Scan barcode
A review by kaitrates
Mr. & Mrs. Witch by Gwenda Bond
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.5
The premise of this novel excited me from the moment I heard about it on the bird app—I was psyched when I got an ARC of it! I absolutely loved the beginning and the big fight at the wedding (so magickal! so tense! ahhh!) and the dad joke acronyms, as well as how we jump back and forth between past and present, one of my favourite plot devices.
Despite drawing me right in, the novel began to lose me pretty soon after. The magick system isn't ever really explained and we don't see it in action nearly as much as I would've like, instead we find out magick did x thing. The characters lack depth, losing out to the action in the plot, and I found myself disbelieving their connection while also not knowing much about them other than her being a statuesque badass and him being a sexy, buff nerd.
I appreciated that one MC is canonically bi, but their relationship—as well as every relationship in the book—read as aggressively straight (e.g. hahaha silly men miss everything but women are so perceptive). This is perhaps a result of the source material its based on, Mr. and Mrs. Smith. and is particularly present during hte spicy scenes. Becuase of how the movie had been marketed, I expected this to bring the spice. Instead, we get three short scenes. One is fade to black and the other two are not only boring but also fail to center her pleasure. Its just the (unbelievable to me) chemistry that I never felt and a lot of...poking.
I did enjoy the magick peen jokes though! And there a few other moments that made me giggle and a minor twist at the end that I didn't see coming.
Then there's the completely lackluster and disappointing final battle...or rather meeting. I literally thought I missed pages because nothing happened... [insert joke about it being as anti-climactic as the sex scenes]. We don't even get IMO a valid grovelling of the person who betrays our MCs.
At its core, and like the movie this book is based on, this is an action novel with magickal elements that happens to be about a couple. I think it tried to do too many things and, unfortunately, none really landed.
Oh, and, justice for #MelissaTheGorgon. She was my fave and so woefully underused.
Thank you to Net Galley and St Martin's Press for the ARC. All opinions are my own.
Despite drawing me right in, the novel began to lose me pretty soon after. The magick system isn't ever really explained and we don't see it in action nearly as much as I would've like, instead we find out magick did x thing. The characters lack depth, losing out to the action in the plot, and I found myself disbelieving their connection while also not knowing much about them other than her being a statuesque badass and him being a sexy, buff nerd.
I appreciated that one MC is canonically bi, but their relationship—as well as every relationship in the book—read as aggressively straight (e.g. hahaha silly men miss everything but women are so perceptive). This is perhaps a result of the source material its based on, Mr. and Mrs. Smith. and is particularly present during hte spicy scenes. Becuase of how the movie had been marketed, I expected this to bring the spice. Instead, we get three short scenes. One is fade to black and the other two are not only boring but also fail to center her pleasure. Its just the (unbelievable to me) chemistry that I never felt and a lot of...poking.
I did enjoy the magick peen jokes though! And there a few other moments that made me giggle and a minor twist at the end that I didn't see coming.
Then there's the completely lackluster and disappointing final battle...or rather meeting. I literally thought I missed pages because nothing happened... [insert joke about it being as anti-climactic as the sex scenes]. We don't even get IMO a valid grovelling of the person who betrays our MCs.
At its core, and like the movie this book is based on, this is an action novel with magickal elements that happens to be about a couple. I think it tried to do too many things and, unfortunately, none really landed.
Oh, and, justice for #MelissaTheGorgon. She was my fave and so woefully underused.
Thank you to Net Galley and St Martin's Press for the ARC. All opinions are my own.
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexual content