

Publisher's summary

If you like witches, hidden truths, a tight-knit community of misfits, and standing up to bullies, this might be the supernatural tale for you.

Miriam Diaz has lived as a typical mundane on Seattle's Eastside for the past 17 years. She serves on the parent teacher association, bakes for her daughter's cheer squad, and is an all-around champion stay-at-home mom. Pretty average and totally boring. Miriam likes it that way. All the better to keep her secrets.

When a hellhound shows up on her morning run, her carefully crafted façade of normalcy comes crashing down. She has no choice but to banish the stinky mutt, revealing she's a powerful witch.

But wait, there's more....

Not only does Miriam face heat from below, a wolf comes sniffing around her spellwork. When he shifts into human form, he's none other than her late husband's best friend, Gabriel. He's also the archangel she's been trying to avoid.

Things heat up even more....

Soon, Miriam discovers she's not the only one keeping secrets in her sleepy suburban community. Will she run to escape facing her past or accept help from Gabriel and the supernatural community to face it?

©2022 Tammy Deschamps (P)2022 Tammy Deschamps

Fun PWF with complex relationships

This is the second book in T.J. Deschamps’s Midlife Supernaturals series of paranormal women’s fiction. The series is best enjoyed in order, but I dove straight into Book 2 and it was understandable and enjoyable on its own.

I liked the diversity of characters and the complex relationships. I thought it was a fun twist that our main character, Miriam, is going through a second puberty and developing new fae characteristics. I love her relationship with her childhood friend Phyr, and the way the love triangle with angel/werewolf alpha Gabriel was handled. I also enjoyed the author’s unusual take on Baba Yaga. I had some trouble suspending disbelief at times because a lot of crazy things happen in this story, but it’s a fun ride and it kept me guessing.

The works well as an audiobook. Angela Ohlfest did a fine job with narration. I noticed a few words mispronounced, but her performance was well paced and easy to understand, expressing appropriate mood and emotions, and her voices suited the characters.

I received a free copy of this audiobook from the author and volunteered to provide an honest review. If you like paranormal women’s fiction, give this a try.

Second installment

Great character development. Loved the second installment can’t wait for the third. Would recommend to everyone

Lacks enthusiasm and is a forgettable.

Don't listen to this while driving, you may fall asleep at the wheel!

The concepts of the book are interesting. The delivery of the storyline needs work, first person isn't easy to get your mind into. The limited perspectives within the character's single view point deters from the ability to relate to the plot. I would have enjoyed this more if this were third person and I could see into the heads of the other characters.

The audio delivery was lacking, and the reason I don't think I could ever dig into this story even with the written version. The TTS built in to my device could have engrossed me more. The character voices were minimal and with the exception of 1 voice undistinguishable from each other. That 1 character voice was not sustained through the book either, it appeared in 1 chapter and then drifted to the bland narration in the preceding chapters. The read felt flat even when the dynamics of the scene called for drama and intrigue. The voice was musical and would put me to sleep long before I finished the book. I actually had to switch books because I couldn't get past chapter 7 without falling asleep. I think if this was preformed by a different narrator I may have finished listening. As it is, I'll use it as a sleepy time story since I paid for it.