Hex on the Beach

The Magic & Mixology Mystery Series, Book 1

By: Gina LaManna

Narrated by: Wendy Tremont King

Length: 7 hrs and 57 mins

Publisher's summary

Welcome to The Isle.

Lily Locke has never believed in witches and wizards, ghosts and magic, shifters and vampires - especially cute blonde vamps with blood-intolerance issues. A rising star at a hotshot marketing agency in Minneapolis, Minnesota, all Lily knows is that she's a PowerPoint guru, an Excel ninja, and a coffee-maker extraordinaire. Not to mention she's next in line for a huge promotion.

All that changes when Lily's assistant delivers a strange quiz to her, one titled A Magical Assessment for Normal Folks. With it comes the promise of a land she's never known existed. A land where Lily not only discovers her biological family for the first time, but a place where she can make a difference, change lives, and step into the role she's destined to fulfill.

But first, Lily must admit she's a witch. Then, she has to acknowledge that the tall, dark, and mysterious man who offers his help is strictly focused on business...at least, for now. When a body turns up dead and the next target is Lily, she must trust her powers and accept the help of her newfound friends. Otherwise, she'll never survive the trials of the magical island tucked far, far away in the frigid waters of Lake Superior.

©2016 Gina LaManna (P)2016 Gina LaManna

Watered Down Stephanie Plum Plot

This reads like a preteen fantasy mystery. All of the adult women in this book behave like giddy school girls, hyper focused on the protagonist's love interest aptly named Ranger X.
None of the interesting mysteries or questions get answered in this volume

PROMISING START TO A FUN NEW SERIES!!!!

What made the experience of listening to Hex on the Beach the most enjoyable?

It was a cute book, and very well narrated!!

What other book might you compare Hex on the Beach to and why?

Its a witchy cozy mystery..I am sure there is some more...this one is super cute though!!

What does Wendy Tremont King bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Wendy was perfect....very nice to listen to...BRAVO WENDY!!!

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

This would be a cute movie!!

Any additional comments?

** I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review **

Lily is in marketing...and is happy with her normal life for the most part...she gets this strange quiz which she thinks is a joke form her assistant..it says if you can read the quiz you may be a witch...and all others will see David Hasselhoff in a bikini...lol Of course she thinks its a joke! Well her day gets really weird...her presentation goes crazy and she ends up fired...she goes to a bar where her friend bar tends..and meets her kooky aunts...she is hesitant to go with them but they talk her into going to the Isle...a place where her family has lived forever...She is to be the next mixologist...but someone has other ideas and things get deadly!!

GOOD STORY AND GREAT NARRATION! WELL WORTH YOUR TIME AND A CREDIT!!!

LOVED It!

Any additional comments?

This is a great book; this is the first book in the Magic & Mixology Mystery series written by Gina LaManna and narrated by Wendy Tremont King. Lily Locke has never believed in witches, wizards, ghosts, shifters, vampires, and magic. When Lily’s assistant gives her a strange quiz titled A Magical Assessment for Normal Folks and ends up passing it. The next thing she knows her aunts track her down and takes her to “The Isle” an island which has plenty of supernatural beings. She also discovers that she is a witch and is the new mixologist. This book has a wonderful story and well developed characters. This book will keep you reading long into the night. This was such a great read and full of surprises.

The narrator Wendy Tremont King did a wonderful job with this book. She did a great job with the different voices of each character in this book. It was very easy to listen to in one sitting and I didn’t want to stop listening until the end.

If you are looking for a great book with well-developed characters then you need to listen to this book. I am looking forward to listening to the next book by this author and narrator.

Series gets better

Struggled with this one a bit as I just wanted Lily to ask some questions! Ugh. Drove me crazy. But if you can get past that in the first book I think the series gets much better. I just finished book 4 and am very much looking forward to book 5.

Lots of fun but mostly fluff.

This book was just what I needed after 3 long serious fantasy novels and I appreciated that. It's a whole lot more Stephanie Plum than it is Harry Potter. In fact, it's quite derivative, right down to the recently down on her luck main character, wacky grandma and strong silent bad ass guy named Ranger X. That said, it was fun and light and I will get the sequel for sure. The narrator is pretty good but overdoes the character impressions a lot. All in all, it's worth a listen, it's short so you aren't investing a huge amount of time.

should be marketed as young adult

I struggled to finish this, it had potential but was cringy... definitely should be marketed as a young adult or teen book.

Lackluster

I really wanted to love this story and perhaps I had too much hope and that’s why I felt let down. In the reviews I read the storyline and main character had been compared to the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich. I thought those books were hysterical so I was excited about finding a similar series. This was flat, nothing really wrong so much as there was nothing compelling and engaging about the story or main character. I felt the entire plot dragged and I kept waiting for something funny or suspenseful to happen but even the parts that were seemingly aimed in that direction missed the mark.

Disappointed

After reading other books by Gina-LaManna I was looking forward to this book. I’m not sure if it was the narrator or the story but I couldn’t tell if Lily was 12 or 27. What I mean is 1 min she is grown & mature the next she was acting or being treated like she was 12. I will continue to the next book hoping for more.

Incredibly dumb

This was so bad I couldn't force myself more than halfway through...
What was wrong?
-leaps of logic that made no sense
-characters making incredibly stupid choices that no thinking adult would make
-adults behaving like juveniles
-a story line and world building that were so full of holes that the whole thing didn't have any coherence
-plot lines that didn't appear to further the story, they were thrown in like random thoughts
This is being returned. I don't plan on reading anything else by this author.

Gina wins again!

witches, magic, humor, suspense, murder

Another great fun book from Gina LaManna! I saw it and had to have it. Quite different in theme from the others except the humor is right there. Witches and magic sort of on Lake Superior's north shore, or something. Complete with a new found family of oddballs, a curmudgeonly instructor, a hot protector known only as Ranger X, and a whole lot more. Loved it!
The audio performance is by Wendy Tremont King who really nails it!
Alerted to it as Whispersync on the cheap by BookGorilla.