Life's a Witch by Elizabeth A. Reeves (Karma's Witches #1)

Original Title: Life's a Witch

Year Published: 2013

Published by: BHL Books

Number of Pages: 100

First Sentence: "The night of the eclipse, I wasn’t watching it."

Goodreads Rating: 4/5

Plot:

When life gives you lemons, some would say make lemonade.

Amber knows all about making lemonade. More than she wants to. But what do you do when you discover--out of the clear blue--that you've got a destiny you could have only imagined. 

As a writer, Amber's got quite an imagination--but even she didn't imagine what was to come!

What do you do when a sexy cop seems to be flirting with you? When strange things begin to happen? Strange objects show up? 

What do you do when you discover you're not the only child you'd always believed you were?

Things are about to change drastically for Amber. Sometimes, Life's a Witch!

My thoughts:

I thought this book was going to be really cheesy and no more than b-class. I found myself quite surprised, however. I actually really liked this book. Yes, it is quite short, only a 100 pages, but in those few pages it manages a lot. We actually get character development, something that books that go on for over 500 pages sometimes don't manage to do, and an actual plot which I honestly doubted when I saw how short it was. 

Amber is a 20-year-old, working at a bookshop (hello dream job) and trying hard to overcome the trauma of her past. One night she returns home to find a mysterious book on her coffee table. Through the book, she begins to unravel the mystery of her heritage. Amber is a lovely character and quite easy to like. In fact, apart from the very traumatic past, I did see a bit of myself in her. 

Although this book serves as an introduction to a series it still manages to be a good read. Yes, it is still slightly cheesy and clichey but it doesn't really matter. In fact, it got me really intrigued and I will most definitely read the other two parts. It is a collaboration between three different authors, but if the other two are just as good as Reeves then the other two books will be just as worth reading. 

Do I recommend it? 

Yes, I do. If you want a short but still interesting read than this book is for you. It is a book that although can be seen as a very easy read actually has substance.

Fire Burn and Cauldron Bubble by H.P. Mallory

Original Title: Fire Burn and Cauldron Bubble

Year Published: 2010

Published by: Self-published

Number of pages: 304

First Sentence: "It's not every day you see a ghost."

Goodreads rating: 1/5

Plot:

A self-deprecating witch with the unique ability to reanimate the dead.
A dangerously handsome warlock torn between being her boss and her would-be lover.
A six hundred-year-old English vampire with his own agenda; one that includes an appetite for witches.
The Underworld in a state of chaos.
Let the games begin.

Life isn’t bad for psychic Jolie Wilkins. True, she doesn’t have a love life to speak of, but she has a cute house in the suburbs of Los Angeles, a cat and a quirky best friend.

Enter Rand Balfour, a sinfully attractive warlock who insists she’s a witch and who just might turn her life upside down. Rand hires her to help him solve a mystery regarding the death of his client who also happens to be a ghost. Jolie not only uncovers the cause of the ghost’s demise but, in the process, she brings him back to life!

Word of Jolie’s incredible ability to bring back the dead spreads like wildfire, putting her at the top of the Underworld’s most wanted list. Consequently, she finds herself at the center of a custody battle between a villainous witch, a dangerous but oh-so-sexy vampire, and her warlock boss, Rand.

My thoughts:

I really wanted to like this book. However, I can't say I do. The basic premise of this book is good although perhaps not so original. The execution of it is not so good. Jolie is an ok character and I even liked her alongside her friend Christa. The rest is not so good.

All the men are overly dominant and try to control the women at every step. I suppose this was done to show that, in this case, the men know better and are only trying to protect the women, but it was ridiculous and just annoying. Just like a lot of the plot was ridiculous and somewhat annoying. I actually just skimmed the last chapter because I felt obligated to finish the book, but had no interest in the outcome.

Do I recommend it?

No.

Bound to Remember by Lola James (Book 1 of the Spellbound Series)

Original Title: Bound to Remember, A Paranormal Romance

Year Published: 2011

Published by: Self-published

Number of Pages: 116

First Sentence: "Another meeting, I thought as I sat down in the conference room of the ER."

Goodreads rating: 1/5

Plot:

Vampires and Witches and Myths, oh my!

Toni is a young doctor with a past she can't remember and a deadly reason for forgetting it. 

Ben is a nurse who has his own tragic past and transfers hospitals after an act of heroism forces his secluded life public. 

Ben can’t believe his eyes when he meets Toni, she has an uncanny resemblance to an old friend of his, and Toni can’t help but find Ben irresistible. 

Enter Kevin, Toni’s sexy but arrogant Ex. Kevin’s jealousy of Ben blinds him from his main objective, Toni. 

A dangerous secret is revealed and a magic spell seems to be a quick remedy, but the witch that helps has a little more than magic up her sleeve…

My thoughts:

This book was horrible! I liked the basic idea of it and reading the summary made it seem somewhat interesting. I was so wrong. This book is just one cliche after another. 

Toni is supposed to be an ER doctor but behaves like a 14-year-old girl. I'm not saying that a doctor can't let loose and have fun, but any adult behaving like a child is just embarrassing. The fact that she also "falls in love" and wouldn't be against actually marrying a guy after only knowing him for two days is just so awkward and people who actually behave like this in real life should be locked up (no I do believe in love at first sight, but this isn't it). 

The plot is another disaster. I've read fanfics that are a thousand times better. In fact, think of the worst fanfiction you've ever read. This will be worse. Trust me. I'm not even going to say anything more.

Do I recommend it?

NO!

Witches Abroad by Terry Pratchett (Discworld #12)

Original Title: Witches Abroad

Year Published: 1991

Published by: HarperCollinsPublisher

Number of Pages: 350

First Sentence: "This is the Discworld, which travels through space on the back of four elephants which themselves stand on the shell of Great A'Tuin, the sky turtle."

Goodreads rating: 5/5

Plot:

Once upon a time there was a fairy godmother named Desiderata who had a good heart, a wise head, and poor planning skills - which unfortunately left the Princess Emberella in the care of her other (not quite so good and wise) godmother when DEATH came for Desiderata. So now it's up to Magrat Garlick, Granny Weatherwax, and Nanny Ogg to hop on broomsticks and make for far-distant Genua to ensure the servant girl doesn't marry the Prince.

But the road toGenua is bumpy, and along the way the trio of witches encounters the occasional vampire, werewolf, and falling house (well this is a fairy tale, after all). The trouble really begins once these reluctant foster-godmothers arrive in Genua and must outwit their power-hungry counterpart who'll stop at nothing to achieve a proper "happy ending" - even if it means destroying a kingdom.

My thoughts:

 I absolutely adore Terry Pratchett like I've said many times before. What I love the most about his books are that you don't need to read them in a certain order to understand them. This is the third book with the witches as main-characters and I've read several of the books that comes after this one before reading this one without any trouble. They are stand-alone books although you can definitely see a "red thread" going through all of them. 

I loved this book. Since it was a "fairy tale" sort of book, there were many parodies on the fairy tales we all know and love. The witches are my favourite in the Discworld-world and once again they prove why. Not everything in life can be fixed by magic, sometimes we need to look into ourselves and find the strength and power to fix things. The three witches are also great role-models, and when I grow up I want to be just like Esme Weatherwax. 

There are of course many other characters that make this book worth reading, and if anything you should read it just to get a taste of Pratchett's use of language and fantastic remarks.

Do I recommend it?

I always have and always will recommend Terry Pratchett's books. This is no exception. 

Carpe Jugulum by Terry Pratchett (Discworld #23)

Original Title: Carpe Jugulum
Year Published: 1998
Published by: Transworld Publishers Ltd
Number of Pages: 378
First Sentence: "Through the shredded black clouds a fire moved like a dying star, falling back to earth - "
Goodreads Rating: 5/5

Plot (taken from Goodreads):
In a fit of enlightenment democracy and ebullient goodwill, King Verence invites Uberwald's undead, the Magpyrs, into Lancre to celebrate the birth of his daughter. But once ensconced within the castle, these wine-drinking, garlic-eatin, sun-loving modern vampires have no intention of leaving. Ever.

Only an uneasy alliance between a nervous young priest and the argumentative local witches can save the country from being taken over by people with a cultivated bloodlust and bad taste in silk waistcoats. For them, there's only one way to fight.

Go for the throat, or as the campyres themselves say ... Carpe Jugulum.

My thoughts: 
I absolutely adore Terry Pratchett. He is my number 1 favourite author. If I was forced to choose one author to read for the rest of my life it would be Terry Pratchett. Within the Discworld world the witches are probably my favourites. This is book nr 6 in the Witches series and it does not dissappoint. It's a great book with many amazing characters.

The witches are in number of three: Granny Weahterwax, Nanny Ogg and Agnes. In this installment they have to deal with something that Lancre has not dealt with in well ... forever. Vampires. The dialouge is hilarious as per usual with Pratchett and all the different subplots are extremely entertaining and do not distract from the main plot. He ties together all the loose ends perfectly in the end and manages to surprise you even though you thought you had it all figured out.


Do I recommend it?
YES! Especially if you love satire. It's a book filled with humour, colorful characters and manages to teach many lessons in a refreshing way. I do recommend Terry Pratchett (the name of the book is not that important, they are all great) to anyone.