Enchanting Review: Coffeehouse Angel

COFFEEHOUSE ANGEL

SUZANNE SELFORS

YA

Walker

ISBN# 978-0-80279-9812-11

288 Pages

$16.99

Hardcover--Available August 2009

Rating: 5 Enchantments

COFFEEHOUSE ANGEL is one of my favorite books of the year. When Katrina finds a guy asleep in the alley behind her grandmother’s coffee shop, she first thinks he’s homeless. So when she does a good deed, leaving him coffee and a pastry, she has to admit she’s relieved to see both the food and him gone the next time she looks out the window. But she could never imagine what’s about to follow, for the boy in the alley is not what he seems and he’s determined to reward Katrina for her good deed.

There is so much I loved about this book. Katrina is a wonderful character, sarcastic, not to mention mortified at the sudden appearance of the kilt-wearing teenage boy who seems to be not only hounding her, but seems to be a wee bit of crazy, for he keeps swearing he needs to reward her good deed. So when he magically empowers a chocolate covered coffee bean with fame (what else does everyone want?) and it inadvertently ends up in the stomach of her best guy friend she couldn’t imagine the chaos its about to cause. And that’s when the fun really begins. There are so many great scenes in COFFEEHOUSE ANGEL but one of the best is when Malcolm crashes the school assembly the day Katrina leaves him the coffee and pastry and wants to reward her for her good deed, only to be kicked out by the principal. I loved the relationships Katrina has between her two best friends, including her long time best guy friend who suddenly thanks to the results of the fame magic bean seems to be falling for Katrina’s bitter rival, and not to mention the daughter of the man trying to run her grandmother’s coffee shop out of business which adds even more complications to her already chaotic life.

Readers looking for a really enjoyable and entertaining YA read won’t go wrong picking up COFFEEHOUSE ANGEL.

COFFEEHOUSE ANGEL is Ms. Selfors second young adult novel. You can learn more about her and her writing at her website: http://suzanneselfors.com/

Lisa

Enchanting Reviews

March 2009

Enchanting Review: LilyDale: Believing

LILY DALE: BELIEVING

WENDY CORSI STAUB

Paranormal YA

Walker

ISBN 978-0-8027-9656-1

256 Pages

$15.95

Hardcover--Available Now

Rating: 4 Enchantments

Ms. Staub does an excellent job melding paranormal and suspense together in her LILY DALE series featuring Calla Delaney.

Picking up mere moments after the first book left off, LILY DALE: BELIEVING has Calla finding herself the target of a serial killer targeting teenage girls, a case that first came to light in book one. However, reading "Awakening" is not required to enjoy LILY DALE: BELIEVING for it stands quite well on its own. Calla is still trying to deal with the unexpected loss of her mother, the realization of her own medium abilities and adjusting to life in Lily Dale with her unique grandmother Odel and the physical distance between her and her father. Add in the normal teenager issues and things can get pretty complicated. What I like most about Calla is her willingness to learn about her newfound abilities, something that's much changed from her behavior in book one. The fact that we see things from both the killer's point of view several times during the story adds a creepiness to the book that keeps the reader rapidly turning the pages, knowing that at some point there will be a meeting between he and Calla.

Threads left unsolved from the first book continue on in book two, and with BELIEVING's own startling ending it will no doubt leave readers waiting anxiously for book three releasing November 2008.

Learn more about the Lily Dale series and Ms. Staub on her website, http://www.wendycorsistaub.com/youngadult.html

Lisa

Enchanting Reviews

October 2008

Enchanting Review: LilyDale: Awakening

LILY DALE: AWAKENING

WENDY CORSI STAUB

Paranormal YA

Walker

ISBN# 978-0802796554

256 Pages

$7.99

Paperback—Available Now

Rating: 4 Enchantments

After the unexpected death of her mother, Calla finds herself spending a few weeks in Lily Dale with Odelia, her unusual grandmother who she barely knows. But that's not the oddest thing, she soon finds out Odelia is a registered medium and Lily Dale is filled with people just like her. But that’s not even the weirdest part, it seems that Calla herself might just share her grandmother’s gift as a medium and soon she finds herself embroiled in a mystery; and wondering if her mother’s death really was an accident or was it something more, something her newfound gift can uncover?

LILY DALE: AWAKENING is an interesting take on a psychic teenager. With Calla’s life turned upside down, finding herself in Lily Dale with the grandmother she barely knows, Calla’s forced to come to terms with a lot of things. Like trying to figure out the bits and pieces of the argument she remembers her mother having with Odelia years ago, the same fight that kept Odelia out of their lives until the funeral. And when Calla realizes she might just share the same gift as Odelia, can she help a grieving mother find her missing daughter? Or will she end up in danger herself?

I really enjoyed LILY DALE: AWAKENING. Calla is an interesting character, fighting to adjust to her new surroundings and the fact her grandmother can see the dead. And maybe she can do, given she’s sure she saw something out of the corner of her eye, let alone when the woman appears at the door, asking to see her grandmother. What Calla first thinks of as a rude teenager, standing in Odelia’s flowers couldn’t be a real ghost could it? I loved Odelia, she’s just a really great unique character. I look forward to reading the second book in Ms. Staub's LILY DALE series.

WENDY CORSI STAUB is a best-selling writer of adult fiction, regularly appearing on the USA Today and New York Times best-seller lists. She grew up near the town of Lily Dale, and has had personal experiences with psychics in the town. Her adult best-seller, In the Blink of an Eye also took place in Lily Dale. Wendy lives with her family in Katonah, New York. Visit her Web site at www.wendycorsistaub.com

Lisa

Enchanting Reviews

August 2008