The Witch Handbook to Magic and Mayhem

The Witch Handbook to Magic and Mayhem is a 2023 paranormal fantasy novel by Tish Thawer. It’s the first entry in the Stolen Spells series. It was published by Amber Leaf Publishing and released in April 2023.

Five sisters share one business like no other. Warded by fae magic, this shop’s inventory shifts to meet the needs of its customers, summoning the sister whose expertise is required. With Lily behind the counter, it’s a candle boutique. Aster manages the bookstore. Crystals are Iris’s specialty. Fern sells flowers and herbs. And Daisy tends to the apothecary and oils. It’s a seamless system until a particularly perplexing customer crosses the threshold and causes the store’s magic to go haywire. As it wildly shifts between facades, one thing becomes obvious: it’s up to the “flower girls” to save this handsome stranger from the ominous threat closing in, if they hope to regain control of their magical shop again.

The blurb for this novel introduces the reader to an exciting premise, but doesn’t deliver on the premise. The majority of the story unfolds outside of the magical shop that the blurb advertises as the setting. The plot turns into a quest to hunt down a specific item and prevent the antagonist from getting ahold of it. it’s a simple and predictable plot. New elements are introduced as the story progresses, but those elements don’t change the story, or alter the progression of the heroes as the narrative unfolds. A few revelations are meant to be “plot twists” but they don’t work in that capacity, as one is obvious, while the other lacks any foreshadowing before it occurs. Events happen, but they aren’t given a chance to breathe, and on a few occasions, the author has them happen “off-screen” rather than show the reader. As a result, it’s difficult to get invested in what’s happening and the story doesn’t feel like it has any stakes. The blurb promises a great, cozy tale, with a lot of potential but the novel delivers a much different story.

The characters in this novel were another miss for me. Daisy is the main character, and the novel is told via her point-of-view. She isn’t a likeable, deep or well-rounded character. She comes across as annoying, rude and angry. There’s no nuance to her, no quirks or hidden weaknesses. She doesn’t have much of a character arc, and the story happens around her more than she actively drives the story. Other characters have even less depth. Her love interests are bland, making for an uninteresting love triangle later in the book. Her sisters and mother have no distinct traits, and keeping track of which one is which isn’t easy.

There are snippets of world-building in this novel. The reader is given a vague idea of what witches and fae are, and how they interact with the “real” world, but nothing deeper is truly shown. A great deal of world-building is delivered by exposition-heavy dialogue, so the presentation also feels heavy-handed.

The Witch Handbook to Magic and Mayhem was a novel that really didn’t work for me. The characters felt shallow and hard to get invested in. The plot moved too quickly. The author had a very inventive idea, but struggled with the execution. Every book has an audience it will appeal to, but I wasn’t the audience for this one.

Rating: 1.5 Stars

Purchase Links for the book: Amazon

---

Follow Me Elsewhere: Facebook \ Twitter \ Goodreads \ Instagram \ Buy Me A Coffee?

Support Local Bookstores (Please note, this is an affiliate link and I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase)