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A review by lolasreviews
I'd Rather be a Witch by Erin Hayes
4.0
I received a copy in exchange for an honest review
I'd Rather be a Witch is just as good as the other books I read by this author. I'd Rather be a Witch follows main character Jordyn, who we already met in How to be a Mermaid, but it can easily be read as a standalone. The book starts when Jordyn gets a phone call and has to return home. Three years ago Jordyn made a mistake and the consequences of that still haunt her. In a sort of flashback we find out what happened and when she returns home we really feel the consequences of her mistake. There is a bit of suspense, a tiny bit of romance and an intriguing storyline.
I really felt for Jordyn due to one thing that happened years ago she ruined the lives of two families and as far as she knows there's nothing she can do to make it right. She does want to do something and goes back to her roots and her witch powers to try and find out if there is something she can do. Jordyn goes through some hardship in this book, but I like how she handled the situation, she didn't gave up and even thought she made mistakes before that didn't stop her from trying to do the right things now. I thought she was a great main character and acted believable.
The story matter is quite dark and deals with magic and the consequences of spells and changing the natural order of things. I felt that some of the emotional scenes could've used a bit more emotional impact. And a few scenes felt like they had a bit more potential and got a bit rushed, while if they would've dragged out a bit more they could've had more of an impact on the reader. Even though it's a short story it did feel like it told the story it wanted, it felt the right length, although I wouldn't have minded a few extra pages or chapters. It was an interesting story and I easily finished the book in a two days.
Beside Jordyn we get to know the other characters less, but enough to get a feel for them. There's enough to get an imagine of everyone and the author didn't introduce too many characters, so it was easy to keep track of things. There is a bit of a romance, which felt a bit unnecessary to me and even a bit unbelievable at times. I thought there was more space for conflict. The love interest seemed a bit too forgiving to me and didn't struggle with what I assumed he would struggle with. The romance is also a bit messy due to the past and it just felt a bit too soon that she moved on, but I also liked how the romance was only a sideplot and didn't move too fast. It just didn't fully work for me. I liked how later in the book Jordyn calls Tara from How to be a Mermaid in that book as it was a fun nod to that book.
The world building is interesting and while there isn't lots of time to explain things, we still get a good feel of what being a witch means in this world. We learn there are different types of witches, white and black magic, how it's part of Jordyn her family and how they have spell books to write down their spells, but don't necessary need them to cast. It was interesting to learn about the background and how they always got shunned because of being witches. There is still some we don't know, but I thought it was enough world building to follow the story and not too much to make it overwhelming or bog down the pace. There are some things left open, but that's okay. I did think a certain twist towards the end was a bit unbelievable, I understand magic was the cause, but it seemed weird the effect disappeared when the magic did.
To summarize: I really enjoyed I'd Rather be a Witch, it's a bit darker than the author her previous books, but just as good. I felt sorry for Jordyn and the mess she was in. There was a bit of suspense added and it was interesting to find out more about the past. I did think there were a few scenes that could've had a bit more emotional impact and some scenes towards the end that could've been a bit longer. I wasn't 100% sure about the romance and thought it felt a bit off and there was a potential for conflict, but the love interest was more forgiving than that. The world building was done well, there wasn't too much focus on it, but the author gave enough details to understand the story, but not too much to bog it down. All in all another great book by Erin Hayes!
I'd Rather be a Witch is just as good as the other books I read by this author. I'd Rather be a Witch follows main character Jordyn, who we already met in How to be a Mermaid, but it can easily be read as a standalone. The book starts when Jordyn gets a phone call and has to return home. Three years ago Jordyn made a mistake and the consequences of that still haunt her. In a sort of flashback we find out what happened and when she returns home we really feel the consequences of her mistake. There is a bit of suspense, a tiny bit of romance and an intriguing storyline.
I really felt for Jordyn due to one thing that happened years ago she ruined the lives of two families and as far as she knows there's nothing she can do to make it right. She does want to do something and goes back to her roots and her witch powers to try and find out if there is something she can do. Jordyn goes through some hardship in this book, but I like how she handled the situation, she didn't gave up and even thought she made mistakes before that didn't stop her from trying to do the right things now. I thought she was a great main character and acted believable.
The story matter is quite dark and deals with magic and the consequences of spells and changing the natural order of things. I felt that some of the emotional scenes could've used a bit more emotional impact. And a few scenes felt like they had a bit more potential and got a bit rushed, while if they would've dragged out a bit more they could've had more of an impact on the reader. Even though it's a short story it did feel like it told the story it wanted, it felt the right length, although I wouldn't have minded a few extra pages or chapters. It was an interesting story and I easily finished the book in a two days.
Beside Jordyn we get to know the other characters less, but enough to get a feel for them. There's enough to get an imagine of everyone and the author didn't introduce too many characters, so it was easy to keep track of things. There is a bit of a romance, which felt a bit unnecessary to me and even a bit unbelievable at times. I thought there was more space for conflict. The love interest seemed a bit too forgiving to me and didn't struggle with what I assumed he would struggle with. The romance is also a bit messy due to the past and it just felt a bit too soon that she moved on, but I also liked how the romance was only a sideplot and didn't move too fast. It just didn't fully work for me. I liked how later in the book Jordyn calls Tara from How to be a Mermaid in that book as it was a fun nod to that book.
The world building is interesting and while there isn't lots of time to explain things, we still get a good feel of what being a witch means in this world. We learn there are different types of witches, white and black magic, how it's part of Jordyn her family and how they have spell books to write down their spells, but don't necessary need them to cast. It was interesting to learn about the background and how they always got shunned because of being witches. There is still some we don't know, but I thought it was enough world building to follow the story and not too much to make it overwhelming or bog down the pace. There are some things left open, but that's okay. I did think a certain twist towards the end was a bit unbelievable, I understand magic was the cause, but it seemed weird the effect disappeared when the magic did.
To summarize: I really enjoyed I'd Rather be a Witch, it's a bit darker than the author her previous books, but just as good. I felt sorry for Jordyn and the mess she was in. There was a bit of suspense added and it was interesting to find out more about the past. I did think there were a few scenes that could've had a bit more emotional impact and some scenes towards the end that could've been a bit longer. I wasn't 100% sure about the romance and thought it felt a bit off and there was a potential for conflict, but the love interest was more forgiving than that. The world building was done well, there wasn't too much focus on it, but the author gave enough details to understand the story, but not too much to bog it down. All in all another great book by Erin Hayes!