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Bedknobs and Broomsticks #3
Bell, Book and Scandal
Black Magic. Blackmail. Little Black Books. Must a witch break his vows to save his marriage?
Cosmo Saville loves that his husband has finally accepted his witchy ways. And in return, his promise to stay out of police business guarantees them a happily ever after. At least, until he discovers he might be responsible for a dangerous game of blackmail…
Police Commissioner John Joseph Galbraith feels relieved that his marriage is back on track. Especially since he has his hands full with a high-profile suicide and rumors of a city-wide extortion ring. But when he stumbles across Cosmo breaking his vow by playing cop, John agonizes over old wounds.
With the commissioner’s badge and family in jeopardy, Cosmo has no choice but to put his life on the line…
Can the witch expose a dark conspiracy, save John’s career, and return to love’s delicious spell?
Bell, Book and Scandal is the third book in the Bedknobs and Broomsticks romantic gay mystery trilogy. If you like quirky characters, snappy spells, and madcap suspense, then you’ll love Josh Lanyon’s supernatural story.
Cosmo Saville loves that his husband has finally accepted his witchy ways. And in return, his promise to stay out of police business guarantees them a happily ever after. At least, until he discovers he might be responsible for a dangerous game of blackmail…
Police Commissioner John Joseph Galbraith feels relieved that his marriage is back on track. Especially since he has his hands full with a high-profile suicide and rumors of a city-wide extortion ring. But when he stumbles across Cosmo breaking his vow by playing cop, John agonizes over old wounds.
With the commissioner’s badge and family in jeopardy, Cosmo has no choice but to put his life on the line…
Can the witch expose a dark conspiracy, save John’s career, and return to love’s delicious spell?
Bell, Book and Scandal is the third book in the Bedknobs and Broomsticks romantic gay mystery trilogy. If you like quirky characters, snappy spells, and madcap suspense, then you’ll love Josh Lanyon’s supernatural story.
Kindle Edition
First published March 30, 2021
71 people are currently reading
570 people want to read
About the author
Josh Lanyon
223 books5,418 followersAuthor of 100+ titles of Gay Mystery and M/M Romance, Josh Lanyon has built her literary legacy on twisty mystery, kickass adventure, and unapologetic man-on-man romance.
Her work has been translated into twelve languages. The FBI thriller Fair Game was the first Male/Male title to be published by Italy’s Harlequin Mondadori and Stranger on the Shore (Harper Collins Italia) was the first M/M title to be published in print. In 2016 Fatal Shadows placed #5 in Japan’s annual Boy Love novel list (the first and only title by a foreign author to place on the list). The Adrien English series was awarded the All-Time Favorite Couple by the Goodreads M/M Romance Group. In 2019, Fatal Shadows became the first LGBTQ mobile game created by Moments: Choose Your Story.
She’s an EPIC Award winner, a four-time Lambda Literary Award finalist (twice for Gay Mystery), an Edgar nominee, and the first ever recipient of the Goodreads All Time Favorite M/M Author award.
Josh is married and lives in Southern California with her irascible husband, two adorable dogs, a small garden, and an ever-expanding library of vintage mystery destined to eventually crush them all beneath its weight.
Find other Josh Lanyon titles at www.joshlanyon.com
Follow Josh on Twitter, Facebook, and Goodreads.
Her work has been translated into twelve languages. The FBI thriller Fair Game was the first Male/Male title to be published by Italy’s Harlequin Mondadori and Stranger on the Shore (Harper Collins Italia) was the first M/M title to be published in print. In 2016 Fatal Shadows placed #5 in Japan’s annual Boy Love novel list (the first and only title by a foreign author to place on the list). The Adrien English series was awarded the All-Time Favorite Couple by the Goodreads M/M Romance Group. In 2019, Fatal Shadows became the first LGBTQ mobile game created by Moments: Choose Your Story.
She’s an EPIC Award winner, a four-time Lambda Literary Award finalist (twice for Gay Mystery), an Edgar nominee, and the first ever recipient of the Goodreads All Time Favorite M/M Author award.
Josh is married and lives in Southern California with her irascible husband, two adorable dogs, a small garden, and an ever-expanding library of vintage mystery destined to eventually crush them all beneath its weight.
Find other Josh Lanyon titles at www.joshlanyon.com
Follow Josh on Twitter, Facebook, and Goodreads.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 138 reviews
April 4, 2021
2.5 stars
Sadly, I enjoyed this book even less than the previous two.
The mystery. I couldn't get invested in it at all. It felt weak, I didn't care about most of the characters involved and a lot of plot points seemed improbable. Especially how everything was resolved in the end.
Cosmo and John. The good thing is that John finally committed to his relationship with Cosmo and said some nice things. Though coming from a person as rigid as John, they didn't sound as heartwarming as I hoped. The bad thing is that John still doesn't treat Cosmo as his equal and Cosmo was exceptionally reckless in this one and made some really stupid decisions.
I think I should have stopped with book 2, but this was initially supposed to be the last book in the trilogy and I wanted to complete it. Now that I did, it doesn't feel complete because of the very vague ending.
Sadly, I enjoyed this book even less than the previous two.
The mystery. I couldn't get invested in it at all. It felt weak, I didn't care about most of the characters involved and a lot of plot points seemed improbable. Especially how everything was resolved in the end.
Cosmo and John. The good thing is that John finally committed to his relationship with Cosmo and said some nice things. Though coming from a person as rigid as John, they didn't sound as heartwarming as I hoped. The bad thing is that John still doesn't treat Cosmo as his equal and Cosmo was exceptionally reckless in this one and made some really stupid decisions.
I think I should have stopped with book 2, but this was initially supposed to be the last book in the trilogy and I wanted to complete it. Now that I did, it doesn't feel complete because of the very vague ending.
Read
March 26, 2021What do I think, Goodreads? I think I am very happy to be writing again--more importantly, to be enjoying writing again. To be finding satisfaction in writing again. I think I am very happy to have finished this book at long last. I am very happy to be able to deliver what I feel is a good book to readers who have been so kind and so very patient. <3 That's what I think, Goodreads.
May 7, 2021
Come to bed, my wicked witch, and I'll show you how much I love you.We are back with Cosmo and John Galbraith and this time, shit gets real. Well, as real as it can get in a mm mystery with paranormal elements.
I liked this one. I did love that it answers all the questions I had in book 2.
However, the mystery was kind of all over the place and hard to follow. There were times I wondered if I had opened a different book. Because as from book one, we wanted to know who ran over Rex and why. But then suddenly there's an extortion racket that is targeting the elites of the Craft universe that would make Charles Augustus Milverton chortle at the amateurish blackmail display.
I do appreciate how meticulously the mystery is written. However, there was a conspiracy of coincidences that tied things a little too neatly. It got frustrating because I barely had a chance to try and unravel things for myself using Cosmo's clues before someone hands Cosmo the answers we've been looking for.
I also love that you can tell Lanyon was really enjoying herself with this one, I just wish it was more tangible and jumped off page to embrace me. There was also too much going on that got resolved too quickly. This book needed to be longer. So while the mystery was at best tepid, the best thing about this book-- aside from Lanyon's impeccable writing-- is Cosmo fucking Saville.
My god did I love this neurotic little witch and the relationship he had with his beloved police commissioner John Galbraith, his mother, his kinda sort sister-in-law Andi, his sister-in-law Jinx, his apprentice Ambrose etc. Cosmo is snarky, sarcastic, pragmatic and with a nose for amateur sleuthing his spouse would have loved to wring out of him. He's also delightfully self-aware.
It's so annoying when people who disagree with you are right.He was a mean girl and I was here for it.
"Speaking of your mother, I saw Phelon on Tuesday. He was having dinner at Gary Danko's." Phelon Penn is one of Maman's Cavalier King Charles Spaniels. I'm sorry. Did I say that aloud? Phelon Penn is my mother's former companion. Like the other Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, he was the perfect lapdog and cost a fortune in grooming supplies.I absolutely loved how he would fluster John's former lovers, much to John's amusement and embarrassment. When a server learns that John got married,
"Husband?" he repeated. "Gosh. I didn't see that coming."I could read about Cosmo and John forever. They've really come a long way and I love how affectionate John was with Cos. I'm a sucker for mushy men.
"Oh, are you psychic?" I inquired.
John cleared his throat.
"Hm?" Lance spared me another distracted look--he was having trouble tearing his gaze from John.
I opened my mouth, but John spoke over me in that fake-hearty voice, "But come he did!"
I smiled at him. "Many times," I said. "Many, many times."
John turned the color of his beloved Pinot Noir.
"...I guess you just have truly terrible taste in men, ma belle."There's a lot of human interest drama to be mined here like John's Practitioner best friend who decided not to marry a human because of her history. There was also a lot of goings-on with the royalty of the Craft and those political machinations would have been a delight to get into. I did love the French-ness of the whole thing and the ambience that Lanyon always delivers.
I wrinkled my nose at the feminine noun. "You do know belle is for women."
"I guess. It means beautiful, right?"
"Yes."
"Then I think it's the right word."
I don't know whether this is because I've been really loving thicc books lately that I'm asking for more but I do know I want a full course meal accompanied by a buffet of this world. There will be a secondary trilogy with a lot of hints being dropped at a further story and you can bet your children I will be devouring it. I just hope Lanyon makes it really long.
Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.
July 14, 2023
This was too, amazing and and action filled. I love JL writing style, the subtle humour, and the character growing. The relationship part is evolved too, and I enjoyed the change. I’m a bit heartbroken about the next book’s release date- almost 1 year 🥺- but this book has a great ending, all of the open lines are closed in the mystery part, and Cos and John are in a good place too. It was a pretty good feeling to binge read something again 💜
August 13, 2024
2024 ebook
Still loved it and bumping this up to 5 stars. It's really an enjoyable series. Buuuut, what I said about John below...still true. 😉
2021 ebook
A complimentary copy was provided in exchange for an honest review.
Yes, this is a series that is different. It deviates from JLs usual in that the two MCs are not living in blissful harmony. Which of course, her other characters didn't really do either, but they seemed more equal in the relationship, not so with Cos and John. John is very strong minded, firm, unbending, set in his ways, hard, always wants to get what he wants and usually does, almost prejudiced against Cos and what he wants.
It's not easy liking John, as a fellow reader said. He's kind of a jerk and Cos accepts it because he loves John. This time John knows full well who and what Cos is and yet still pushes him to be something he is not, a non-magical person. Cos can't help having magic, and he wants to help John with a case, but nope.
Things go crazy when Cos does anyway, and I won't spill the beans about all that happens. The good news is there are more stories coming in the series!!!!!!
I get to see Cos, hopefully, put John in his place. 😁 I do recommend this, and you have to read these in order. Just because John isn't a super nice guy, and I don't always like him doesn't mean this isn't a good story. I've enjoyed the series more with each book. I can't wait to get the audios!!!
4 stars and I look forward to future re-reads.
Still loved it and bumping this up to 5 stars. It's really an enjoyable series. Buuuut, what I said about John below...still true. 😉
2021 ebook
A complimentary copy was provided in exchange for an honest review.
Yes, this is a series that is different. It deviates from JLs usual in that the two MCs are not living in blissful harmony. Which of course, her other characters didn't really do either, but they seemed more equal in the relationship, not so with Cos and John. John is very strong minded, firm, unbending, set in his ways, hard, always wants to get what he wants and usually does, almost prejudiced against Cos and what he wants.
It's not easy liking John, as a fellow reader said. He's kind of a jerk and Cos accepts it because he loves John. This time John knows full well who and what Cos is and yet still pushes him to be something he is not, a non-magical person. Cos can't help having magic, and he wants to help John with a case, but nope.
Things go crazy when Cos does anyway, and I won't spill the beans about all that happens. The good news is there are more stories coming in the series!!!!!!
I get to see Cos, hopefully, put John in his place. 😁 I do recommend this, and you have to read these in order. Just because John isn't a super nice guy, and I don't always like him doesn't mean this isn't a good story. I've enjoyed the series more with each book. I can't wait to get the audios!!!
4 stars and I look forward to future re-reads.
April 20, 2021
There is something intriguingly indefinable about the relationship between the staid pragmatic police commissioner John Galbraith and the sauve French speaking (witch) Craft royalty, Cosmo Saville.
Meeting up again with Cosmo and John Galbraith is like reconnecting with old friends .... if one were the pragmatic San Francisco police commissioner and the other was involved in unearthing his sister-in-law's blackmailer, saving his Maman from charges of treason from the high council of Societe du Sortilege and (big breath ...) running from a levitating blind GramMa shedding unfocused magic like a telephone transformer about to blow. Whew ...
Again, there is plenty to admire about this series - the universe Lanyon has created with the uneasy coexistence between mortals and member of the Craft, the underlying murder mystery, and the incredible collection of characters, events, and intertwining relationships that make absolute sense when reading the book .... and are about impossible to summarize in a coherent manner.
At the core of the story is the unlikely love story - and sizzling sexual dynamic - between John and Cosmo and finally, after all the struggles through the series, they are on the same page:
Ah, right there. That's why I love this series. After three books, Lanyon continues to dole out tempting tidbits about John's nightmares, about Cosmo's terrifying past-life regressions (?), the struggle between elements in the Craft world and so much more ... and it all fits together into this wonderfully created universe. 4.5 stars.
I received an ARC from the author, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.
Visit my blog, Sinfully Good Gay Book Reviews
Meeting up again with Cosmo and John Galbraith is like reconnecting with old friends .... if one were the pragmatic San Francisco police commissioner and the other was involved in unearthing his sister-in-law's blackmailer, saving his Maman from charges of treason from the high council of Societe du Sortilege and (big breath ...) running from a levitating blind GramMa shedding unfocused magic like a telephone transformer about to blow. Whew ...
Again, there is plenty to admire about this series - the universe Lanyon has created with the uneasy coexistence between mortals and member of the Craft, the underlying murder mystery, and the incredible collection of characters, events, and intertwining relationships that make absolute sense when reading the book .... and are about impossible to summarize in a coherent manner.
At the core of the story is the unlikely love story - and sizzling sexual dynamic - between John and Cosmo and finally, after all the struggles through the series, they are on the same page:
"Hell, yes, it's my job," John said impatiently. "It's my job to protect you. To love, cherish, and protect you. That's what I signed on for."
"But it's my job, too, " I said. "To love, cherish, and protect you. And I hate that I keep doing things that put you in the position of having to go against what you think is right just to keep my secrets safe. You don't even like secrets."
"You think he doesn't have secrets?" Phelon said with sudden poisonous softness.
Ah, right there. That's why I love this series. After three books, Lanyon continues to dole out tempting tidbits about John's nightmares, about Cosmo's terrifying past-life regressions (?), the struggle between elements in the Craft world and so much more ... and it all fits together into this wonderfully created universe. 4.5 stars.
I received an ARC from the author, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.
Visit my blog, Sinfully Good Gay Book Reviews
July 8, 2021
Hardcore Josh Lanyon fans automatically forgave their favorite author for the wait. Life happens to authors (as it does to the rest of us), but Lanyon richly rewarded us in Book 3 of John and Cosmo's frantic life together. Several underlying storylines are tied up, while developments occur that suggest there will be more to John and Cosmo's story. Fingers crossed. Fast-paced read in that wonderful style of writing that is Lanyon's alone. There's a love scene in Chapter 4 that is written so lyrically, almost spiritually that it took my breath away. Left me wishing I could know a love that beautiful. That's always been a huge plus in Lanyon's favor for me. Her sex scenes have never been the crude "how to" instructional mini-manuals found in so many M/M books. Lanyon is a gifted writer.
I hope this book eventually comes out in print. I've got the first two books in paperback for the bookshelf reserved only for Josh Lanyon. The covers on these books are exceptional, btw.
Happy, happy reader here, as I guess you can tell.
I hope this book eventually comes out in print. I've got the first two books in paperback for the bookshelf reserved only for Josh Lanyon. The covers on these books are exceptional, btw.
Happy, happy reader here, as I guess you can tell.
April 3, 2021
Bell, Book and Scandal (Bedknobs and Broomsticks 3)
By Josh Lanyon
JustJoshin Publishing 2021
Five stars
“I opened my arms.”
This, the very last line of the last book in the first arc of this (I guess) multi-series, is not a spoiler. Because it won’t make any sense at all until you get there; and by then there will be nothing much left to spoil. It is also a line that expresses the ultimate emotional point of this three-part series. You’ll see when you get there.
I confess I got confused at the end of this one. But, I re-read the last chapter carefully, and somewhere in there the light came on. This third and final episode of the first trilogy in Josh Lanyon’s “Witches of the Nob Hill” (I made that up) stories is all about opening up.
John Galbraith, the middle-aged, handsome, and somewhat humorless husband to Cosmo Saville, not-quite-thirty and still grappling with his identity as a powerful witch, needs to open up himself. I grew to rather love John in this book, because Cosmo tests him, and John never falters. That’s no spoiler, either, if we’ve learned anything about Commissioner Galbraith in the first two books. He commits. Cosmo just can’t quite believe it yet.
A profound theme in this book is the idea of trust, and its opposite, betrayal. Most of the betrayal is on the side of the Abracadantès, the noble magical (“Craft”) family of which Cosmo is the reluctant scion. The mystery of this narrative lies in the internecine machinations of the French-based dynasty of spellcasters, which become more threatening as the story unfolds. On a more domestic level, Cosmo keeps betraying John’s request that he not use magic or do any sleuthing, because he simply cannot abandon his loyalty to family and the Craft into which he was born.
The references to the 1960s TV series “Bewitched” become overt and at moments comical. At one point, John even refers to Cosmo’s mother—Estelle, Duchess of Abracadantès—as Endora. This is where both the reader and Cosmo come to understand John’s commitment to his marriage, his commitment to Cosmo, in spite of his lingering disbelief of Cosmo’s truth.
So, for all the swirling, and ultimately rather heart-pounding, plotlines, through which Cosmo stumbles, his love of John fighting his love of family, this book is really about John and Cosmo coming to grips with who they really are, in the world and to each other. Both men surprise us, and each other. Although there is a lot of comic silliness in this, it never hits the sitcom level of “Bewitched,” and that’s fully intentional. Lanyon has always embraced her characters’ complexities, and having dipped her toe into the world of paranormal romance, she takes the idea of a magical world and its alliances seriously. She also takes the world of Irish-Catholic gay police commissioners seriously, and thus gives John full attention, forcing the reader (and Cosmo) to value him completely in order to appreciate just how good he is. (Darrin Stevens never got there, nor deserved to, in the TV series.)
I was delighted to realize that this is the end, but the beginning. I want to see more of Cosmo and John, but as a different sort of couple. The plots being hatched in the background of these books have not simply gone away. We have so much to look forward to.
I am still not completely sure I understood the end of the book, but I think I did. On my second reading of that last line, “I opened my arms,” I got tears in my eyes, because it dawned on me what it meant. Be patient. Like John, and Cosmo, you’ll get there, too.
By Josh Lanyon
JustJoshin Publishing 2021
Five stars
“I opened my arms.”
This, the very last line of the last book in the first arc of this (I guess) multi-series, is not a spoiler. Because it won’t make any sense at all until you get there; and by then there will be nothing much left to spoil. It is also a line that expresses the ultimate emotional point of this three-part series. You’ll see when you get there.
I confess I got confused at the end of this one. But, I re-read the last chapter carefully, and somewhere in there the light came on. This third and final episode of the first trilogy in Josh Lanyon’s “Witches of the Nob Hill” (I made that up) stories is all about opening up.
John Galbraith, the middle-aged, handsome, and somewhat humorless husband to Cosmo Saville, not-quite-thirty and still grappling with his identity as a powerful witch, needs to open up himself. I grew to rather love John in this book, because Cosmo tests him, and John never falters. That’s no spoiler, either, if we’ve learned anything about Commissioner Galbraith in the first two books. He commits. Cosmo just can’t quite believe it yet.
A profound theme in this book is the idea of trust, and its opposite, betrayal. Most of the betrayal is on the side of the Abracadantès, the noble magical (“Craft”) family of which Cosmo is the reluctant scion. The mystery of this narrative lies in the internecine machinations of the French-based dynasty of spellcasters, which become more threatening as the story unfolds. On a more domestic level, Cosmo keeps betraying John’s request that he not use magic or do any sleuthing, because he simply cannot abandon his loyalty to family and the Craft into which he was born.
The references to the 1960s TV series “Bewitched” become overt and at moments comical. At one point, John even refers to Cosmo’s mother—Estelle, Duchess of Abracadantès—as Endora. This is where both the reader and Cosmo come to understand John’s commitment to his marriage, his commitment to Cosmo, in spite of his lingering disbelief of Cosmo’s truth.
So, for all the swirling, and ultimately rather heart-pounding, plotlines, through which Cosmo stumbles, his love of John fighting his love of family, this book is really about John and Cosmo coming to grips with who they really are, in the world and to each other. Both men surprise us, and each other. Although there is a lot of comic silliness in this, it never hits the sitcom level of “Bewitched,” and that’s fully intentional. Lanyon has always embraced her characters’ complexities, and having dipped her toe into the world of paranormal romance, she takes the idea of a magical world and its alliances seriously. She also takes the world of Irish-Catholic gay police commissioners seriously, and thus gives John full attention, forcing the reader (and Cosmo) to value him completely in order to appreciate just how good he is. (Darrin Stevens never got there, nor deserved to, in the TV series.)
I was delighted to realize that this is the end, but the beginning. I want to see more of Cosmo and John, but as a different sort of couple. The plots being hatched in the background of these books have not simply gone away. We have so much to look forward to.
I am still not completely sure I understood the end of the book, but I think I did. On my second reading of that last line, “I opened my arms,” I got tears in my eyes, because it dawned on me what it meant. Be patient. Like John, and Cosmo, you’ll get there, too.
July 2, 2021
First: The low steam says it all. As anyone who knows my reading habits would know, I like high steam. Emotional, intense steam.
Second: I got this author mixed up with another author! Jordan L. Hawk! HOW did I get it mixed up??? The cover art style I guess. But anyway I KNEW I've read Lanyon's works before and I have. I think I rated all the books in All's Fair series 4 stars.
So I'm kinda surprised I don't really care for this series, tho to be fair, I didn't read books 1-2. Why??
Exhibit A above: low steam. But more than that, the following:
1) The connection between the MCs felt weak. I did NOT feel the love. I thought John was an ass. And obviously he used to be a manwhore as well. VERY not appealing to me.
2) I thought Cosmo was STUPID. Not good when the POV is his.
So I really didn't connect with either MC!
The only thing that kept me reading along was the plot, the mystery of witchery politics, etc.
But I wouldn't read any more of this series after this particular book.
Sorry.
Second: I got this author mixed up with another author! Jordan L. Hawk! HOW did I get it mixed up??? The cover art style I guess. But anyway I KNEW I've read Lanyon's works before and I have. I think I rated all the books in All's Fair series 4 stars.
So I'm kinda surprised I don't really care for this series, tho to be fair, I didn't read books 1-2. Why??
Exhibit A above: low steam. But more than that, the following:
1) The connection between the MCs felt weak. I did NOT feel the love. I thought John was an ass. And obviously he used to be a manwhore as well. VERY not appealing to me.
2) I thought Cosmo was STUPID. Not good when the POV is his.
So I really didn't connect with either MC!
The only thing that kept me reading along was the plot, the mystery of witchery politics, etc.
But I wouldn't read any more of this series after this particular book.
Sorry.
June 8, 2021
3.5 stars
I like a lot about this series - the worldbuilding is good, I likeCosmo, and the secondary characters are interesting, but this book kinda went off the rails - there's too much plot and not enough resolution. We get answers to some of the questions posed in the previous two books, and we've got a blackmail plot which opens out into an attempted coup in the Craft, but it all seemed tied together by coincidence and it all felt really rushed.
Most frustrating of all is the romance - and this has been the case since book one. I've been giving John the benefit of the doubt, because Cosmo loves him and Cosmo deserves love - but I still fail to see what Cosmo sees in John. Okay, so to start with, Cosmo was keeping a HUGE secret, but the cat's out of the bag now, and he's learned to adjust and compromise.
John? Not so much. He talks about compromising his principles for Cosmo, but I can't see that he's doing anything of the sort. In fact, he's insisting that Cosmo hides or even denies an important part of who he is - and that isn't compromise. Not when Cosmo is forever fearing that "this" is the last straw that will make John leave him (again) - that's no way to live and it's not fair. And to make things worse, in this book, they NEVER get to talk about all the things Cosmo has going on in his life because John's job comes first, and he's under pressure to solve the blackmail case. Cosmo was dealing with some really serious shit - and John just wasn't all that interested.
If this was an m/f story and Cosmo was a wife, we'd be wondering when we'd gone back to the 1960s.
This book was originally billed as the finale of a trilogy, and as such it's fairly unsatisfactory. But the author is writing another three books set in this world (and I think they're going to be standalones) so maybe some of the stuff that was left hanging at the end of this will be addressed further down the line.
And the biggest "stuff" is John - because he's a crappy husband and partner right now, despite his protestations of love and the fact that even Cosmo's mum admit's he's been good for Cosmo! (I didn't see it - but she's a witch so what do I know?).
I will probably read the next book(s) because the writing is terrific and I love Cosmo's quirky, snarky voice. And I'm still hoping that she will somehow turn Cosmo's relationship with John into one of equals. Because right now, I'm not seeing a healthy relationship, and that's absolutely not what I want in a romance.
I like a lot about this series - the worldbuilding is good, I likeCosmo, and the secondary characters are interesting, but this book kinda went off the rails - there's too much plot and not enough resolution. We get answers to some of the questions posed in the previous two books, and we've got a blackmail plot which opens out into an attempted coup in the Craft, but it all seemed tied together by coincidence and it all felt really rushed.
Most frustrating of all is the romance - and this has been the case since book one. I've been giving John the benefit of the doubt, because Cosmo loves him and Cosmo deserves love - but I still fail to see what Cosmo sees in John. Okay, so to start with, Cosmo was keeping a HUGE secret, but the cat's out of the bag now, and he's learned to adjust and compromise.
John? Not so much. He talks about compromising his principles for Cosmo, but I can't see that he's doing anything of the sort. In fact, he's insisting that Cosmo hides or even denies an important part of who he is - and that isn't compromise. Not when Cosmo is forever fearing that "this" is the last straw that will make John leave him (again) - that's no way to live and it's not fair. And to make things worse, in this book, they NEVER get to talk about all the things Cosmo has going on in his life because John's job comes first, and he's under pressure to solve the blackmail case. Cosmo was dealing with some really serious shit - and John just wasn't all that interested.
If this was an m/f story and Cosmo was a wife, we'd be wondering when we'd gone back to the 1960s.
This book was originally billed as the finale of a trilogy, and as such it's fairly unsatisfactory. But the author is writing another three books set in this world (and I think they're going to be standalones) so maybe some of the stuff that was left hanging at the end of this will be addressed further down the line.
And the biggest "stuff" is John - because he's a crappy husband and partner right now, despite his protestations of love and the fact that even Cosmo's mum admit's he's been good for Cosmo! (I didn't see it - but she's a witch so what do I know?).
I will probably read the next book(s) because the writing is terrific and I love Cosmo's quirky, snarky voice. And I'm still hoping that she will somehow turn Cosmo's relationship with John into one of equals. Because right now, I'm not seeing a healthy relationship, and that's absolutely not what I want in a romance.
April 1, 2021
3.5 stars
August 26, 2023
Audiobook review 8/26/23:
Story: 3 stars
Narration: 5 stars
I didn’t enjoy this one as much as the other two books. John was as much of a jerk as ever! Something was missing in this installment. I think the overall story arc wasn’t as interesting and by the end I wasn’t as invested. I really love Cosmo though and I hope we get the next book, even if it’s a novella, just to see if he’s happy and that John is treating him right.
___________________________________________________
I wound up liking this way more than I expected to. I thought it was well paced and once I got through the beginning the book went by very quickly. I got immersed in the story. I really like Cosmo and his magical friends.
The storyline itself was a bit off. It starts with blackmail and I felt like there wasn’t a good end to that. It felt sort of all over the place. I think the reason I felt this way was because the books are all connected and I forgot some of what transpired in the previous stories. I remembered enough but I was still missing some cohesion. That was probably on me. I’m not as invested in this series as I am with other Lanyon stories.
I have to admit that this isn’t my favorite series by Lanyon. While I do enjoy it I just feel like there is not much of a connection between Cosmo and John. I haven’t warmed up to John and we’re now 3 books into the series. He’s very judgmental of Cosmo’s magic and I just feel like he’s very insulting. How can he constantly expect Cosmo to not use magic? I really am unhappy whenever I read a scene between Cosmo & John and Cosmo always feels insecure. They don’t really know each other because they got married so quickly. Their relationship irks me.
I liked this book overall due to the fact that I felt the bulk of the excitement was because John wasn’t there. When he’s on page it’s tense, and not in a good way. I don’t know if there’s a way to make me like this character. I hope Josh Lanyon has something up her sleeve for him. I feel like there’s more to come and I hope it’s good.
Overall the book rates as 3.75 stars but I’ll round it up to 4 because of Cosmo. He deserves better than John though.
ARC received via NetGalley in exchange for review
Story: 3 stars
Narration: 5 stars
I didn’t enjoy this one as much as the other two books. John was as much of a jerk as ever! Something was missing in this installment. I think the overall story arc wasn’t as interesting and by the end I wasn’t as invested. I really love Cosmo though and I hope we get the next book, even if it’s a novella, just to see if he’s happy and that John is treating him right.
___________________________________________________
I wound up liking this way more than I expected to. I thought it was well paced and once I got through the beginning the book went by very quickly. I got immersed in the story. I really like Cosmo and his magical friends.
The storyline itself was a bit off. It starts with blackmail and I felt like there wasn’t a good end to that. It felt sort of all over the place. I think the reason I felt this way was because the books are all connected and I forgot some of what transpired in the previous stories. I remembered enough but I was still missing some cohesion. That was probably on me. I’m not as invested in this series as I am with other Lanyon stories.
I have to admit that this isn’t my favorite series by Lanyon. While I do enjoy it I just feel like there is not much of a connection between Cosmo and John. I haven’t warmed up to John and we’re now 3 books into the series. He’s very judgmental of Cosmo’s magic and I just feel like he’s very insulting. How can he constantly expect Cosmo to not use magic? I really am unhappy whenever I read a scene between Cosmo & John and Cosmo always feels insecure. They don’t really know each other because they got married so quickly. Their relationship irks me.
I liked this book overall due to the fact that I felt the bulk of the excitement was because John wasn’t there. When he’s on page it’s tense, and not in a good way. I don’t know if there’s a way to make me like this character. I hope Josh Lanyon has something up her sleeve for him. I feel like there’s more to come and I hope it’s good.
Overall the book rates as 3.75 stars but I’ll round it up to 4 because of Cosmo. He deserves better than John though.
ARC received via NetGalley in exchange for review
July 5, 2023
Talk about Karma taking her do. All this boiled down to fear and jealousy. When it would have been better to let sleeping dogs be. Yet there was the choice! Grabbing for answers nets an interesting bounty.
June 18, 2021
3.75 stars!
Cosmo and John are happily enjoying married life, and are glad that their days of mistrust and odd goings-on are behind them.
That rosy honeymoon phase doesn’t last too long.
An unexpected spate of high-profile blackmails has Cosmo back to playing amateur magical cop, and John back to being suspicious.
The adventure/mystery in this series is Grade A entertainment. The plot is fun, captivating, and entirely unpredictable. I enjoyed every new twist and turn!
The worldbuilding was also markedly more detailed in this installment. Consider it a consequence of growing up on a certain series involving a bespeckled boy wizard, but I’m a sucker for magical societies hidden within our modern world.
And the Craft definitely fits the bill!
Where the book hit a bit of a sour note for me - John. In book 2, I really didn’t like John’s treatment of Cosmo. But it had seemed like the two had moved past that dynamic.
Not so apparently - when things get a bit too dicey for John’s liking, he resorts back to his old habits. And I just don’t think that’s fair to poor Cosmo.
The two are very sweet when everything is going smoothly, but I’d like to see them keep that same energy when times are tough!
That being said, I’m still fully on-board with the pairing. Cosmo and John just have a chemistry - physical and emotional - that can’t be denied.
If John would just grovel a bit and learn to live with Cosmo’s witchy ways, all will be forgiven.
In any case, bring on the next one and let’s see where this story goes!
Cosmo and John are happily enjoying married life, and are glad that their days of mistrust and odd goings-on are behind them.
That rosy honeymoon phase doesn’t last too long.
An unexpected spate of high-profile blackmails has Cosmo back to playing amateur magical cop, and John back to being suspicious.
The adventure/mystery in this series is Grade A entertainment. The plot is fun, captivating, and entirely unpredictable. I enjoyed every new twist and turn!
The worldbuilding was also markedly more detailed in this installment. Consider it a consequence of growing up on a certain series involving a bespeckled boy wizard, but I’m a sucker for magical societies hidden within our modern world.
And the Craft definitely fits the bill!
Where the book hit a bit of a sour note for me - John. In book 2, I really didn’t like John’s treatment of Cosmo. But it had seemed like the two had moved past that dynamic.
Not so apparently - when things get a bit too dicey for John’s liking, he resorts back to his old habits. And I just don’t think that’s fair to poor Cosmo.
The two are very sweet when everything is going smoothly, but I’d like to see them keep that same energy when times are tough!
That being said, I’m still fully on-board with the pairing. Cosmo and John just have a chemistry - physical and emotional - that can’t be denied.
If John would just grovel a bit and learn to live with Cosmo’s witchy ways, all will be forgiven.
In any case, bring on the next one and let’s see where this story goes!
1-tbr
November 29, 2020
Part of the Bedknobs and Broomsticks Series and must be read in order:
April 12, 2021
Ugh, I'm so torn on this one and this series in general. It doesn't help that there's been a lot of time (and delays) between each book so I often forget details from the previous ones--and apparently the next book isn't coming out for another year and a half?? Partially, these are on the short side, and there's so much going on in terms of magical stuff that it doesn't feel like quite enough time to really feel satisfied, and though I really love Cosmo, I am starting to find his relationship with his husband incredibly frustrating. Like... I legitimately don't feel like they are a good match for each other and it seems like they would be much better off if they broke up, which isn't generally the feeling you want when reading a romance. I'm starting to lose interest in this one...
April 13, 2021
spectacular!
review to come
review to come
February 9, 2022
The suspects are pretty obvious, but I expected a good ending regardless.
So when it fell a little flat, with one unenthusiastic villain, I was disappointed.
Beautiful writing otherwise - per usual, sex scenes especially.
4 stars for the ending, but I don't think I can actually bring myself to tick off a yellow star.
5 stars it is.
So when it fell a little flat, with one unenthusiastic villain, I was disappointed.
Beautiful writing otherwise - per usual, sex scenes especially.
4 stars for the ending, but I don't think I can actually bring myself to tick off a yellow star.
5 stars it is.
June 14, 2021
It is to the author's credit that a standard poison pen / blackmail mystery becomes something much much more. I guess it's already 'more' when you throw in all the Craft elements and an overabundance of French phraseology tied in with magical aristocracy and political bloodlines. I enjoyed this Trilogy final more than the previous offering - it was fun working out the identity and motivations of the baddie alongside Cosmo. Both MCs had gotten past such significant hurdles previously and by the end of this book there has been more development/growth in Cosmo and John's (more the former really) character arcs as insecurities and and lack of trust issues were tackled. Several characters from previous books also made reappearances so that some over-arcing storylines could be wound up.
I was pleasantly surprised by the announcement of a second trilogy as things ended kinda HEA-ish for our MCs. I strongly suspect there's something significant with both MCs having . And I'm hoping for much better things for bestie Andi. 4.5 stars.
I was pleasantly surprised by the announcement of a second trilogy as things ended kinda HEA-ish for our MCs. I strongly suspect there's something significant with both MCs having . And I'm hoping for much better things for bestie Andi. 4.5 stars.
May 27, 2021
16 Apr 2021
Tropes: Complicated shady magical family, attempted coup, relationship problems, murder et Al, quirky characters
1. I like Lanyons' prose and characters, and I'm actually pretty impressed by the worldbuilding in this series. Sure it's not a hard magic system but there's a lot about underground societies and family drama (I LIVE for family drama) and it's all pretty funny and fairly consistent and I'm quite fond of the characters. Cosmos' mom is my favorite. Cosmo would be my favorite if it wasn't for his inexplicable fondness for his asshole of a husband but more on that later.
2. The mystery was also pretty good. Lots of personal grievances and betrayals and entitled assholes. I do love a good entitled asshole takedown it's so satisfying. I'm less sure one what to feel about the whole demonic magic (?) plot hook, but my problems with Lanyon don't have anything to do with her worldbuilding so I'm cautiously optimistic.
3. My problem is the romance. Theres a running gag where people in Cosmo's life tell him repeatedly to divorce John. It's not funny, mostly because all of these characters have a point I absolutely agree with. John is a toxic, unreliable asshole. I put up with his crap for two books. Hell, I even gave him the benefit of the doubt because Cosmo wasn't exactly forthcoming early on in the series but Cosmo's learned to adjust and compromise. John claims very loudly and very often that he's compromising his principles for Cosmo without ever doing anything of the sort.
4. Cosmo. Honeybun. Sugarpie. I don't know how to tell you this, but "I will avoid having anything to do with my life before you came into it because it makes you uncomfortable" and "I will generously ignore the fact that your existence creeps me out so long as you pretend that a significant part of your life is not a thing" are not equivalent compromises. Forget a divorce. I'm rooting for your family and friends to murder the asshole and hide the body, only you'd get upset and that would make them upset. Are you sure you're not under a love spell?
5. You know the thing? Where a very attractive, competent, nice young lady is somehow completely enamored with a beefy handsome alpha male to the point of compromising her life choices for his sake and he eternally takes that as his due and gets upset when she does something he doesn't approve of? It's that, but gay. I cannot say it's any more palatable because it's been queered.
6. It doesn't even have to be this way! I think a John pov would likely help a LOT with smoothing out the relationship inequalities. This is why romance novels have dual perspectives. And Lanyon is a competent writer with a ton of very sweet and compelling platonic relationships under he belt so she could absolutely use this to make the story better. I wish I could say I think this would still happen, but so far I've only seen lampshades and no actual explanations.
Tropes: Complicated shady magical family, attempted coup, relationship problems, murder et Al, quirky characters
1. I like Lanyons' prose and characters, and I'm actually pretty impressed by the worldbuilding in this series. Sure it's not a hard magic system but there's a lot about underground societies and family drama (I LIVE for family drama) and it's all pretty funny and fairly consistent and I'm quite fond of the characters. Cosmos' mom is my favorite. Cosmo would be my favorite if it wasn't for his inexplicable fondness for his asshole of a husband but more on that later.
2. The mystery was also pretty good. Lots of personal grievances and betrayals and entitled assholes. I do love a good entitled asshole takedown it's so satisfying. I'm less sure one what to feel about the whole demonic magic (?) plot hook, but my problems with Lanyon don't have anything to do with her worldbuilding so I'm cautiously optimistic.
3. My problem is the romance. Theres a running gag where people in Cosmo's life tell him repeatedly to divorce John. It's not funny, mostly because all of these characters have a point I absolutely agree with. John is a toxic, unreliable asshole. I put up with his crap for two books. Hell, I even gave him the benefit of the doubt because Cosmo wasn't exactly forthcoming early on in the series but Cosmo's learned to adjust and compromise. John claims very loudly and very often that he's compromising his principles for Cosmo without ever doing anything of the sort.
4. Cosmo. Honeybun. Sugarpie. I don't know how to tell you this, but "I will avoid having anything to do with my life before you came into it because it makes you uncomfortable" and "I will generously ignore the fact that your existence creeps me out so long as you pretend that a significant part of your life is not a thing" are not equivalent compromises. Forget a divorce. I'm rooting for your family and friends to murder the asshole and hide the body, only you'd get upset and that would make them upset. Are you sure you're not under a love spell?
5. You know the thing? Where a very attractive, competent, nice young lady is somehow completely enamored with a beefy handsome alpha male to the point of compromising her life choices for his sake and he eternally takes that as his due and gets upset when she does something he doesn't approve of? It's that, but gay. I cannot say it's any more palatable because it's been queered.
6. It doesn't even have to be this way! I think a John pov would likely help a LOT with smoothing out the relationship inequalities. This is why romance novels have dual perspectives. And Lanyon is a competent writer with a ton of very sweet and compelling platonic relationships under he belt so she could absolutely use this to make the story better. I wish I could say I think this would still happen, but so far I've only seen lampshades and no actual explanations.
May 5, 2021
3 stars
Extortion is becoming a problem in town, & following the clues only leads to traces of darker machinations. Cosmo is torn between his obligation to protect his magical family & his promise to his husband not to interfere with police business. I enjoyed the world building & witty narration, but I felt the romantic relationship suffered from controlling behavior.
[What I liked:]
•I’m not usually a fan of 1st person narration, but I will say Cosmo has a distinct voice, & has some nice tongue-in-cheek/dry humor going for him.
•There is an exciting & amusing escape scene, that ends with a rather brilliant twist.
[What I didn’t like as much:]
•I do like stories where the romance is about a long term relationship, not just the “falling in love” part, but something about John & Cosmo rubbed me the wrong way. John doesn’t treat Cosmo as his equal, & I think he manipulates Cosmo by trying to control him. (He expects Cosmo to be understanding when John’s job takes precedence to their relationship, but gets very upset if Cosmo treats his own work as important: double standards.) It seems like they are working on some of those issues by the end though.
CW: death, murder
[I received an ARC ebook copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. Thank you for the book!]
Extortion is becoming a problem in town, & following the clues only leads to traces of darker machinations. Cosmo is torn between his obligation to protect his magical family & his promise to his husband not to interfere with police business. I enjoyed the world building & witty narration, but I felt the romantic relationship suffered from controlling behavior.
[What I liked:]
•I’m not usually a fan of 1st person narration, but I will say Cosmo has a distinct voice, & has some nice tongue-in-cheek/dry humor going for him.
•There is an exciting & amusing escape scene, that ends with a rather brilliant twist.
[What I didn’t like as much:]
•I do like stories where the romance is about a long term relationship, not just the “falling in love” part, but something about John & Cosmo rubbed me the wrong way. John doesn’t treat Cosmo as his equal, & I think he manipulates Cosmo by trying to control him. (He expects Cosmo to be understanding when John’s job takes precedence to their relationship, but gets very upset if Cosmo treats his own work as important: double standards.) It seems like they are working on some of those issues by the end though.
CW: death, murder
[I received an ARC ebook copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. Thank you for the book!]
April 11, 2021
2.5 stars
I normally fly through Josh Lanyon’s books, but this one dragged on for me, despite being a quick read in terms of page numbers. It felt like I had read it before — John and Cosmo are still perpetually stuck in the cycle of John forbidding magic use, Cosmo using magic anyway and trying to hide it, and John flying off the handle when he finds out. I can’t help but view their current relationship as toxic, given their utter inability to break this pattern, despite small steps forward here and there. I also found the mystery to be pretty ho-hum, which didn’t help matters. There wasn’t really a feeling of suspense, even in the most climactic scenes. I’ll likely continue to read on in this series, but I am actually a bit disappointed it seems to be ongoing (I think it was originally planned as a three book arc?). It likely comes down to personal taste since others seem to love this series, but I just don’t think it is Josh Lanyon’s best.
I normally fly through Josh Lanyon’s books, but this one dragged on for me, despite being a quick read in terms of page numbers. It felt like I had read it before — John and Cosmo are still perpetually stuck in the cycle of John forbidding magic use, Cosmo using magic anyway and trying to hide it, and John flying off the handle when he finds out. I can’t help but view their current relationship as toxic, given their utter inability to break this pattern, despite small steps forward here and there. I also found the mystery to be pretty ho-hum, which didn’t help matters. There wasn’t really a feeling of suspense, even in the most climactic scenes. I’ll likely continue to read on in this series, but I am actually a bit disappointed it seems to be ongoing (I think it was originally planned as a three book arc?). It likely comes down to personal taste since others seem to love this series, but I just don’t think it is Josh Lanyon’s best.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 13, 2021
Josh Lanyon can try my patience with her delays in publishing, changing dates and making us wait soooo long for new books. But when she does publish them, they are great! Well, at least I think they're great, lol.
I read I Buried a Witch in Feb last year, so it took me a bit to get back into the swing of the story. I probably should have done a reread, but as they say "shoulda, coulda, didn't" and that's on me. Once I remembered what was going on, the story grabbed me and didn't let go. This book tied up some loose ends, but didn't answer all the questions that were raised in this trilogy. Luckily for us, Josh has decided to write some more in this series, so I don't have to say goodbye to Cosmo and John just yet. I'll just need to remain patient I suppose to see when it will be published...
I read I Buried a Witch in Feb last year, so it took me a bit to get back into the swing of the story. I probably should have done a reread, but as they say "shoulda, coulda, didn't" and that's on me. Once I remembered what was going on, the story grabbed me and didn't let go. This book tied up some loose ends, but didn't answer all the questions that were raised in this trilogy. Luckily for us, Josh has decided to write some more in this series, so I don't have to say goodbye to Cosmo and John just yet. I'll just need to remain patient I suppose to see when it will be published...
April 3, 2025
“Do you think it’s weird there’s been no follow-up on those pictures of Jinx that were sent to me? I’ve been expecting a muffled call from a phone booth every day.”
“Good luck finding a phone booth. Your blackmailer’s probably still looking.”
Story: 9
Writing: 9
First MC: 9
Second MC: 8
Secondary characters: 6
Mystery: 6
Sexual tension: 4
Humor: 4
Hotness: 4
Product placement: 4
Ridiculousness: 3
Annoying: 3
Audio: 10
Ending: 6
To re-read: 10
Loved the book and love Cos. But now that I'm still waiting for years now for a 4th book there are threads still hanging and I need answers.
“Good luck finding a phone booth. Your blackmailer’s probably still looking.”
Story: 9
Writing: 9
First MC: 9
Second MC: 8
Secondary characters: 6
Mystery: 6
Sexual tension: 4
Humor: 4
Hotness: 4
Product placement: 4
Ridiculousness: 3
Annoying: 3
Audio: 10
Ending: 6
To re-read: 10
Loved the book and love Cos. But now that I'm still waiting for years now for a 4th book there are threads still hanging and I need answers.
April 4, 2021
On to this next step in their journeys!
April 19, 2021
3.5 stars
October 24, 2021
Audiobook Review October 2021:
Kale Williams has once again made Josh Lanyon's Bedknobs and Broomsticks universe come alive. I really won't add anything to my review in regard to the plot and series itself as I don't want to give anything away for any newcomers. What I will say is the combo of Kale Williams' narration and Josh Lanyon's creative wordage, the storytelling in this magic-infested world of mystery, romance, and drama is incredibly entertaining and it's easy to get so sucked in, before you know it the last page has been read leaving a sense of "oh no!" but it's so fun getting to that "Oh no!"😉😉.
Original Review April 2021:
HOLY HANNAH BATMAN!!! Bell, Book, and Scandal is even better than imagined. And trust me, I imagined quite a bit. Josh Lanyon is one of my favorite authors, she is my go-to mystery author in the LGBT genre combined with how much I loved the first two books in the Bedknobs and Broomsticks series I probably went in with pretty high expectations. High expectations when it comes to any kind or level of art is not always a good thing, so few times does the end result match our hopes. Well, Bell was not one of those times.
Nope.
It surpassed my expectations.
Because this is an ongoing series I don't want to give anything away, either for this book specifically or even too much "hinting" of past entries so that I don't spoil anything for newcomers to Bedknobs. I will say this, John has really tested my limits of wanting to smack him upside the head because of his reluctance to look outside the realms of his preconceived box. Don't get me wrong, Cosmo tries my patience too with his hole "speak, speak again, then speak some more, and finally think" habit of tackling obstacles in his life.
I think that's one of the elements I love best about this series, both characters have serious flaws in how they express themselves. Between their pissing each other off, jumping to conclusions, and then realizing just what the other person was actually thinking, John and Cosmo really are a perfect fit. The blending of similar and different qualities really revs their chemistry up to such believable levels that if the author were ever to kill one of them off, the remaining one left behind would never find another that fills in all the gaps. We all know there will never be any major character death here but I guess it's just my way of saying how perfect they compliment and complete each other.
Now, the mystery.
Okay, you know you aren't getting any tidbits in that area from me so I'll just say this: I could see it unfold in front of me as if I was a fly on the wall, right smack dab in the middle of the room witnessing it all. That's how real Josh Lanyon makes this paranormal, supernatural, magical world, you know it's fiction but it's 150% believable all at the same time.
As for the supporting cast of characters? I don't want to give anything away by bringing them up individually but I will say that not a single character in this series is page filler. Each and everyone of them plays a part in the end result, or at the very least getting the reader so involved in the story that pretty soon you forget it's a story and it feels like you are reliving a memory spent with old friends.
Magic, likeable(and some not-so likeable) characters that you can relate to, mystery that keeps you on the edge of your seat, romance, humor, drama, action, but most importantly Bell, Book, and Scandal(the whole series really) has so much heart, so many feels, you don't want to say goodbye. And it doesn't look like we'll have to yet, the author reveals there will be another storyline arc in the future, I guess she wasn't ready to say goodbye either or more accurately, Cosmo and John weren't ready to leave us out of their journey.
I just want to end with a couple of points:
1. If you couldn't tell from my review, Bedknobs and Broomsticks is a continuing story so you have to read from the beginning, you can't jump in with Bell, Book, and Scandal.
2. Something I've said in both the other two book reviews and it rings even truer now than book one, "I loved how it made me nostalgic for the endearing comedy of Bewitched, the magical drama of Charmed, and the spell-driven romance of I Married a Witch."
Definitely a win-win all around.
Kale Williams has once again made Josh Lanyon's Bedknobs and Broomsticks universe come alive. I really won't add anything to my review in regard to the plot and series itself as I don't want to give anything away for any newcomers. What I will say is the combo of Kale Williams' narration and Josh Lanyon's creative wordage, the storytelling in this magic-infested world of mystery, romance, and drama is incredibly entertaining and it's easy to get so sucked in, before you know it the last page has been read leaving a sense of "oh no!" but it's so fun getting to that "Oh no!"😉😉.
Original Review April 2021:
HOLY HANNAH BATMAN!!! Bell, Book, and Scandal is even better than imagined. And trust me, I imagined quite a bit. Josh Lanyon is one of my favorite authors, she is my go-to mystery author in the LGBT genre combined with how much I loved the first two books in the Bedknobs and Broomsticks series I probably went in with pretty high expectations. High expectations when it comes to any kind or level of art is not always a good thing, so few times does the end result match our hopes. Well, Bell was not one of those times.
Nope.
It surpassed my expectations.
Because this is an ongoing series I don't want to give anything away, either for this book specifically or even too much "hinting" of past entries so that I don't spoil anything for newcomers to Bedknobs. I will say this, John has really tested my limits of wanting to smack him upside the head because of his reluctance to look outside the realms of his preconceived box. Don't get me wrong, Cosmo tries my patience too with his hole "speak, speak again, then speak some more, and finally think" habit of tackling obstacles in his life.
I think that's one of the elements I love best about this series, both characters have serious flaws in how they express themselves. Between their pissing each other off, jumping to conclusions, and then realizing just what the other person was actually thinking, John and Cosmo really are a perfect fit. The blending of similar and different qualities really revs their chemistry up to such believable levels that if the author were ever to kill one of them off, the remaining one left behind would never find another that fills in all the gaps. We all know there will never be any major character death here but I guess it's just my way of saying how perfect they compliment and complete each other.
Now, the mystery.
Okay, you know you aren't getting any tidbits in that area from me so I'll just say this: I could see it unfold in front of me as if I was a fly on the wall, right smack dab in the middle of the room witnessing it all. That's how real Josh Lanyon makes this paranormal, supernatural, magical world, you know it's fiction but it's 150% believable all at the same time.
As for the supporting cast of characters? I don't want to give anything away by bringing them up individually but I will say that not a single character in this series is page filler. Each and everyone of them plays a part in the end result, or at the very least getting the reader so involved in the story that pretty soon you forget it's a story and it feels like you are reliving a memory spent with old friends.
Magic, likeable(and some not-so likeable) characters that you can relate to, mystery that keeps you on the edge of your seat, romance, humor, drama, action, but most importantly Bell, Book, and Scandal(the whole series really) has so much heart, so many feels, you don't want to say goodbye. And it doesn't look like we'll have to yet, the author reveals there will be another storyline arc in the future, I guess she wasn't ready to say goodbye either or more accurately, Cosmo and John weren't ready to leave us out of their journey.
I just want to end with a couple of points:
1. If you couldn't tell from my review, Bedknobs and Broomsticks is a continuing story so you have to read from the beginning, you can't jump in with Bell, Book, and Scandal.
2. Something I've said in both the other two book reviews and it rings even truer now than book one, "I loved how it made me nostalgic for the endearing comedy of Bewitched, the magical drama of Charmed, and the spell-driven romance of I Married a Witch."
Definitely a win-win all around.
April 13, 2021
Finishes this three-book arc, but there will be more books. I'm good with that.
Cosmo still seems scared of John sometimes. That's not too good. He and John are working on trying to trust each other, which is a more promising development.
Edited to add: I think I must have forgotten something about Ambrose from previous books. He's described as very pale, even ghostly. His grandmother is described as so pale as to seem "silver." Yet she speaks in a Jamaican patois. It's a decently written patois, from my limited understanding of it. I'm far more familiar with the grammar and syntax of AAVE (African-American Vernacular English) than any patois. But why would a very pale person be speaking in patois? That was mysterious to me.
Cosmo feels that John doesn't want to hear anything about magic and what Cosmo senses about it, especially in connection with any police cases. Cosmo had sworn to John, somewhat under duress, to use magic as a last resort in anything he (Cosmo) did. But of course Cosmo investigates the aspects of the case that John isn't able to sense and doesn't want to know anything about anyway.
There's also rivalry going on in Cosmo's aristocratic family. Cosmo is aware of some of it, but would rather not be involved in it. Other witches and mortals are up to assorted wickedness. Cosmo just wants to figure out what's going on. He's rather stay relatively inconspicuous while doing so. (lol) He doesn't want to hurt anyone. Sadly, others don't feel the same way.
This was good, and does clear up some mysteriousness. I'll need to go back and reread some parts of the previous books to refresh my memory on what Cosmo does and doesn't know at the beginning of this book.
Cosmo still seems scared of John sometimes. That's not too good. He and John are working on trying to trust each other, which is a more promising development.
Edited to add: I think I must have forgotten something about Ambrose from previous books. He's described as very pale, even ghostly. His grandmother is described as so pale as to seem "silver." Yet she speaks in a Jamaican patois. It's a decently written patois, from my limited understanding of it. I'm far more familiar with the grammar and syntax of AAVE (African-American Vernacular English) than any patois. But why would a very pale person be speaking in patois? That was mysterious to me.
Cosmo feels that John doesn't want to hear anything about magic and what Cosmo senses about it, especially in connection with any police cases. Cosmo had sworn to John, somewhat under duress, to use magic as a last resort in anything he (Cosmo) did. But of course Cosmo investigates the aspects of the case that John isn't able to sense and doesn't want to know anything about anyway.
There's also rivalry going on in Cosmo's aristocratic family. Cosmo is aware of some of it, but would rather not be involved in it. Other witches and mortals are up to assorted wickedness. Cosmo just wants to figure out what's going on. He's rather stay relatively inconspicuous while doing so. (lol) He doesn't want to hurt anyone. Sadly, others don't feel the same way.
This was good, and does clear up some mysteriousness. I'll need to go back and reread some parts of the previous books to refresh my memory on what Cosmo does and doesn't know at the beginning of this book.
April 12, 2021
So, I loved this and all, but I was surprised by how low-key it was. That isn't necessarily a bad thing, given the author's note at the end, which explains Bednknobs and Broomsticks was meant to be a light-hearted trilogy and ended up being a lot darker. I actually expected it to get much, much darker; with the whole setup of John being the descendant of the witch finder general early on implying there was more to come. In part, it's because I didn't realise it was only meant to be a trilogy, so I perceived this instalment to be the calm before the storm. As the end of a trilogy, it wasn't quite edge-of-the-seat enough for my expectations. Not the author's fault - entirely on me.
What I'd hoped for:
Book 4, where John's ancestry kicks in with supernatural force and sets him and his police against the entire of witch-kind, headed up by the house of Abracadantés, of course...Cosmo specifically. A rerun of the witch persecutions, with Cosmo trying to undo whatever centuries-old curse has grabbed his beloved consort's common sense before it's too late while all hell breaks loose around him and everyone becomes an enemy. With help (probably from Jinx, Ambrose and Andi), Cosmo breaks the curse and he and John are reunited, leading to...
Book 5, where Cosmo and his new mini coven take on the Abricadantés and witch parliament and bring about a revolution.
Did I just plot out a fan fiction? I guess I did.
Anyway, I'm excited for another three stand-alone books set in this world, and this was still an excellent read.
What I'd hoped for:
Book 4, where John's ancestry kicks in with supernatural force and sets him and his police against the entire of witch-kind, headed up by the house of Abracadantés, of course...Cosmo specifically. A rerun of the witch persecutions, with Cosmo trying to undo whatever centuries-old curse has grabbed his beloved consort's common sense before it's too late while all hell breaks loose around him and everyone becomes an enemy. With help (probably from Jinx, Ambrose and Andi), Cosmo breaks the curse and he and John are reunited, leading to...
Book 5, where Cosmo and his new mini coven take on the Abricadantés and witch parliament and bring about a revolution.
Did I just plot out a fan fiction? I guess I did.
Anyway, I'm excited for another three stand-alone books set in this world, and this was still an excellent read.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 30, 2021
What an interesting turn this series has taken. Despite the murder and mayhem of the first to books in this trilogy arc (the series has evolved to be continued with another three books), there was somewhat more of a “Bewitched” twinkle in them than in this third book, although some of that wit and humor (and a couple of delightful direct references) are still here. Lanyon has a gift for writing in a way that I worry for the safety and sanity of her protagonists, even though I know the tropes of this genre very well and know that their lives and love will be intact in the end. Book 3 is a darker tale, but I prefer fantasy romances that take serious things seriously. As always, Lanyon’s skill in so economically scripting vivid scenarios and characters within shorter works is much appreciated.
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