Synopsis:
When a librarian discovers she’s descended from a long line of powerful witches, she’ll need all of her bookish knowledge to harness her family’s magic, in this enchanting cozy fantasy from New York Times bestselling author Jenn McKinlay.
Zoe Ziakas enjoys a quiet life, working as a librarian in her quaint New England town. When a mysterious black book with an unbreakable latch is delivered to the library, Zoe has a strange feeling the tome is somehow calling to her. She decides to consult the Museum of Literature, home to volumes of indecipherable secrets, some possessing magic that must be guarded. The collection is known as the Books of Dubious Origin.
Here, Zoe discovers that she is the last descendant of a family of witches and this little black book is their grimoire. Zoe knows she must decode the family’s spell book and solve the mystery of what happened to her mother and her grandmother. However, the book’s potential power draws all things magical to it, and Zoe finds herself under the constant watch of a pesky raven, while being chased by undead Vikings, ghost pirates, and assorted ghouls.
With assistance from the eccentric staff of the Books of Dubious Origin—including their annoyingly smart and handsome containment specialist, Jasper Griffin—Zoe must confront her past and the legacy of her family. But as their adventure unfolds, she’ll have to decide if she’s ready to embrace her destiny.
Review:
Listen — I’m a sucker for a book about books. You put the words “Library” or “Bookshop” in the title or images of bookshelves on the cover and I’ll give your book a chance. So, while Witches of Dubious Origin doesn’t have any of those magic words in the title, the bookshelves are popping on that gorgeous cover, showing what’s to come in the life of the main character, Zoe, as we dive into her story. I had fun with Zoe as she discovered her past, reconciling it with her present and discovering this magical world along the way.
Jenn McKinlay’s previous works are a healthy mix of cozy mysteries and romantic comedies. With Witches of a Dubious Origin, she takes elements of those, combining them with light fantasy elements of witchcraft, spells, and supernatural creatures. For the most part, she was successful in her efforts, although it felt a bit inconsistent with its own tone and plotting.
There are times where dozens of pages would go by and the book was firmly in the cozy camp, and then we’re switching over to a light to moderate romance (a small amount of spice to it)…and then we have the supernatural element. For the most part, the threat was minimal (and even when something appeared more threatening, often it wasn’t too bad), but the tone was just a bit inconsistent and it was hard to keep the type of book flowing in one direction.
Even the main character was inconsistent. She had a past, but didn’t really understand it. Even when given the tools to connect with who she was and her family, her own logic falls apart. But, people in real life are weird sometimes, so I was willing to give parts of it a pass as long as the story kept forward momentum, which it did. By the end of the book, I understood the characters a lot better and felt it worked fairly well.
Overall, I had a good time with it and would check out some of McKinlay’s other work.
Thank you to Ace for providing this book for review consideration through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
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