Witchful Thinking (The Happily Everlasting Series #4) by Kristen Painter

Witchful Thinking by Kristen Painter

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I’ve read two works since I read this one, and no review (not that I’ve written any reviews since July 7th). I mention that only to note that it will be more difficult for me to say what I think about this specific book now.

This is the fourth book in a series, a series I’ve only read this specific book in. I was given the understanding that the books were stand-alones so . . . I entered with that in mind. Mostly because this would be the 15th book I’ve read by this author and all the other books were by different authors, none of whom I’d ever read before.

So, what’s going on here in this book? A novice witch, Charlotte Fenchurch, is working in the library when two events occur at near-about the same time that change her life course -> 1) the head librarian grunts at finding a donation in the book return slot, says the book looks like crap, and throws it away – Charlotte loves books to the point she’d rather see one be used to form the base of a table than to see one tossed in the garbage, so she takes the book and brings it home with her; 2) a super-hot man, and I mean, really gaggingly gorgeous man (is gaggingly a word? I think that might not be a word, it should be) begins to outrageously flirt with her – which tells her two things: a) the man is up to no good because no man that looks like him would spend to seconds with a woman like her; b) he’s hot, let’s play with him anyway.

The book, the one the main female character saved, turns out to be ‘a very special book of magic’, ‘a grimoire’ – an ancient book of spells. The type of book that bonds to a witch and then will be . . . something something evil . . something something… whatever.

The man turns out to be a leopard. Heh. Okay, a leopard shifter who works for the ladies of light. No wait, the lords of leaping. Hmm, WTF was the organization again? Oh, something involving FoL, friends of light? Well the L is light. Oh, it’s also in the book description: ‘Freaking Orange Lizards’ (hmm, no that’s not it, dang I’m not funny, it’s ‘Fraternal Order of Light’). Basically the FOL’s mission in life is to be, at least based on this book, to hunt down and kill bad witches (or put them into prison) and take magic items (I think the bad kind not just all kinds) into storage to save the world. More on that . . .

Now. Bloody freaking hell that got annoying. Every other thing out of that male lead character was about how something or other was bound to ‘destroy all mankind’ or some shit like that if the FOL didn’t step in front and save everyone. And, sure, there’s probably some truth about it but you can only read about yet another apocalyptic level event being blocked before you fall asleep at the mere words.

Right, sorry.

So, right, the other thing that impacted Charlotte’s life was this dude, Walker Black. Who says he is into antiquing, which he is in a minor way – as a side kind of cover way, while mostly being an agent of FOL . .. since birth (seriously).

Walker spends the majority of the book finding Charlotte gorgeous, wanting to be with her, doubting himself and assuming she’s the most powerful witch he’s ever, and I mean ever, encountered because . . . he lusts for her and obviously that means that she put a spell on him. (seriously, this is one fucked up book). Right, so Walker is there in town to find and store, or I mean put into storage, that same book previously mentioned as being found by Charlotte.

The two leads flirt and stuff. Everyone and the cat turn out to have a secret identity (the cat is also secretly able to shed really well, okay, I could have gone with ‘witch familiar’ but that was only assumed without being confirmed). And the book ends. Yay. Book ended.

The man was a condescending jackass with a few redeeming qualities. The woman was borderline TSTL, though mostly due to circumstances out of her control and not her actual normal personality.

Rating: 2.88

July 10 2018



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