Book 21, 2022

[chez_jae]

As Witch Would Have It by Mara Webb

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



I finished reading an ebook last night. It was As Witch Would Have It by Mara Webb. This is the first book in the "Wicked Witches of Pendle Island" series, starring novice witch Chelsea Moon.

With her life imploding around her, Chelsea decides to return to Pendle Island. She was born there, but her mother moved them off island when Chelsea was a baby, and it's the first time she's been back. She arrives just in time for her crazy cousin Lizzy to pick her up at the tiny airport and whisk Cheslea to the funeral for their great-aunt Griselda. Chelsea learns that Griselda was a witch in every sense of the word, and that she's a witch also. As if that's not enough to absorb, Griselda's attorney informs Chelsea that, due to a legal loophole in Griselda's will, she has inherited Griselda's estate. Along with the house and property, Chelsea has also inherited a Familiar, a talking black cat named Artemis, and a handsome handyman. When Artemis tells Chelsea and Lizzy that Griselda was murdered, they present evidence to the police and begin doing their own sleuthing. The problem is, with Griselda's personality, the list of suspects is quite long. It's going to take a lot of work and a little bit of magic to solve Griselda's murder.

This was a cute story. Chelsea is likable, and Lizzy is fantastic. It was fun to learn that different witches glean their magical power from different sources. It not only helped Chelsea understand her mother better, but it also provided some surprising insight into Griselda's character. Two minor complaints:
- The plot was a tad choppy, hopping from one situation to another with not enough smooth transition.
- THREE potential romantic interests?! That was a bit much to wrap my head around. My money is on Deacon, simply because he's the sheriff, and the Rule of Cozy Mysteries states that the love interest must be someone involved in law enforcement. Guh.

Favorite lines:
♥ "I only run when there's a clearance sale on ice cream."
♥ "Great, so, I'm ticking off all the horror film clichés," I said to myself. Creepy mist. Huge beast on the prowl. Small white girl left by herself. What next? Werewolves on the runway?
♥ "She was a mean old witch, but now she's gone she's not our problem anymore." Once again, she looked around the old graveyard as though addressing an audience. "She's yours!" Lizzy laughed. "Please, please make sure she behaves. For all of our sakes I will now check that she is dead." // I had to hold my breath as Lizzy turned around and threw open the casket door. She wasn't kidding about making sure. // "Yep! Dead as a doornail! Hoorah! Well, that concludes the service. Thanks for coming. Crawl back to your hollows. Good day."

This was fun and funny enough to allow me to overlook the minor aggravations. Giving it a solid four, and I will certainly look to read more in this series.