It is four and a half stars.
This is the second book by this author in Nocturne Falls. It follows The Fortuneteller's Folly, which I did not enjoy it that much. However, this book was quite the opposite, it was really nice. The main characters from the previous book do not appear in this one, and that was nice as well.
The story revolves around Mallory, the Tarot card reader, her sister Jordan, who understands animals and Cyrus, a genie from a magic lamp. That said, there is no love triangle or anything like that, but Jordan is featured so prominently that she surpassed a label of a side character.
There are several facets to the story. The main story is between Mallory and Cyrus, and it is a nice story, but it would be better if Cyrus managed to tamper down his need to express his desire for Mallory. This is actually the only criticism I have of this novel. There is a story following Mallory and Jordan's relationship, which has been quite rocky and the author managed to portray a complex relationship between siblings in a very realistic and human way. Then there is life Jordan left behind, a life consisting of her compassionate relationship with animals, one in particular, and a life that also contained a villain. I have to say, the villain in this story is so evil, probably one of the most evil villain in all Nocturne Falls.
Overall, the author did a great job telling this story, events flow seamlessly, the characters are likable, and the villain you just have to hate. I enjoyed it very much.
Both stories are also available as one book Magic, Manicures, and Mayhem: A Nocturne Falls Universe Collection. Nocturne Falls universe contains 25 books at the moment. Original Nocturne Falls series contains eight books and four short stories, as well as four books of the Jayne Frost spin off series. All of the series are great entertaining light read and I highly recommend them.