What’s a Witch to Do?
By Jennifer Harlow
2013, Midnight Ink (Llewellyn Worldwide Ltd)
Review by Debra L Scott, 3/2/2013
This review is based on a Reader’s Advance Copy. The final published book may be different.
Jennifer Harlow spins a tale about a High Priestess who reigns over a covenstead of one hundred and fifty witches, some thirty of which are also her students. It’s a small town where everyone knows everyone else, if they aren’t right out related.
The story unfolds slowly, with a good deal of descriptive language and attention to the small details of a busy working single mother who also happens to be a High Priestess on 24 hour call and a very hands-on teacher of her many students. Each chapter starts with a To-Do list:
“Monday To-Do List
• Find out who wants to kill me
• Hem that damn skirt
• Go to work
• E-mail spell for class
• Founder’s Day meeting
• Teach class
• Grocery Shopping
• Stay alive
(and added later in the chapter)
• Have a nervous breakdown”
When an injured werewolf arrives at her door, the High Priestess learns she is in mortal danger. From there she adds to her already busy schedule the task of trying to find the assassin before the assassin finds her. And… she’s planning a wedding for her sister. Of course.
There are many twists and turns in the search as she tries her hand at detective work. In the midst of all this, the author continues to insert mundane details of her life which detract from the pace of the story, in my opinion. But we get there in the end, with thankfully, an unexpected ending to the mystery.
I somehow mistook this for a Young Adult genre novel, based on the cover art, so right off the bat I was confused with the off color language on page one. The writing also seemed to be targeted for YA in the way the story unfolded. It actually took me more than half the book to be convinced it was in fact for adults, or at least sexually mature individuals.
I frequently receive advance copies of books to review, and am used to a certain amount of missed errors, but this one was an autocorrect nightmare. Hopefully the final publication has been duly corrected and edited.
Word Seeds 