Book 59, 2021

[chez_jae]

Brand of Magic by K.M. Jackways

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



I finished reading Brand of Magic last night. It's the first in the "Redferne Witches" series by KM Jackways. The protagonist is Hazel Redferne, an empathic witch who's tried to block her own magic so as to not be constantly bombarded by others' thoughts and feelings.

After a bad break-up, Hazel has put romance out of mind and turned her efforts to her marketing job, which promotes Dunedin, New Zealand. Hazel lives in a small cottage owned by her aunt, and she shares it with Bonnie, her dog familiar, and the ghost of her grandmother, Em. When her neighbor, Joel, is on the verge of losing his family property, Hazel offers to help him spruce up the website for his woodworking business. Hazel's attention is pulled elsewhere, however, when her aunt Briar is cursed and left unable to communicate. Hazel's empathic abilities may be the only way to reach her aunt and to find out who is behind both the attack on Briar and the underhanded dealings that pertain to Joel's property.

I liked this story, I really did, but it doesn't deserve more than an average score. Characterizations were okay for a novella-length book, and the story itself was interesting. However, the plot lacked cohesion. It was more a series of vignettes than a well-ordered story. It was like Hazel went here, Hazel went there, Hazel did this, Hazel did that. Most disappointing of all, though, is how lacking in resolution it was.


- There was no true resolution with Joel's property. It seems the sale went through, but with the new information on the shady dealings, one should think there would be an injunction.
- There was no resolution on Briar's attack. We find out who did it, and a half-assed reason as to why, but I wanted to see some JUSTICE.
- What happened to Bonnie? Was she attacked, or was it an accident?
- WTF was up with Mandy? We learn that she was the one who collided with Hazel in the pool, but when Hazel confronted her about it, she blew it off by saying she suspected Hazel was a witch and just wanted to touch her to ascertain that. However, when this event happened, the woman who collided with Hazel (we didn't know at the time it was Mandy) was a right bitch, accusing Hazel of getting in her way, and she was described as having a "triumphant" expression. Um, I think if you just wanted to touch someone to see if they had magic and you bonked into them instead, you'd be apologizing, not acting like a complete twat.
- Editing was good until late in the book when, on the same page mind you, Bonnie was said to be at the vet, and yet a few paragraphs later, she's nestling her head under Hazel's arm. Can Bonnie teleport?
- Why was Joel's cousin such an ass?

Yes, I know it's the first in a series, but maybe stick to one plot point and resolve it, instead of spinning several plot-plates in the air and leaving them there at the end.

Favorite lines:
♦ He was not fond of cats--and therefore attracted every cat in Otago to brush against his legs.
♦ Anyone who's had a good cup of tea when they really need it must believe in magic.

I would have loved to give this a four, but its shortcomings knock it down to a three.