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The New Witch
A woman learns deeply hidden family secrets when she inherits Broussard Court Apartments in New Orleans from a great-aunt she didn’t know existed.
Madame’s extraordinary powers, helping those in need as well as punishing evil doers, are held in awe throughout her neighborhood and even in the greater city of New Orleans. Madame, however, is old and sees the mists forming telling her she will soon die. She leaves her considerable holdings to her only known relative, Addie Zappo, who is completely unaware of her great aunt and the power she wields. Already Madame has set in motion events that will bring together the lives of four unsuspecting women in unimaginable ways, but it will be up to Addie, the New Witch, to ward off the evil already gathering to strike at the women.
Madame’s extraordinary powers, helping those in need as well as punishing evil doers, are held in awe throughout her neighborhood and even in the greater city of New Orleans. Madame, however, is old and sees the mists forming telling her she will soon die. She leaves her considerable holdings to her only known relative, Addie Zappo, who is completely unaware of her great aunt and the power she wields. Already Madame has set in motion events that will bring together the lives of four unsuspecting women in unimaginable ways, but it will be up to Addie, the New Witch, to ward off the evil already gathering to strike at the women.
307 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 4, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 187 reviews
December 9, 2022
There is nothing to this book but offense.
Let me explain.
Our heroine is a white woman who “inherits” a hoodoo shop in a mostly Cajun area of New Orleans.
Already we’ve problems.
Cajun and creole are not the same.
Hoodoo is inherited yes but it’s also AFRICAN AMERICAN at its core. Making a white woman the heroine in a tale set in rural new Orleans is bizarre.
There’s no villain, antagonist. Nothing. There’s fluff. This reads like a tourist read a pamphlet on New Orleans culture from just the French quarter and wrote a book about it.
Hard pass.
Let me explain.
Our heroine is a white woman who “inherits” a hoodoo shop in a mostly Cajun area of New Orleans.
Already we’ve problems.
Cajun and creole are not the same.
Hoodoo is inherited yes but it’s also AFRICAN AMERICAN at its core. Making a white woman the heroine in a tale set in rural new Orleans is bizarre.
There’s no villain, antagonist. Nothing. There’s fluff. This reads like a tourist read a pamphlet on New Orleans culture from just the French quarter and wrote a book about it.
Hard pass.
October 7, 2020
3.5 stars. This was quite charming if in the mood, but a little saccharine for my tastes!
October 29, 2020
2.25
This book is a bit of fluff and if you enjoy reading that doesn't require a lot of effort — and books on which it appears not much effort was expended to write — you will likely enjoy this book.
Again, I have to ask: WHERE are the editors?! Is this a Kindle thing or what, because it is KILLING me! It's mostly minor typos, which are annoying, but I could basically overlook, but one major secondary character's name is spelled two different ways interchangeably and, the biggest sin of all: Gibson writes that Rosemary Clooney and Vera Ellen starred in Holiday Inn.
No, Rosemary Clooney and Vera Ellen starred in White Christmas. Are they both popular holiday movies starring Bing Crosby? Yes. Is this easily confirmed by fact-checking? Also yes. Google is your friend.
This book has no antagonist. No person, no event, no anything to root against. How are you supposed to root for characters who face no conflict? I mean, bad things happen to the characters, but they happen and are taken care of essentially "off-camera" so to speak. There's no drama, no rising action, no climax, no denouement. A thing happens and then it's magically fine, like snapping your fingers.
I'm all for a big cast of characters, but none of them are given any real personality traits. (I don't consider "abused wife" or "gang rape survivor" personality traits.) They are cookie-cutter characters, and most of them are made with the same cookie cutter. Three ambitious business owners in one friend group isn't impossible, but it's a lot less likely when the friend group isn't entirely comprised of business owners. I guess these similarities are meant to be what bonds them, but it just feels too easy.
The dialogue is pretty boring and all the same. Every character has the same voice, even though they're in New Orleans, where dialect varies widely and each character came from a different part of the country. I guess I should be grateful Gibson didn't try to affect dialects with her main cast, because when she did it was...uncomfortable. Mostly when her main characters talked, I found myself thinking, "No one talks like that."
This book is a bit of fluff and if you enjoy reading that doesn't require a lot of effort — and books on which it appears not much effort was expended to write — you will likely enjoy this book.
Again, I have to ask: WHERE are the editors?! Is this a Kindle thing or what, because it is KILLING me! It's mostly minor typos, which are annoying, but I could basically overlook, but one major secondary character's name is spelled two different ways interchangeably and, the biggest sin of all: Gibson writes that Rosemary Clooney and Vera Ellen starred in Holiday Inn.
No, Rosemary Clooney and Vera Ellen starred in White Christmas. Are they both popular holiday movies starring Bing Crosby? Yes. Is this easily confirmed by fact-checking? Also yes. Google is your friend.
This book has no antagonist. No person, no event, no anything to root against. How are you supposed to root for characters who face no conflict? I mean, bad things happen to the characters, but they happen and are taken care of essentially "off-camera" so to speak. There's no drama, no rising action, no climax, no denouement. A thing happens and then it's magically fine, like snapping your fingers.
I'm all for a big cast of characters, but none of them are given any real personality traits. (I don't consider "abused wife" or "gang rape survivor" personality traits.) They are cookie-cutter characters, and most of them are made with the same cookie cutter. Three ambitious business owners in one friend group isn't impossible, but it's a lot less likely when the friend group isn't entirely comprised of business owners. I guess these similarities are meant to be what bonds them, but it just feels too easy.
The dialogue is pretty boring and all the same. Every character has the same voice, even though they're in New Orleans, where dialect varies widely and each character came from a different part of the country. I guess I should be grateful Gibson didn't try to affect dialects with her main cast, because when she did it was...uncomfortable. Mostly when her main characters talked, I found myself thinking, "No one talks like that."
June 7, 2020
I read 30% of this book and gave up. Based on the great reviews and the fact that it takes place in my hometown, I thought I would enjoy it, but unfortunately, I did not. The characters and their backgrounds were well established and held my interest at first, but at some point, the story lost its momentum. I also noticed grammatical and typographical errors, as well as geographical and cultural inaccuracies, which combined with my already waning interest, bothered me enough to abandon the book. However, other readers have clearly enjoyed this book, so it's worth the time to at least read a sample and go from there.
December 1, 2020
Decent. Easy read.
Good book but I didn’t like the attempt at writing in so called black dialect. I don’t know one modern day black person who says yessum. I grew up in New Orleans and no one says that. I didn’t get why Addie got so mad when she found out she had black relatives. It made her seem racist. As if finding out she had black blood was the worst thing in the world until she realized no one would judge her. That was such bs. As I said before, it’s a good book, but those two things kind of stuck in my mind and ruined the reading experience a little bit.
Good book but I didn’t like the attempt at writing in so called black dialect. I don’t know one modern day black person who says yessum. I grew up in New Orleans and no one says that. I didn’t get why Addie got so mad when she found out she had black relatives. It made her seem racist. As if finding out she had black blood was the worst thing in the world until she realized no one would judge her. That was such bs. As I said before, it’s a good book, but those two things kind of stuck in my mind and ruined the reading experience a little bit.
May 9, 2024
Meh…I had higher hopes
I really wanted to love this book because I usually love all things mystical, especially those that in locations like New Orleans. But I just found the writing to be very stilted, which made it very difficult to actually connect with any of these characters on any sort of deeper level. By the end, it was just downright boring.
I really wanted to love this book because I usually love all things mystical, especially those that in locations like New Orleans. But I just found the writing to be very stilted, which made it very difficult to actually connect with any of these characters on any sort of deeper level. By the end, it was just downright boring.
December 12, 2020
I read this in one insomniac night. New Orleans is one of my favorite places and I could picture exactly where theses shops were. Loved the people, places and story.
April 22, 2020
Great book!
This book was easy to get absorbed into. I enjoyed the New Orleans setting, it made it easy to imagine the neighborhood. Lots of good twists and turns.
This book was easy to get absorbed into. I enjoyed the New Orleans setting, it made it easy to imagine the neighborhood. Lots of good twists and turns.
October 20, 2020
(3.5 stars) Despite the title, The New Witch isn't particularly about witchcraft, nor is the main character, Addie, an actual witch. It's a fairly predictable but pleasant story about a young woman who resettles in New Orleans after an inheritance, is immediately accepted by everyone in the neighborhood, makes friends with two other women, and how their lives and loves go over the course of a year.
New Orleans is historically linked to the practice of voodoo, which is a religion with dark magic roots. Instead, Addie's great-aunt, Madame, is a talented practitioner of hoodoo, a magical system based in Christianity. It is through Madame that good people are helped and protected, and bad people are warded off or punished. When Madame's health wanes, she finds her sister's granddaughter, her last living relative, and brings her to live in the New Orleans building owned by Madame, including her shop and apartments, via a codicil of her last will and testament. Addie has no hoodoo talent like Madame, but she does possess a sense of good or bad things coming and a few other mystical talents.
The book shifts perspectives between Madame, Addie, her new friend Dani, new friend Evie, local Cajun chef extraordinaire Simon, computer tech Parker, and others. The character development is pretty good, although deeper nuances are skipped in favor of really good and very evil. Dialogue, to me, suffered the most, as author Nancy Smith Gibson writes conversations unnaturally, as though you would formally write to someone, not how people actually talk to one another, and that tended to inhibit my immersion into the story.
The New Witch isn't a bad book. It's very sweet, dips into mysticism a little bit, incorporates occasional danger, and is enjoyable. It's just... well, it's fine, but it's not great.
New Orleans is historically linked to the practice of voodoo, which is a religion with dark magic roots. Instead, Addie's great-aunt, Madame, is a talented practitioner of hoodoo, a magical system based in Christianity. It is through Madame that good people are helped and protected, and bad people are warded off or punished. When Madame's health wanes, she finds her sister's granddaughter, her last living relative, and brings her to live in the New Orleans building owned by Madame, including her shop and apartments, via a codicil of her last will and testament. Addie has no hoodoo talent like Madame, but she does possess a sense of good or bad things coming and a few other mystical talents.
The book shifts perspectives between Madame, Addie, her new friend Dani, new friend Evie, local Cajun chef extraordinaire Simon, computer tech Parker, and others. The character development is pretty good, although deeper nuances are skipped in favor of really good and very evil. Dialogue, to me, suffered the most, as author Nancy Smith Gibson writes conversations unnaturally, as though you would formally write to someone, not how people actually talk to one another, and that tended to inhibit my immersion into the story.
The New Witch isn't a bad book. It's very sweet, dips into mysticism a little bit, incorporates occasional danger, and is enjoyable. It's just... well, it's fine, but it's not great.
September 9, 2020
I liked the story and the characters quite a lot. What I didn't like was the breakneck pace of the writing. Some time could have been taken to deal with Addie's discovery. She said at one point that she had been mad at Parker for "a while" for withholding it from her but then realized he was right. Ummm, "a while" must equal a nanosecond. This is true for all the heavy baggage the characters carried. Dani was cured of her extreme trauma by the patience of a good man. No therapy necessary. Evie's story had the most detail but I still wish her healing took more than the support of her friends and a good man. The conversation between the characters was stiff and didn't flow. The constant typos were distracting. At times, I thought the author was trying to write dialect but it came and went so I think the book just needed a proofreader. And, yes, I am well aware that I make the same mistakes in my typing, but I don't have access to a proofreader!
October 18, 2020
Magical Hints of Ancestral Destinies ⚜️
Tingling premonitions, mystical talents, hoodoo practitioners, and the charm of New Orleans! So many charming themes bring together groups of friends, new acquaintances, artistic souls, and long-lost ancestors in this tale. Small bits of mysticism, magic, perseverance, and happenstance highlight Madame’s protective attributes and skills. An enjoyable read from start to finish. 🌚
Tingling premonitions, mystical talents, hoodoo practitioners, and the charm of New Orleans! So many charming themes bring together groups of friends, new acquaintances, artistic souls, and long-lost ancestors in this tale. Small bits of mysticism, magic, perseverance, and happenstance highlight Madame’s protective attributes and skills. An enjoyable read from start to finish. 🌚
December 13, 2021
Enchanting
This book has so many reasons for me to love it. First is the setting of New Orleans, a city that I visited only once, but fell in love with. Secondly, the characters who all meet their challenges with courage. Thirdly, there is the fact that there is magic in life and we have only to accept it to reap its benefits. Finally, I love the author's writing style.
This book has so many reasons for me to love it. First is the setting of New Orleans, a city that I visited only once, but fell in love with. Secondly, the characters who all meet their challenges with courage. Thirdly, there is the fact that there is magic in life and we have only to accept it to reap its benefits. Finally, I love the author's writing style.
August 12, 2019
EXCELLENT!!!! What a wonderful, inspiring story!
EXCELLENT!!!! What a wonderful, inspiring story! Such a beautiful tribute to New Orleans, with well written characters, and a page-turning story.
EXCELLENT!!!! What a wonderful, inspiring story! Such a beautiful tribute to New Orleans, with well written characters, and a page-turning story.
January 15, 2020
The story was interesting and I liked the characters. This book could've used a proofreader. There were typos and some grammatical errors that made a couple of sentences not make any sense.
April 4, 2022
Gang Rape in this book
Chapter 2, gang rape, no warning anywhere whatsoever. NOT COOL, the author should be ashamed of blindsiding readers this way.
Chapter 2, gang rape, no warning anywhere whatsoever. NOT COOL, the author should be ashamed of blindsiding readers this way.
August 13, 2022
Heartwarming!
Great story that made me be open to consider how and why we are drawn to things, people, and places we are drawn to and to explore those things.
Great story that made me be open to consider how and why we are drawn to things, people, and places we are drawn to and to explore those things.
August 22, 2020
Great Story About Magic in New Orleans
After reading many reviews, I got this book through my Kindle Unlimited.To the reviewer who said this was predictable I am thinking you must have a crystal ball in your back pocket because except for a few things which were surmised and several events that turned out as hoped for, other plot twists were surprising and I had no clue where this story was heading for quite a while (and I read lots of books).
The book begins with the threads of many individual characters who are eventually woven together through the elderly hoodoo woman, Madame, who lives in a close knit neighborhood in New Orleans. The story kept me guessing as the great-niece, Addie, a jewelry designer and maker, inherits and steps into Madame’s shoes and shop. I deeply appreciated the love, kindness and acceptance that radiated through the pages, it was a like a soothing balm that helped relieve some of the heartache of living through these awful times of divisive, racial strife.
I was delighted to learn more about which gem stones provide what types of energy as I’m very interested in that and was fascinated to discover that certain colored candles are also associated with various energies, I never heard of that before.
Its August during the pandemic year and I miss social gatherings so much; reading about these characters gathering together and eating great food felt a bit voyeuristic but so enjoyable, as though I was there too. I’ve been lucky to have enjoyed New Orleans marvelous culture and cuisine so the descriptions of the Cajun food dishes left my mouth watering...hopefully we can travel there again when life returns to normal.
After reading many reviews, I got this book through my Kindle Unlimited.To the reviewer who said this was predictable I am thinking you must have a crystal ball in your back pocket because except for a few things which were surmised and several events that turned out as hoped for, other plot twists were surprising and I had no clue where this story was heading for quite a while (and I read lots of books).
The book begins with the threads of many individual characters who are eventually woven together through the elderly hoodoo woman, Madame, who lives in a close knit neighborhood in New Orleans. The story kept me guessing as the great-niece, Addie, a jewelry designer and maker, inherits and steps into Madame’s shoes and shop. I deeply appreciated the love, kindness and acceptance that radiated through the pages, it was a like a soothing balm that helped relieve some of the heartache of living through these awful times of divisive, racial strife.
I was delighted to learn more about which gem stones provide what types of energy as I’m very interested in that and was fascinated to discover that certain colored candles are also associated with various energies, I never heard of that before.
Its August during the pandemic year and I miss social gatherings so much; reading about these characters gathering together and eating great food felt a bit voyeuristic but so enjoyable, as though I was there too. I’ve been lucky to have enjoyed New Orleans marvelous culture and cuisine so the descriptions of the Cajun food dishes left my mouth watering...hopefully we can travel there again when life returns to normal.
August 6, 2022
New Orleans Hoodoo
In the beginning of this enjoyable story, we are introduced to Madame Clothilde, a practitioner of hoodoo in New Orleans. Her gifts for healing and love are potent and her friendship a warm protective embrace. To be on the wrong side of Madame was geared. She never charged the people she loved but prospered under the rich people who sought her help. Evie, on the run from an abusive husband and Parker, who seeks a more exciting life are drawn to New Orleans and Madame Clothilde. After her death, we are introduced to her niece Addie, as her soul heir but Addie must stay for exactly one year before she can inherit. More characters are introduced into Addies circle and even after death, Madames influence can be felt. The lives of Parker, Evie, Dani and her son Morgan, Simon who is the chef of a gathering place of his own, Simons Place, and finally Martin have lived that begin to intertwine with that of the New Witch, the neighborhoods name for Addie as her rule of threes and feelings begin to grow in her new role as owner of her aunties former hoodoo shop. It is a feel good story with some sadness and danger in it. I found it an enjoyable read wishing I were part of this group of friends and family.
In the beginning of this enjoyable story, we are introduced to Madame Clothilde, a practitioner of hoodoo in New Orleans. Her gifts for healing and love are potent and her friendship a warm protective embrace. To be on the wrong side of Madame was geared. She never charged the people she loved but prospered under the rich people who sought her help. Evie, on the run from an abusive husband and Parker, who seeks a more exciting life are drawn to New Orleans and Madame Clothilde. After her death, we are introduced to her niece Addie, as her soul heir but Addie must stay for exactly one year before she can inherit. More characters are introduced into Addies circle and even after death, Madames influence can be felt. The lives of Parker, Evie, Dani and her son Morgan, Simon who is the chef of a gathering place of his own, Simons Place, and finally Martin have lived that begin to intertwine with that of the New Witch, the neighborhoods name for Addie as her rule of threes and feelings begin to grow in her new role as owner of her aunties former hoodoo shop. It is a feel good story with some sadness and danger in it. I found it an enjoyable read wishing I were part of this group of friends and family.
December 18, 2020
An easy, feel good read.
This book was a nice little laid back read. It's interesting how the author brought so many characters into the picture and how well she ended up tying them all together in the end. That being said, this book was pretty anticlimactic. It was a little sickening how everything is just perfect no matter the circumstance. Every time there was a little bit of conflict it was quickly resolved to a very unrealistic sense of perfection for the characters. Also, there were a few times when I felt there was a lack of character or plot development. There were relationships that seemed to spout from nowhere and the characters seemingly had to do little to no research to answer mysterious circumstance, for example Addie never looks further into proof of who her father is, she just believes him off the bat. I love a happy ending but my goodness this book was sappy to the point I don't think I could've rolled my eyes any harder. All in all, if you're looking for something light hearted and easy this one won't disappoint.
This book was a nice little laid back read. It's interesting how the author brought so many characters into the picture and how well she ended up tying them all together in the end. That being said, this book was pretty anticlimactic. It was a little sickening how everything is just perfect no matter the circumstance. Every time there was a little bit of conflict it was quickly resolved to a very unrealistic sense of perfection for the characters. Also, there were a few times when I felt there was a lack of character or plot development. There were relationships that seemed to spout from nowhere and the characters seemingly had to do little to no research to answer mysterious circumstance, for example Addie never looks further into proof of who her father is, she just believes him off the bat. I love a happy ending but my goodness this book was sappy to the point I don't think I could've rolled my eyes any harder. All in all, if you're looking for something light hearted and easy this one won't disappoint.
May 11, 2021
Addie inherits a building with 4 apartments and 2 stores attached to two of them. Addie never met the woman called Madame, who is the sister of her grandmother, and the woman who left her only heir, everything she had. There was a stipulation that Addie had to live on the property for one year in order for her to inherit. So much happens in that year. There are new friends and family, plus trials and tribulations that Addie can "sense". She does her best to protect and use her gift with the best intentions.
I loved how the women were so loyal to each other, and the men that came into their lives were good men. Each friend had gone through something in the past, and managed with the help of the others, to conquer problems.
There were some typos and misplaced words, so editing could have been better, but I liked the story and while some things were predictable, it was a good story with a good outcome, especially for Ed.
I loved how the women were so loyal to each other, and the men that came into their lives were good men. Each friend had gone through something in the past, and managed with the help of the others, to conquer problems.
There were some typos and misplaced words, so editing could have been better, but I liked the story and while some things were predictable, it was a good story with a good outcome, especially for Ed.
July 21, 2022
If you believe in Fate and esoteric events in life then read this . People reviewed below about spellings and editing — well I do believe it is a British writer and their spellings of words are different. I really wish there was a way to comment to reviewers or put a thumbs down when it’s not a TRUE Review of the book .
🤦🏼♀️. Especially on the condition a book may be in — Amazon sells used books so if you buy a used book it will not be a perfect brand new condition book— and has nothing to do with the book you read !
Also, when you don’t read what the book’s description of the story is written — so if it is with sex in in it and people are like OMG! Then don’t read it! There are comments that actually say this . S a book about witches or spirits — if this is not something you like or believe in then do not read or review.
🤦🏼♀️. Especially on the condition a book may be in — Amazon sells used books so if you buy a used book it will not be a perfect brand new condition book— and has nothing to do with the book you read !
Also, when you don’t read what the book’s description of the story is written — so if it is with sex in in it and people are like OMG! Then don’t read it! There are comments that actually say this . S a book about witches or spirits — if this is not something you like or believe in then do not read or review.
March 20, 2023
I really enjoyed this book! There is enough complexity within each character that it's easy to be drawn into their individual histories and stories.
Addie Zappa has always "known" when important things are about to happen, and they always happen in "3s". One day she receives a letter from an attorney telling her that she is the sole heir of her great-aunt Clotilde. Set in New Orleans, the author weaves the atmosphere of Creole neighborhoods and hoodoo throughout the book.
Addie's great-aunt is revered in her neighborhood as a wise healer and spell caster. Her history, as well as every other character's history, is woven seamlessly throughout the book. There are no such things as coincidences as Addie soon learns, and there are wonderful surprises uncovered.
The New Witch is a rich tapestry of history, love, community, and secrets.
Addie Zappa has always "known" when important things are about to happen, and they always happen in "3s". One day she receives a letter from an attorney telling her that she is the sole heir of her great-aunt Clotilde. Set in New Orleans, the author weaves the atmosphere of Creole neighborhoods and hoodoo throughout the book.
Addie's great-aunt is revered in her neighborhood as a wise healer and spell caster. Her history, as well as every other character's history, is woven seamlessly throughout the book. There are no such things as coincidences as Addie soon learns, and there are wonderful surprises uncovered.
The New Witch is a rich tapestry of history, love, community, and secrets.
February 14, 2021
Wonderful and well written
Absolutely loved and devoured this book! I could not read it fast enough but also savored every morsel of it. This would make a wonderful movie. I have now also fallen under Gibson's spell and in can not wait to read everything else she has to offer.
I would be beyond thrilled if there were to be a series made from this wonderful story. I want to.....NEED to read more about Addie, Parker, Dani, Simon, Morgan, Evie, Martin and Maxie.
The story was marvelously well written, with a perfect pace, excellent use of details, wonderfully developed characters, thoughtful and well designed story arcs, and a very satisfying ending.
I fell completely in love with all the characters and want more, more, more!
Absolutely loved and devoured this book! I could not read it fast enough but also savored every morsel of it. This would make a wonderful movie. I have now also fallen under Gibson's spell and in can not wait to read everything else she has to offer.
I would be beyond thrilled if there were to be a series made from this wonderful story. I want to.....NEED to read more about Addie, Parker, Dani, Simon, Morgan, Evie, Martin and Maxie.
The story was marvelously well written, with a perfect pace, excellent use of details, wonderfully developed characters, thoughtful and well designed story arcs, and a very satisfying ending.
I fell completely in love with all the characters and want more, more, more!
April 5, 2022
I enjoyed this book. It's not exciting; it's relaxing. Perhaps I needed that. If there is a point to the book, it was that good magic is made by good people helping others. People want to believe in something bigger than themselves—someone who can help them over a rough spot or to achieve some goal. In a community where superstition is the norm, people ascribe actions and results to those superstitions. There is no question the main character has premonitions, but she doesn't see the future. While she learns to use charms and potions, most of her actions are just common sense. Nothing was definitively changed by magic. Those helped still attribute the results to psychic power, and the power becomes greater in the retelling.
August 28, 2024
TW: Gang Rape, Racism, DV and Child Death
This book was clearly dedicated to the details but lacks any plot.
There were several attempts to tie the characters and events into a storyline. The most prominent were centered around the traumatic backstories of two side characters. One has a child as a result of gang rape. The other was a grieving mother running away from her abusive husband.
The main character is a harmless Mary Sue until she finds out her great Aunt was not white. She gets so mad at her boyfriend that she starts to cry because he didn't tell her. Shortly after, he ends up apologizing to her and assuring her he doesn't care about her skin color.
I need a stiff drink...
This book was clearly dedicated to the details but lacks any plot.
There were several attempts to tie the characters and events into a storyline. The most prominent were centered around the traumatic backstories of two side characters. One has a child as a result of gang rape. The other was a grieving mother running away from her abusive husband.
The main character is a harmless Mary Sue until she finds out her great Aunt was not white. She gets so mad at her boyfriend that she starts to cry because he didn't tell her. Shortly after, he ends up apologizing to her and assuring her he doesn't care about her skin color.
I need a stiff drink...
August 21, 2020
I really liked the premise of this novel, that a young woman finds out she is the heir of her great aunt who is a powerful witch. It's set in New Orleans which I think is one of the most magical places to set such a tale. That said, the intrigue is kind of set up but not realized in the story. The great aunt is a person of color whose sister left the south and "passed" but her great niece didn't know her heritage. This had great potential to enrich the story line and explore some issues with race and social justice but it kind of just sits there. Overall it was a nice story with a feel good vibe but not as good as I was hoping.
November 19, 2020
So many stories woven together with magic!
There are things I really love about this book. How it all comes together in the end most of the time. The characters were all interesting and as their stories became clearer, their connection strings enough to overcome huge obstacles. What I didn't like about this book was the editing or lack thereof. It really bothers when a word is spelled wrong or just left out. When phrases don't make sense because an important descriptive word is left out. I makes some things just not make sense.
The story seemed long but that's okay, I enjoy a long book and I think anyone who likes a touch of magic in their books will love it too.
There are things I really love about this book. How it all comes together in the end most of the time. The characters were all interesting and as their stories became clearer, their connection strings enough to overcome huge obstacles. What I didn't like about this book was the editing or lack thereof. It really bothers when a word is spelled wrong or just left out. When phrases don't make sense because an important descriptive word is left out. I makes some things just not make sense.
The story seemed long but that's okay, I enjoy a long book and I think anyone who likes a touch of magic in their books will love it too.
November 23, 2020
New Orleans magic builds a community
A group of interesting strangers -some hiding from terrible pasts- becomes a strong community and family with the aid of some Cajun Magic.
Loved the story and the characters. There were a lot of grammatical errors and the book could have used some tighter editing especially in the beginning which rambles here and there too long introducing the multitude of back stories. A more involved Conflict would have been an improvement too.
But I enjoyed reading the uplifting happy story so much I didn’t even knock it down a star for those criticisms.
A group of interesting strangers -some hiding from terrible pasts- becomes a strong community and family with the aid of some Cajun Magic.
Loved the story and the characters. There were a lot of grammatical errors and the book could have used some tighter editing especially in the beginning which rambles here and there too long introducing the multitude of back stories. A more involved Conflict would have been an improvement too.
But I enjoyed reading the uplifting happy story so much I didn’t even knock it down a star for those criticisms.
August 26, 2021
This lovely story is a beautiful balance between magic, romance, suspense. The primary character inherits a shop and apartment building from an unknown relative. Along with that, she inherits a new identity, powerful family secrets, and a whole neighborhood that greatly influences her life. All this takes place in the beautiful and mysterious setting of New Orleans. There are a few minor typos and errors missed by the editors, but they are easily forgiven for the entertainment and upliftment of this fun novel.
September 26, 2021
A great story, though told similarly before.
This book had a great fundamental idea, and has been told before in many ways. I found the writing erratic at times .. like the writer lost their place or focus of the storyline. There were points where the writing seemed to change drastically and where the plot seemed rushed and predictable. The characters however, were likable and the story well staged. It’s a good read and I read it quickly and was able to get past the shortcomings.
This book had a great fundamental idea, and has been told before in many ways. I found the writing erratic at times .. like the writer lost their place or focus of the storyline. There were points where the writing seemed to change drastically and where the plot seemed rushed and predictable. The characters however, were likable and the story well staged. It’s a good read and I read it quickly and was able to get past the shortcomings.
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