Debora Geary - A Nomadic Witch

Spring brings a traveler to Nova Scotia - a tiny babe who will turn Marcus's life upside down and reincarnate the horrifying events of his past.
Can Marcus find his way through the pain to love and healing? And can the witching community finally learn to keep their astral travelers safe?
A Nomadic Witch is book four of the top-rated A Modern Witch series. Light contemporary fantasy with a good dose of humor, a little romance, and characters you won't want to leave.

Comment: This is the 4th book in the Modern Witch series, which follows a family/community of witches as they go on with their lives and share things with one another.

In this story, Marcus becomes the protagonist because although he has a reputation for being lonely and unfriendly, he is still part of the family and everyone loves him anyway. He is completely surprised, though, when a baby is left on his doorstep and everyone starts acting as if he should take care of the child. Baby Morgan seems to be a "gift" sent by his deceased brother Evan, who died when he was only a child, but how did this come to be? And when it seems Morgan is also an astral voyager like even was, which was why he died, Marcus is even more worried he can't be the right person to help Morgan... but can he resist her?

As I've said before, I've loved the first book because the mix of cozy elements and a heroine who was new to the witch world and a secondary romance that felt both magical and destined were perfectly done, for my taste. Even though I could see the "issues" about the novel's execution, the combination of all those things felt practically perfect for me. The second and third ones, however, weren't as dazzling nor addictive, but the familiarity with the characters compensated.

Now, this fourth book is centered on Marcus, someone who has the fame of being an introvert and sometimes even rude, and I was curious to see him finally dealing with the guilt he has carried since his brother died, although it wasn't his fault. The baby element was interesting,provided some cute and funny scenes, but I kind of wish the author had also inserted a romance here. Not that he needed a woman to take care of the baby of course, lots of family around to help, but I assumed him being the focus would include romance too.

Well, I feel a little sad and disappointed this these sequels haven't given me the same feeling I had with the first book. That one somehow worked out so perfectly.... now, the community is there, the sense of help, family, caring, all those cozy and sweet emotions are as greatly used as before but the little things, the surprising new things heroine Lauren had to face in book #1 just don't exist anymore, and now all the characters seem too much alike, think the same things and there is no novelty in how they react to surprises and challenges. Everyone is perfect. 

I didn't mind this before, true, because in the first book that perfection still included relatable feelings, but now I'm struggling to enjoy the repetitiveness. Perhaps, if this story also included a romance Marcus didn't expect, would make things more interesting, more vibrant. I can understand the focus on his personal healing and in helping a baby and all that, but this story was, for the most part, a little too boring. I do feel bad saying this, because I still like the idea of such close people/family, but... in terms of plot, after 3 books, perhaps this 4th one could have introduced new situations.

Considering that most of the novel was a little uneventful, when a situation closer to the end, related to Marcus' guilt and his need to move on becomes possible, it was quite the emotional surprise and it offered an interesting view on closure. I liked it that the characters could learn something new and that this might help everyone in the community in the future, but it happened quite quickly and  too close to the end... it made the rest of the story feel like it dragged.

All in all, I really expected more of this story... I will read the next one someday, again with the hope it will bring back the feelings I had when i read the first book.

Grade: 6/10

Mini - Comments

I've recently read two books, part of series I've started in the past, which were alright but not outstanding. 

Both had characters that were captivating and who seemed to be part of promising plots, but the execution wasn't as well done as I hoped for.

Mac Argeneau knows all too well: immortals can be killed. Not with holy water or silver crosses, but by decapitation or being set on fire. So when Mac’s house bursts into flames—with him inside—he’s sure it was no accident. But who would want to kill a scientist specializing in hematology? There is a silver lining: a blonde investigator appears on the scene and sparks feelings in him that have been dormant for centuries.
CJ Cummings is in town on a special investigation, but she’s been waylaid by the local police to deal with this arson case. The biggest mystery is how this sexy scientist with silvery blue eyes has emerged from a blazing inferno without a burn mark on him. He’s clearly hiding something. Sure, she’d love to see him without his lab coat, but she’s got a job to do—despite his insistence that he needs a bodyguard and...he wants her.

But when a second attempt on their lives puts CJ in harm’s way, it’s Mac who will do anything to safeguard the woman who’s destined to be his life mate.

Meant to Be Immortal by Lynsay Sands is book #32 in her long Argeneau series. This time, the story is focused on Macon Argeneau, brother to Katricia, from a novella (#15.5) released years ago and, to be honest, a character I remember badly. I won't repeat what I have said regarding the most recent books in the series I've read, for the same issues continue, namely the same ideas and situations without real depth into characterization and plot as the first books used to have. Macon and his love interest CJ were interesting characters, both had a good base for a solid development but I think the author was focusing on the wrong details. These books are now, basically, just a check on the list, but somehow I still find myself going back to them from time to time, who can understand why.

Grade: 6/10

* * *

As a child, Sierra Brighton traveled the world. She swam with the baby whales, danced in storm funnels, and lived in complete magical freedom. And then Momma died and Sierra ended up in foster care, an unhappy and very secret witch.
Fetched by Nell's spell, she'll no longer need to do magic on lonely beaches - but can Sierra learn to use her power safely? Or will her reckless blood put Witch Central at risk?

A Reckless Witch by Debora Geary is the third installment in the Modern Witch series. I was utterly fascinated by the first book, which I loved, even though it was a sugar fest. the second book wasn't as addictive, but most of the elements I liked were still there. There was a focus on a certain character, though, someone I wasn't too interested in, honestly. The same thing happened here, Sierra is a young woman who has a greater power than she imagined and she needs help to control it. I liked the community, the group of characters who are a huge family and I liked that this had a very mild angst content. Sadly, I think the most wonderful little things I loved in the first book weren't here. I still have hopes for the next story, though... fingers crossed it will be more similar to the first book.
Grade: 7/10

Debora Geary - A Hidden Witch

Elorie Shaw, steeped in the traditions of the Nova Scotia witching community, but not a witch. The fetching spell must have goofed this time... or did it? Travel to Fisher's Cove, Nova Scotia, where Moira is matriarch and the old ways are nurtured and passed to the next generation. Where a crotchety old witch makes small children cry and builds walls around the silent pain in his heart. And where Elorie - sea-glass artist, inn owner, and Moira's granddaughter - makes her home. The old magics are strong here. Which is all fine and good until the fetching spell pulls Elorie into Witches' Chat. Because she's not a witch. Or at least not any kind of witch the old ways recognize...

Comment: The first book in this Modern Witch series was one of the only three I've given five stars to last year. I was dazzled by the simplicity of the story and the sense of community. I was quite curious to see if this second installment would be as successful to me and while it wasn't as great, it was good enough to make me want to read more.

In this story, still revolving around the group and family of witches and their friends, whom we met in the previous book, we mainly follow Elorie, granddaughter of Moira, the matriarch of the family, as she goes on with her life as an artist while still debating with the sadness that she hasn't witch powers. This didn't stop her from helping as best as she could, though, and she has her art and a wonderful husband... so when the plan to travel from Maine to California for an art fair and show case her glass work suddenly puts her in the center of attention and others keep telling her she has powers after all, Elorie isn't certain on what to do. The problem is that her supposed new powers don't seem to be much of a deal, how can she cope with this new situation?

It is true this story wasn't as amazing to me as the first. The wonderful coziness of the style seemed to have worked a lot better in the first book and the novelty of the witch community and family somehow felt perfect to me. Here, the same elements are found and the family is as tight as before, although a few characters have more focus than others and a new ones have key roles instead of others.

All this is fine, if one likes this style of story, especially because there isn't much happening in terms of plot, just like before. The story is all about the characters and how amazing they are and how everyone contributes to a goal or a common challenge, such as how most characters are trying to find a way to help others developing or accessing their powers in specific ways.

This can seem a little too sugary because everyone is great, and even the less happy/positive details are somehow used to advance something or someone will learn something from it. I wouldn't mind, to be fair, to have a bit more content on the characters personal lives and the difficulties they face... even when this is hinted at or seems to be what we get from a comment or a line, things are solved in what feels like a too simplistic way, meaning there isn't any obvious character growth. Everyone is great and even the most taciturn ones (like uncle Marcus) somehow help/contribute/have a different side...

If one can put aside the slowness of some things and the obvious lack of plot, the story can be sweet and charming. Still, I wasn't as taken by this installment too for another main reason. Elodie seems to be the key character, the one who kind of propels most of the situations or, to say it better, the person around whom most scenes seem to focus on. Elodie is a non-witch in a family of witches and she has resigned herself to this, helping to teach the children about witches and responsibility and so on. the witch community has many family members in similar situations so there is this huge notion to teach kids everyone matters, and not having powers doesn't mean some people are less than others.

All this is fine and I would also be fine if Elodie weren't to have powers. Still, the author decided to change this and, it turns out that she does. Ok, that's fine as well. My issue is the kind of power Elodie is "given". For the life of me I just could not picture such a power and worse, how Elodie can become able to use it... while all these things keep going on, one or two other characters find they have similar skills to Elodie, and the contrast /mostly age related) feels so... condescending. Elodie is in her late 20s but it still feels the idea if that she is too old to deal with how her powers work. I've found this whole thing to be ridiculous.

I suppose one could say the story alone is that, but I do like this style, I did love spending time with these characters, but in my opinion Elodie should have be shown to have a great life without powers or her powers should be easier to accept. I think the author could have done things better in regards to this and could have portrayed Elodie better too.

I've checked the blurb of the next novel and I hope it will offer a more engaging story or, at least with more captivating situations.

Grade: 7/10

Debora Geary - A Modern Witch

Can you live 28 years without discovering you're a witch? — Lauren is downtown Chicago's youngest elite realtor. She's also a witch. She must be - the fetching spell for Witches' Chat isn't supposed to make mistakes. So says the woman who coded the spell, at least. — The tall, dark, and handsome guy sent to assess her is a witch too (and no, that doesn't end the way you might think). What he finds in Lauren will change lives, mess with a perfectly good career, and require lots of ice cream therapy.

Comment: I had this book in the (ebook) pile since 2013 and I can't really say why I didn't read it before now. I suppose it didn't help how easily one is influenced by ratings and while this sometimes is unfair, sometimes there's a good reason for it..perhaps I was scared this would be another book which would disappoint. Still, in one of the challenges I'm doing with one of my groups, one topic was to pick something with a Halloween type characters, so I picked up this book, which would have witches.

In this story we meet a vast cast of characters, being the focus centered on Lauren, a realtor in Chicago who, accidentally - or not - finds herself following the online conversation between some witches. She thinks there had been a glitch and everyone says a friendly goodbye but Nell, one of the witches, sends her brother Jamie so he can check if Lauren was indeed an error in the site or if she has powers she isn't aware of. When Jamie does meet Lauren, he soon realizes that yes, she has some abilities, but it isn't until he is coaching her and the sudden appearance of her best friend makes him lose control of his own powers. From this moment on, there is no doubt Lauren is a witch, but will she want to be part of the community?

I'll start by saying I can definitely understand why this story didn't work out for many readers. There is simply no plot. This is a story about Lauren discovering herself and on the way she meets many friendly and happy people, the whole story is a love/friendship fest and there isn't really any serious obstacle nor conflict to add drama. This is a fantasy meant to entertain.

Normally, I'd agree with the critics about the lack of gravitas here and this should have been boring and a bit too silly - I have had this opinion regarding other similar stories - but somehow all the little details and silly content and unlikely characters made sense to me. It was fun and cute and I had a great time reading this story, it's one of those things that make one feel warm and happy and it was the perfect escapism.

Lauren is realtor who likes her job and she feels extra glad when she can match the clients to their perfect house. She sometimes has some "feelings" but never really gave that much thought but as soon as she is told about her possible witch abilities, she does remember some situations which could be linked to it. Still, Lauren is reluctant to accept she is this amazing witch others claim she could be, as long as she learns and practices.Things improve for her after she travels to California to meet Nell and the rest of Jamie's family. Her best friend Natalia goes as well because it seems pretty obvious she and Jamie might become a couple.

While in California, Lauren meets several people, including Nell's youngest child and they have an immediate connection. In fact, Lauren's witch skills seem to match those of the child and they become friends. This propels her to think of a life where she has friends, a newfound family and a support system to not only her role as a witch but also as someone who is part of a community. I did love this part of the story, this need Lauren had and never imagined, and how easy it was for her to find others who could be special to her. 

The biggest issue is that Lauren isn't certain how things could be and how much she could learn if she is in Chicago while all these amazing people are in California. Of course, along with Lauren's path, we also have some POVs of other characters and there are several situations which contribute to people's decisions and how they think about the future. I also liked this because while nothing is set in stone, nothing is magically done (meaning no magical influence happens) everyone just knows they are meant to be a close family.

This is truly a sweet, cozy type of story. There isn't much to it in terms of a challenging story line, but I was still eager to see what would happen next, and the author sprinkles these small or apparently unassuming little tidbits here and there about many things which make the story feel even more charming and somehow everything seemed to develop well enough. Are there questionable situations and fantasy-like odds in what happens? No doubt, but that doesn't make the story feel ridiculous or silly as I often find some books to be, and here things are just so positive, one feels glad to be part of everything.

There is also some romance and some situations that are clearly too fantastical but I was happy enough with the result. Perhaps this is one of a kind and the other books in the (long) series won't be as great, but I think I will try the next one at least.

Grade: 9/10