The Accidental Witch
The Darkest Arts
Series
(Book #1)
Jessica Penot
Genre:
Paranormal
Romance
Release
Date: November
5, 2013
Publisher:
Lachesis
Publishing
ASIN:
B00GG83WLE
Pages:
276
Word
Count: 85,000
Goodreads
Rating: 3.50
My
Rating: 4.5
Book Description:
Phaedra
Michaels is a small town psychologist who is beginning to lose hope. Two of her
patients at the local hospital in Dismal, Alabama have just killed themselves,
she’s still reeling from her divorce and what turned out to be a disastrous
marriage, and her father has died, leaving her without any notion of who her
real mother is.
Just as
Phaedra decides to commit herself to a serious drinking problem and an eating
disorder, or two, a mysterious spell book arrives in the mail. Feeling
desperate, Phaedra uses it to cast spells to save her fading patients.
Suddenly, good things start happening. Phaedra’s
patients begin to get better and she even starts dating the sexy doctor from
the hospital.
Phaedra is
so happy she doesn't notice the small things that start to go wrong in Dismal,
or the dark creatures slithering out of the shadows near her house. When
Phaedra finally realizes her spells have attracted every card-carrying demon
from hell, she has no choice but to accept help from a slightly nerdy, 500
year-old warlock with a penchant for wearing super hero T-shirts and a knack
for getting under Phaedra’s skin. Now, if only she could get the hang of this
witch thing, she might be able to save her town.
My
Take On The Book:
Let me
start by saying, I loved this book like I love Butterfingers, and man do I
loooovvvee Butterfingers.
I was really
excited to read this book since I don’t get to read a lot of books about magic
or with main characters that are witches. I had really high expectations and
this title didn’t disappoint.
It starts
off in this dreary little town called ‘Dismal’
and of course, just like the reader(me) does, the author too points out the
connections between the name of the town and the story in itself.
Phaedra(awesome name for a main witchy character btw) stumbles into witchcraft
with the help of this nifty little book of spells that is sent to her. Little
by little she begins to cast like crazy and then wham bam thank you mam, the
shit hits the fan and there’s a big bad on the loose coming right for her.
I loved the
progression of the story, it was a steady build up to an awesome finale.
The
Great (Pros):
- Phaedra. A strong, stubborn, human, faulted, kind hearted person. She is the epitome of the title but a strong lead. I loved her, faults included!
- Fred. Oh hot nerd of all nerds. The boy can’t even match. But I guess that’s part of his appeal. He’s a talented nerd who just so happens to be a hottie with a heart of gold.
- Diane. What story doesn’t need a badass oracle best friend who kinda leans towards the hussy side. She was awesome and quirky and really lit up the page.
- Magic. I loved the magic in this book. It was done very well. All the inner workings were enthralling.
- The Romance. What kind of book would this be for me to read if there wasn’t some sort of romance involved. I started off liking one character and then maybe 2 scenes in, he irked me and I was sooo over that. The romance between Phaedra and her beau was just so well done. I loved how it seemed like it wasn’t gonna happen and then you blink and it did. Don’t get me wrong there is loads and loads of chemistry and sizzle, it was just unexpected due to the characters situations and yet it happens and it works and well it clicks! It’s magic ;) Plus, they were steamy.
The
Not So Great (Cons):
- Predictability. I saw a lot of the ‘plot twists’ coming so there was no omg surprise moment and that took a bit away from my enjoyment of the book.
- Unanswered questions. It’s a series, so duh there are a lot of unanswered questions, doesn’t mean I have to like them though.
- Johnny Boy. God I hate him… he’s a scum bag who thought he was the shit, when really he was just a piece of poo.
- Aaron. God I’m sorry, but he was just too pretentious. And while they had different likes, he seemed to be cut from the same cloth as Johnny Boy. He was a snob who thought he was great. He wasn’t, he was kind of dull.
4.5 Quills
It’s a great read. With a perfect ending for the beginning of
a wonderful series. (Did anyone notice that I’m kinda obsessed with series
books? lol) It had the feel of a more adult version of The Wicked Series by
Nancy Holder and Debbie Viguie. It even had a splash of The Hollows by Kim
Harrison. While I admit to some very obvious differences, the world that this
was created in is very reminiscent of those magical worlds.
An Excerpt From The Book
It is amazing how the most
world-changing days can seem entirely mundane to begin with. Friday the 13th
seemed no different than any other day to me. I woke up late, as always, and
rushed to get dressed and make it to the car with my usual box of animal
crackers and diet cola. I pulled my shoes on as I backed out of the driveway
and ate while I drove to work.
I was late to work, but just early
enough to not be noticed as late. The small hospital where I worked was a blip
in a vast nowhere and the small psychiatric floor I worked on was a blip in a
blip. I was a blip within a blip within a blip, making me practically nothing.
I could’ve died in my sleep and the world would barely belch. I liked to think
that I was good at what I did. I liked to think that even though I was a
nothing, I made a difference in the patients’ lives. I was one of those deluded
people that believed in saving the world one person at a time. I guess I still
am. Certainly, I was one of the few people that actually cared about the
patients. The management didn’t care that I cared. Management was too busy
trying to balance the books and keep the floor profitable to care what the
staff did with the patients. I could take all the patients outside and have
them moo like cows and management wouldn’t care as long as I billed it as a
recreational therapy group and got the proper reimbursement.
About The Author
Jessica
Penot is a therapist who lives in Alabama with her 2 corgis, cat, sons, husband
and other strange creatures. She is the author of Haunted North Alabama,
Haunted Chattanooga, and Circe.
ENTER THE GIVEAWAY HERE
“I received a free copy of the book from the author for my honest opinion.”
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