Jingle all the Slay (Marshmallow Hollow Mysteries, #1)

by Dakota Cassidy

[Berls]

I didn't realize this was a spin off of the Witchless in Seattle series. I'm a couple books behind on that series so I missed out on where they connected. I think I'm going to go back and catch up on that one so that I get the connection. It's certainly not necessary, but Hal (Haliday) frequently mentions her sister from that series and I wish I knew how they found each other.

The mystery was fun and I liked the characters a lot. The magic is interesting and I think I'll enjoy the Christmas town setting as I continue in the series. I enjoyed the many references to different books and series that I enjoy (Darynda Jones, Nalina Singh to name a couple). And, as in the Witchless in Seattle series, there's fun companions - this time we've got her hummingbird familiar, Atticus, and her grandmother who was reincarnated as a reindeer, Molly. The romantic interest I also think will be a fun one to watch develop. All in all, a pretty standard Dakota Cassidy small town cozy mystery with a side of paranormal. It's nice to get what you expect and have a fun time :)

The narration was good, as I would expect form Hollie Jackson who also narrates Witchless in Seattle. I listen at 2x speed and enjoy it with no problem - she does fun voices and really embodies the characters.