When Jessie, one of the oldest and most powerful witches in the world, joined the Witch Council over a thousand years ago, she became embroiled in politics, saving the world, and trying to keep the existence of the supernatural world a secret from humans. Now that the supernaturals are out in the open and a tentative alliance between the fae, cryptids, humans, and witches is underway, Jessie finally gets to leave it all behind to open a bar in a small town north of Atlanta where the most annoying thing on her plate is making sure the vampire groupies don’t wind up as someone’s dinner.
However, her plans for a peaceful retirement are disrupted when a gargoyle is killed in her bar. It wasn’t just any gargoyle though– it was the secretary for the European cryptid ambassador to the Alliance. Finding herself in the center of an international– and interspecies– nightmare, Jessie has to rally her allies to stop a power-hungry cabal from starting a war and destroying life as she knows it.
Indie B.R.A.G. Medallion Honoree! Purchase your copy from my shop or from most major retailers. You can also check it out at the Durham County Public Library.
If you want to see a little more before you commit to buying the book, download a sample as an ePub or PDF here.
What People are Saying
“If you enjoyed the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings trilogy, I’m sure you will enjoy Welcome to Jessie’s. It is an excellent murder mystery/fantasy/conspiracy story that never slows down or even seems to take a breath. Yet I managed to keep up without feeling lost at all. I must admit that in all of the books I have read in my lifetime (and they are innumerable by this time) I have never been moved to tears by the death of a gargoyle or a necromancer. Yet Ms. Rainwater manages it. She welds emotions as well as her character weld their weapons and none of those emotions ring false. She made me laugh, cry, and seriously wish I was there with them to help kick some backside. The characters are different, as one would expect in a fantasy, and yet they aren’t overdone or cartoonish. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, which was a bit surprising to me as I’m not usually a fantasy fan. I’m a straight mystery/thriller/crime girl. But Ms. Rainwater has a new fan in this reader and I can’t wait until there is another book in this series. And there better be another book in the series.” — Teresa
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I found this book on the new book display at my local library!
It’s a neat world! Lots and lots of detail. It’s obvious the author has a very thoroughly developed setting she wants to share with us, and I wish those details had come to us at a slightly slower pace.
We meet *so* many characters, and *so* many ‘groups’ (different kinds of supernatural critters), and learn *so* much history, all *so* quickly. I really wish this had been the capstone of a series of novellas (or full novels) that set up the events of this book, rather than the firehose narrative I read.
Because I enjoyed it! The characters are lively, and there’s some fun banter-dialogue (my favorite) under all the exposition, and, like I said, the world is *interesting* (especially if you’re a fan of ‘urban fantasy’ like Jim Butcher’s stuff, or played way too many White Wolf games back in the 90’s).
The author also made some… weird choices which threw me off. Having the lexicon of cryptids at the *front* of the book, rather than the end (I’ll take a brief prologue setting things up, or a list of dramatis personae at the start, but glossaries go at the end), and a *single* chapter written from another character’s POV (which I’d have rather seen *related* to our POV character after they re-entered the story).
On the balance, an entertaining read, but very obviously a first novel. Looking forward to the second one, and hoping the characters will have some space to breath, now that they aren’t shouldering *quite* so much world building/introducing for the readers’ benefit.” — JW
“
Do you need a good witch/cryptid/mystery read?
Do you need that read to include some deep world building?
Do you need a John McClane, ‘Die Hard’ moment?
Wow, you’ve got some pretty specific needs!
Anyway, it turns out you are in luck.
Welcome to Jessie’s has all of that….
Billy Mays voice…
and more! Get YOUR copy, today!” — JD
“This was one of my favorite books of the year. It’s full of relatable characters, vivid descriptions, laugh out loud moments, smart dialogue and suspense. I’m looking forward to Jessie’s adventures continuing!” –Karen B
“Eli has a very strong opening with her first novel; the characters are charming, the world feels fleshed out and intriguing, and all in all the book was a delight to read. I’m eagerly awaiting the next in the series!” –Kevin
“This is a fantastic mix of a good-quality mystery novel set in a detailed and intelligent metaphysical universe. If you are a fan of mystery novels, this book has a great story! Also, if you enjoy the metaphysical, this book does a fantastic job of describing characters. I highly recommend this book.” –Ashley
“So glad to read a book that doesn’t shy away from descriptions you can chew on, definitely looking forward to the next one.” –KLock
“A well written book, with engaging characters and a plot that moves with a good pace. I’m looking forward to the next book in the series.”– David
“I read the whole book in one day. That’s how caught up in and engaging the characters are! I can’t wait for the journey to continue.”– Arwen
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