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renpuspita's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
What I think at first as your usual cozy mystery but with witch, turn up a mix of paranormal suspense with some cozy elements set in small town with troubled past and a promise of a little romance. Bait and Witch is the first book of Witch Way Librarian Mysteries and also my first foray into Angela M. Sanders book.
Told entirely from 1st PoV, our heroine, Josephine Way (named after Napoleon's wife, Josephine. Also her older sister named Marie Antoinette. Figures) or Josie fly to Wilfred, Oregon to become the town's new librarian. Feel ordinary at first, but in truth Josie is running from her current job as Congress's library catalogue staff since she just blowing a corruption practice in her office and suddenly her friend (that also a whistleblower) is missing. Afraid for her life, she accept this librarian offer in Wilfred only to find that the said library will be demolished in favor of the new retreat center to boost the town's economy. Still in shock, in the morning Josie also find a dead body, find out that apparently she's a witch and have ability connected to book, try to save the library from turning into retreat center despite she's just a new resident and must look for her life because her mother's prophecy that she will die if she embrace her witch ability.
The start is pretty much slow even the events that happen span in just 2 weeks. By the time Josie find her magical ability, that when story pick up the pace and become interesting. I especially like Josie's magic that make her able to recommend book suitable for people needs. How totally cool!! It's like a librarian's dream come true to able to recommend every book and since I love recommend book I'd read for people that searching for specifics trope or plot, Josie's ability make me green with envy, lol. I also enjoy Josie's voice, her up and downs and since she's still in her mid twenties (aka 25-ish), she sound just like her age, unsure but still determined when it's come to save the library. Her interaction with the town citizen also delightful to read. I liked that Sanders manage to introduce some of the citizen and make me as a reader connected to them.
The mystery about the dead body itself is pretty solid with so many red herrings, distractions, and concluded nicely in the end with some questions answered and surprise too regarding the real culprit. I will said the mystery is not the focus because the main focus of the story is Josie's predicaments since she's a whistleblower. So, more like a suspense about Josie being targeted by the people that she reports to law enforcement. Also, beside suspense, the story is about Josie coming to term with her magic. I can feel her frustration because she think while her magic is wonderful, she also can't control it and she didn't have another witch to teach her. The romance itself is just a glimpse and there's a hints of Josie's possible love interest, who is Sam Wilfred, an enigmatic man of Wilfred family that in the past become responsible for the Wilfred (the town name)'s declining economy state.
Charming and delightful, I didn't hesitate to order the next books since I want to know if Josie will finally mastered her magic and what comes next in the Wilfred town.
Told entirely from 1st PoV, our heroine, Josephine Way (named after Napoleon's wife, Josephine. Also her older sister named Marie Antoinette. Figures) or Josie fly to Wilfred, Oregon to become the town's new librarian. Feel ordinary at first, but in truth Josie is running from her current job as Congress's library catalogue staff since she just blowing a corruption practice in her office and suddenly her friend (that also a whistleblower) is missing. Afraid for her life, she accept this librarian offer in Wilfred only to find that the said library will be demolished in favor of the new retreat center to boost the town's economy. Still in shock, in the morning Josie also find a dead body, find out that apparently she's a witch and have ability connected to book, try to save the library from turning into retreat center despite she's just a new resident and must look for her life because her mother's prophecy that she will die if she embrace her witch ability.
The start is pretty much slow even the events that happen span in just 2 weeks. By the time Josie find her magical ability, that when story pick up the pace and become interesting. I especially like Josie's magic that make her able to recommend book suitable for people needs. How totally cool!! It's like a librarian's dream come true to able to recommend every book and since I love recommend book I'd read for people that searching for specifics trope or plot, Josie's ability make me green with envy, lol. I also enjoy Josie's voice, her up and downs and since she's still in her mid twenties (aka 25-ish), she sound just like her age, unsure but still determined when it's come to save the library. Her interaction with the town citizen also delightful to read. I liked that Sanders manage to introduce some of the citizen and make me as a reader connected to them.
The mystery about the dead body itself is pretty solid with so many red herrings, distractions, and concluded nicely in the end with some questions answered and surprise too regarding the real culprit. I will said the mystery is not the focus because the main focus of the story is Josie's predicaments since she's a whistleblower. So, more like a suspense about Josie being targeted by the people that she reports to law enforcement. Also, beside suspense, the story is about Josie coming to term with her magic. I can feel her frustration because she think while her magic is wonderful, she also can't control it and she didn't have another witch to teach her. The romance itself is just a glimpse and there's a hints of Josie's possible love interest, who is Sam Wilfred, an enigmatic man of Wilfred family that in the past become responsible for the Wilfred (the town name)'s declining economy state.
Charming and delightful, I didn't hesitate to order the next books since I want to know if Josie will finally mastered her magic and what comes next in the Wilfred town.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping and Violence
Moderate: Murder and Death
Minor: Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Police brutality
captainsillypants's review against another edition
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Violence
missbliss's review against another edition
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
Promising Premise, Lackluster Results
I struggled with this story. I had to keep pushing myself to finish. It is hard to put my finger on what was difficult because the premise does have promise. I had a hard time remembering and differentiating characters they did not feel clear enough. The early stages of the book some of the magic was presented in a way that was confusing and muddled. The protagonist's changing thoughts about folks in the town meant I often felt unsure of how I felt about people and therefore just did not feel connected to people in the town or did not care about certain dynamics. In particular certain relationships that were being built would have info revealed that just changed things in such a way with such a sudden turn I ceased to care. Sudden rug pulls on situations that already were feeling lackluster left me feeling no motivation to connect. Things I wished were given more time to breathe felt rushed through and things I wasn't as interested in the story seemed to be given lots of narration. This did have some of the cozy mystery tropes of face palm 'why on earth would you do that' which I do not enjoy. Also the hard shift between not understanding powers, to struggle to accept powers, to accept and excel with powers instantly did not feel believable and therefore like a forced plot device. By the end reveal I just was ready to be done and not rewarded by the answers--it felt more like a meaningless exposition and set up to the next story. There was a repeated tendency of developing a character then sharing something that walked that development back or completely changed what had developed. I understand characters change and have nuance but it left me feeling unmoored, struggling to keep characters straight, and not feeling a connection to anyone. I am able to get the second volume on loan so may try to see if this is a rough start that picks up as there are lots of elements I want to love in a cozy: small town, witchy, library. But I can't lie this volume left me feeling more meh than magical.
I struggled with this story. I had to keep pushing myself to finish. It is hard to put my finger on what was difficult because the premise does have promise. I had a hard time remembering and differentiating characters they did not feel clear enough. The early stages of the book some of the magic was presented in a way that was confusing and muddled. The protagonist's changing thoughts about folks in the town meant I often felt unsure of how I felt about people and therefore just did not feel connected to people in the town or did not care about certain dynamics. In particular certain relationships that were being built would have info revealed that just changed things in such a way with such a sudden turn I ceased to care. Sudden rug pulls on situations that already were feeling lackluster left me feeling no motivation to connect. Things I wished were given more time to breathe felt rushed through and things I wasn't as interested in the story seemed to be given lots of narration. This did have some of the cozy mystery tropes of face palm 'why on earth would you do that' which I do not enjoy. Also the hard shift between not understanding powers, to struggle to accept powers, to accept and excel with powers instantly did not feel believable and therefore like a forced plot device. By the end reveal I just was ready to be done and not rewarded by the answers--it felt more like a meaningless exposition and set up to the next story. There was a repeated tendency of developing a character then sharing something that walked that development back or completely changed what had developed. I understand characters change and have nuance but it left me feeling unmoored, struggling to keep characters straight, and not feeling a connection to anyone. I am able to get the second volume on loan so may try to see if this is a rough start that picks up as there are lots of elements I want to love in a cozy: small town, witchy, library. But I can't lie this volume left me feeling more meh than magical.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Kidnapping
Moderate: Violence
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