A Cast-Off Coven (A Witchcraft Mystery, #2) in On the Broomstick

Oct 28, 2011 Sapphyria rated it really liked it

I'm going to start right off saying that I don't really like Max, Lily's new so-called boyfriend. He is skeptical of everything (hence his "myth buster" profession). He does, however, play his role wonderfully.

We get to see a little more of Lily breaking out of her shell and it's refreshing. Lily is a very likable character who, due to things from her past, which still isn't fully explained in this installment, has a really hard time make friends or fitting in. We see her expand her circle of f I'm going to start right off saying that I don't really like Max, Lily's new so-called boyfriend. He is skeptical of everything (hence his "myth buster" profession). He does, however, play his role wonderfully.

We get to see a little more of Lily breaking out of her shell and it's refreshing. Lily is a very likable character who, due to things from her past, which still isn't fully explained in this installment, has a really hard time make friends or fitting in. We see her expand her circle of friends gradually. I love Maya, although she didn't have a large role, and Bronwyn and, of course, super cute Oscar, and totally hot Aidan.

This story revolves around the art school in town where Maya is a student. Ghostly occurrences have become quite the phenomenon, scaring almost everyone that attends the school. On Lily's first round of "ghost hunting" they stumble upon a horrifying scene; a dead man on the 3rd floor. So now it's not only a case of solving the mystery of the ghostly activity but now she's helping to look for a murderer too.

I enjoyed this book and didn't have a hard time following along. Lily has definite self-esteem issues but, hey, who doesn't at some point or another in their lives? Add on being a witch banished from her home town and you've got Lily portrayed perfectly. There wasn't really a lot of her romantic life in this book, which is okay with me. I like the balance (or imbalance actually) of mystery vs. romance. Too much romance would detract from the whole plot line.

I really like newcomer, Sailor, a "made" psychic, who tries not to practice the skills he was given. He's an enigma from the word go and is broody, moody, and bad*ss. And of all the men Lily's met so far...He's the only one I would actually approve of her dating and we don't know anything about him. The selection of men that the author has provided for Lily is really sub-par; she deserves much better than the creatures, human and not-so-much, that have been paraded into her life in both Book 1 & Book 2. Let's hope this gets ironed out quickly.

All-in-all this is a great book. I've read reviews from others on various sites and I'll just say this: There is no need to be overly critical of the theme. This book is fiction and, while witchcraft, Wicca, occult phenomena, voodoo, etc. are truly practiced/believed in, in our world, whether Juliet gets facts straight concerning these practices shouldn't be harshly judged. Her vision of witchcraft and the like may be different from what is truly practiced or may be based on what she has learned about the practice from her aunt and her investigations into the paranormal and supernatural....I mean look how many variations of vampire culture are out there. Each person writes about what they want to, what's in their head. ...more

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Oct 13, 2010 Christina rated it liked it

Didn't enjoy this one quite as much as the first one in the series, but it was still a fun read. I felt that the mystery ended a little too neatly, not to mention abruptly. I was more interested in the continuing back-stories of the characters involved and the world the author is expanding upon than the actual mystery. I am, however, looking forward to the third book in the series. ...more

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