If you came for the witchcraft, or the mystery, or the paranormal, or the urban, you'll be disappointed.

Updated: No, it's not 'okay'. It's like 1.5 stars.

I've read worse, far worse, and I've concluded that I can justify this book "is okay", even though at it's very core, I don't like very much about it.

All of those shelves of placed this book on? It really isn't any of those. It is lacking in every single category.

The writing, as in, the actual nugget of the plot line, is plausible. The editing is not good. Do you like adverbs? Adjectives? Excruciating dialogue tags? This is right up your alley.

The dialogue between the characters is at best annoying, at worst it's a reflection at how little dimension the characters have. The author manages to give depth to a few - but it feels forced. It's a lot of not-very-funny bickering that gets on your nerves really quickly. Aside from one-dimensional cardboard cutout dialogue, the unrealistic behaviours was a bit much. The journalist-turned-investigator (who is not a standout at either, and not in a intentional way), the police chief who lets civilians in on crime scene stuff because he has a crush on the mother, or aunt or whoever is feeding him, the town that hates the family of witches but so what? It doesn't have any bearing on the story. Unless the town hates them because they're witches who don't do any real magic. I should move there because I hated that about them, too.

I mentioned the 'nugget of the plot' earlier, because the actual plot is cliche and predictable. There was a lot of doing nothing, unless you count the bickering, which I don't. The love interest - and the love interests raison d'etre - was transparent from the first appearance. The crime is solvable by 1/4 of the way in. Then you suffocate on bickering dialogue tags, adverbs, and irritation.

I'll stand by my two stars because it was a very easy read. Do I hate it? No. Would I recommend it? No.

Plenty of other options out there in any of the genres this is loosely attached to.

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Created Oct 09, 2019 at 9:55pm • Submit your own review...