Magical Midlife Madness by K.F. Breene

Paranormal Women’s Fiction with Comedy and Romance.

I had Magical Midlife Madness by K.F. Breene on my wish list for a while after seeing it in my feed a bunch of times with glowing reviews. As someone who is firmly into the midlife years, I enjoy reading books with older heroines; it gets hard to always read books about people your kids’ ages. When the pandemic hit and I couldn’t focus on reading, I realized that a paranormal may be a better escape to get me back into reading again. I am so glad I made that choice, because I had an absolute blast reading Magical Midlife Madness by K.F. Breene.

“No one ever talks about what happens when you realize you’re not needed anymore, and what comes next when you have nothing else.”

Jessie is a divorced mom whose son just went off to college. Ready for a fresh start, she takes a job as a caretaker to “Ivy House”, a home she visited in a small town when she was a child. When everyone else thought the home was creepy, 10 year old Jessie loved exploring the house and all its passageways. Now, at 40, she may be the only one to bring back the magic to the house and all those connected to it. Only she doesn’t believe in magic yet.

All of the main characters in Magical Midlife Madness are older or just plain OLD. Naimh, the crazy old rock throwing lady next door was hysterical, as was Mr. Tom, the creepy, cape-wearing butler for Ivy House. Then there was Austin Steele, the older sexy shifter who ran the town. Though this wasn’t a true romance, the budding love developing between Jessie and Austin was enough for this romance lover. Because it wasn’t about the romance, it was about a woman finally finding herself and realizing how strong she is alone after being a wife and mother for 20 years.

“Raise your voice until you are heard. Look however you want, be whoever you want, and demand people pay attention to you. Stop taking what you’re given, and demand the space in life you want.”

There was all kinds of magic in the town, from vampires to shifters to gargoyles, but Ivy House was the most powerful. But only if the right person awakened the magic.

“Age wouldn’t matter when the magic was once again unleashed from the heart of Ivy House. Everyone who tended the house, who protected it, would get a dose of power. Of strength.
Of youth.”

Magical Midlife Madness was so much fun, but as in many paranormal series, the first book had a lot of world building, so we learn a lot, but I never minded, the author has a creative mind! There was still plenty of action and a hell of a lot of relatable and laugh out loud moments.

“Then ran around them. Then hopped up and down. And tinkled myself a little. “Damn it!” I balled up my fists. “I forgot to ask about not peeing myself in everyday situations! That’s crap. That should’ve been a given.”

Likes:

It was totally and completely unique.
An older heroine and even older side characters.
There was so much humor woven in!
I absolutely loved Jessie and totally want to hang with her.
Austin Steele. Yum.
I enjoyed exploring all the secret passageways in the house.
It was a quick read I didn’t want to put down.

Dislikes:

Sometimes it felt like she was older than 40 and that there was a little too much focus on her being “old”.

The Down & Dirty:

I really loved Magical Midlife Madness! It was a completely unique and fun read that I gobbled up in a day and it was unlike anything I’ve read before. While it’s not quite a romance, the budding romance kept the romantic side of me happy, while the humor and action kept the rest of me happy. I am so excited to grab the audiobook next and listen to this again before Magical Midlife Dating releases in August.