Lisa the Librarian

I liked the characters, particularly that of Nola. The story showed the fear and prejudice against witches. It pointed out a bit that often, eccentric behavior would be accused of witchcraft, of course Nola and her mother are "witches".I did not like that part of the plot where Nola so poorly treated Brinna. Brinna was nothing but kind and helpful. It bothered me that she was taken advantage of by Nola, I would have liked to have Nola tell the ivestigators that she needed "Mary" (Brinna in a magical disguise forced on her by Nola who was, at the time, impersonating Brinna) to help her then confide in her.I also didn't like the fact that Brinna turned out to be in league with the killer. That didn't seem to fit with the previous knowledge of her character. Also Brinna's death was a cop out and really bummed me out.Overall the book was well written and a very quick read. I read most of it while I was getting a horrid home haircolor fixed. I'd read during points when my hair treatments were processing.

Kenny

Magic Can Be Murder, by Vivian Vande Velde is about this girl named Nola (who knows a few spells). What is interesting about this story is we are talking about witches. Nola and her mother has traveled to places avoiding witch hunters. In the beginning of this book, Nola has invited a friend over to her home, so that Nola can perform her magic. Nola does not understand how dangerous it is to reveal that you can do magic, considering you are a witch. This is what caused both the mother witch and daughter witch to leave town. In this book, there was a guy who tried to have sex with Nola,and so she and mother ran away. Nola and Nola's mother have been finding jobs. I like how Nola has disguised herself because of a murder thats been going on where Nola and her mother has been working. She is afraid people would think that someone else may accuse Nola or her mother of causing it. This is really interesting once you read it. You may dislike this, but it may be a delight to read/enjoy. When you display your secret that you are a witch, your nightmare is about to come true.

Megan

The story wasn't as interesting as I thought it would be, after reading the first few pages, but overall it was still okay. The troubles Nola finds herself in are of her own doing and could been avoided, but I did like how everything wrapped up in the end.

Amber

A cute and fun book about magic. The time and place are not mentioned but you get the feel of a ti me long ago. Nola the main character is a young witch who can see shadow forms in water with a persons hair. She travels with her mother seeking work and food. They are always on the move, and on the run from someone discovering they are witches. Nola is just seventeen and on her own with her mom who is a bit quirky to say the least. They've had hard times and Nola doesn't see herself as a beautiful young woman but a plain Jane. After a berry farmer comes on to Nola, they find themselves on the run and again looking for work. They end up in a home where Nola casts a spell to check on the berry picker and leaves it. She then has to leave the home she is working at before the spell is undone and she is terrified that someone will see it. When using her magic to check in on the house she sees a murder. Nola knows she must go back and un do the spell so no one will come looking for them. All kinds of witchy wonders happen when NOla gets back. Magic can be murder is a bit of a witchy mystery. A cute and easy story to read.

Angela

I love Velde's books, and how the romance in them is subtle and not always exactly there. This story was great as well. Nora kept making mistakes, but they were mistakes anyone in her shoes might have made, and that made it even more realistic. She did try her best to clear up her mistakes though, despite everything going against her to do so.

Cait S

And my streak of horrible books continues!Basically my main problem with this book is this: Nola is literally too stupid to live. There is a difference between characters making misinformed choices and having to deal with the consequences... And the author MAKING the character make such STUPID decisions that NO ONE would be so dumb as to make, just to progress the story the way they want it to go. It's weak and amateurish writing. Every single plot turn or advancement was made because Nola made one more stupid decision. And then had the gall as one point to think "Even though I had never been a naive child, or at least not for a very long time." YOU ARE THE BIGGEST MORON TO EVER LIVE! THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT YOU ARE!Every character in this book is pathetic and annoying and I hated them. The first chapter was so promising but it was just absolute shit after that. I've seen this author's name thrown around a lot but you couldn't pay me to read another of their books at this point.

Book Geek

My first love, as a kid, were fantasy novels set in other worlds or in a world suspiciously like medieval Europe. As I grew older, I moved and broadened my horizons, but I still have a weak spot for medieval based literature. This book sounded like something I’d like.MAGIC CAN BE MURDER is a fast, cute read that fits the bill. I will be the first to admit, I read this while at home sick, so parts were probably lost on me. That being said, the book was well written and the murder portion was also well done. I enjoy the process of the medieval detective coming in and working with just their wits and questions because the didn’t have modern science to back them up. Nola was a likable character, and you couldn’t help feeling sorry for her a bit. A great deal of the book happens because she does things she thinks will help. She’s so paranoid about witch hunters, because her mother can’t quite keep it together, that she brings some of it on herself. Yet you can’t blame her for it.The love story is well done, though I wish there had been a little more reaction at the end when he discovers her identity. It was a bit too easy for my taste, but it was still good, and still matched his character. The death at the end, which I will refrain from naming so I don’t spoil it, was a little far fetched. The mechanics of it sort of worked and yet still make me scratch my head.All in all, if you enjoy medieval type fantasy and whodunits, you’ll enjoy this one.

Salimata Konate

I really liked this book because it has the perfect combination of mysterary and funny bits.Also that it has to do with true love. For example,Even tho Gavin noticed she was a witch and not that atractive he still loved her for her and for how she looked like.Anthor example is when Noala mother had smacked noala in the back of her head so she can say something.Somebody that would like this book is someone that likes mysterary,romance,and funny bits.For example in the book they try to find out who killed Kiriwyn's father. Anthor example is when they saw kiriwyn kill Brianna by throwing a stone at her head.One challenge of this book is at the end when you have to predict how noala and Gavin spend their rest of their life together.I think this because there is multiple things that could have happened and you have to guess what happened.Noala's mother is defiantly one of the fun characters in the book. because she is funny also that she speaks the truth.The theme of this book was to Never judge someone by how they look nor should you depend your actions by what they have.

Rani B

the book was great! I feel like if you like mystrey and some romance, this is the book for you! Nola, the main charactor, is a witch, and she and her insane mother travle all over the place and try not to get caught. then they get to the little town of Hay Market. everything changes. Nola witnesses a murder. Son, Kirwin, Kills Master Inneus, his father. He did it for the wealth his father had. He was greedy. He asked to maid to help by hiding the money, but she disides to stael it from him. He findes out and gets mad. she trys to run away with the money, but he throws stones at her whilst she is sailing away. one hits her on the head. She gets confused and stands up....... she falls in. By the time they get her you, she's dead. the money was in the basket she had on her. it also had valuble metels. they where so heavy that they keeped her at the bottem, and she wouldn't let go.

Kellie

Nola must be one of the most hapless and inept heroines out there. Her mother told her to be careful about using their magical abilities where others might see them. This is a time intolerant of witches and the threats of imprisonment and death are very real.But Nola can’t help herself. She constantly collects and uses human hairs (essential in her magic) to spy on others, to be privy to their speech and actions. This causes her to make a dangerous mistake—leaving an enchanted bucket where it might be found by ordinary humans. Then she makes a worse one.The book certainly celebrates her hardiness, fortitude and quick thinking. But as the mishaps collect and escalate--from blundering into the middle of a murder investigation to tumbling down a flight of stairs—I wondered if Nola wasn’t perhaps her own worst enemy. Add to that an unlikely romance that blooms within a few days and this story suffers from both a slapstick tone and a decided lack of credibility.I normally like Ms. Vande Velde’s tales of enchantment and adventure. But this one was just too silly to merit any real praise.

Eva

This book was good. I give it 3 1/2 stars. It got better at the ending, but I don't like how it left off tho.

Melissa

(4.5 stars)The plot was not quite what I thought it was going to be, but I liked it. Interesting characters, especially the mother witch. I was partially right when I tried to figure out who the murderer was and what the motive was...My favorite scene is the ending... hahaha... That one phrase repeated, which gives the detective a "lightbulb" moment. That was enjoyable. I wish there was more.**SPOILERS**Nola gets herself into quite a pickle by pretending to be Brinna, with magic, especially when she could return to the house at any moment. And then the predicament she's in just keeps getting more difficult... like she's digging a hole deeper... I liked Galvin, Lord Pendaran's agent. He was an intriguing fellow, and a good detective.

Sarah Crawford

Nola is a young witch (17) who, when she was younger, didn't understand that magic is to be kept secret, away from others; otherwise, a person can be accused of being an witch and end up dead. Her mother is also a witch and they have to keep moving from town to town to avoid anyone finding out about their abilities.One day Nola has a friend over and performs a magic ritual in front of a friend and that causes her mother and her to leave for other parts immediately. As the years go on, her mother's begins to hear voices and act like a madwoman.The situation gets worse when Nola is working on picking berries for someone and the guy tries to get her to have sex with him, causing her and her mother to run away yet again. They manage to get jobs as servants in a different village. That goes bad and they have to go away again.They get even worse when someone is murdered at the place where she and her mother had been working previously, and Nola has left something that could implicate them. She returns, disguises herself as someone, and then promptly walks into more trouble than she expected.The trouble seems to escalate for her, and she is trapped in her disguise. She needs to get away, but one thing after another seems to go wrong for her. Worse yet, the killings are not done at all, yet, and someone she had befriended turns out to be a totally different type of person than she suspected.In addition to this, there's even romance. A very good story, delightfully told.

Shruthi

For more reviews like this one, check out my blog, Reading ReclusesNola is a witch who does witchy things for Reasons. Very little happens in this book. Rating: 35/100Age: 12 & upWarnings: fairly cliched

Jai

Pre-teen fantasy book. Nola is a witch and can do small spells like watch people using water with a hair placed in it. She is constantly worried: her mother hears voices and argues out loud with them. Nola knows what people do to witches so she and her mother wander from town to town doing odd jobs, never staying in one place long enough to be accused. One day Nola witnesses a murder during her scrying spell and things start to change. She realises that the murderer may try to frame them for the crime and tries to nudge the enforcers of law in the right direction while protecting herself and her mother. Of course nothing goes as she planned. Well written. Quick read. Vivian Vande Velde always ties up her endings nicely.

Melanie

This was okay. The story was a little blah to me at times, although there were moments that intrigued me. I liked the ending and how everything wrapped up nicely. I was kind of shocked by a certain character's action....

Sam (Hissing Potatoes)

1.5 stars. It flowed, but the plot was so simplistic that the beats were glaringly obvious (e.g. she's about to get away, but oh no, freak accident keeps her there). It's not necessarily a problem, but I'm definitely out of the age range this book is targeted toward.What did bother me, though, was the hypocrisy throughout the book in order for it to conclude with the emotional happy ending. The main character, Nola, does some very questionable things, which the book acknowledges but excuses because she does them for "good," whereas the antagonists doing bad things are punished for doing them. The moral lessons were all mixed up. Nola finally manages to escape the main situation, but for some reason decides to completely unnecessarily come clean about her major secret she's been hiding in fear for her entire life to the one person with authority to arrest her for it, who after less than 24 hours of knowing her throws away his moral code because of instalove. Painful.

William Leight

This book is part romantic farce, with our protagonist falling for a man while disguised as someone else, and part mystery, with the man in question being a cop (of sorts) who is trying to find out what the role of the woman she is disguised as was in a murder. Unfortunately, the farce part isn't quite funny enough, and the mystery part isn't quite mysterious enough(view spoiler)[(and its resolution seems partly driven by the needs of the plot: the person whose appearance is being stolen has to be guilty, otherwise the theft would make the protagonist a terrible person) (hide spoiler)]

Reese Flannery

In the book Magic can be Murder, a young girl, Nola and her old mother, Mary are witches. Nola and her mom are constantly moving and traveling so people can't suspect that they are witches. But then she witnesses something horrifying and knows she has to make things right. Vivian Vande Velde, the author, wants the readers to realize that you should never give up. Vivian not only writes chapter books but has also written a children's book. And her first book was written when she was 28 years old! People who like mysteries and suspense will love this book. You never know what's coming next.

Lena

This book was my first witch book in...years. I can't say it was super memorable or special, or that it will stay with me for long. But it was a fun, fast, fluffy read. Things wrapped up a little *too* quickly and tidily at the end. Otherwise, I enjoyed reading it and seeing how Nola got out of each fix. Overall, a fast and enjoyable read.