There is romance, and tragedy. Family dysfunction and twin abilities.
When their home and business are targeted, by means of blaming their best employee for a murder he did not commit, these twins with special talents must learn to work together to solve a crime and save their family and legacy.
I stayed up late because I wanted to finish one more chapter many times.
I really enjoyed this book and look forward to reading what else happens to this family.

This series has a lot of potential. The main characters, Tabby and Sage, are twins with special “energetic” abilities. They run a Savannah candle and gift shop. Their best salesman is accused of murdering a customer. While he sits in jail, the twins go out on their own to figure out who really murdered her.

Tabby comes across as the main character and Sage seems to be more of a sidekick. That is just fine with me, Sage is a little unlikeable. I hope to see some growth in her character over time.

Chapter one started a little rocky for me. The twins’ energetic abilities are not explained well in the first chapter. Descriptions of an average person’s ability to project emotion are mixed in with descriptions of their special abilities in an effort to contrast them. Similar language is used to describe both, leaving the distinction less clear rather than more clear. This does get better as the story goes on and their abilities are seen in action.

There were a couple of tertiary characters in the book that did not work for me. Their alternative lifestyles or appearance became the focus of the scene in which they were mentioned, even though they weren’t very important to the main plot. This was a distraction, taking me out of the story. I strongly dislike this type of alternative lifestyle shoe horning just to check off diversity boxes.

Despite those two issues, I really had a great time reading this book and I would pick up the next one to see how things unfold for Tabby and Sage.

Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for providing this ebook for review.

Tabby and Sage Winslow are twin sisters who run a book and candle shop. Both sisters have different psychic powers, but Tabby has suppressed hers due to a past incident. When a customer , unhappy with the healing candle she purchased, has an angry confrontation in the store and is later found murdered.
When their store manager is considered the number one suspect, Tabby sets out to prove his innocence with the help of her sister. Wii Tabby be willing to use her suppressed abilities to help catch the murderer?
First in a new series.
#SnuffedOut #NetGalley

What a great first book in a new series! The twins are strong & capable & I find their particular brand of magic know how to be very intriguing & unusual. I like that the author jumps all in, magic exists & our characters know it. That’s refreshing.

If you enjoyed Practical Magic than this is a great book for you. It has similar light/dark vibe, there is humour & drama paired well together.

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC. This book was so fun. I really enjoyed it. This book kept me interested and i enjoyed the book and this genre

Tabby and Sage Winslow run a shop in old Savannah and make candles to sell in their shop. When a troublesome customer is murdered the shop, most specifically their employe Gerard, make it on the suspect list.

To save their shop and Gerard. as well as deliver justice, the sisters need to find out who the killer is without losing everything, including their own lives.

This is a great start to a new cozy series set in one of my favorite cities! Candles, paranormal abilities and twin sisters make for an amazing future in this series. A first book is always the hardest for any author, new characters to develop, how m such description to add without going overboard, etc. I feel the author did a good job with this initial entry into the series and while there were a few bumps in the road, like addressing gender pronouns and a little repetition, that these will be addressed moving forward.

Snuffed Out is a cozy mystery about twin sisters with magical abilities who run a candle shop. in Savannah, GA. Trouble arises after a rude customer of theirs is found murdered. Everyone at the shop is a suspect with clerk Gerard taking most of the heat. The mystery in this one is pretty solid, while I had suspicions on who was involved, I could never have foreseen why. I thought the characters were strong, especially Tabby and Gerard, the other sister Sage seemed to go off in different directions being kind one minute and screaming the next. Overall I enjoyed the story and look forward to reading more about these characters.

Tabby Winslow has few things she cares deeply for, but her twin, Sage, and their candle making business are right up there.The Book and Candle Shop is in one of the older neighbourhoods of Savannah and since their mother's death and aunt's relocation to Florida they live above the store while running everything together. The sisters have secrets known only to themselves and their aunt, including the ability to link their thoughts and harness the power of both positive and negative energies.

When their one employee, Gerard, is targeted by the police after the suspicious death of one of their more awkward customers Tabby throws herself into proving his innocence and finding out who really killed her. Coming up against those determined to stop her investigation by whatever means necessary, and even with Sage's less enthusiastic assistance, Tabby fears they may lose everything if she fails.

This is the first in Valona Jones's new cosy crime series and there are, by necessity, scene setting sections throughout. Unfortunately those at the beginning swamp the storyline and the first few chapters were a definite struggle to get through because of this. Whilst the actual crime investigation made entertaining reading I found the use of secret abilities a little too convenient when any difficulties arose. The relationships between Tabby, Sage, their aunt, and friends, however, were the best part of the storyline and definitely worth pursuing in the next book.

I was able to read an advanced copy of this thanks to NetGalley and the publishers but the opinions expressed are my own. If cosy crime with supernatural undertones are your thing then this is for you and I will definitely read at least one more book in the series to see how things move forward now the scene has been set.

A nice cozy mystery to get me in the mood for Spooktober. I love a good cozy mystery as much as the next person, I just do not feel like there was a ton of mystery present in this one. The plot was nice and definitely had some twists here and there, but it felt almost lackluster at certain points. Once you grasp the magic system of twins Tabby and Sage it's pretty easy to follow. I enjoyed the ambience of the settings within the book being a native Georgian myself. I could see myself picking up the enxt book in this series especially with all the developments that come in at the end of the book. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with this digital ARC to read in exchange for my honest opinion!

A candle shop in Savannah, twin sisters with energetic powers and a mystery to solve.

I unfortunately had to DNF this one. I love my witches to be of the cOoking, herbalism type. The scents of the candle and booskhop were wonderful to read about but the talk about telepathy and energetic influences was just not for me. Shame because shopowners in cosy mysteries are my favourite things to read about.

Ticking off those cozy boxes, this book really pulled me in with its unique premise and great world building. The paranormal trait of "energetics" is not one that I recall, at least as described here. Bristol Street in Savannah, GA's Historic District provided the perfect setting and atmosphere.. I mean what better place for paranormal energy than the City of the Dead. More important to me than these things are the characters - their interactions, dialogue, and personalities - and the storyline. Twin sisters, Tabby and Sage, and the symbiosis between them pushed all the right buttons for compelling protagonists, and Gerard, Quig, and Auntie O added depth to the relationships. The fact that the storyline was not dependent on the paranormal, though the resolution was, to a great extent, made for an interesting dynamic..

Given the foregoing comments, why a 4 rather than a 5 star review? There were a few hiccups that I hope will be ironed out in subsequent books. Specifically, the exact nature or extent of the twins' gifts/powers is not clear.. To be fair, that may be necessary to their growth we will see in those subsequent books, but I did find it a bit confusing, at times. The fact that the sisters seemed a bit uncertain, as well, tips the scales for a plot design rather than a flaw; but it is worth a mention. More concerning were: (i) the bizarre episode when Sage goes to the dark side out of the blue, almost kills a friend, and then life goes back to normal; and (ii) the resolution did not flow smoothly. It felt forced and awkward and unnecessarily violent, where I expected greater finesse. I have no problem with somewhat violent take-downs in cozy paranormal mysteries, but the groundwork was not laid well for this one, and it was just "off." This feeling flowed into the after-resolution dinner where seemingly taboo comments were made in (non-paranormal) Quiq's presence followed immediately by Tabby's struggle with wording of a question so as not to expose them to Quiq, all the time knowing he was present for the resolution in which Tabby had been at least partially invisible. Inconsistent may be the best way to describe it.

All that said, this book was a great read, and I loved the sea turtle ending (you have to read it to understand). I cannot wait for the next book in the series, and I hope many more to come.

This is a fun cozy mystery. The more I read it, the more I liked it. It took me a little while to tune into the twins and their relationships, but once I did I enjoyed the story. I can see that this is going to be an action filled series, if the rest of the books are anything like this one. Plus we have so many side stories introduced near the end, there will be a lot to build upon.

This book was delightful and charming. I do have to say that at the beginning, there is quite a bit of talk about the sisters having powers that have to do with energies. It was a little confusing. It almost seemed like there were things that we had missed, but this is the first book. Once it started concentrating on the story line, I really enjoyed it. I liked getting to know the sisters and some of the other characters. Some of the interactions between the sisters are a little awkward. I hope this will all be explained in the next books. I think my favorite character was their aunt that showed up to help them towards the end. I cannot wait for the next book in the series.

I love candles and books and was looking forward to delving into this book. However, it just wasn't for me. The energy between the sisters felt off somehow, and I just could never relate to the characters.

I think if the author had put more time into her descriptions of the characters, it might have been different for me. Though there were some parts of the book I enjoyed, I had to struggle to make myself finish it. I'll give the author a try on another series, but this book just wasn't my cup of tea.

The first entry into the new “Book And Candle Shop Mysteries” series. A cozy series about a family of magical energy wielding empaths.

Tabby and Sage come from a long line of eccentric witchy types and they’ve recently inherited the family store selling… you guessed it, books and candles. The twins work hard to keep their bills paid and their magic talents in check, in a small town rumors are hard to beat. When they find themselves in the sights of a murderer they must work together and find our who’s responsible before an innocent goes to prison or they become the next victim – and they need to keep the shop open too or they’ll really lose everything.

A magical cozy mystery that certainly hits all the standard plot points of a cozy but still manages to be interesting and readable to the end. Nothing was left too open ended but room to watch the characters grow as the series continues. I’d certainly pick up the second book and revisit the Winslow family in Savannah.

I will say it started a bit rough as the author tries to explain the family powers but after the first two or three chapters Of this it smooths out.

The about face between Tabby and Quig was odd because she goes from “it’s not a date, no expectations” to “oh yeah and we are friends with benefits”. Why the mental first person narrative preamble on “oh I shouldn’t think that way about him when he has a book of socialites…” when they are infact boning? Just lead with “secret friends with benefits” and drop the inner dialogue pretense because it makes no sense. Also their relationship moves at warp speed even for childhood friends, it would have been nice to see that percolate a bit more.

Sage’s character had such radical mood swings and personality flips that I thought they’d reveal she was under magical influences but maybe her persona will be ironed out as the series continues.

The cover art was perfect and will 100% capture the target audience of mystery lovers.

A big old “Thank You” to Netgalley, the Publisher and of course the author for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review. Your efforts are in good hands and I appreciate the trust.

Title: Snuffed Out
Author: Valona Jones
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books
Format: Kindle (Will be sold in hardback.)
Publication Date: January 10, 2023

I was excited to dive into this new series. Fraternal twins Tabby and Sage Winslow own The Book and Candle Shop in Savannah. This was appealing because I love Savannah Georgia. The sisters have powers to control the energy around them. Only Sage has embraced and honed in on her ability to control it. Her sister however is reluctant to use hers. They are working together to prove that their employee did not murder someone. Overall I think the book has a lot of potential. I felt like I was missing some context somewhere. I will be reading the next.
#SnuffedOut #NetGalley

Snuffed Out is cozy mystery that takes place in a mystical candle shop. Twins Tabby and Sage Winslow own and live above the candle shop. Both of the women have powers but only Sage embraces her powers. Tabby is reluctant to use hers because of an incident from her past. Tabby begins to investigate the murder of one of the shops regular patrons when the police zero in on her loyal shop employee as the main suspect.

I gave this book four stars but in the current format I feel it is more of a 3,5 rating. The book is good but it could use a little more editing and clarity. For the entirety of the book I felt that I was reading a second or third novel in a series and was shocked that this was the first in the series. I felt that the character backgrounds were not well established and the setting also could have been more focused on. For example towards the end of the book it is mentioned that the store might be built on unmarked graves in New Orleans. I would have loved to read more about this in this book even if the plan is to go into more details in the next book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for access to this title.

Can we talk about this cover? The colors, the candle, the cat! It immediately drew me in and told me something about the setting of the story. Although the story is in no way similar, the beginning of this story gave me serious Sweet valley High vibes. The main characters, Tabby and Sage Winslow are twins with opposing personalities. We hear the story exclusively from Tabby's point of view. It might have been more interesting to get some chapters told from her twin sister Sage's perspective since they are fraternal twins. Given that this is the first book in a series maybe the next one will be Sage's turn?s who are joined by their "energetics" power. Something I will look out for in the future books..

I enjoyed the overall trajectory of story and it did keep my interest throughout for the most part. The Savanah setting appealed to me but was a little lacking. Going more in-depth would add to the enjoyment of the experience. I liked that the author included a little taste of history of the city but wanted more. there were a few sentences that would talk about something, like the yellow fever that once hit the city and then nothing. Again, given that this is a first book in a series, we will get more over time.

The Tabby, Gerard, Quig and Auntie O characters were both well developed and well done. They felt like friends and I understood who they were and why they made the choices the did throughout the story. Oppositely,I felt that Sage and many of the side characters were missing a little something and could have been developed more. It's interesting that these are the people in the book with darker personalities. I didn't enjoy them as much, maybe that was purposeful. In addition, there were too many characters. I understand the need for red herrings in cozy mysteries but the sheer number of them made it hard for me to keep them all straight and was distracting to the mystery. Less characters would leave more room to more fully develop the ones remaining.

There were couple of elements in the plot that I found a little problematic. Some of them could be addressed simply by another run through with the editors. There are a few cases where the dialogue gets repetitive and some spots that were a little confusing. I would have liked some more lead up to the murder itself to make the initial police reaction more believable. Gerard being the main suspect because he made a snarky comment to the victim, especially when she was universally disliked by everyone she came into contact with is pretty far fetched. They double down by continuing to see him as the main suspect. Sometimes the author's choices seem more convenient to the furtherance of the plot than what makes sense.

While I appreciate the author's inclusion of people of color and people in the LGBTQA+ community the book could benefit from a sensitivity reading. For example, when Tabby interviews Eileen, the victim's next door neighbor, she is unsure of her gender and waits for her to self-identify using any pronouns, perfect and appreciated.. However, later in the book Tabby comments "nothing "about her hand looked dainty. It looked sturdy, as if it could pound nails all day". Why? It stood out to me so much that I thought it may be a plot point, but nothing happens which makes this comment feel clumsy at least and insensitive at worst, There is room for the author and editor growth in future stories.

With some editing and a sensitivity read this book could be at least a 3.5 or 4 star read.

A Little Sleuthing…
The first in the Magic Candle Shop series of mysteries finds twins, Tabby and Sage, running their shop in Savannah. Their partnership is tested when murder most foul enters through the door and prompts the pair to undertake a little sleuthing of their own. With a nicely drawn cast of characters, a well crafted backdrop and a frothy plot this is an engaging mystery and a promising start to a new series.

Super cute easy little read with one of the cutest covers I’ve seen in a really long time ! Twin sisters and a cat discover a body in their candle shop and set out to discover who dunnit! It’s a fun read that doesn't require alot of guessing or thought and is an easy read for when you just want something light ! Thanks #netgalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. .