Silver Spells

A Paranormal Women's Fiction Novel (Midlife Elementals, Book 1)

By: Kate Moseman

Narrated by: Xe Sands

Length: 6 hrs and 12 mins

Publisher's summary

A paranormal women’s fiction (PWF) that’ll have you walking on air!

Luella Campbell is having the weirdest day ever. Getting fired from her job at the sunscreen factory for no good reason is bad enough, but when a mysterious dog brings a tempest into her former workplace, Luella’s life is completely upended by the sudden gift of wild and windy magical powers.

With the help of her ride-or-die best friends, her motorcycle-riding mother, and a romantic blast from the past, Luella must find a way to make ends meet while unlocking the mysteries of her newfound magic...and the secrets hidden in the picturesque town of Sparkle Beach.

Sometimes, an empty nest means it’s your turn to fly.

©2021 Kate Moseman (P)2021 Kate Moseman

Loved

Can’t wait for next book. Light hearted With a little of Romance if the other books are as good

Surprisingly good!

This is not profoundly deep literature; it it’s a fun, light read with a solid story line. I love finding discounted first of a series books which allow me to “try on” the authors. With this series, I’ll buy more!

Fabulous Story & Narration! A Magical Delight!

This book is an enjoyable delight, I am new to Kate Moseman’s work, I enjoyed her writing style and characters and storylines she created, they are interesting and imaginative. The story grabbed my attention right from the start, it is the type of book you do not want to out down because you want to know what happens next. It is the first book of the series so it also lays out the foundation for the rest of the series. The characters are likable and easy to relate to and connect with, Luella Campbell, was an ordinary woman working an office job as a media specialist one minute then an unemployed woman the next with strange things happening all around her. Turns out she is not alone, the same thing is happening to her two friends. I loved the premise of this book, not your average midlife crisis here, just three women coming into their own, that is their own magical powers. I loved how everything played out in this book, the story is cleverly plotted with plenty of drama, some wonderful humor, twists and turns, heartfelt emotions and some romance. Kate Moseman, thank you for this enjoyable and entertaining story, I am looking forward to what comes next as you continue to build up this magical world with these fabulous characters.

🎧📚🎧 And for the wonderful narration, Xe Sands is a talented narrator and versatile voice artist. She brings these characters to life, giving each their own distinct voice making it easy to follow along and tell who is who. Her portrayal of each character is spot on, she grasps each character’s persona and plays the role with perfection, sounding believable and just as I picture them to sound. She sets the perfect tone for the story, captures all the character’s emotions and projects them into her performance. She is an entertaining storyteller and a pleasure to listen to. Thank you for the fabulous listen🎧

No story, bland narration.

This novel spends too much time on building the base for a series(?), and not enough on an actual plot. (What plot?) Although a fan of PWF, I found this book lacked action and the writing and narration too flat to keep the premise interesting. Everything that happens is presented as ordinary, and thus bland. For example, during the first day, several fantastic/paranormal events take place in the heroine’s life and the author doesn’t have the characters express any reactions. This continues throughout most of the book. Little anger/happiness/excitement etc. is expressed. The characters themselves are monotone, and thus the story.
Xe Sands narration does not help to make this story better. Though a pleasant voice, Ms. Sands intonation is too soft and flat for the majority of the fantastical events. Her voice could have made the book a little more lively, but that was a fail, too. Ms. Sands added no additional excitement to her voice even when extremely non-normal things happened: the heroine gets wings (wings!) and neither the writing or narration made it seem like more than getting a new nail color.
I won’t be buying the next book, if there is one.

Love this Author Humor

I really enjoyed this book it was a funny read with lots of Twist And turns.

Promising

This series has promise, especially if the remainder is voiced by the incredible Xe Sands who, as always, did an excellent job.

I liked what we knew of the characters, but the story itself was too low stakes for a proper mystery, in my opinion. I wasn't sold on the motivations of the antagonist (no spoilers) and wasn't really worried about the danger posed by them.
When Luella lost her job, why was there no mention of unemployment benefits? There was one mention, long after the firing, a brief passage saying the benefits would not be enough to cover much, but it was bothering me that it was just an overlooked detail that anyone fired without cause would have jumped on.

That all said, I am interested in how this story develops. Sparkle Beach sounds like a fun place to visit, and I want to learn more about how Rose, Pepper and Rafael develop.

I received a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Cute story!

I liked this story. It did take a minute to catch my interest but over all it was well done. I look forward to more from this author.

Fun and Uplifting

A tale of best friends, family secrets, and mysterious sudden onset magic. This a fun story and very well narrated. I really enjoyed the mystery aspect of it and taking the journey with these women as they discover new powers on some rather inconvenient ways, and the romance in it is slow and sweet. It’s a well rounded story that will leave you with no good vibes.

Crisis, Romance, and Magic at Midlife

Midlife just got magical and weird for an empty-nester divorcee who just lost her job and boyfriend, but discovered a new affinity for animals no one else could see. Paranormal women’s fiction is a fairly new to me genre mash up that I am coming to really enjoy so I was tickled to try a new to me author and series narrated by a stellar storyteller.

Luella has been working at the same company since high school and anticipated working there until retirement when she suddenly and inexplicably was let go from the marketing staff. Divorced for many years and with a daughter away at college, Luella has to find a new job and soon. Meanwhile, a bizarre change of circumstances has the rest of her attention. The sight of a silvery ghost-like dog in the office and a rush of wind that only she and her best friends can see is the beginning of a mysterious magic she seems to possess. As other animals appear under odd circumstances and gifts as well, she knows she needs to figure out what is going on quickly. But, where to start? Her quest involves her two besties, an old high school crush and her quirky biker mama.

Silver Spells was an engaging introduction to a new series and I enjoyed meeting Luella and her friends. I found the inclusion of her ex who is not the cliché, a daughter with food health issues, her full figure just being her and nothing to dent her confidence, good times with her gal pals, flirty meet cute with Raphael, and her very mature approach to life a refreshing set of circumstances that added up to a right cozy situation.

Silver Spells is definitely on the easy going side and doesn’t introduce more to the plot than getting to know the setting, characters, and Luella’s new circumstances. Perhaps it gets more intense as the series progresses or maybe it stays gentle like a cozy mystery. Either way, I liked what I got and would definitely keep going with more of the series.

Xe Sands is a narrator that I’m long familiar with and I was able to settle into her narration work with no effort. I thought she matched up with the style of the writing and tone of the book and she had the character voices down pat. I hope she has the narration of the whole series. She made this high quality production even better.

All in all, this first in series is off to a satisfying start and I was well entertained. I can recommend it to those who enjoy stories focused on fun female friendships, a paranormal element, a bit of mystery and pinch of romance sprinkled in for good measure.

Great Listen!

This book was a super fun book to listen to. I loved the narrator. She did such an amazing job with all of the voices and emotions. I loved the main character's side-kick friends. They were so supportive and sweet. Her magic powers are a mystery that I couldn't wait to solve. It was just fun. It was a short listen. I really wanted it to be longer because I was enjoying it so much. If you like mystery and magic, and you're ready to hear books about middle-aged women that still know how to have fun, then this is the book for you. I absolutely loved that they were in their forties and they weren't stick thin, and hot guys still found them hot. It was very refreshing!