Review of Due East, Beasts & Campfire Feasts by Erin Johnson

 

A hostile town. A mountaintop mission. Will their magic save the day or spoil the pudding?

Imogen thought escaping the king’s wrath would give her everything she wanted. But her relationship with Prince Hank is tougher than an overcooked flan and the welcome they get on Badlands Island is far less than friendly. Accused of kidnapping, Imogen proposes they prove their worth by traveling through a deadly forest to retrieve a magical herb at the top of a mountain…

Forced to take her baking skills on the road, Imogen and her friends must navigate monsters, secrets, and a possible traitor. And the little matter of the impending typhoon is seriously compressing their timeline…

With the storm and creatures closing in, can Imogen complete the quest or will her next meal be her last?

Due East, Beasts & Campfire Feasts in the seventh book in the Spells & Caramels series of paranormal cozy mysteries. If you like amateur witch sleuths, unbreakable friendships, and fascinating magical creatures, then you’ll love Erin Johnson’s page-turning adventure.

 

Publication Date: Tomorrow!!! October 13, 2018

Purchase Link

Available on Amazon and through Kindle Unlimited

 

I’ve come to love Imogen but I have to say, being her friend is a life-threatening matter!  After her brother Horace reveals the King’s deep and dirty secrets in a sensational tell-all session, Imogen and her friends find themselves in the Badlands.  It’s a place filled with monsters, beasts, new people and, of course, intrigue.

The mystery: Where is Captain Kenta? Is someone trying to kill a member of the Water Kingdom gang? What’s happening to the magical monster traps?  These are some of the questions we have to figure out in  Due East, Beasts & Campfire Feasts. We are introduced to a lot of new characters in Book 7 and I imagine some of them will be recurring.  The suspects in this mystery are varied and motives just as much, clues are scattered about but you may never guess the ultimate reason why.

Erin’s incredible imagination is once again on show as the world of the Badlands and the creatures that live within it are revealed.  Thankfully most of these beasts live only within these pages!

Imogen’s friends are extremely loyal and supportive.  I don’t know if I’d still be her friend after all the scrapes she gets her gang into… and they continue to trust her judgement too.  On the bright side, she is very appreciative of them and, though a bit begrudging, takes on a perilous task simply to save something very close Maple’s heart.

 

Some things I fully enjoyed:

Iggy is once again the best and most sarcastic sidekick you could have, succinctly and humorously commenting on the predicaments the gang falls into.

In the middle of a battle against a rock monster…

I frowned. “What works against rocks?”

“Paper?” Iggy burst into giggles.

I shook my head at him. I didn’t even have words.

Hank:  I really enjoyed this book for its portrayal of the usually cheerful prince.  He’s sulky, despondent and at times outright rude to Imogen.  I didn’t say he was likeable in this instalment… just that we get to see another side of Hank as he copes with the major fallout from the last book.  His mood helps build-up some serious tension between him and Imogen.

That tension was another thing I liked in Book 7.  Imogen had some explaining to do and Hank now has some major coping and accepting to do.  The resulting conflict and emotional turmoil made for great reading.

I stood aside, my eyes full of tears, and a mix of anger and sadness burning in my chest. Did he really think I’d saved him out of obligation? It was ridiculous! After all we’d been through, he didn’t know that I loved him? Or did he know, and he was just punishing me?

One of my favourite parts of this story is this magical world’s interpretation of a unicorn.  But you’ll have to read it to find out…

Then we have Cat, the pet who is not really a cat… again you have to read the book to find out more about this entertaining and amazing creature.

 

Something I wasn’t a huge fan of:

The only thing that bothered me in this one is how ‘easily’ the Badlands people were able to control other people’s magic… especially after the whole Swallow’s Mew business in earlier books.  I missed the magic a bit in Book 7 as the gang was without powers several times.

Overall, I was once again quickly sucked into the world created by Erin and found this to be a fun, exciting and imaginative ride.  I can’t wait for the next instalment… again.  I’m interested to find out what’s been going on in Bijou Mer since all the excitement of Horace’s great reveal!

You do have to read this series in order… so hurry up if you haven’t started already!!!

Click here for my review of the previous book in the series.

I give Due East, Beasts & Campfire Feasts 4.5/5 beastly espresso shots.

 

Disclaimer: I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book and provided my honest opinion.