Sinnful Books: witch

Title: It Takes a Witch
Author: Heather Blake
Genre: Paranormal romance
Pages: ARC uncorrected proof, 299
Published: Jan. 3, 2012
Opening Lines: "Usually I'm not in the habit of tiptoeing through strange houses under the cover of darkness."

"Darcy Merriweather and her sister, Harper, hail from a long line of witches who have the power to grant wishes using spells. They've come to Enchanted Village in Salem, Massachusetts, to join the family business . . .

"Until three weeks ago, Darcy and Harper were working dead-end jobs and trying to put their troubles behind them. Then their aunt Velma delivered a bombshell: They're actually Wishcrafters -- witches with the power to grant wishes with a mere spell. Wanting a fresh start, they head to their aunt's magic-themed tourist town to master their newfound skills.

"But their magic fails them when a wannabe witch turns up dead -- strangled with Aunt Velma's scarf -- and Ve's sweetheart, Sylar, is found looming over the body. Ve is standing by her man, but Darcy overheard Sylar wish that the victim would disappear --- forever. With Harper distracted by her handsome new crush, Darcy is determined to sleuth her way to the truth. But it'll take more than a wish to unravel this mystery."

~Jacket copy

Thoughts: I was so excited to receive this book in the mail! The "Uncorrected Proofs" got me extremely excited! It made me feel like I was finally coming into my own as a book blogger! I really, really, really wanted to like this book, especially with the nice note left by the author. Unfortunately, I could not convince myself.

Where do I start? When I started reading this book, my husband asked what I thought of it. I told him that it was obvious it was the author's first book. It needed a lot of work. The author, while having an interesting story idea, needed to mature into her craft. After that, I found out the author has written several books. Oh wow . . .

First of all, I found Darcy and Harper's last name to be way too cliche. I could see it as a cute touch to a first time author, but it really annoyed me. Also, when a pickpocket was mentioned at the village meeting, Darcy was quick to jump to the conclusion that her sister was responsible. However, the audience is told that Harper only did crimes related to activism. That being the case, why does Darcy automatically assume her sister is stealing money from tourists? And that brings up the Enchanted Village . . . I cannot put my finger on it, but it felt too contrived.

The residents and business owners in the Enchanted Village are concerned about the pickpocket and the fact that it was driving tourists away. However, the murder had no effect on them. Does this seem weird? In addition, the residents didn't seem to be phased by the fact that someone was strangled behind the local bookstore. It was more of a novelty and something to titter about around the green. To a point I can see the gossip, but the author pushed it to an unbelievable point.

Multiple times Darcy and other people break into the victim's house/place of business. On the first occasion, it was to stop a thief. Unfortunately, the thief disappears into thin air, which leaves Darcy and her accomplice on the scene of a crime. Does this strike the cops as weird . . .? And, if this isn't enough, Darcy constantly tells the audience that she frowns upon breaking laws; however, since it was fine to break in once, she breaks in AGAIN!

Almost every chapter ends with a cliffhanger. The following chapter picks up sometime after the cliffhanger and barely comes back to it. While I understand a few cliffhangers, constantly doing it is a sign of an immature writer. It felt as though she was doing it in an effort to keep the readers reading.

And, to add insult of injury, the characters in the book honestly believe that an allergic reaction is CONTAGIOUS!

There are many more issues I had with the book, but going into all of them would be overkill. To distill it down, I really did not enjoy this book. The idea was a creative one; however, it was not implemented properly. Normally, I would have given the author a lot of grace if this was her first book. It can take awhile for an author to mature into their craft. However, since she has many books out, there is no excuse. I'm sorry to give a low rating. The only thing that kept this book from getting one skull was the fact that I was curious who murdered Alex.

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Take a look at the other tour stops: http://crazybooktours.blogspot.com/2011/12/january-tour-it-takes-witch-by-heather.html

Sinn

Title: Pale Demon
Author: Kim Harrison
Genre: Urban fantasy
Published: 2011
Pages: Paperback, 496
Opening Lines: "'Brown for green for the drapes, Rache?'
"Jenk's voice slid into my dozing state, and I opened an eyelid a crack to find him hovering inches from my nose."

"Condemned for black magic, Rachel Morgan has three days to get to the annual witches' conference in San Francisco to clear her name. If not, she'll be trapped in the demonic ever-after . . . forever

"But a witch, an elf, a living vampire, and a pixy traveling 2,000 miles in one car is a recipe for disaster -- not even counting the assassination teams waiting to ambush . . . or the demon they unleash in St. Louis.

"Now, after centuries of torment, a fearsome creature walks free, craving innocent blood and souls -- especially Rachel Morgan's, who'll need to fully embrace her own demonic nature to survive. And even that may not be enough."

~ Jacket copy

Thoughts: Man, I'm not sure what I can say about this book without giving everything away! The basics, I suppose:

With Rachel's threat to go to the media about the true nature of witches, Oliver promised to clear her name at the witches' conference. However, he is going to do everything in his power to stop her from arriving. After being stopped at airport security, Rachel must make the long drive between California and Ohio in three days. Needing to go on an elf-quest, Trent informs Rachel that he is joining them on the cross country trip, so he could be in Washington by Sunday. This does not excite Rachel, and, after the airport fiasco, she must relent. Between assassins trying to keep Trent from getting to Washington, Vivian following, kidnapping pixies in the New Mexico desert, a day walking demon who might have destroyed the St. Louis arch, and a carsick pixy, they are lucky to make it to California in one piece!

Honestly, when I read the back of the book, I was afraid that this was a disaster waiting to happen! I have loved this series since I picked up the first book! However, this felt as though Harrison might be pushing her luck with this one. And, I have to say it, I was pleasantly surprised! The book is perfectly balanced between the car trip, the new demon, the conference, and the aftermath. I admit that I am curious about Trent's elf-quest and how it all went down; however, that isn't the most important part of the story.

I was not surprised with the outcome of the conference. Seeing Oliver's nature in the previous book, was a big tell. However, after what happening in New Mexico, I was very happy to see Vivian and Rachel forming a friendship. For me, the biggest loose end was the collective of witches. I wanted to know what caused the outcome and what happened to Vivian. Although I wonder if Harrison felt it wasn't important after the last stand between Rachel and Ku'Sox.

In the previous books, the only demoness the audience sees in Newt. Ku'Sox mentions her sisters, and Newt talks about them to Rachel in Dalliance. I would have liked to find out more about demonesses, why there were so few, etc. Honestly, I think it would have added too much length to the book to fully explore that. I'm hoping that Harrison really explores that in later books.

Even though I loath a lot of the things Trent has done to Rachel in the past, I have always sensed a little sexual angst between the two. I think Harrison brought that to the forefront, and played it well. After the occurrences at the end of the book, I think the two are finally starting to see each other. I wonder how Harrison will play this one out.

I really enjoyed this book. I felt that Harrison has done a good job keeping up with the story. And, strangely enough, it doesn't feel as though she is stretching this series as far as she can. There is enough going on in each book to make me want to know more. Plus, I love her characters! If she continues to have Al in the series, I will be content >:)

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