Book source ~ Kindle Lending Library

Tori Dawson has lost yet another waitressing job due to her quick temper. To make matters worse, her reputation has spread so that she’s unlikely to find a job anywhere downtown. As she’s leaving a café after being turned away, a sheet of paper with three job listings blows right into her face. The first two jobs aren’t appealing, but the third job is for a bartender. Not something she’s ever done, but at least she’s familiar with how to do it. It’s in a not so great part of town, but no too deeply into the bad side so she goes to apply. And is hired. Unfortunately, she has no idea that the Crow and Hammer isn’t just a bar. It’s a guild. For magic users. And that’s when Tori’s life gets very interesting.

Omg, what fun this book is! Tori is a great character and the people she meets are just as interesting. The world is fascinating, the plot decent, and there’s humor, too. I totally enjoyed myself with this one. So much so that I went and gorged myself on all the books in the series as well as the two off-shoots connected to it. So be prepared for many more reviews for this new-to-me author and this world of magic, humor, and danger.

Lucy Swift is an American transplant in Oxford, running the wool shop she inherited from her dead grandma. And by dead I mean vampire. Lucy spends her days running the shop and solving the occasional murder. At night she hangs out with her vampire friends while they knit at tremendous speeds or learning to control the witchcraft she also inherited from her grandma. Hanging out with her vampire friends is much more fun. When her friends Alice and Charlie (Charlie owns the bookstore across the street and Alice is his assistant) get married she’s prepared to enjoy her friends’ lovely day. Until there’s a murder right in the church. What the hecka?!

Now, in between running her shop and taking broom flying lessons, Lucy and her amateur sleuthing vampire friends need to find out who the murderer is before someone else dies. It’s just another uneventful day in Oxford.

I love this series so much. Each book is easy to read and even with the sadness of a murder (or two) it’s a light and often humorous way to pass a few hours. There’s mystery, humor, paranormal elements, great characters, and even some romance sprinkled in. This is book 8 and I’m not even close to being tired of the Oxford shenanigans. Bring on book 9!

Book source ~ Kindle Lending Library

Lucy Swift is really loving living in Oxford, running her grandma’s wool shop, and solving the occasional murder. Ok, she may not actually be loving the murders, but it sure livens things up. So to speak. So also really loves her knitting vampire friends who live under her shop. She’s even getting a little bit of magic practice in and not creating any disasters. On top of all that, a tv show is going to be filmed in her shop! It’s so exciting! Until…you guessed it. A murder happens. Disaster! And she can’t even blame her witchy powers because she wasn’t using them! She and her amateur vampire sleuths need to solve this murder and quick because her business is on the line.

Nancy Warren hits another one out of the park. I love this whole world. Cozy and quaint Oxford and it’s shops, knitting galore, vampires from all eras, and murders to solve. There’s paranormal elements (I mentioned the vampires and Lucy is a witch) and humor. Plus, Lucy is being wooed now by a really old vampire. She’s not exactly sure she knows where it’s heading, but she’s really enjoying the journey. If you’re looking for a fast easy read that has a murder to solve (no gore, I promise), vampires (also no gore), humor, and a sprinkling of romance then I can’t recommend this story (and all the others that came before it) enough.

Book source ~ Kindle Lending Library

Lucy Swift is becoming more and more comfortable running the wool shop in Oxford that she inherited from her grandmother. Her cousin Violet helps her out with the shop and also tries to get her to practice her witchy skills. But Lucy has had some bad luck with that so she avoids it at all costs. When Violet fills in for the regular fortune teller at a local fair, she may be a tad too honest about her clients’ futures. When one of them ends up dead, things get really nasty and accusations of “witch” get thrown around. Lucy and her vampire friends need to find out who the real murderer is before the local townspeople resort to burning people at the stake, namely her cousin.

I’m still loving this series. It’s entertaining, light, and easy to read. The murders aren’t easy to solve, so they keep me guessing. Plus, how can I resist knitting vampires and magic gone awry? I can’t, so I will keep going with this series and hope it never ends.

This installment focuses more on Lucy’s magic ancestry and her family (and coven) and less on the vampires, but it’s still an enjoyable read. Lucy’s two beaus are still in the picture and it is not immediately clear who she will pick once things start heating up. Neither one is a perfect fit which makes things interesting. I’m looking forward to the next book in the series.

Book source ~ Kindle Lending Library

American Lucy Swift is really starting to settle into Oxford. Running her grandmother’s yarn shop, learning magic, and solving murders doesn’t leave a lot of time to make new friends, but she’s trying to make time to socialize. Being a witch and having vampires meet with their knitting club in her back room doesn’t really help in that department either, but she’s determined to make at least a few friends outside of the knitting circle and coven. When Alice, the assistant at Frogg Books needs some help with her unrequited love of her boss, Lucy’s cousin Violet talks Lucy into making the poor woman a love potion. Lucy’s past witchy experiences have usually gone awry, so she’s reluctant, but ultimately her desire to help Alice wins out. What happens next, well, it could only happen to Lucy.

I really like this series because it’s easy to read, kinda fun (minus the murders), has humor, and wonderful characters. It also has two potential love interests for Lucy, neither of which is ideal considering her current situation, but I can’t help but root for each one for different reasons. The wooing of Lucy is in the very beginning stages, so I have no idea yet who would be the better pick. I like them both though. In this book, Detective Inspector Ian Chisholm steps up his dating efforts, but then stumbles through no fault of his own. Damn that love potion! Rafe Crosyer, resident vampire leader, has his eye on Lucy, too. I’ll just have to wait and see how this plays out. My only complaint, and it’s small really, is there wasn’t as much interaction with the vampires in this installation. I really like them, so it dimmed my enjoyment just a bit.

If you’re looking for a light, easy, fun read that has magic, murder, and vampires then I suggest starting with book 1, The Vampire Knitting Club, in this series. This book can be read as a standalone, no problem, but I think starting at the beginning will make it that much more enjoyable. I’m totally getting the next book in the series. Join me in the fun.