I love the setting of the small village for this story. I like the main character and her friends. Looking forward to having more by this author. Thoroughly enjoyable cozy.

I just love Ellie in this English village cozy mystery! She's a great sleuth that makes the reader want to become BFFs with her. This was a great mystery and I can't wait for more!

Potions Are for Pushovers is book 2 in the Eleanor Wilde Mystery Series. I had not read book one (Seances are for Suckers), Berry was able to quickly establish both the lead and secondary characters.

Eleanor now lives in a cottage near her dashing very attractive Nicholas. She has assumed the role of the village witch. The book opens with her selling a 'potion' to Mr. Worthington. The binding spell is to keep Regina close to him. The reader thinks for a human? Nope. A pig. One that would be better served by a stronger fence. Ellie has given up her travels as a fake medium for something more 'sedate'.

Ellie, it seems, is still willing to perform as a fake witch. But, maybe she isn't. What is true is Nicholas would love to support her. Ellie wavers, but is determined to be independent. To enhance her reputation, she very reluctantly takes on 2 apprentices. The teens are enthusiastic, but skeptical at times. Compounding her problems, a murder has occurred, poisoning is involved, and Beast the cat has disappeared.

Ellie's narration is witty, verging on sardonic and wise. She is still on a journey of self discovery.
The author plans additional adventures for Ellie. I look forward to reading them
Full disclosure: I received this ARC from netgalley and Kensington Publications in exchange for an unbiased review. Thank you for the opportunity.

Eleanor Wilde and her small English town of misfits will keep you with a smile on your face and guessing what possibly could happen next. From the first page until the last this book had me completely immersed, the perfectly written quirky characters and their vividly described town had me living this story. The bonus of paranormal folklore and botany made this one incredibly hard book to put down.

As a quick aside, I wasn't aware that this was the second book in the series when I started it, so the beginning took me a little bit to get the hang of, and I might not have the same connection to the characters I otherwise may have.

Potions are for Pushovers is a nice, original take on a witchy, paranormal cozy. Although Ellie is the village witch -- providing attraction tonics and love potions etc -- she also a big old fraud. Despite the occasional visit from her ghostly sister, she remains a skeptic, so you can never quite be sure which of the paranormal elements -- potions, curses, and werewolves -- are genuine and which might have more mundane explanations.

I really liked Ellie's little sleuthing group (which I think is new with this installment?) as she takes on two young apprentices to study witchcraft with her. It's entertaining to see the girls' excitement over the werewolf investigation while Ellie tries to uncover the murder without hurting their feelings.

Personally, I wasn't a huge fan of the romance in this one, but that might be because I missed the meeting, getting to know each other, etc. from the first book. I did, however, really appreciate that Nicolas isn't the usual cozy love interest. I love a detective boyfriend as much as the next reader, but it's always nice to see a bit of variety. The village was interesting too, especially Ellie half-in, half-out membership of the community.

Potions are for Pushovers was an interesting mystery, and is a bit different from the standard paranormal fair. Ellie is likable and the supporting cast is interesting but the real win for me was that paranormal/fraud seesaw. I don't think I'd go back and read the first installment, but I'll definitely keep an eye out for the next one.

I laughed so much reading this great mystery. Ellie is a great sleuth and I think it is interesting that she pretends to believe in the paranormal, when she can hear her sisters ghost, The story moved at a great pace and I enjoyed the characters. I highly recommend this book to everyone who loves a great paranormal mystery

Cozy, with a little touch of snark and less paranormal than you might expect from a book whose lead character has settled into a quaint English village as a psychic/witch/purveyor of elixirs and potions. Of course, she spent most of her adult pretending to be a psychic to support the care for her comatose triplet sister. To protect her reputation, Eleanor Wilde becomes involved with solving the death of the most unliked resident of her new hometown. Her new "apprentices" with other engaging characters make this book a delight and loads of fun.

Having loved the first book in the series, Seances are for Suckers, I was thoroughly excited to begin this one. I thought this was a cozy mystery series. Unfortunately, I don’t think it qualifies as a cozy mystery when describing in gory detail the massacre of a neighbor’s beloved pig. So disturbing that I lost all interest in continuing. I think the book’s description should include animals turn up mutilated. I won’t be recommending this series to cozy mystery readers. ARC received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Potions are for Pushovers: An Eleanor Wilde Mystery
By Tamara Berry
Kensington
2019

Review by Cynthia Chow

For someone who has made it a practice to not form close relationships or get too emotionally attached, Eleanor Wilde is slowly becoming a part of her new residence in the Sussex village. Despite being a non-believing witch hired to fake exorcise a ghost out of Castle Hartford, Eleanor has settled in as their go-to psychic-witch. Herb-enhanced shots of vodka are served out as potions for both human suitors and roaming pigs, but it’s one that she didn’t sell that is threatening to have her burned at the stake (not literally, at least). After getting shanghaied into representing the Hartford family at the village fete planning committee, Eleanor’s facetious remarks land her in the hot seat when the village grouch Sarah Blackthorne fatally collapses from poison. Banned from selling any of her potions until the definitive cause can be found – in addition to lacking a business license – Eleanor’s lack of finances make solving the crime and finding the culprit a necessity. Her literal rainy-day fund is at risk due to normal English weather and a leaking roof, and Eleanor’s pride prevents her from asking for help from her not-dating-but-not-not-dating friend Nicholas Hartford III.

Despite half of the village eying her suspiciously and believing that she cursed Sarah Blackthorne to death, Eleanor soon has her hands full with two eager young witch interns. Twelve-year-old Lenora MacDougal is applying to be an apprentice to fulfill a profession-shadowing assignment for school, while Nicholas’s eighteen-year-old niece continues to find Eleanor fascinating. Doing what she can to give the young women research tasks to hopefully keep them out of trouble, Eleanor also has to juggle sporadic input from her recently deceased sister Winnie. The once doubtful witch has adjusted to the dreamlike visits from her beloved sibling, and Eleanor finds that the hope placed on her own concoctions and (helped-along) magical outcomes are as healing and effective as “real” medicine. A possible Book of Spells, inheriting nephews, and committee full of Sarah’s enemies all lead to a gathering-of-suspects showstopping reveal that the inner performer in Eleanor can truly appreciate.

Eleanor Wilde has quickly become one of my favorite fictional characters. The high medical costs of her comatose sister led Eleanor to use her observational and deductive skills to become a fake psychic, and now she wields those same talents to out-investigate local officials. The protective walls Eleanor had built around herself may have helped her to emotionally detach from the pain of slowly losing her sister, but they would doom her to a lonely and bleak existence. The surprisingly accepting vicar has become Eleanor’s best friend, and Nicholas’s sardonic humor and caustic remarks hide a warm heart just as fragile and vulnerable as Eleanor’s. She is still the champion of hilarious observations though, noting that the vicar follows reverse-vampire rules and is forced to let in visitors, encouraging her teen followers to go and take selfies or shoplift like normal teens, and proudly declaring that broken psychics are right two times a day. This second in the series is an outstanding blend of humor and sentimentality, presenting readers with a heroine who is learning to lower her defenses and allow the quirky Sussex villagers in. Original characters, clever plotting, and witty turns of phrases delivered by a reluctant witch make this an extremely satisfying and rewarding read.

Second in the series, but overall only had a few questions and had no trouble following the story. Ellie moved to a small village in England and is the new local witch. People come for her common sense wisdom and her potions (mostly made with vodka). When a miserly old woman dies it puts everyone on edge. When pets start missing or turn up dead there begins the rumors of a werewolf in the neighborhood. Yikes! Love the banter between her and her gentry boyfriend, and had plenty of chuckles throughout. Fun story and look forward to reading more. Highly recommend this book and author.

This was a great, light hearted read. Definitely one of my favorite cozy mystery series. It kept me interested from start to finish, I couldn't put it down. I thoroughly enjoyed losing a Friday night to it.

A supernatural cozy mystery perfect for a beach or bathtub read. I enjoyed the characters and found the mystery interesting

My rating: 4 of 5 stars, I really liked it.

Book 2 in the series.

I loved this book as much as the first one in the series. The pace was quick and I read it in one sitting.

The entire cast of characters is a bit kooky. The main character, Eleanor, is not a physic at all, but previously pretended to be one to make a living and support her sister. Now, she creates herbal potions as the town witch. Despite the fact that at heart, Ellie is a con artist, she's still incredibly likable and funny.

She's also smart, independent and capable. And did I mention funny? I had several laugh out loud moments with this book.

Ellie seems to have found her place in the village in this book, settling in and making friends outside of the Hartford family.

I absolutely love this series and can't wait 'til the next one.

I loved Berry’s first Eleanor Wilde mystery, Seances Are for Suckers, and so I looked forward to this one. Ellie, our protagonist, makes a living as a sham medium and pusher of herbal potions. She arrived in this tiny English town in the last book, hired by the wealthy Nicholas Hartford to scam his family, but they fell in love and so she stayed here. Business is on hold, however, until the murder of the local battle ax has been solved; until Ellie can sell her potions again, she can’t make a living, and the heat is on.

My thanks go to Net Galley and Kensington Books for the review copy. This book is for sale now.
The glory of satire is that the most tired, trite elements of a mystery can be trotted out and placed on full display, the more overdone the better. Add into it an overflowing supply of snark, swift pacing, a hint of confusion and the very teensiest, briefest moment of sentimentality and the result is, well, magical.

At the same time that Sarah is murdered, pets begin to disappear. A grisly surprise is left in Ellie’s herb garden, and her cat Beast, a menace if ever there was one, is nowhere to be seen. Cats, pigs…what’s next? Her sometimes-friend the local constable is irritated that Ellie doesn’t pass along the finer details of what she learns, but she points out to him that witches and law enforcement have a problematic history. Crackle crackle, she says. Burn burn.

The best new element is Lenore, a pesky but gifted adolescent that wants to job shadow Ellie. Together with partner Rachel, she embarks upon local werewolf research, and this thread makes me guffaw out loud multiple times. (At one point Lenore decides she’d rather be called Lenny because it sounds more like a gumshoe; my reading notes suggest that Rachel should then become Squiggy. Boomers will understand this reference if nobody else does.)

My affection for Ellie increases when she eats an entire chocolate cake. I’d been watching that cake since she received it, waiting for the typical cozy plot point to play out. Most authors would either have Ellie serve or gift the cake to another recipient, or have it smashed in some sort of hilarious accident before she got a single bite. Berry, however, is not your typical cozy mystery writer. It’s the slightly edgy bits that make this series so successful.

The series is written for adults, but teachers and parents looking for engaging reading for their own gifted adolescent should be fine here. There are no torrid sex scenes, no use of vivid profanity.

Sadly, my own review copy disappeared with no trace from my kindle, so I can’t access juicy quotes; happily. I did use the Goodreads update system, which provided me with the particulars listed above.

There are few authors that can make me laugh out loud every single time I read their work, and that alone makes this writer more valuable to me than most. I await the next Eleanor Wilde book with gleeful anticipation, and whether you have read the first book in this series or not, I recommend this one to you wholeheartedly.

Tamara Berry has her second Eleanor Wilde mystery in Potions are for Pushovers. Eleanor has settled in an English village and practices her witchy skills with much hocus pocus. A disliked villager drops dead from poison, and Eleanor vows to find out whodunit. Someone is killing village pets, Eleanor's cat Beast goes missing.
The murdered villager is unmasked as a blackmailer. Who is hiding vicious instincts? Read this cozy and find out.

This book is the second book in the Eleanor Wilde series by Tamara Berry. I have not yet read the first book, but had no issues reading this as a standalone. I would, however, LOVE to read the first book and future stories, because it was good!

The story is about Eleanor Wilde, a woman who is pretending to be a psychic. She has a long history of being a con artist and has settled in a quaint English villiage. Ellie sells "potions" and "tonics" to locals, claiming them to be love potions, etc, however mostly they are water, vodka, and some essential oils and local herbs. When one of the townspeople dies of poisoning, the police look at Ellie as their prime suspect.

Ellie, of course, takes to investigating on her own to find the true killer. She also ends up with a pair of teenage girls as assistants, who are surprisingly good at their investigating. This ending of this book was somewhat of a surprise to me, but I think it wrapped up well. I would love to hear more about Ellie's hunky rich boyfriend Nicholas, and I'm looking forward to more in the series.

My thanks to #NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Potions are for Pushovers by Tamera Berry is the second An Eleanor Wilde Mystery. Eleanor “Ellie” Wilde is asked to be on the town fete committee by Rachel Hartford (replace her mother) and, of course, she agrees. At the meeting, Sarah Blackthorn collapses and dies. Inspector Piper stops by the next day to see Ellie because one of her potion bottles was found on the victim who died from poisoning. It was an attraction elixir which was not meant for consumption, but there was nothing that would harm an individual if they did consume it. Unfortunately, Ellie must discontinue making and selling potions until the case is resolved. Ellie has no choice but to investigate to clear her name and save her livelihood. Potions are for Pushovers is the second tale in An Eleanor Wilde Mystery series. It can be read as a standalone for those who have not read Seances are for Suckers. Ellie is putting down roots in the village, and her business is taking off. I like the descriptions of Ellie’s cottage and the charming village. There are a variety of quirky residents. Eleanor is a likeable character who is smart, observant and friendly. She wants to make friends with the residents of the village which is one reason she agrees to be on the fete committee. It is unfortunate that the unlikeable Sarah Blackthorn drops dead and suspicion is cast upon Ellie. Nicholas Hartford III, her boyfriend, is still an enigma at the end of the book. I just want him to share the details of his life, but I believe Nicholas likes being mysterious. Nicholas’s sister, Rachel is kind and has become friends with Ellie along with Annis, the vicar. The mystery had a disagreeable woman as the victim which leads to multiple suspects. While it is not hard to discern the killer’s identity, it is fun following Ellie on her investigation. I like the paranormal element and would like more of it. There is a little gore in this book, but it is minimal. The pacing could have used a little work. I found it lagging at times. Potions are for Pushovers is perfect for those readers who enjoy lighthearted, humorous cozy mysteries with a hint of paranormal. Potions are for Pushovers is a cute paranormal mystery with a pig problem, gossip galore, an irritating inspector, cat conundrum, and a vexatious victim.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to read this book!

This is the second book in this series, but I quite easily fell into the world and the characters. Ellie was a fantastic lead, and Nicholas as her beau was a great choice. Seeing them on page together made me want to go back and find out how they got together in the first book, because their banter was just precious. This book has a slight Supernatural lean, so I expected the ending to be more spooky, but alas, the worst monsters are human after all.

I think this series has had a solid beginning, and we can expect more great books to come. The township and characters are great, and the sleuth team building around Ellie will be unstoppable. Five stars!

Imagine my surprise when I found out this was book 2 in the series and that last year I read book 1 and loved it! In this book you meet Eleanor who is a skeptic herself....yet her job in this town is to be the local witch! Does she believe herself to be a witch? No, she considers herself a clever con artist, and that is what I love about her.

Yes, she can hear the voice of her dead sister, but she uses her wit and knowledge to solve the murder in this book. The pacing was fantastic and the twists were even more so! Overall, I really enjoyed this book and I hope there is more of this series to come!

Potions Are for Pushovers by Tamara Berry is the second book in the cozy Eleanor Wilde Mystery series. Like most cozy mysteries each book of the series does contain it’s own mystery to be solved so they can be read and understood as a standalone or in any order. Those that follow the series from the beginning however will get more character development from book to book.

Eleanor Wilde or Ellie as she likes to be called is a fake medium, well fake as in she let’s her customers continue in their belief of a ghost when she’s moving rats out of their attic. After an accident ten years ago in which Ellie survived but lost her mother that night and her sister was left in a coma Ellie has had to do whatever she can to pay the medical bills. She doesn’t think of herself as a con artist or fake when she is preforming the service she’s been hired to do but it’s a thin line she’s walking nonetheless.

Ellie has now set up shop in her small town since she became known as the town witch after taking care of a local ghost. Since she’s known as a witch she’s been making a living selling potions to the locals. When a murder victim is found to have been poisoned however local law looks straight at Ellie and her “magical” concoctions but when she’s proven to only use natural, safe ingredients she ends up right in the middle of the investigation again.

The Eleanor Wilde Mystery series is proving to be quite the fun and quirky type of cozy that I an always drawn to. With just a touch of paranormal mixed in with the “fake” main character it’s enough to keep one guessing and certainly engaged with the crazy characters and mystery. Definitely one I’d recommend to those that like a cozy that is outside of the box or genre norms.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.