Jessica Sprigg expected to inherit a bookshop, not magical powers, mysterious new relatives, and a talking cat with an opinion on absolutely everything.

But after her great-aunt’s death, Jessica moves to Lavender Lake and discovers that magic is real, she’s a book witch, and her inherited familiar, Astrix, is equal parts helpful, hilarious, and infuriating. With an enchanted shop to run, newfound cousins to meet, and an entire magical town to explore, Jessica is ready to begin a strange new chapter.

Then she wakes up to find herself splashed across the front page of The Grapevine, Lavender Lake’s notorious gossip magazine, alongside a collection of scandalous and categorically untrue rumors.

Jessica makes the grave mistake of confronting its owner in front of half the town. When she visits him the following morning to apologize, her words fall on very dead ears.

Now Jessica is the prime suspect in his murder. Half of Lavender Lake wanted the victim silenced, however, and untangling their secrets proves almost as difficult as controlling her newly awakened magic. To make matters worse, the grumpy and irritatingly handsome sheriff can’t decide whether to enlist Jessica’s help or lock her up.

Handcuffs. And not in the good way.

With Astrix providing more sarcasm than assistance and a killer determined to keep the truth buried, Jessica must clear her name before she becomes the next front-page tragedy. But someone in Lavender Lake isn’t who they appear to be, and murder may be the least dangerous secret hiding in town.

Titles in the Wicked Witches of Lavender Lake series include:  (Prequel) Sprites and Scoundrels ~ Potions and Commotions ~ Costumes and Curses ~

This is a no-spice paranormal cozy mystery.

Title:  Potions and Commotions
Series:  Wicked Witches of Lavender Lake #1
Author:  Mara Webb
Published:  September 29, 2026
My Rating:  4.5 stars

Potions and Commotions is the first title in the Paranormal Cozy Mystery series, Wicked Witches of Lavender Lake (the prequel was Sprites and Scoundrels).  Jessica is arriving in Lavender Lake to take possession of her great-aunt’s property.  Her intention was simple: sell and get out fast.  Well, one sarcastic cat, Astrix, and events in this magical town aren’t going to make that easy, if at all possible.  Turns out she’s inherited a magical bookshop; she’s, in fact, a book witch with an extremely opinionated familiar, and more relatives than she knows what to do with.  And a dead rumormonger.  Now she’s got a whole new set of problems.

I had such fun with Jessica’s story.  Anything you’d really “need” to know before picking this one up is in the Cover Description; adding much more would mean spilling spoilers.  Not a good idea.  I can say that I had a blast here.  Astrix is as sarcastic, funny, and full of himself as he was in the prequel; Lavender Lake is full of interesting residents, some nicer than others, and this town knows how to rally around someone… and how to hide secrets in plain sight.  There might be a touch of romance brewing, who knows?

Potions and Commotions is well-written, witty, funny, with lots of twists, turns, and red herrings tossed about.  I loved chasing down the clues and trying to figure out exactly who was guilty.  If that sounds like your kind of Paranormal Cozy Mystery, then you’d love this one.  I can’t wait for the next story in the series.

*I received an e-ARC of this novel from the author or the author’s team via Booksprout, and I sincerely thank them for their trust. I chose to leave a review with my personal opinion of this book.*

This title is available on Amazon