Thank you, Head of Zeus and NetGalley, for this ARC.

I've read all 3 books via NetGalley, and I've really enjoyed each one.

Phoebe is again caught up in another murder case, and with her powers on the fritz, she has a lot to sort out.

After organising a top bird expert to come to an author event following the release of his new book, she feels like she can finally put her bookshop an town on the map, but when he ends up murdered, Phoebe feels that pull to help solve the case with her almost boyfriend PI Rich.

I describe this series as murder she wrote meets, midsummer murders with a cosy witchy twist.

Gretchen Rue writes a number of series but Phobe Winchester is my favourite as I loved the characters, the world building, and Bob the ginger cat.
This is a good one, there's plenty of twists and I appreciated how the characters' arc and how they evolved.
There's a lot going on, the author deals with the murder of the author but also with the tentative of changing the spirit of the place developing a tourist resort.
An excellent and highly entertaining story.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

This book is another perfect cozy mystery from Gretchen Rue.

In Playing with Magic, we're back with Phoebe as she gets caught up in another murder in Raven Creek and uses her newly discovered witchy abilities to help figure out the mystery.

This is such a wonderful series and I'd recommend it to anyone who wants to curl up this autumn and get lost in a fictional world.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to read Playing with Magic.

I absolutely loved the last book I read of Rue’s (Something Wicked) and I adored this one. It has definitely got me in the mood for autumn and all that it brings. This book was so easy to read, and was perfect to curl up under a blanket and enjoy the book. I loved the characters and the small town setting, I could imagine being there visiting the shops. The murder twists were so entertaining.

Book No. 3 in this cosy, witchy murder mystery series!

I once again loved the small town vibes, the way trouble (and murder) seems to find Phoebe, and the full cast of loveable but slighlty odd characters. Phoebe comes in to her own in this book, settling into her new life and relationships.

My only quibble (and if you're not really into the romance side of things it won't matter) was the slowness of the burn, and the neglible words given to the huge developments (in my mind) between our favourite PI, Rick and Phoebe. It felt like we'd been drip fed through two books only for the big moments to happen off page.

However, this was still a lovely read, and a great book for the transition into autumn mode.

Pull up a chair and have a cuppa at the Earl's Study whilst we attempt to unravel the latest mystery facing Phoebe and Co.

A bookish event with a famous birder should be a feather in Phoebe's cap but after the event Sebastian is found murdered! There seems to be some confusion over who the intended victim was and there also seems to be a skeevy lawyer attempting to buy up the town. But are the two things related?

I'm super invested in the gentle romance between Phoebe and Rich. They've both been burned in the love department and they're a bit wary of crashing their renewed friendship but I'm rooting for them. There also may be love in the air for the lovely, gentle giant Leo.

There is much more exploration of Phoebe's new found magical talents this time around and we also learn that magic is possibly the worst kept secret in town! There are a few red herrings, misdirects and twists and I felt completely satisfied when the baddie got their comeuppance. I won't give too much away but I really did not see that last twist coming!

I'm not really a cat fan but I did love seeing Bob return with some new friends too!

I really enjoyed this enchanting novel. There was a great mix of themes including romance, mystery, and comedy. The perfect story to read curled by a fire!

Phoebe is a tea and bookstore owner in the small town of Raven creek.
She is also an amateur witch.

The story begins with her hosting her first book signing event and the author being found dead the next day. This journey follows Phoebe inadvertently trying to solve the murder in town even when she’s been told to keep her nose out of it by officer Martin!

This cosy mystery is one you can’t put down once you start!
I was hooked from the very first page! The characters were all so easy to love and of course Bob the cat (can’t forget about Bob).

This is a fabulous well written cosy mystery that keeps you wanting to know what happened!

If you like books, tea and cats, as well as bookstores and murder mysteries then this one is for you!!

Thankyou @netgalley @crookedlanebooks and @sierradeanauthor for letting me read and review this book!

⭐️ 4.5/5 ⭐️

Such a fun, cosy read. I loved the vibes of this one. Admittedly, I hadn't read the previous books in the series, but like other cosy mysteries I didn't feel like I was missing out on too much. Whilst I found the plot a little predictable, it really didn't bother me at all, in fact, I kind of liked it, it just increased the cosiness of the novel.

Would definitely recommend this one!

Incredibly engaging story -it really captivated me from the start. Unfortunately I didn’t read the previous books in the series. There were moments I felt like I missed something. I believe my experience would’ve been a bit better had I done that. But I still adore Phoebe as a character! The writing flowed really well. It was cosy. And I loved the mystery aspect. I’m looking forward to the authors other works. Thank you NetGalley, Author and Publisher for giving me this opportunity to read this arc!

I loved this witchy mystery and I felt gripped by this book as soon as I started. I knew I had to keep reading and I didn't want to put it down until I knew the truth.

This book is part of a series! It can be read as a stand alone but I think I would have enjoyed it more if I read the previous ones.

This was still a really fun, cute book though!

I loved the continuation of Phoebe story, I’m hoping that there’s going to be a few more books. This is such a cosy, witchy read. It is the third book in the series and I highly recommend everyone to go read the first two books before reading this one!

I loved how in this book we’re actually focusing more on Phoebe magic. It showed Phoebe slowing becoming aware of how to control her magic and how to use it. I do hope that in the next books she’s fully aware and it’s practicing more magic.

The slowburn it’s everything I didn’t know I needed. I love how Phoebe and Rich are taking everything slow.

This was a really fun and cosy autumn mystery, it was a treat to be back with such lovely characters!

DNF at 48%.

Thank you for letting me read this ARC, unfortunately it wasn’t for me and I had to DNF.

I found it too slow to get into it and I was still struggling at almost 50%.

I think if you enjoy a cozy, small town mystery read, then this book is definitely for you! But for my personal taste it was just too slow going.

Thank you again for giving me a chance to read the ARC.

A cozy slow burn, autumn mystery… what more could you want?? 😍 I really enjoyed this, it really was a super cozy read and I loved Phoebe and rich! I hadn’t read the first two books in the series so I made sure to read them before I started which I think really helped me appreciate the book AND the characters more

This book has a very cosy vibe. I really enjoyed the attention to detail in describing the daily activities Pheobe goes through while running her book and tea shop, the Earl's Study. I particularly found the details of tea blending and baking quite soothing to read. I also found the magic element interesting and thought it was woven through the story well.

I hadn't relelised this was the third book in a series when I started it, and while I think it would have been best to read the series in order, it didn't seem like I was missing any huge aspect of the story to have started in the middle.

I initially found the mystery intriguing and was keen to see how things played out. Unfortunately I found that aspect of the book somewhat disappointing. The ending seemed rushed and convoluted, and far too much explaining instead of things naturally being uncovered.

The budding relationship between Pheobe and the male character (who made so little an impression I can't actually remember his name) was perfectly unexceptional, and probably fine, except I had the misconception that there was a stronger romance element to the story so was disappointed.

Overall I was say it was a mostly enjoyable cosy read. Good for tea and magic, less so for romance and mystery, depending on how invested you are in the actualy details of solving a mystery or actual feelings being explored.

Name: Playing with Magic - Gretchen Rue
Published: 12th September
Rating: 3/5

I was going into this book thinking it was a witchy romance but instead got introduced to a cozy murder mystery.

This book had everything for a cozy autumn read. Small town, Cold weather, tea making, cats and a murder mystery. What more could u want for a cozy read this season.

When starting this book I thought it was quite slow but I kept reading on and I’m so glad I did because,I did not want to put this book down. I wanted to read and read till I found out how it ended and it really didn’t disappoint.

I didn’t realise that this book was a part of a series until half way through. It was still pretty easy to follow but I wish I read the first 2 before starting this one and I recommend that you start with book 1 before reading this one.

Overall, this book is a perfect read for a cozy autumn night and I recommend to people who are looking for a suspenseful read.

*Thank you NetGalley and Aria & Aries for providing me this arc in return for an honest review*

So. I didn't know it was the THIRD BOOK IN THE SERIES when I started to read it. Admittedly, I didn't read the whole description, but Goodreads didn't tell me that either. And then I saw some hints about Rich, a guy she was supposedly dating but not really, and some allusions to what happened previously and I was 20% in but decided to look it up. And wouldn't you know, there are more books about Phoebe.

I just wish Goodreads included this bit of information before I started reading this book lmao.

So yes, I had to read "Something Wicked" and "Spell Bound" first. Ugh. Okay. Onto this book!

After reading the previous two books, I actually appreciate the characters more.

It was fun to see Phoebe being invited to be a part of investigation since everyone knew she would just try to solve it on her own. And her partnering with Rich was amazing because it gave them more opportunity to spend time together. But I wish it was ore focused on romance, you know? The plot was all and good but I was hoping for more Rich/Phoebe content. At least their first official date. And we didn't get it.

But they FINALLY kissed??? And it was amazing. Too bad nothing else happened haha.

Overall, the book is well written but the plot of the murder mystery was confusing and over the top. And I think the author forgot a few things from her previous books - for example, Rich already knew that Phoebe was a witch, because he told her that Eudora asked him to keep an eye on her. But in this book Phoebe suddenly didn't know about that? And was shosked when she found out? She already learned about it in the previous book! A little consistency, please.

Also, there are some stylistic choices I would have done differently. For example text messages I would have preferred them to be in cursive, or even in quotation marks to differentiate them from the narration. And put them in separate paragraphs. There's nothing like this here, which makes it hard for the reader to figure out that they're part of the dialogue.

But the book was good although I wa disappointed in the lack of romance. And the fact that NetGalley didn't advertise this book as the third one in the series. It can't really be read as a standalone imo, and the marketing should have reflected it.

I would go as far as to say this is my favourite in the series so far! 🥹

I’ve fully embraced the fact that the romance is a VERY slow burn, but I’m starting to enjoy Phoebe & Rich’s friendship for what it is now. The wholesome descriptions of the town and Phoebe’s food & drink creations always make me smile, and the cosy mystery element in this one was a lot of fun.

I never want this series to end ✨