Review: A Curse for Samhain by Dahlia Donovan

Posted August 12, 2024 by Lola in Fantasy, Mystery, Review / 5 Comments

A Curse for Samhain (The Skeleton Crew #1)
by Dahlia Donovan

My Rating: 4 stars

Genre: Paranormal Cozy Mystery
Age Category: Adult
Type of romance: gf/f

Blurb:
Welcome to the Skeleton Crew. Bring your knitting needles and a good, strong brew.

Gender fluid, autistic vampire Hyde Snodgrass runs Between the Leaves-a cosy village book store. Their life revolves around books, all things autumnal, and the two cats who rule their world. The shop also plays host to a weekly knitting group called the Skeleton Crew.

When one of the leaders of the village coven fails to show up for the weekly knitting meeting, Hyde finds themselves investigating a horrific murder side by side with their long-term crush, Teresa Vega.

Suspicion immediately falls on other members of their group. Hyde and Teresa struggle to find answers to the growing list of questions. It’s made all the more difficult when the killer has them in their sights.

Can working together spark the romantic flame within them?

Will they solve the mystery before death comes too close?

My Review

I received a free copy through GRR and voluntarily reviewed it.

After reading the Honey Bear Cosy Mystery series I knew I wanted to read more by this author and this series just sounded so good, so I requested it right away when I saw it pop up on GRR. A Curse for Samhain follows genderfluid autistic vampire Hyde as well as witch Teresa. It’s told in dual points of view and has a romantic plot line as well. One of Hyde’s friends get killed and they and Teresa get involved in trying to figure out what had happened.

The mystery was a bit of a sad one as a friend of Hyde dies, so there are some parts that deal with the grief and mourning. Besides the murder there also are some other suspicious things happening as well. The actual mystery progresses quite quickly as it’s a relatively quick read and there aren’t many suspects, so not a big surprise who the murderer is, but despite that I still enjoyed seeing it all play out. And it was interesting how the mystery has a magical twist as well.

I really liked the characters in this book, both the main characters and side characters are all great. And the town and cosy vibe is well done too. I especially liked Hyde, whose a genderfluid autistic vampire. I thought they were just such a fun character to read about. I am autistic myself and it’s inspiring reading about an autistic character who is more settled in their identity and can effectively communicate what they need to others. The whole town and community is all very accepting and while there are hints that most characters don’t have a great past, in this town everyone accepts each other. It was very comforting and inspiring to read about that.

There’s a romantic plot line as well as Hyde and Teresa who are close friends grow even closer throughout the mystery investigation. I liked reading about these two and thought they made for a great couple. I like how they are there for each other and seeing their friendship grow into romance was great to see.

I also really liked the paranormal aspect and reading a bit about the different types of paranormals that live in the city. It’s also a pretty important part of the story and interwoven in the plot.

To summarize: I really liked this book, it’s a nice cosy and comforting read. The paranormal aspect was well done and an important part of the plot. I liked reading about Hyde whose a genderfluid autistic vampire and I liked how settled they are in their identities and could effectively communicate what they needed, which is inspiring to read about. There is a well done romantic plot line as well and I liked reading about Teresa and Hyde and seeing their friendship develop into romance throughout the investigation. The mystery is pretty straightforward, but I still enjoyed seeing it all play out. All in all I had a great time with this book and look forward to the next one.