Digital Reads Reviews

Many thanks to Maia Gomez and Silver Dagger Book Tours for my spot on this Blog Tour.

This was one fun book with spooky elements and mystery captured in eerie Hawthorne House filled with secrets and a buried treasure.

After the death of his mother, 15-year-old Matt and his twin sister were relocated by their father to the twin of Hawthorne. Difficult times came with the loss of a loved one, bullied in school and living next door to a supposed witch and murder added to their woes. When the niece and her children moved in with the witch, Matt made a new friend and life became an adventure.

A good book by author Donald Firesmith, where I was pulled in after the first few pages. I love any book which has a mystery in it whatever be the age of protagonist. The writing encapsulated the emotions and the vibes of the children’s story in most parts. Magic weaved in, and a spirit of adventure soon gripped me as the kids found a way to their problems.

A few niggles, some parts felt too descriptive, certain things felt off. But they didn’t detract anything from the main story. Acceptance of different ways of life and standing up to bullies were the main themes forming the tapestry of the story along with adventure.

Overall, friendship and fun, spooks and secrets, witches and magic made this a fun breakfast read.

I received a free ARC from Maia and the author, and this is my journey into its pages, straight from the heart!! STRICTLY HONEST AND UNBIASED.

All my reviews can be read here

A geek by day, Donald Firesmith works as a system and software engineer helping the US Government acquire large, complex software-intensive systems. In this guise, he has authored seven technical books, written numerous software- and system-related articles and papers, and spoken at more conferences than he can possibly remember. He’s also proud to have been named a Distinguished Engineer by the Association of Computing Machinery, although his pride is tempered somewhat by his fear that the term “distinguished” makes him sound like a graybeard academic rather than an active engineer whose beard is still slightly more red than gray.

By night and on weekends, his alter ego writes modern paranormal fantasy, apocalyptic science fiction, action and adventure novels and relaxes by handcrafting magic wands from various magical woods and mystical gemstones. His first foray into fiction is the book Magical Wands: A Cornucopia of Wand Lore written under the pen name Wolfrick Ignatius Feuerschmied. He lives in Crafton, Pennsylvania with his wife Becky, and his son Dane, and varying numbers of dogs, cats, and birds.

Fifteen-year-old Matt Mitchell was having the worst summer imaginable. His misery started when his mother died in a senseless car accident. Matt’s grieving father, unable to remain in the family’s seaside cottage, moved Matt and his twin sister as far as possible from the ocean they loved.

But their relocation to the small town of Hawthorne, Indiana only made Matt’s life more difficult. Three bullies at his new high school dedicated themselves to making him miserable. To top it off, Matt heard that the recluse living in the dilapidated Victorian mansion next door was none other than Old Lady Hawthorne, the town’s infamous witch and murderer of wayward husbands.

Then, Old Lady Hawthorne’s niece and her three children moved in next door, and something extraordinary happened. Matt met Gerallt, the strange boy destined to become his best friend. And when Matt learned the Hawthornes’ family secret, it changed his life forever.

The Secrets of Hawthorne House is the story of an unlikely friendship, the clash of two radically different cultures, hidden magic, and a search for the lost Hawthorne treasure.

Publication Date: 1st October 2018