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Book Review: The Witch’s Lens by Luanne G. Smith
A witch finds herself recruited to WWI’s eastern front to fight a scourge of zombies.
Summary:
With her husband off fighting at World War I’s eastern front, Petra Kurková embraces her fleeting freedom, roaming the city at night with her camera. A born witch, she’s discovered that she can capture the souls of the dead on film. Her supernatural skills don’t go unnoticed by the enigmatic Josef Svoboda. He’s recruiting a team of sorcerers to infiltrate the front lines, where the bloodshed of combat has resurrected foul creatures. Petra’s unique abilities will be needed against the most dangerous enemies of all—those ever present, undead, and unseen.
Deep in the cursed Carpathian Mountains, the ragtag team meets with an emissary of an ancient organization founded to maintain balance between worlds. Photographing the escalating horrors is beyond anything Petra imagined. So are the secrets among her fellow witches. But Petra can’t turn back. Not before she discovers her husband’s fate and the myriad ways her magic is manifesting. To defeat an occult foe, Petra must release the power she’s been concealing for so long, or risk damning a war-torn world to ashes.
Review:
I came into this book expecting a lot of WWI with a dash of witches but it ended up being the other way around.
If it wasn’t for the book’s blurb mentioning WWI and one passing mention of the Archduke’s assassination, it would be possible to read this book and think the entire war was a fantasy. This becomes increasingly so as the book progresses. Perhaps I missed something but at first it sounds like the humans are fighting and unaware of any supernatural folks participating in the war pushing it one way or the other. Then later it seems like everyone knows about witches. So which is it?
The book starts slowly, showing Petra living on her own, lonely and bored, going out at night to take photos since she’s discovered the dead show up in them. I was intrigued by this and wondering why Petra can only see the dead in her photos, but the why is never revealed. The camera is useful to the plot but not in the way you would imagine from what we know it can do.
The zombies in the book are the fast type. (See more zombie recommendations from me.) They can move at superhuman speeds. An interesting unique take is that zombies can continue to exist among the living until they’re called upon by another power to act like a zombie. They’re basically Trojan horses among the soldiers.
There is some light romance in the book. Personally, it didn’t work for me because we see Petra starting to long for a man who isn’t her husband. That’s just not a plot point I personally enjoy. The romance is hinted at in the book. There is not even a kiss. I suspect it will get stronger in the sequel. Those who want to read for the romance should know this is a very slow burn.
If we ignore the confusing aspects of whether or not everyone in the world knows about the witches, the plot does escalate in a way that mostly make sense and things come to a head with quite a bit of action. But there is an element of “the chosen one,” which I find dull. Especially in a book about WWI. I wanted to see everyone coming together with unique strengths. Not one overpowered person.
Overall, this book wasn’t a match for me. I wanted a lot more WWI than was in it. Recommended to those interested in a witch’s war with a dash of light, slow-burn romance.
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3 out of 5 stars
Length: 255 pages – average but on the shorter side
Source: Library
Buy It (Amazon or Bookshop.org)
Book Review: The Kitchen Witch by Annette Blair (Series, #1)
Summary:
Logan finds himself a single dad after his young son’s mother abandons him on his doorstep, so he moves back to his hometown of Salem, Massachusetts, looking to provide his young son with some stability. He has a bad rep from his teen years in Salem to get over, though, and he hopes his new job as a television producer at the local tv station will help. He wasn’t expecting his downstairs neighbor Melody Seabright, however.
Melody, who seems incapable of holding onto a job for any length of time, gets him to get her a meeting with the owner of the tv station and somehow convinces him to give her her own tv show, The Kitchen Witch. The only problem is she can’t cook, and whether or not she’s really a witch is up for debate.
Can Melody learn how to cook and hold onto the job? Or are both of their jobs now in jeopardy? And why does Logan keep thinking about such an unpredictable woman when he knows he needs to provide stability for his son?
Review:
I picked this up on a free book cart at a local library because the cover and title were cute, and I definitely am periodically in the mood for some lighthearted paranormal romance. I was a bit disappointed to find this isn’t really a paranormal romance, but I still enjoyed the contemporary tale it told, primarily due to its featuring a good-hearted single dad.
Logan is a contemporary romance character who will make many readers’ hearts beat a bit faster. He’s cute, young, has a high-powered job, lives in the quirky town of Salem and enjoys it, and is an awesome single dad to his young son. Having him be a bad boy who overcame it for his son is the perfect last touch for a contemporary romance. I can see many readers enjoying fantasizing about him.
Melody may be a bit more hit and miss with readers. The delightfully clumsy bit has been used a lot in romance recently and may feel a bit been there done that. Her apartment is divinely adorable, though, and she has some curves that are always looked upon as a good thing. Her difficult relationship with her own father adds some depth to the character, but some readers might have trouble sympathizing with a poor little rich girl, although I do think that Blair handled this particular aspect well.
Blair also writes children characters beautifully. The son sounds like a child, and yet still has the proper astuteness and vocabulary for his age. The only negative I can say about him is that I honestly already forgot his name. However, I enjoyed his presence every time he popped up into the story.
The plot is where things get a bit shaky. The book is definitely marketed as a paranormal romance, and there are hints at the beginning of the book that Melody might be a witch, but that never comes to fruition. The best I can tell is that she’s learned how to act and sound like a witch by virtue of living and working in Salem. There’s nothing wrong with this, but it was disappointing given that I thought I was getting a paranormal story. I also thought that if the book is going to have Logan suspicious Melody is a witch, at some point he should definitely find out once and for all whether she is one. I think perhaps the book was trying to say she’s just a regular girl with some knowledge of Wicca (which isn’t the same thing as being a paranormal romance witch, since Wicca is a religion and doesn’t actually involve paranormal romance style magic but it’s still a reveal I would have been happier with). However, that also is never firmly revealed. Just what type of witch, if any, Melody is is just a plot idea that is dropped and never fully dealt with, which is a bit frustrating.
A bigger plot issue to me though is that this book falls into the romance trope of everyone can see the couple should be together but the couple makes up fake obstacles to stand in their way and they just have to come to their senses and deal with their own stupidity to get over it. (I really wish there was a shorter way to describe that particular trope…..) It is just a trope that really bugs me. I don’t mind real obstacles in the way of a couple, but the couple just being idiotic and making up their own obstacles feels to me like the author stirring up fake drama to make the book longer. Also, I am 100% a-ok with a couple meeting, working out some realistic difficulties, and then being together. Things that are overly dramatic for the sake of drama just rub me the wrong way. Some readers may be ok with this trope, but for those who aren’t, be aware that this is where the plot eventually goes.
Having been to Salem multiple times, I can say that the author clearly did her research, as she depicts the culture and feel of Salem quite well. She also understands the layout of the town and even gives a realistic vague-ish location for Logan and Melody’s house. (In the few blocks nearish the House of the Seven Gables, in case you’re wondering).
The sex scenes were good, not ridiculous. They weren’t mind-blowingly hot, but they were fun to read and well-written.
Overall, this is a good contemporary romance featuring a lovable single dad love interest that is mismarketed as a paranormal romance. Those looking for paranormal romance should be aware that this fits in much better with the contemporary romance crowd. Additionally, those who are frustrated by couples keeping themselves apart for no reason should be aware that this is the romance trope found in this particular book. Recommended to those looking for a steamy contemporary read featuring a heartthrob single dad and a realistically quirky New England town.
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3 out of 5 stars
Length: 320 pages – average but on the longer side
Source: Library free book cart
Book Review: Braided by Elora Bishop (Series)
Summary:
A lesbian retelling of Rapunzel. Gray, a witch’s daughter, visits Zelda every day. The witch switched Gray’s fate into Zelda, so now Zelda is the one entwined with the spirit of the tree that the people worship. She must live on the platform and every day lower her hair for people to tie ribbons and prayers into. Gray feels horrible guilt over their switched fates, but she’s also falling in love with Zelda.
Review:
I’m a sucker for fairy tale retellings, although I can be fairly picky about whether or not I like them. But Rapunzel is a tale that is not redone often enough, in my opinion, and the fact that it was a lesbian version made me jump at this novella.
It’s nice that the retelling doesn’t just change the genders of the main romantic pairing and leave it at that. In the original version, a married couple steal from a witch’s garden and in payment they must give her their unborn child who she then locks up into a tower. She would let her long hair down for her witch/mother to use as a ladder to get into the tower. A prince years later hears her singing in the tower and helps her escape. In this retelling, the people worship a tree. When the tree starts to die they tie its spirit into a person. That person lives on a platform in the tree and the people pray to him/her. When the person dies, the fate to be tied to the tree randomly chooses a baby by putting a tree pattern on their chest. This fate is supposed to be Gray’s, but her mother somehow acquires another baby, Zelda, and with magic cuts the fate out and ties it to her instead. Gray knows this and at first visits Zelda out of guilt but eventually falls in love with her. This version, surprisingly, is actually a lot more fantastical and magical. There is even a quest within an alternate dimension/dream world. I enjoyed the increase in the otherworldly feel, and I liked that it lent the twist of a parent trying to protect her child rather than a mother smothering her child.
The writing has an earthy, magical quality to it. It’s definitely language that is looking to be pretty, and it mostly succeeds. The romance between Zelda and Gray is sweet and very YA. Their passion revolves entirely around kissing and holding. I like that it gives a soul and connection to the romance without ignoring the physical aspect. It’s the perfect balance for this type of story.
While I enjoyed reading the story, I must admit it wasn’t my ideal retelling of Rapunzel. I didn’t like the religious aspect that was drawn into it, and I did feel that Zelda falling for Gray was a bit fast, particularly given the fate switching aspect of the story. I was also disappointed to see that in spite of all the other changes in the story, the Rapunzel character is still blonde. I’m not sure why no one ever seems to change this when retelling Rapunzel.
Overall, this is a fun retelling of Rapunzel, particularly if you’re looking for a non-heteronormative slant or enjoy a more magical feel. Note that this is part of a series entitled Sappho’s Fables
4 out of 5 stars
Source: Amazon
Friday Fun! (Into the Woods, Blog Tour Updates)
Hello my lovely readers!
No, I have not lost my mind. I know today is Saturday. Yesterday was just too busy to get a Friday Fun post up!
Right after work, I went to MIT where I was meeting a long-time friend (and her new significant other) for dinner followed by a local production of Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods. I’d seen the recorded Broadway version, but never seen it live. I was quite excited.
We had Mexican food for dinner (chips and guac ftw) then settled in for the play. The local folks did quite a good job, showing lots of enthusiasm. In particular, the women playing the Baker’s Wife and the Witch had superb singing abilities. The set design was also creative and highly functional. Most of the set changes from homes to the woods didn’t take long at all. I also, as always, enjoyed “Hello Little Girl.” Yes, I know it’s deliciously creepy, that’s the point, eh?
It was so nice to get out to see a show! I hadn’t in a long time. I also hadn’t seen my friend in forever, so it was great to catch up.
This was a quieter week in the Waiting For Daybreak
Gizmo’s Book Reviews interviewed me. Check that out to see what celebrity I’d be most distracted by if s/he walked into a restaurant I was in.
Cynthia Shepp hosted a guest post in which I talked about why I chose Boston as a setting. She also hosted a giveaway, which is now closed. Congrats to the winner!
That’s it! As I said, a quieter week, but still containing lots of variety. Both of these ladies were also an entire pleasure to work with.
In other writing/publishing news, I had a short story accepted this week! It will be out in September. Check out my publications page for more details.
Happy weekends!
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This work by Amanda Nevius is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
Opinions of a Wolf 