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Book Reviews: New Witch on the Block AND Jealousy’s Witch, by Louisa West

I borrowed audio versions of New Witch on the Block and Jealousy’s a Witch (Midlife in Mosswood #1 & 2), by Louisa West through Hoopla.

She thought she was running away from her past, not catching up with it.

Rosemary Bell just wants to live a quiet, happy life and raise her daughter as far away from her toxic ex-husband as she can get. But when they move into a decrepit cottage in the woods of Mosswood, Georgia, Rosie realises her life will never be simple.

A gang of meddling neighborhood do-gooders want to run her out of town. The vicious laundromat machines keep eating her spare change. Not to mention her buff Irish stalker who insists that he’s a Witch King and that it’s her royal destiny to be his Queen.

And to top it all off, strange things keep happening around Rosie when she least expects it…

She could deal with it all, but her ex won’t rest until he tracks her down. When her ability to protect her daughter is threatened, Rosie shows them all that nobody messes with the new witch on the block.

I generally liked this. I appreciated a heroine who had made mistakes because of youth and inexperience, but had grown and gotten herself out of a difficult situation. I like that the love interest is sexy to her, but isn’t described as uber handsome.

The plot is fairly simple and it takes a while for the magic to be introduced, but it’s enjoyable. I did think being the ‘Witch Queen’ as opposed to just a witch, even a powerful witch, was too much. It felt like the author just had to make her that extra little bit special.

The writing is perfectly readable and, as far as I could tell in audio (it is well narrated) the editing is clean. However, the book ends very abruptly with nothing concluded or wrapped up.

She thought that her life couldn’t get any stranger. Boy, was she wrong.

Rosemary Bell’s ex-husband is now a turtle, she’s suddenly witch royalty, her daughter Maggie’s new best friend is an imaginary kangaroo hopping around the forests of Mosswood, Georgia, and her Witch King, Declan, isn’t making her life or her couch’s throw pillows any cushier.

Just as she’s starting to fall for Declan, a shocking confession leaves her reeling and Rosie wonders whether she is really meant to be the queen of anything. When a sexy bombshell arrives in town with her eyes set on Rosie’s King and crown, she will have to decide for herself what her destiny is – and soon.

Struggling between caring for Declan and caring for herself and Maggie, Rosie does her best to rise above the woman’s provocation. But when Maggie is kidnapped on All Hallow’s Eve, Rosie has no choice but to trust Declan and work together to get her daughter back. After an intense magical ritual brings her new powers full circle, Rosie finds out that jealousy’s a witch – literally!

I still liked Rosie here in Jealousy’s a Witch, and I liked the addition of Maggie as a character. But I didn’t like this plot as much as the previous book. I think the jealous ex girlfriend/wife/etc as the villain is super over-used and cliched.

I respected the heck out of Maggie for immediately taking action when she saw red flags, but also her ability to not overreact (or maybe West’s willingness to not over-blow all the emotions). I also appreciate that West subverted the ‘overheard conversation causes a misunderstanding’ trope by allowing an overheard conversation to smooth over a misunderstanding.

All in all, I’m enjoying the series and will likely continue it at some point. But I think I’ve had enough for the moment.

Other Reviews:

Caffeinated Book Reviewer

Flora’s Musings

Book Review: A Trail of Pearls, by D.M. George

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I won a copy of A Trail of Pearls in an Instagram giveaway run by the author, D. M. George.

It was actually kind of perfect. My mom had a total knee replacement and I’d spent the week at her house helping her post-surgery. Her house is on a bit of a bay in Florida. She doesn’t live ‘on the water’ as in ocean views and million dollar price tags. But she does live on water. So, I’d spent a week smelling salty air and feeling sea breezes. Then I got home to a mermaid themed book and prize pack.

Fifty-five, frumpy, and flung to the curb like an old floral sofa…

Losing her Silicon Valley job to a younger woman was bad enough. Catching her husband in the arms of one is the final straw. Something’s gotta give, like the last threads of Perla Palazzo’s sanity.

Then, a plan so wild and reckless it’s just an inch to the left of self-destruction.

With a bank foreclosure hanging over her head and staring at the last of her savings, Perla books a trip to the Amalfi Coast in the hope of fulfilling her dreams to become a travel writer. But Capri’s deep azure waters are home to more than old wrecks and lost sailors, like Parthenope, an embittered, hard-drinking mermaid who believes the only way to enjoy men is crudo, with a sprinkle of salt and a generous squeeze of lemon.

When Parthenope gives Perla an enchanted cameo just days before she meets a dashing Italian tour guide, it seems the divorcée’s fortunes have turned. Timeless beauty, self-confidence—perhaps even love—are suddenly within tantalizing reach. But the siren’s song is both seductive and deadly, and a moment of weakness will leave Perla facing unthinkable consequences.

I really wanted to liked this book and really expected to. A frumpy 55yo is someone I thought I could relate to. But it became evident very early on that this wasn’t going to be the case. Which disappointed me, because the author sent me a copy along with a really lovely prize package. Look, I’m even using the coaster that came with it as I sit her writing this. And I hate to repay that with a shitty review. But, the honest truth is that I had to finish this by gritting my teeth. Though a lot of the reasons might not irritate others as much as me.

When I started writing this review, I was composing in my head and thought, “I could have liked it, except for one big issue.” Then I thought, “Well, two issues…um, maybe three…” This reluctant realization is what finally made me admit that I didn’t find a lot to actually like.

That first big issue to come to mind was that I simply did not like Perla. She’s self-absorbed, whiny, and shallow. And while I know this is the area she was meant to have personal growth in, she is like this all the way until almost the end. And, if I’m honest, I don’t see that she would have made the self improvements if not forced to. For most of the book she just feels like someone with…pretensions of Karen, I think is how I want to phrase it.

I was also annoyed that she was constantly moaning about being broke, but flew to Italy, booked a hotel, eats out, travels and shops constantly. If that’s what it feels like to be broke, maybe sign me up.

The second big thing for me (which could honestly top the first, except that it did tapper off past the halfway mark) is how often men are presented as predators. When I was on page 80 I made this comment on Goodreads:

I’m not sure I’ll b able to finish this.

I try hard to avoid abuse of women in my books. I’m on page 80 and already there has been an attempted rape, encounter with two men who were inferred to be potentially sexually violent, a groping, a woman murdered, reference to multiple child rapes, and a 14yo forced into fellatio followed by probable murder.

I’m constantly having to read braced for the next indignity.

This easy use of rape and the pervasive idea that women are constantly in danger as mere plot devices is one of my biggest pet peeves. And once I’d encountered references to it several times before even the 100 page mark I literally read the whole rest of the book tensed for the next slap in the face. It gets hard to enjoy anything around that.

Third, there are some heavy themes addressed in this book. But in the end George solved everyone’s problem with a boyfriend. So, you have this book ostensibly about finding your own self-confidence and being strong older women, but the solution is to….*checks notes* find a man. Talk about taking the easy, cliched out. And that without addressing how fast these guarded, jaded people fell in love.

The writing is on the pedestrian side , but there’s nothing wrong with it. It’s quite readable and the editing is clean. Plus, look at that cover; it’s gorgeous! I also appreciate the moral of the story and really liked the descriptions of Sorrento. I’ve been there, it felt very true to my memory. So, I think this is a serious case of ‘you’re mileage may vary.’ Give it a try instead of just taking my word for it.