The Enchanted Antique Shop

Enchanted Antique Shop #2

by Cielle Kenner

A haunted mansion, a priceless painting, and a spirited sleuth. It’s just another magic Monday in Enchanted Springs.

Welcome to Enchanted Springs, where magic is real, ghosts are friendly, and time is anything but linear.

Marley Montgomery is the newest proprietor of the Enchanted Antique Shop. She’s also the latest in a line of time-traveling witches, a talent that caught her completely by surprise.

Upended by her unexpected abilities, she's come back to her charming hometown—a perfectly normal paranormal community. Nestled within its borders, witches cast spells, spirited ghosts share stories from the Great Beyond, and vampire detectives take a bite out of crime.

When an art heist leads to murder, Marley is plunged headfirst into a mystery that threatens to turn her new life upside down. And when a legendary ghost asks for help, she must untangle a web of family secrets, hidden motives, and haunted history to catch a killer and recover a missing masterpiece.

Also available in large print.

Genres: Mystery, Paranormal, Time Travel, Cozy Mystery, Amazon, Fiction, Cozy

209 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 1, 2023

About the author

Join me in Enchanted Springs, where ghosts are friendly, magic is real, and time is anything but linear. You can find me online and across social media @ciellekenner.

Reviews

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Witches, time travel, ghosts and murder populate this entertaining paranormal mystery. Marley Montgomery, the new proprietor of the Enchanted Antique Shop in Enchanted Springs, Florida, discovers there’s more than meets the eye in this unique town. Formerly a photographer in Miami, she suddenly started seeing ghosts and glimpses of living history. Now she learns her shop harbors a time travel portal. The town is famous for the Stevens Mansion, previously owned by wealthy hat maker Theodore Stevens. Marley attends a party there to view a valuable painting of its former owner until a woman is found dead and the picture goes missing. As Marley investigates, she gets entangled in fraud, family secrets, and otherworldly spirits who either help or hinder her. You’re in for a wild ride with this magical mystery!

[Jason Pettus · Rating 4 out of 5]

2024 reads, #31. I picked up this book in my ongoing attempts to read widely and deeply within the world of quickie genre novels published through Kindle Unlimited, in order to stay on top of the latest trends so to better help my freelance clients who publish under the same circumstances, in this case a paranormal cozy mystery novel instead of the romance titles that usually make up my KU bread and butter. As far as that’s concerned, this is a perfectly fine one; but brother, author Cielle Kenner leans hard and heavy on the “cozy” part of “cozy mystery” here, the kind of book where someone doesn’t just run a cupcake store but literally the greatest cupcake store in all of human history, and where someone doesn’t just own a B&B but literally the most delightful B&B that’s ever existed, and the villains are not just normal baddies but literally the most cartoonishly evil, mustache-twirling animals you’ll ever meet in your life. This particular style of Mary-Sueism (i.e. Mary Sue as an entire geographical location, not just one person) runs rampant in the cozy mystery genre, I’m coming to realize as I read more and more of these kinds of books, where the small town that makes it “cozy” is not just any ol’ regular small town but the Platonian ur-example of the ultimate most absolute perfect small town that has ever existed on planet Earth and that ever will exist until the end of time. That’s just fine as far as meeting the expectations of what many fans of this genre are looking for, which is why for this book I would normally give 3 and a half stars to, I’m rounding up instead to 4 stars; but it’s nonetheless going to grate on the nerves of those who prefer a more realistic and natural tone to their small-town mystery stories, which is why I can’t in good conscience give it any higher of a score than this. If the idea of ghost kittens delights you, by all means pick this up; but if you’re already finding that concept alone to be too treacly for your tastes, then you should probably skip this book altogether, because it starts with ghost kittens in Chapter 1 and just gets more and more sugary sweet the farther it goes.

[Pam · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was an interesting book with an enchanted room that was essentially a portal to time travel. Unfortunately, it was spoiled for me by the main female character who insisted on doing a murder investigation on her own. She was endangering herself and others but also compromising the future by going back in time and changing was has already happened. I stopped reading at 50%

Amazon synopsis:
Marley Montgomery is the newest proprietor of the Enchanted Antique Shop. She’s also the latest in a line of time-traveling witches, a talent that caught her completely by surprise.

Upended by her unexpected abilities, she's come back to her charming hometown—a perfectly normal paranormal community. Nestled within its borders, witches cast spells, spirited ghosts share stories from the Great Beyond, and vampire detectives take a bite out of crime.

When an art heist leads to murder, Marley is plunged headfirst into a mystery that threatens to turn her new life upside down. And when a legendary ghost asks for help, she must untangle a web of family secrets, hidden motives, and haunted history to catch a killer and recover a missing masterpiece.

[Michael Reilly · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a Magical Mystery!

Join Marley, the owner of the Enchanted Antique Shop and also a real witch who loves the town of Enchanted Springs. You’ll also meet a number of people who make up Enchanted Springs, some real good people and like everywhere else some maybe not so good. There is a place called the Stephen’s Mansion which as we start our story is where there will be an unveiling of a portrait of Theodore Stephen’s who was the original creator and owner of the mansion. During this night there will be things set in motion that will change people’s lives and be the beginning of our mystery. I recommend you find this 2nd book and the 1st book in this series, if you’re any lover of mysteries you won’t want to miss them.

[Jaimie Engle · Rating 5 out of 5]

What I loved about this book was the author’s weaving of history, fashion, architecture, and cozy mystery with witches, ghosts, and time-travel. The quirky characters and fun story threads set this book apart. Unique and well-written. I loved how the main character described the world around her. Her appreciation of beauty in all areas and the way the author described the scenes, settings, wardrobe, and food, were morsels in my mind. This was my first book by this author, and I am excited to read many more. If you like cozy mysteries, but, like me, love speculative fiction, then this is the perfect mashup for you!

[Larry · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the second book in the series, and the main characters are becoming more beloved to me. The characters are fascinating, full of life, and the sense of belonging and loyalty to each other is quite heartening. The plot is straightforward and easily followed, and the premise is finding out who killed the assistant of the rude couple who owns the Stevens Mansion. I highly recommend this book and the author's use of portrait renditions of the main characters. The artist of those renditions is remarkable skilled.

[JoAn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A painting of a town patriarch, Thomas Stevens, disappears after the gala presentation in the Stevens mansion. Marley and Sadie are soon pulled into the mystery. Marley has the spirit of Thomas Stevens to help guide her and detective Jack Edgewood to the body of a murder victim in a hidden room in the mansion. There are so many twists to the story that my attention was completely captured. Murder, theft, long buried secrets, and family discord that has simmered throughout the decades kept me turning the pages.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

A perfectly delightful cozy mystery where Marley, owner of the Enchanted Antique Shop, helps solve the mystery of a stolen painting and the suspicious owners of a legacy family's mansion. Marley's connection with the spirit realm gives her insights and support as she helps the investigation, and it's all complemented by her store's secret time travelling room.

[Lauren Heiy · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Enchanted Antique Shop

What a clever mystery. The town is magical, there are witches, ghost and a mansion. What begins as a trip in history has a .murder, theft, and secrets revealed. Surprise ending.

[Tonya Cheton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed that Marley and her spirit friend are trying to catch a thief. Doesn’t mention a lot about twilia. It’s the wards kinda got me to thinking of who has the portraits. Time travel surely has its disadvantages. Didn’t do anything for me, as in who could be the suspect.

[Karin Tillotson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Who stole the painting??? They are really nasty, aren't they??? I enjoyed this story and recommended the book.

[Beth Helm · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love it

I loved this book. This book was even better than book 1 if you can believe that one. I see great things for this town and series.

[C.A. Phipps · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable Paranormal Cozy Mystery.

Marley has her work cut out for her. Wrangling ghosts is hard but they come in handy for solving crimes. I loved the little taste of time travel.

[Diane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome read!

I loved the book. It kept me wondering what was going to happen next. I can't wait to read of the author's books.

[Nelly Copland · Rating 2 out of 5]

Deeply disappointing even for a palette cleanser of a book

[Lori · Rating 3 out of 5]

An enchanting whodunnit in this cozy paranormal cozy mystery. Kept me on my toes and intrigued throughout.

[Veronica Towey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book.

Fun, fast paced book. Very enjoyable and likeable characters. A surprising twist gave the book more impact. On to book 3