Recommended Book: The Flower Bowl Spell by Olivia Boler

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 475 KB
• Publisher: Olivia Boler; 1 edition (25 Jan 2012)
• Sold by: Amazon UK, Smashwords, Amazon US
• Language English
• Website: Official Site

Overview

Journalist Memphis Zhang isn’t ashamed of her Wiccan upbringing—in fact, she’s proud to be one of a few Chinese American witches in San Francisco, and maybe the world. Unlike the well-meaning but basically powerless Wiccans in her disbanded coven, Memphis can see fairies, read auras, and cast spells that actually work—even though she concocts them with ingredients like Nutella and antiperspirant. Yet after a friend she tries to protect is brutally killed, Memphis, full of guilt, abandons magick to lead a “normal” life. The appearance, however, of her dead friend’s sexy rock star brother—as well as a fairy in a subway tunnel—suggest that magick is not done with her. Reluctantly, Memphis finds herself dragged back into the world of urban magick, trying to stop a power-hungry witch from using the dangerous Flower Bowl Spell and killing the people Memphis loves—and maybe even Memphis herself.

My Rating: ★★★★★ (5 out of 5)

My Review

This is a Fantasy story about magick and witches and I must admit/confess to having NEVER read a fantasy book before. This is not a genre that would be on my usual reading list and so I probably wouldn’t have read this book if it hadn’t been for the Eclectic Reading Challenge. So a big, thank-you to Shelleyrae over at Book’d Out for giving me a reason to branch out and read something outside my comfort zone.

I cannot emphasise enough how much I got sucked into the world of Memphis Zhang. I was totally immersed in her story and I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. With all the reviews I have written so far, I find it difficult to comment too much on the story or characters as I don’t want to give anything away.

What I will say is that I BELIEVED the main protagonist. I felt she came alive on the page (of my Kindle) and I cared about what happened to her throughout the story. One of the character names in particular was a stroke of GENIUS and everyone we met on the journey was well drawn.

This is written in the first person and from the main protagonist’s point of view. I enjoyed the story line and the humour that’s injected into the narrative is spot on. I even broke my “not reading my Kindle on the bus” rule (I know it’s a stupid rule) as I HAD to keep reading this book. I’ve said before I judge a good book on whether the story keeps popping into my mind, well days after finishing The Flower Bowl Spell, little snippets keep doing just that.

Olivia Boler is an author I *met* blogging. I read her posts on self-publishing her story and watched with interest as the cover design was unveiled and the publication drew ever closer. This is a journey that so many people are on and it is a journey I hope to make myself one day. This makes reading a book like this more important to me. It also inspires me to make sure I write reviews and help spread the word.

This was a top professional job. Great cover, well-edited and no errors to speak about. This book gives self-publishing a HUGE pat on the back. If every self-published book was to this standard then maybe the stigma attached to going it on your own would end right here and now.

I might have mentioned before that I don’t read much. That’s why I set myself the target of 24 books this year, I know as a writer I need to read more. This book has made me want to read more of your suggestions for the fantasy genre and if you want to stretch your own reading then I HIGHLY recommend reading this book. It was magick! (sorry, couldn’t resist)

I look forward to reading Olivia’s next book.

This is the fifth book I have read for the Eclectic Reading Challenge 2012. This is the book for the Fantasy category.