The Supernatural Pet Sitter

The Magic Thief

By: Diane Moat

Narrated by: Barbara Goldie

Every animal can talk to you. You just have to know how to listen. Pepper Neely is better at this than most, especially because she is in charge of pet sitting all the Familiars in her neighborhood. A Familiar is a pet magically linked to a witch or warlock. As a gnome, Pepper is no stranger to spells and sorcery. She also knows that, despite their special name, Familiars aren't all that different from regular animals. They get anxious when separated from their people, so Pepper uses her special gnome powers to calm them down. She watches Cranky, the high-strung ferret, Frank, the laid-back parrot, King Arthur, the elderly tortoise, and many others. Then, something terrible begins happening to the Familiars. Someone is stealing their magic! It not only prevents Pepper from communicating with them, but breaks their magical connection with their people. When King Arthur's magic is stolen, his owner's powers stop working, too. In order to protect the animal's magic, Pepper decides to track down the culprit. With the help of her best friend, Luna, and her brother, Jax, Pepper fights to protect all of the special pets.

©2017 Diane Moat (P)2017 Diane Moat

Familiars

Very cut tween story about a 12 year old gnome girl who baby sits supernatural familiar pets. Funny things are happening and this young girl is pulled into the mystery. I received a complimentary audio and this review is voluntary.

No one ever thinks of gnomes!

Pepper is a brave gnome, finding her place in an ever-changing world. As she learns more about herself, her family, and the mysteries surrounding her people, she faces an evil that threatens her family, friends, and her life. Together with her brother, Jax, and her best friend, Luna, they take brave an adversary and mysteries they never thought possible.

To be completely honest, gnomes freak me out. When I see them, I just don't like them, and usually cringe. The synopsis for this book sounded pretty good though, so I thought I'd give it a try. A story about gnomes can't be that creepy, right?

Luckily, this one was pretty cool. I enjoyed the depth the author went into about the life of gnomes and their culture, exploring them as if they were real in our modern world. Mixed with other cultures of folklore and legends, their existence with humans was entertaining.

My only complaint for this book, is the fact it seems written for a lower reading level than the story is set for. The plot fits middle school children, while the writing and narration seem fitting for a younger audience than that. Some children may lose interest because of it, however it wasn't too distracting overall.

This is a book I would recommend to just about anyone who enjoys books of this level and nature. The plot was interesting, it was quick, and left me curious as to what Pepper would do next. Definitely entertaining.

*I received a complimentary audiobook copy of this book, from the author via Audiobookworm Promotions, to listen to in exchange for an honest review.

~Rose
@Desert Rose Reviews

Pretty fun little book for a road trip!

So another random book I listened to, I couldn't resist, The Supernatural Pet Sitter? I mean c'mon, doesn't that title seem like a really fun idea for a kids book? Well guess what people, it is a fun book. I'd recommend it for a road trip cause it is the perfect length for that.

Narration was pretty solid, characters sound distinct and like age appropriate. Like Pepper and Luna both sounded like actual kids. My only complaint, and it's a minor one, is that there were times when characters were like really upset and I feel like the narrator could have made them sound more passionate or angrier. Honestly there's only one instance where I thought this, Pepper's Mom was really angry about something but she just didn't sound angry. Aside from that quibble I thought this was a pretty solid narration!

Story is pretty fun, it's got some nice world building about society of magic existing under our noses, witches and magical familiars, gnomes and a handful of other fantastic creatures. I very much enjoyed how none of the magical characters were really overpowered, which I feel like is common in kids books. Like the witches can use magic, but their magic isn't all powerful and in fact seemed to have lots of restrictions. I think Brandon Sanderson would be proud of this magic system.

If you've got extra credits piling up like I do, give this a shot! It's pretty fun!

Similar to The Golden Compass

I liked the gnomes and witches. The world building is immaculate. It was a definite solid 4 stars until ...
... My young son (almost 20) surprised me with a visit. He silently crept into my home while I was in my home office, listening to this, working on my laptop. He startled me by either A) suddenly speaking or B) saying, "That sounds like The Golden Compass, except it's about familiars and not daemons, and it sounds less religious."

And so I realized: A) YIPPEE! I have a visitor and B) OMGoddess! He's right!

Sooo. I DO like it. A lot. I do recommend it as an easy to follow cast in a fantasy setting. As long as you somewhat liked the concept of The Golden Compass.
Not everyone has a familiar; the main character has a tight and connected family.
It is different from the aforementioned series and very subtly sweet.
The narrator is perfectly perfect for this book.
The animals are wondrous. I have a fondness for turtles anyway :)

Great Entry into Fantasy for Kids

The Magic Thief is a light fantasy tale that gives broad brush strokes of hope, loss, community and magic in a compact manner that's great for younger readers/listeners. The story is told form the youngest gnome daughter that bridges cultures and powers and will certainly challenge the status quo as the series progresses.

It took me a bit to adjust to the narrator's POV but the excellent narration bridged that gap for me. The causal style felt right when I realized the age of the protagonist and experienced her growth. The narrator captures Pepper's curiosity very well and brings the listener along the journey in such an easy way that you lose yourself in the story.

Do yourself a favor and jump into this world of magic in the open and of culture clashes as seen through a young and powerful gnome.

Fun children's urban fantasy!

This was a very enjoyable children’s book. Pepper is a great character. I love that she’s a gnome. It means that she doesn’t have magic herself other than her ability to calm and sometimes communicate with animals. Her family has friends all along the spectrum of characters: witches, warlock, werewolves, other gnomes, etc. She’s also not your typical tall, athletic heroine. She’s short, stout, and doesn’t fret over her looks. That’s my kind of hero!

There’s plenty of animals in this story as well. King Arthur was a favorite, being an elderly tortoise. Each critter has its own needs, not just for their species but as individuals. It’s horrible that someone is stealing the power of these animal familiars. Pepper is key in figuring this out since the magical community is initially worried it was some virus or magical affliction.

The friendship between Pepper and Luna is a good solid one even though they come from different parts of the magical community. Luna is from a family of witches and is in training to be one herself. A witch’s powers are supposed to be kept top secret and never to be revealed outside of the witching community. However, she and Pepper have been best friends for many years and Pepper may have inadvertently learned some small things about witchcraft. That’s going to cause some complications with parents all around!

Speaking of parents, I found Mrs. Pepper to be a rather strict parent at first. Later in the story, that’s explained as part of the Gnomish culture so I was OK with it. Pepper’s dad works in a local salt mine near their town of Ithaca, NY. He’s vital in keeping the mine running smoothly even if the non-magical folk have no idea of his importance. Pepper’s older brother Jax was also a favorite character. At first, he was just an annoying older brother but he plays a bigger role later one.

The mystery of the stolen familiar powers was pretty straight forward but our villain, once revealed, was a scary and potentially deadly foe. The ending is full of action and suspense as Pepper and companions have to outwit this antagonist. I was quite satisfied by how things turned out. There’s no cliff hangers but there’s plenty of room to explore another adventure with Pepper.

The Narration: Barbara Goldie was perfect as Pepper. She has this great voice for this Gnomish kid who’s caught up in adult business. Goldie had distinct voices for all the characters and her male voices were believable, especially for Jax. I liked her voice for the villain as well. The pixie voice was quite well done too.

I received this audiobook as part of my participation in a blog tour with Audiobookworm Promotions. The tour is being sponsored by Diane Moat. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it.

Love the petter sitter!

Definitely a cute story! Narration was a bit staticy as times, and wished there was more of a narration between the of the same sexed characters. Can't wait to listen to the next one!

The Magic Thief

This was a very fun children’s audio book. Pepper is a great character. I love that she’s a gnome. It means that she doesn’t have magic herself other than her ability to calm and sometimes communicate with animals.

Really really enjoyed

I really really enjoyed listening to this book. It has a great combination of suspense, humor, friendship and is just plain fun. The narrator does a beautiful job of bringing each character to life.

A great book for the whole family

Pepper Neely is a thirteen-year old gnome who, in order to make some extra money, spends part of her free time pet sitting familiars. She is also a special gnome since, despite the fact that gnomes and witches do not usually mix, her best friend is a young witch. One day several familiars start losing their magic, and only Pepper, who has a strong connection to them, will be able to help, but also putting herself in great danger.

This book is intended for young readers, even though I still enjoyed it very much despite being in my late thirties. The characters are solidly built and it is very easy to connect to them and understand their motivations.

The writing style is simple and easy to understand, while keeping the narrative interesting. I was intrigued about who could be stealing the magic from familiars, and I am sure your readers will love this.

The book promotes values such us responsibility, love, cooperation, and acceptance, even when two individuals are very different. It also shows that animals are very sensitive beings, capable of love, and that they should be treated with respect.

Barbara Goldie delivered a wonderful character interpretation, especially of Pepper. All characters had different and distinctive voices. Her narration is clear and the audio production is spotless. I found it a bit monotone during the narration parts, but her character interpretation made up for it.

I really liked this book, and I like the fact that it can be enjoyed by young and not so young. A great book for the whole family.

I received this audiobook as part of my participation in a blog tour with Audiobookworm Promotions. The tour is being sponsored by Diane Moat. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it.