Audio Book Review: The Witch of Roan Mountain

The Witch of Roan Mountain

By:  Blaire Edens

Publish Date:  October 7, 2015, Audiobook Release July 15, 2016

Format:  Audiobook - 3 hrs 21 mins
Narrated By:  Kathy Bell Denton

Genre:  Fantasy

Series:  The Witching Hour Collection

First Impression:  Returning to your roots and finding who you are, while solving a long dead case.

Synopsis:
Maeve McMahan, a criminal defense attorney, has just blown the case of her career. When she returns home to the mountains of North Carolina to clear her head, she moves back in with her grandmother. On an easy hike, she meets the one woman she never expected to see: Delphine, The Witch of Roan Mountain.

Accused of a terrible crime she didn’t commit, Delphine has been haunting the county since just after the Civil War and she can’t rest until her name is cleared. She’s counting on Maeve’s help to get to the bottom of the century-old mystery.

Campbell Hyatt, a sheriff’s deputy, has never gotten over his first love, Maeve. When her grandmother breaks her leg, Campbell’s on duty and he finds Maeve at the top of Roan Mountain, convinced she’s seen a ghost. A cop who doesn’t believe in ghosts, he thinks Maeve needs to be focused on her grandmother not an old legend that hits a little too close to home for his liking.
With Maeve’s car out of commission and Granny stuck in the hospital, Campbell and Maeve are thrown together in a quest to find out why Delphine was branded a witch. It will take both of them to get to the bottom of a nineteenth century story love story that may impact them more than they realize. Can they banish a ghost without rekindling an old flame of their own?

First Sentence:
If I'd known what was going to happen, I wouldn't have worn my best dress.

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My Thoughts and Summary:
*This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of AudiobookBlast dot com, at my request.

Maeve has come home to Avery County, North Carolina to get back on her feet and be off again after she finds a new job. Out hiking, Maeve sees a woman she didn't expect to see. Delphine, a ghost who needs her help.

Campbell, a sheriff's deputy in the small town, is called to help Granny, Maeve's grandmother, when she falls. Campbell is also Maeve's high school love, which makes things more complicated when they each realize there are still feelings there, but Maeve's going to leave again...

This is my first with listening to Kathy. Her voice is clear and crisp when speaking, nice as we can easily understand what she's saying. Kathy does a slightly different done to her voice to sound like Granny, an active 80-something grandmother. Even with Campbell she does a slower, more relaxed feel to his words. Kathy sounded a bit older of a voice for being in Maeve's mind for me though. Their is a small sound of air around her when she speaks. I can tell when a section starts and stops in the same chapter, like she's turning the microphone on and off. There is no sound to go with it, just the small sound of air starting then stopping.

This is a short story, novella, about realizing who you are and what you want in life the most. Maeve doesn't 100% realize in the beginning that she has lost her goal, or more that her vision and drive is to prove something, not to be happy. She's had a hard life with the shadow of her mother's actions, and she wants to be nothing like her. Maeve has worked hard to reach the top, and she has. But things happened and she's home in the mountains once again. Here, she's tied to a ghost of old who wants Maeve to prove her innocence so she can rest. The witch of Roan Mountain speaks to her, and Maeve's drawn by curiousness to solve the case.

Maeve learns more than just about the ghost and her past. Maeve learns about her connection but also about her handsome boyfriend from high school's connection as well. Campbell's never left town, and never will. He's happy and at peace here. Campbell has never been able to get over Maeve since she left. He fights his love, but he'll gladly take the minutes she'll give him when she's home again. Goodness is he a kind and loving man!

We get short clips from Delphine's point of view that tells of the past, what she lived through and then the events that surrounded her death. It shows love, revenge, and more. I really felt for Delphine in these sections. We get most of the story through Maeve's mind but also see through Campbell's eyes as well. This brings all three story lines together and how they impact each other.

This is definitely an adult read. There is sexual content to the story. We see Maeve and Campbell come together as he's helped with Granny while she's been gone. But they are drawn to each other as they both still feel the attraction and rare love between them.



**If you found my thoughts helpful, please click Yes at Amazon and/or Audible. Thank you.