A Promised Land

This book can make anybody a reader. Obama's writing is immersive and entertaining. I wouldn't have expected such a brilliant work of literature from a politician but you know it's true they know how to word things in the proper and polite way. This book made me tear up at several occasions. Even though I am not an American, I felt his genuineness throughout the book and wished I was a part of his govt. The depiction of Michelle as a supporting partner was realistic and very well done too. I could understand her POV too and how she must have been reluctant given the privacy and financial risks they had to take. But what I do take from this and from our own country's PM is that you need to be a great orator to convince so many people to give you a chance. If the right people hadn't supported these successful people, it would have been a completely memoir today. 

The book was divided in several parts which depicted each evolving portion of his life, the photographs at the end nicely tied everything together. One gets to see him grow from a child to young adult, studying in prestigious institutions, starting groundwork in Chicago. Writing books, running for senate, and then finally for a president. I was hooked right from the preface. 

Wisteria Witches

 The Wisteria Witches is the perfect combination of magic and mystery with a sprinkle of romance. The main characters are surprising, witty and supernatural. If this hasn't intrigued you yet, let's dwelve deeper.

 The book starts with the main characters Zara and her daughter Zoey moving in to this new town called Wisteria where Zara gets a great job opportunity as a librarian and also a grand house with a low ball price. She grabs the lucky deal and starts a new chapter in her life.

 Zara and Zoey's relationship is very friendly and their conversations are full of friendly banter and truck loads of sarcasm. Their conversation keeps the story fresh and humorous. Added to this is the shifting day, where they meet there new neighbors, the Moores. Yes, the handsome hunk Chet is charming and his son Corvin is mysterious but instantly the Riddle girls, i.e. Zara and Zoey take a liking to them. Zoey sees a brother in Corvin and Zara just cannot resist Chet.

The things take a dramatic turn when Zara meets her long lost relation, aunt Zinnia. That's when they also find out that the house Zara bought is haunted by the ghost of the previous owner Winova. But the drama doesn't end there as they soon find out that Zinnia Riddle is a witch with magic and so are Zara and Zoey.

 To Zara it feels like the world just floated away from under her feet and she took her good time to gather all the information overload. Meanwhile, she also met a dangerously huge eagle who was after her life and finds that Chet is actually a werewolf or as they like to call themselves "shape shifters". She also comes to know that the previous owner didn't die peacefully but was electrocuted to death by a toaster. As anyone would she becomes uneasy and hurries to meet her aunt to fill in the missing gaps between the information.

 Now if you want to avert SPOILERS stop right here and read the book yourself to find out what happens next. How these loose ends are tied up. But if you don't care for them, read on!

 Zara is able to levitate things and magic is slowly flowing through her but Zoey doesn't share such a successes fate and till the end of the book struggles with magic and spells. Zara questions Chet and asks to help in finding the murderer of the previous owner Winova. It turns out Zara is a Spiritual medium and ghosts can talk through her so even though Chet refuses to seek her help initially, he  later accepts it. 

 Zara meanwhile also conducts a big dinner with all her friends she had made from library, her neighbors, realtor as well as her Aunty Zinnia for housewarming. But after finishing the dinner she finds the toaster that was the murder weapon is missing. One day while returning from library as she felt sick, her boss and coworker Kathy tells her about how the house is a youthful spring and she will feel better in no time. Zara is shocked and asks why she thinks so?! Kathy replies that's what the realtor had told her as Winowa seemed to never age or get sick.

 Thinking fast, Zara quickly asked Chet and Zinnia to meet at Dorothy's office (who was the realtor) she then faked a whole drama about being a witch and letting Winova speak through her. Seeing this Dorothy got defensive and confessed her crimes. Zinnia and Chet made sure to record the confession on camera and voila! Justice was served. 

The end of the book narrates how after few interrogations from local police when Zara was returning home she overheard the Taubs talking about giving birth to a monster. Her interest was piqued but to her disappointment they were in a hurry and had left before she could question them. She bought a donut from the bakery and went to meet her daughter and aunt for ice cream. While at it, Aunt Zinnia suddenly told her that she had this vision or a dream where she killed Zara. But Zoey redirects the dream to mean end of a bad habit and they go back again to their ice creams without a worry in the world.

 The author leaves a cliffhanger by stating that the dream of Zinnia indeed comes true and five days later Zinnia kills her. But that will be taken up in the next books. So if you stayed with me, which I hope you did, I hope you are as intrigued as I am as to what happens in the next book! I am unsure when I'll pick the next book up. But you can if you want to and maybe leave the link to your blog! 

Cheers and Happy reading !

About The Keeper of Lost Stories

 Welcome to my little corner of the internet! This blog is a figment of my passion for good book, great movies and anything that intrigued me in the journey called life. I present to you a slice of wonder, magic, adventures and happiness. So grab a cup of your preferred beverage, chill, and spend a while with me.