A magical island. A mysterious relative. A family she didn’t know existed.

Inheriting a house from a dead great-aunt she’s never met should’ve been Sara Rivers’ first clue that things were about to get weird. The talking sea otter? That was clue number two.

Sara’s plan was simple: stay the six months to get her inheritance, sell the house, and figure out what comes next. What she didn’t plan on was discovering that she’s half witch, half undine, has magic she can’t control, and has a family history she was never meant to know about.

Then a suspicious journal entry makes her doubt everything she’s been told. The locals are friendly, the town is charming, and absolutely no one wants to talk about how her great-aunt really died.

When another body turns up, Sara realizes the killer isn’t done.

Between mandatory magic lessons, the game shop she inherited, a runaway teen hiding out in her basement, and an infuriatingly attractive FBI agent who may (or may not) be on her side, Sara’s getting closer to a truth someone killed to hide. And the killer is watching.

Titles in the Spelltide Bay Magic Mysteries series include:  Tides Wait For No Witch ~ Come Hex or High Water ~

This story may contain language, violence, and/or sexual situations intended for an adult 18+ audience.

Title:  Tides Wait For No Witch
Series:  Spelltide Bay Magic Mysteries #1
Author:  Natalie Summers
Published:  July 15, 2026
My Rating:  4.5 stars

Tides Wait For No Witch begins the Spelltide Bay Magic Mysteries series with a delightful paranormal/shifter cozy mystery tale that quickly grabbed my attention and never let go until the final page.  It’s an excellent beginning to a series I look forward to following.  This was my first experience with the author’s work, and I will definitely be looking for her backlist, as she weaves a magical tale so well.

Sara’s world has suddenly been upended by the death of her mother, and the discovery that she does indeed have more family than she was aware of when she inherits a home/shop from a great-aunt she never knew existed.  She has six months where she must live in this house and explore this small, charming island community before she can officially inherit the property.  While Spelltide Bay is a great place to land for a few months, Sara’s not certain that she’ll stay beyond the six months required before she could sell the property.   Until… things start to become intriguing when it seems her great-aunt’s death wasn’t as natural as she’d been led to believe, and she discovers that she indeed does have even more family than she was aware of.  Toss in a curious, talking otter named Ollie, an FBI agent who does strange things to her heart, and a community that’s beginning to feel like home, and perhaps Sara has found the place she’s been searching for.  Home.

I enjoyed Tides Wait For No Witch so much.  It’s well-written, emotional, and engaging, with moments of intrigue, laughter, and danger.  I’m looking forward to the unfolding situation between Sara and Xander in future stories; I absolutely loved Ollie, who stole every scene he appears in.  Ms Summers has created a community I definitely want to learn more about, since I imagine Spelltide Bay has more secrets to be unveiled.  If this sounds like your kind of paranormal cozy mystery, then you’d love this one.

*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. It is my choice to leave a review giving my personal opinion about this book.*

This title is available at Amazon