By
Sara Bourgeois

Kinsley Skeenbauer never thought she would go home. At seventeen, she’d left Coventry and didn’t look back. But after a messy divorce, she packed up her stuff and drove toward the only place that she knew would accept her.

Life hadn’t been easy for Kinsley since she left town. Despite wanting a family desperately, she was childless. She had a college degree but had just been fired… again…

She’d spent her entire adult life rebelling against what she was, and that meant hiding her true self from the world. Kinsley left Coventry on a mission to be ordinary.

But you know what they say about the best-laid plans…

Coventry isn’t your typical small town. It’s home to the most powerful family of witches in the world. Two ancient witch families united when her parents married, and she was supposed to be their leader.

Nobody ever asked Kinsley if that’s what she wanted, though. Funny how the universe worked because there she was divorced, childless, and jobless… again… rolling into Coventry in her broken-down car with a U-Haul full of everything she owned.

The joyous welcome home party was short-lived, because a dead guy turned up, of all places, behind the diner.

Of course, the town’s hunky sheriff starts to give Kinsley the side-eye. But, a lot of people wanted the victim dead, and that only complicates the investigation.

There’s a murderer on the loose in Coventry, and Kinsley’s got to learn to harness her powers to avoid the killer’s snare.

Oh! And, then there’s Meri, the black cat familiar. Someone decides to grant him one wish for his faithful service to his coven, and it doesn’t go as planned either…

NOTE:
Welcome back to Coventry. The events in this story take place thirteen years after the final scene the Wicked Witches of Coventry series. It can be fully enjoyed on its own and is suitable for all ages. You’ll find no swearing, gore, or adult situations, but you will find magic, mystery, and a hint of lighthearted mayhem.

I got a kick out of the beginning of this book, there are definite similarities to when Kinsley’s mom approached and entered the town of Coventry.

Kinsley is making a big choice as she returns as she will be getting her magic back, she’s been away for thirteen years and had built a life without it. She’s now divorced, and he left her with nothing, fortunately, she had put money away for a rainy day hidden from him. It’s that stash that’s gotten her here.

The first person we meet here is the sheriff, Thorn. He’s the son of the Thorn her mother knew. He verifies she’s who she says she is, and then informs her, her parents would be arriving shortly.

After he pulls away, she has a reunion with Meri her familiar.

This is a favorite scene.

Meri ran up to me and leapt into my arms. He rubbed his head against my chest and began to purr so loudly that it vibrated right to my heart.

I just stood there for at least five, maybe ten, minutes holding him. Tears ran down my face, and I couldn’t believe how much I’d missed him. I hadn’t known he could even purr that loud.

After a while, I finally said, “We should go inside.” I set him down and started walking toward the house.

“You’re not going to tell anyone about that?” he asked. “Right?”

“About what?” I asked and smiled at him over my shoulder.

“Whatever… creature,” he said and sashayed past me through the front door.

“Now, there’s the Meri I know,” I said with a laugh. “It’s good to see you again. I missed you so much.”

“Well, if you hadn’t abandoned your home and family, you wouldn’t have that problem now, would you?” he shot back at me.

“Ouch,” I said.

“Just being realistic,” Meri said. “It is good to be back in this house, though. The other one is so boring.”

“Why did they move? Why wouldn’t they stay here at Hangman’s House?” I asked.

“The house has been cursed since you left. They finally got tired of dealing with it a couple of years ago and moved into Remy’s old house. Thank gawd he didn’t sell it,” Meri said with a flick of his tail. “But, now you’re back and you can make it right.”

“With the house?”

“Yeah. Please tell me you haven’t forgotten everything, Kinsley. That head of yours should have been hollow enough to stuff a few memories into.”

“Wow, you are exactly how I remember you,” I said.

“You wouldn’t have it any other way,” Meri retorted.

“Whatever.”

“Whatever.”

“So, my parents are coming?”

“What do you think?” Meri asked.

“Are they mad?”

“Kinsley, come on.”

“At least it’s too late for them to throw a huge party tonight,” I said.

“You think so?” Meri asked. “Anyway, let’s go inside. Maybe if you promise to stay, the house will let you turn the lights on.”

I picked up Meri and started for the front door.

“I can walk, you know,” he said.

I gave him a squeeze and a kiss on the head.

“Yuck.” But he started to purr again.

Back inside the house, I tried the light switch next to the front door. Nothing happened.

“I’m sorry,” I said. “I will stay. I’m here to stay.”

I tried the switch again, and the lights came on. They were quite dim, though.

“I promise. Coventry is my home, and I intend to stay.”

With that, the lights brightened to normal levels. I looked around the living room of the house I grew up in and sighed.

The lack of furniture would be an issue. I didn’t have much of that in my trailer.

“Looks like I’ll be sitting on the floor,” I said.

“Meh, not really. The attic in the library still has all its furniture. Your parents left that intact. You just have to hang out up there. Having guests over might be a problem,” Meri said.

“I wasn’t planning on having many guests,” I said. “I hoped I could just keep my head down and maybe get a job. I don’t want a lot of attention.”

“You’re hilarious,” Meri said.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Come on, Kinsley. If you don’t think your family is going to make a huge deal out of you coming home, then you clearly took a bump to the head.”

“But I ran away. They should all be mad at me. It should take time for them to warm back up to me. Years even,” I said.

“Ha ha. I think you really did hit your head. You don’t remember your own family? Do you think they’re going to punish you for living your life the way you wanted? For doing things on your own terms?” Meri asked.

“But I broke my father’s heart when I left, didn’t I? And I never visited. I was afraid if I came back, even for a visit, I’d never get away again,” I said.

“How’d that work out for you?”

“What are we talking here? Break it down for me,” I said.

“I imagine there’s going to be a party here. In the back. The whole coven, and probably the whole town, will be invited. You’ll be the center of attention for hours on end.”

“Ugh,” I said.

“Hey, you could have listened to me thirteen years ago and just stayed,” Meri said.

“No, I couldn’t have. I would have always wondered. My life here would have never felt settled,” I said.

“And it will now?” Meri asked.

I shrugged. “Yeah. I learned my lesson. I had to do it the hard way, but it’s learned.”

A knock at the door ended our conversation. 

“I wonder who that could be,” Meri said.

“I don’t know. Who knows I’m here?”

“The sheriff and your parents,” Meri said. “Unless your mother already started calling people. That’s entirely possible.”

“I’ll just get it.” I looked out the peephole, and it was my parents. “What are you doing knocking?” I said as I opened the door. “This is your house.”

My mother pulled me into her arms. I felt my father wrap his arms around both of us. Last was Meri who rubbed against my legs and then sat on my feet.

For a while, we all just stood there. At some point, I started to cry. My mother just stroked my hair and kissed my cheek. 

Eventually, we broke our embrace. My mom was smiling, but tears were running down my dad’s cheeks. He pulled me back into a hug and mom stood back as he held me for a while longer. “My little girl,” he said and kissed the top of my head.
Bourgeois, Sara. Black Magic Kitten (Familiar Kitten Mysteries Book 1). Kindle Locations (206-273). Kindle Edition.

Needless to say, a lot of tears were shed by me as well, before Kinsley and her parents head to the diner for dinner.

We meet Reggie at the diner, she’s a waitress. Then later just to follow in her mother’s footsteps Kinsley finds a body when she returns to collect the purse she left behind.

After Kinsley agrees to rent a haunted shop for her new endeavor, we meet another character Viv who owns the Brew Station, the coffee shop on the town square.

Now up until this point Meri is a full grown, gorgeous black cat, then Kinsley decides to reward him for his service to the Tuttlesmith and Skeenbauer witches. This has an unexpected outcome that had me laughing, even as Meri goes a bit crazy.

There is of course the murder, an unexpected favor gets owed, Thorn becomes her romantic interest, and all the Aunties are back in this series.

Lots of fun, escapades, laughter, tears and romance.

5 Contented Purrs for Sara!

Sara Bourgeois

Sara Bourgeois is a Midwesterner through and through. She spends her time writing, reading, herding cats, and standing in her driveway during tornado warnings. (You can’t see them from the basement.)