2013 1st In A Series Challenge Finished

2013 1st In A Series Challenge hosted by Darlene's Book Nook....

Here are the challenge details:
1. This challenge will run from January 1, 2013 to December 31, 2013.
2. You can join the challenge at any time. All books read during the challenge period count for the challenge, regardless of when you sign up.
3. This challenge can cross-over to your other reading challenges.
4. You do not need a blog to participate! If you are not a blogger, you can post your reviews at Goodreads, Shelfari, or LibraryThing and link them up here.
5. All formats of books are acceptable: Bound copies, e-books, and audiobooks (unabridged only). 
 
6. There are four levels for the challenge:
a. Series Novice: Read 5 books that are first in a series.
b. Series Lover: Read 10 books that are first in a series.
c. Series Expert: Read 20 books that are first in a series.
d. Series Fanatic: Read 30 books that are first in a series.

7. When you write your sign-up post, you must choose your level. You can go up, but you cannot go down!
8. There will be a link-up for your reviews, which will be posted on THIS page.
9. There will be a link for your wrap-up post at the end of the challenge, which will be posted on THIS page. 
10. Create a sign-up post and link back to this post. Sign up with Mister Linky below! Be sure to use the direct url to your sign-up post and not the url to your blog.
11. Grab the challenge button and post it in your sidebar.

I completed this challenge 8th of June with the book Alone by Robert J. Crane. By the end of June I had read 33 books that were 1st in a series.

If  Darlene's Book Nook. repeats this challenge in 2014 I will definitely take part again.

My List of books:

1. Moon dance by J.R. Rain
2. Sterling by Dannika Dark
3. The Scourge by A.G. Henley    
4. Dogs Don't Lie by Clea Simon 
5. Legend of the White Dragon: Legends by Melanie Nilles 
6. Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder
7. My Familiar Stranger by Victoria Danann
8. Shadowmagic by John Lenahan 
9. Deadly Legacy by Alison Bruce
10. Exclusively Yours by Shannon Stace
11. Touch of Power by Maria V. Snyder 
12. Become by Ali Cross
13. Winging It! by Shel Delisle
14. Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
15. Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi
16. Witches on Parole by Debora Geary 
17. Stained by Ella James 
18. Lady of Devices by Shelley Adina
19. Over Sea, Under Stone by Susan Cooper 
20. Goddess Legacy by M.W. Muse
21. Amy's Story by D'Elen McClain
22. Hollowland by Amanda Hocking
23. Marked by Kim Richardson
24. The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
25. Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice 
26. The Light Within Me by Carly Fall 
27. Athena the Brain by Joan Holub 
28. Zombacter: Center City Contagion by Sean Bingham 
29. Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch 
30. Alone by Robert J. Crane 
31. The Case of the Flashing Fashion Queen by Norah Wilson  
32. The Long Midnight Of Barney Thomson by Douglas Lindsay
33. Amethyst by Heather Bowhay

 All posts for this challenge are HERE.

Amethyst by Heather Bowhay

College-bound Lexi Adams leads no ordinary life. Premonitions dictate her every move, compelling her to rescue strangers day and night. After years of self-sacrifice, she decides to ignore one, but innocent people die. So, when the next premonition depicts her own death, Lexi is faced with the decision of a lifetime. As if an ill-fated future isn’t enough to deal with, a series of strange illnesses and murders devastate her small town, and co-worker Jessica Nelson insists Lexi can help.
According to Jessica, everyone is born with an inner energy called Essence. Only a select few, Amethysts, can control Essence and heal people. Jessica claims to be an Amethyst and asks Lexi to join her and a group of her friends as they track the murderers. Despite her personal plight, Lexi considers joining them.
Then again, Lexi discovers secrets run deep among Jessica’s friends. Not only do they have a hidden agenda, but they also harbor extraordinary abilities. And they have connections with the Ray-pacs – the sadistic killers who are preying on human Essence. Ultimately, Lexi must decide if life, not death, equals salvation. And if so, is she willing to make certain sacrifices and join her friends in eradicating the Ray-pacs? From Goodreads.

Another free 1st in a series book that I have enjoyed enough to immediately buy the next book. I am looking forward to see what the future holds for Lexi.

This book qualifies for:
Goodreads 2013 Reading Challenge
Serious Readers 2013
Tower Teams Read 2013-2
2013 Ebook Challenge
2013 1st In A Series Challenge
2013 Paranormal Reading Challenge (shapeshifter)
2013 Why Buy the Cow? Reading Challenge (free on Amazon.uk 4th of June 2013)

The Long Midnight Of Barney Thomson by Douglas Lindsay

Barney Thomson — awkward, diffident, Glasgow barber — lives a life of desperate mediocrity. Shunned at work and at home, unable to break out of a twenty-year rut, each dull day blends seamlessly into the next.
However, there is no life so tedious that it cannot be spiced up by inadvertent murder, a deranged psychopath, and a freezer full of neatly packaged meat.
Barney Thomson's uninteresting life is about to go from 0 to 60 in five seconds, as he enters the grotesque and comically absurd world of the serial killer… From Goodreads.

This was okay but not as good as I had hoped. There are a few surprises in it which are very good and made the book. As I have lived in Scotland I liked knowing about the places mentioned in the book. I might like to read more in this series but I will wait till they become available on Kindle.

This book qualifies for:
Goodreads 2013 Reading Challenge
Serious Readers 2013
Tower Teams Read 2013-2
2013 Ebook Challenge
2013 1st In A Series Challenge
2013 Why Buy the Cow? Reading Challenge (free on Amazon.uk 9th of December 2012)

Origins by Kristen Middleton

Seventeen year old Cassandra Wild thought living in the chaos of her mother’s home daycare and dealing with her developing feelings for Bryce, her new Martial Arts’ instructor, was a struggle, until the night her world turned upside down.
When an untested vaccine kills more than just a rampant flu virus, Cassie learns how to survive in a world where the dead walk, and the living…run! From Goodreads

This was a free book. It was good and I might at a later date buy the next in the series. I have, over the last 6 months, read over 30 books that were 1st in a series so I don't know when I will get back to this series.

This book qualifies for:
Goodreads 2013 Reading Challenge
Serious Readers 2013
Tower Teams Read 2013-2
2013 Ebook Challenge
2013 1st In A Series Challenge
2013 Paranormal Reading Challenge (zombie)
2013 Why Buy the Cow? Reading Challenge (free on Amazon.uk 22nd of June 2013)

The Case of the Flashing Fashion Queen by Norah Wilson

Tired of getting no respect at the big P.I. firm where she's worked for years, Dix Dodd has hung out her own shingle at the ripe age of 40. There are plenty of cheating husbands to go around, and Dix has a knack for busting them. Problem is, it doesn't always pay so well. Conscious that the guys back at the old firm are laying bets about how soon she'll come crawling back, she figures she's got six months to make a go of it. The going gets even tougher when she hires Dylan Foreman. But when he told her about getting fired from his law firm and disbarred for putting common decency before the firm's interests, she hired him on the spot. In addition to being smart, he's gorgeous enough to remind her she's a woman. And at 28, young enough to make her feel like a total cougar. Things start looking up when Dix gets hired by millionaire businessman Ned Weatherby's wife Jennifer Weatherby, to tail Ned 24/7 for a week, for a cool ten grand. Easy-peasy, right? Wrong! The job lands Dix in the middle of a murder investigation - with her as the prime suspect and her arch-enemy Detective Richard Head (a.k.a., Dickhead, one of the cheating husbands she'd nailed) gunning for her. Dix will need all her ingenuity, as well as the help of Dylan and her oddball cast of supporters to extricate herself from this one. From Goodreads.

I enjoyed this book, more than I expected. It was cosy, humorous and I like when the side characters are interesting. In this case Mrs. P was quite the character. I am interested in reading more from this series. Okay I admit it, I have just bought the second book.

This book qualifies for:
Goodreads 2013 Reading Challenge
Serious Readers 2013
Tower Teams Read 2013-2
2013 Ebook Challenge
2013 1st In A Series Challenge
2013 Why Buy the Cow? Reading Challenge (free on Amazon.uk 4th of June 2013)

Alone by Robert J. Crane

Sienna Nealon was a 17 year-old girl who had been held prisoner in her own house by her mother for twelve years. Then one day her mother vanished, and Sienna woke up to find two strange men in her home. On the run, unsure of who to turn to and discovering she possesses mysterious powers, Sienna finds herself pursued by a shadowy agency known as the Directorate and hunted by a vicious, bloodthirsty psychopath named Wolfe, each of which is determined to capture her for their own purposes... From Goodreads

This was okay, but it didn't suck me in. This was free but not good enough for me to want to buy the next books, but good enough to make me keep an eye out for them in case they get reduced in price.

This book qualifies for:
Goodreads 2013 Reading Challenge
Serious Readers 2013
Tower Teams Read 2013-2
2013 Ebook Challenge
2013 1st In A Series Challenge
2013 Paranormal Reading Challenge (several)
2013 Why Buy the Cow? Reading Challenge (free on Amazon.uk 18th of January 2013)

Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch

Probationary Constable Peter Grant dreams of being a detective in London’s Metropolitan Police. Too bad his superior plans to assign him to the Case Progression Unit, where the biggest threat he’ll face is a paper cut. But Peter’s prospects change in the aftermath of a puzzling murder, when he gains exclusive information from an eyewitness who happens to be a ghost. Peter’s ability to speak with the lingering dead brings him to the attention of Detective Chief Inspector Thomas Nightingale, who investigates crimes involving magic and other manifestations of the uncanny. Now, as a wave of brutal and bizarre murders engulfs the city, Peter is plunged into a world where gods and goddesses mingle with mortals and a long-dead evil is making a comeback on a rising tide of magic. From Goodreads.

Finding out you can speak to ghosts is not an easy thing but that is how the book starts. I really enjoyed it, although some of it is bordering on the weird, but it fits. I am already looking into getting the continuation of this series.

This book qualifies for:
Goodreads 2013 Reading Challenge
Serious Readers 2013
Tower Teams Read 2013-2
2013 Ebook Challenge
2013 A-Z Reading Challenge
2013 1st In A Series Challenge
2013 Paranormal Reading Challenge (wizard)
2013 Witches & Witchcraft Reading Challenge

Zombacter: Center City Contagion by Sean Bingham

The first book in a horrifying new series
This terrifying spin on zombies is a thrill ride of gruesome twists and turns that will leave you on the edge of your seat and forever afraid of the dark.
Professor Jake Northrop was on track to build the world’s first biocomputer using genetically engineered bacteria when something went terribly wrong. Now that something has just become top of the food chain. He’s horrified to learn that his experimental bacterium, Zombacter, turns people into flesh-eating monsters. While most of Professor Northrop’s accidental creations are lumbering idiots, some are very different. They can out run you. They can out think you, and they’re hungry! With the help of Bill Santini, a homeless, one-armed veteran, and a small group of survivors, the professor must run a gauntlet of ghouls to escape Center City and find a cure for the zombie plague. From Goodreads



This was okay for a free book. It doesn't quite end on a cliffhanger and we get some answers but it definitely sets the scene for a continuing series. Being about zombies, the book is of course full of gore.

This book qualifies for:
Goodreads 2013 Reading Challenge
Serious Readers 2013
Tower Teams Read 2013-2
2013 Ebook Challenge
2013 1st In A Series Challenge
2013 Paranormal Reading Challenge (zombie)
2013 Why Buy the Cow? Reading Challenge (free on Amazon.uk 28th of October 2012)

Athena the Brain by Joan Holub

Athena has always been above average. She has never quite fit in at Triton Junior High, but who would've guessed that Athena is actually a goddess? Principal Zeus's daughter, to be exact.
When she's summoned to Mount Olympus Academy, Athena thinks she might actually fit in for the first time in her life. But in some ways, school on Mount Olympus is not that different from down on Earth, and Athena is going to have to deal with the baddest mean girl in history: Medusa! From Goodreads

This is a sweet, cute easy read for young middle grade children. The Gods and Goddesses of Greek mythology are around the age of 12.

This book qualifies for:
Goodreads 2013 Reading Challenge
Serious Readers 2013
Tower Teams Read 2013-2
2013 Ebook Challenge
2013 Mythology Challenge
2013 1st In A Series Challenge

The Light Within Me by Carly Fall

When Abby and Noah meet, there is an explosive attraction between them that neither can deny...
As a shy, awkward, social misfit, Abby has gone her whole life feeling as though she's different from everyone else and she simply doesn't fit in well with society as a whole. She longs to feel a real connection with someone, and she finally does when she meets Noah.
Unbeknownst to Abby, Noah is from another world and his sole purpose is to hunt down the evil of his people that was unleashed on Earth hundreds of years ago. He's certain he isn't going to be able to return to his home, and anger and the need for revenge are his constant companions. His focus has been eradicating the evil and making them pay for taking his life on his world away from him.
Noah tries desperately to fight his attraction to Abby so he can keep his focus on his mission. But when Abby gets dragged into the evil and mayhem from Noah's world, he realizes that maybe with Abby he can find a home here on Earth...if he can save her in time. From Goodreads.


It was an okay read and an interesting concept that aliens were on earth to hunt their own escaped criminals. Also, if they give in to the ultimate pleasure, they will become human.This book was free and I will probably read more of this series if they are either free or very cheap.

This book qualifies for:
Goodreads 2013 Reading Challenge
Serious Readers 2013
Tower Teams Read 2013-2
2013 Ebook Challenge
2013 1st In A Series Challenge
2013 Paranormal Reading Challenge (alien)
Quick fix Challenge 2013 (261 pages)
2013 Why Buy the Cow? Reading Challenge (free on Amazon.uk 29th of May 2013)

Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice

Here are the confessions of a vampire. Hypnotic, shocking, and chillingly erotic, this is a novel of mesmerizing beauty and astonishing force --- a story of danger and flight, of love and loss, of suspense and resolution, and of the extraordinary power of the senses. It is a novel only Anne Rice could write. From Goodreads.

This was a re-read and I enjoyed it just as much this time around. The Vampire Chronicles are well worth reading.

This book qualifies for:
Goodreads 2013 Reading Challenge
Serious Readers 2013
Tower Teams Read 2013-2
2013 Ebook Challenge
2013 Anne Rice Challenge
2013 1st In A Series Challenge
2013 Paranormal Reading Challenge (vampire)

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

Look, I didn't want to be a half-blood. I never asked to be the son of a Greek God. I was just a normal kid, going to school, playing basketball, skateboarding. The usual. Until I accidentally vaporized my maths teacher. That's when things started really going wrong. Now I spend my time fighting with swords, battling monsters with my friends, and generally trying to stay alive.
This is the one where Zeus, God of the Sky, thinks I've stolen his lightning bolt - and making Zeus angry is a very bad idea.
Can Percy find the lightning bolt before a fully-fledged war of the Gods erupts? From Goodreads.

A very nice quick read. It is also fun to read about the Greek Gods and their fights with each other. In this book Percy finds out he is the son of a Greek God. Percy is a likeable hero managing a lot with the help of his friends. I will definitely read more in this series.

This book qualifies for:
Goodreads 2013 Reading Challenge
Serious Readers 2013
Tower Teams Read 2013-2
2013 Ebook Challenge
2013 Mythology Challenge
2013 1st In A Series Challenge

Marked by Kim Richardson

Sixteen year-old Kara Nightingale’s ordinary life is suddenly turned upside down when she dies and wakes up in a strange new world with a new career—as a rookie for the Guardian Angel Legion. Kara is pulled into the supernatural, where monkeys drive the elevators, oracles scurry above giant crystal balls, and where demons feed on the souls of mortals.
With the help of her Petty Officer and friend, David, Kara hurtles towards an adventure that will change her life forever… From Goodreads

Another book that is okay but nothing great. I did like the idea of guarding angels that preferably had to save the life of humans or if that failed at least save their souls before demons feed on them. I might continue this series at some point but I think there are six books by now and I am not sure I want to read that many.

This book qualifies for:
Goodreads 2013 Reading Challenge
Tower Teams Read 2013-2
Serious Readers 2013
2013 Ebook Challenge
2013 Women Challenge
2013 Paranormal Reading Challenge (demon)
Quick fix Challenge 2013 (290 pages)
2013 1st In A Series Challenge
Spring into Horror 2013
2013 Why Buy the Cow? Reading Challenge (free on Amazon.uk 6th of July 2012)
Let Me Count the Ways Reading Challenge 2013 (290 pages)

Hollowland by Amanda Hocking

"This is the way the world ends - not with a bang or a whimper, but with zombies breaking down the back door."
Nineteen-year-old Remy King is on a mission to get across the wasteland left of America, and nothing will stand in her way - not violent marauders, a spoiled rock star, or an army of flesh-eating zombies. From Goodreads.

It was okay but unfortunately no more than that. But it was the same with her Trylle trilogy where I didn't like her first book as much as the following two. With that in mind I might try to read Hollowmen at some point.

This book qualifies for:
Goodreads 2013 Reading Challenge
Tower Teams Read 2013-2
Serious Readers 2013
2013 Ebook Challenge
2013 Women Challenge
2013 Paranormal Reading Challenge (zombie)
Quick fix Challenge 2013 (291 pages)
2013 1st In A Series Challenge
Dystopia Reading Challenge 2013
Spring into Horror 2013
2013 Why Buy the Cow? Reading Challenge (free on Amazon.uk 26th of October 2011)
Let Me Count the Ways Reading Challenge 2013 (291 pages)

Amy's Story by D'Elen McClain

Amy is hot on a story as she tries to discover what life is like for teenage girls living on the street. When her disguise almost gets her killed, she’s saved by one of New York’s most eligible bachelors. His private life is filled with secrets and his story sparks Amy’s interest. Discovering the truth lands her in a world of vampires and werewolves that she never dreamed existed. She also didn't dreamed she could truly love a man or vampire but Marcus shows her the light. Now the two must fight the one person who can destroy their chance at love. With the help of Marcus’ clan of werewolves the war begins. From Goodreads.

This was an okay short romance story with both vampires and werewolves. and a new take on how they co-exist. I am not sure I will read the next book in this series.

This book qualifies for:
Goodreads 2013 Reading Challenge
Tower Teams Read 2013-2
Serious Readers 2013
2013 Ebook Challenge
2013 Women Challenge
2013 Paranormal Reading Challenge (vampire)
Quick fix Challenge 2013 (164 pages)
2013 1st In A Series Challenge
2013 Why Buy the Cow? Reading Challenge (free on Amazon.uk 20th of April 2013)
Let Me Count the Ways Reading Challenge 2013 (164 pages)

Goddess Legacy by M.W. Muse

Legacy Kore is an average seventeen year old with your basic insane crush on the hottest guy in school... rather Adin Shepard was the hottest guy in school before he graduated a couple of weeks ago. Now it’s summer vacation and she’s not sure when she’ll get to see him again. Until he shows up at her surprise seventeenth birthday party. Cue saliva glands--it’s time to drool.
But her giddiness is cut short when her guardian delivers an emotional blow, telling Legacy her mother hadn’t died when she was baby, but that she’d left for Legacy’s protection all those years ago. After the initial shock, she expects some story about how her mother was in the Witness Protection Program or something else just as crazy, but when she’s told that her mother is a Greek Goddess and that Legacy is changing into one too, she thinks her guardian needs a trip to a mental hospital. Legacy a goddess? Um, yeah. Right. And her BFF is the Easter Bunny.
While trying to make sense out of something that was impossible to believe, Adin asks Legacy out on a date. She is thrilled that her fantasy might become a reality, but when she meets the new guy in town, River, she discovers everything isn’t always as it seems, and the legacy she wants just might not be the legacy she is destined to have. From Goodreads.

This book was okay and I liked the close connection to the Greek Gods. I might look at some of the next books in this series.

This book qualifies for:
Goodreads 2013 Reading Challenge
Tower Teams Read 2013-2
Serious Readers 2013
2013 Ebook Challenge
2013 Women Challenge
Quick fix Challenge 2013 (298 pages)
2013 Mythology Challenge
2013 1st In A Series Challenge
2013 Why Buy the Cow? Reading Challenge (free on Amazon.uk 16th of April 2013)
Let Me Count the Ways Reading Challenge 2013 (298 pages)

Over Sea, Under Stone by Susan Cooper

"I DID NOT KNOW THAT YOU CHILDREN WOULD BE THE ONES TO FIND IT. OR WHAT DANGER YOU WOULD BE PUTTING YOURSELVES IN."
Throughout time, the forces of good and evil have battled continuously, maintaining the balance. Whenever evil forces grow too powerful, a champion of good is called to drive them back. Now, with evil's power rising and a champion yet to be found, three siblings find themselves at the center of a mystical war.
Jane, Simon, and Barney Drew have discovered an ancient text that reads of a legendary grail lost centuries ago. The grail is an object of great power, buried with a vital secret. As the Drews race against the forces of evil, they must piece together the text's clues to find the grail -- and keep its secret safe until a new champion rises. From Goodreads.




I have read several reviews that compare this book with  the Narnia books. Forget it! The only likeness to me is that it is with British kids.
This book takes place in our world, good versus evil and the myth of King Arthur very much alive. I will definitely read the rest of this series at some point.

This book qualifies for:
Goodreads 2013 Reading Challenge
Tower Teams Read 2013
Serious Readers 2013
2013 Ebook Challenge
2013 Women Challenge
2013 Mythology Challenge
Quick fix Challenge 2013 (208 pages)
2013 1st In A Series Challenge
Let Me Count the Ways Reading Challenge 2013 (208 pages)

Lady of Devices by Shelley Adina

London, 1889. Victoria is Queen. Charles Darwin’s son is Prime Minister. And steam is the power that runs the world.
At 17, Claire Trevelyan, daughter of Viscount St. Ives, was expected to do nothing more than pour an elegant cup of tea, sew a fine seam, and catch a rich husband. Unfortunately, Claire’s talents lie not in the ballroom, but in the chemistry lab, where things have a regrettable habit of blowing up. When her father gambles the estate on the combustion engine and loses, Claire finds herself down and out on the mean streets of London. But being a young woman of resources and intellect, she turns fortune on its head. It’s not long before a new leader rises in the underworld, known only as the Lady of Devices . . .
When she meets Andrew Malvern, a member of the Royal Society of Engineers, she realizes her talents may encompass more than the invention of explosive devices. They may help her realize her dreams and his . . . if they can both stay alive long enough to see that sometimes the closest friendships can trigger the greatest betrayals . . . From Goodreads.

My first steampunk read and it didn't disappoint. I have just bought book two in this series and I am looking forward to reading it. I like it when I enjoy a free book so much that it makes me buy more books by the author.

This book qualifies for:
Goodreads 2013 Reading Challenge
Tower Teams Read 2013
Serious Readers 2013
Get Steampunk’d 2013
2013 Ebook Challenge
2013 Women Challenge
Quick fix Challenge 2013 (203 pages)
2013 1st In A Series Challenge
2013 Literary Exploration Reading Challenge
2013 Why Buy the Cow? Reading Challenge (free on Amazon.uk 23rd of January 2013)
Let Me Count the Ways Reading Challenge 2013 (203 pages)

Stained by Ella James

After a fire destroys seventeen-year-old Julia’s home and kills her foster parents, she chases the half-demon responsible across the country and back, determined to avenge her family and discover why a host of celestial baddies want her dead. With Julia is enigmatic hottie - Cayne, who has his own score to settle with the half-demon, and who might be just as dangerous as the creature he and Julia hunt. From Goodreads.

This book was okay. The Stained and the Hunters are enemies, Julia and Cayne don't know this when they meet. I might at a later date look at this series again but just now I unfortunately don't feel I need to know what is going to happen.

This book qualifies for:
Goodreads 2013 Reading Challenge
Tower Teams Read 2013
Serious Readers 2013
2013 Ebook Challenge
2013 Women Challenge
Quick fix Challenge 2013 (246 pages)
2013 Paranormal Reading Challenge (demon)
2013 1st In A Series Challenge
2013 Why Buy the Cow? Reading Challenge (free on Amazon.com 7th of January 2013)
Let Me Count the Ways Reading Challenge 2013 (246 pages)

Witches on Parole by Debora Geary

Two pendants. Two students. And it’s entirely possible they didn’t volunteer.
World-famous (and now retired) photographer Jenvieve Adams has a debt to repay—and a soft spot for witches who have lost their way. Or so she thinks, until they actually show up.
Join some of the cast of characters from the very successful A Modern Witch series as they take on a new kind of journey as guides for WitchLight. What happens when an obsessive psychologist and a wordsmithing delinquent get dropped into Witch Central? From Goodreads.

I have chosen to do only one post for these 3 books as I have read them back to back from Friday evening to Sunday morning (4am).
I thoroughly enjoy Debora Geary's witch books.
This is not part of the Modern Witch series but they take place in Witch Central just like them and the characters from there are all part of this book plus a few more non witches from the community. There are of course a lot of sad moments in these books but I really like that they actually makes me giggle a lot.
Now I just have to wait for the next book in the Modern Witch series to be published.
Update: I have had to split this post in three after all as I can't use the same link for different books in some of my reading challenges.

This book qualifies for:
Goodreads 2013 Reading Challenge
Tower Teams Read 2013
Serious Readers 2013
2013 Ebook Challenge
2013 Women Challenge
2013 1st In A Series Challenge
2013 Paranormal Reading Challenge (witch)
Let Me Count the Ways Reading Challenge 2013 (421 pages)
2013 Witches & Witchcraft Reading Challenge