An alternative cover edition of this ASIN can be found here.
Modern day wizard Felix Slade knows better than to meddle in the lives of witches. But when a chance encounter with a beautiful witch, Gabriella, sparks a vision of her demise at the hand of a werewolf, he knows he must act. To make matters worse, his vision reveals feelings he has for this woman he's only seen from afar and in that moment his life is changed forever.
Trouble has been brewing in sleepy Leotown, but explodes when Felix witnesses the gruesome murder of Gabriella’s coven leader and ends up number one on a short list of suspects. It's a poor start to their relationship when Gabriella and her coven sisters attack Felix while looking for answers. With her foot literally on his chest, Felix begins to doubt what he felt in his vision - that is - until the werewolves actually show up.
Wizard in a Witchy World is the first book in the Witchy World series – an urban fantasy, paranormal fairy tale.
Solid writing. Story maintains consistency. World building was complex and balanced.
But...
The main character didn't feel...like a guy. And there was no foresight on his part or planning. When you have consistently run into werewolves over very few days, wouldn't you take a moment and make sure you have at least ^one^ weapon capable of dealing with them? Even carrying a handful of wolfsbane or learning a spell... The story was good, but it really wasn't. There wasn't any despair or anguish, none of the feelings really came through strongly.
I can't recommend this, but I will look for the next book to see if it improves.
“So far, I was batting a hundred percent at finding jackasses in this town.”
Wizard in a Witchy World by Jamie McFarland
4.25/5.0 Just a quick review here. I was actually pleasantly surprised with Wizard in a Witchy World. Randomly stumbled upon it on Kindle Unlimited and just plowed through it in a day. I was hooked pretty fast and didn’t look back.
~Story~ So, Wizard in a Witchy Word is a first-person novel that takes place in modern day, focusing on Felix Slade, a Wizard finding his way in a new town, looking for a fresh start. The story was actually quite interesting, it focuses on the witch politics in this new town as well as navigating a perilous situation with the local Werewolves. I really wished that the magic system was given more depth and detail. We are given a few key spells that Felix uses but the system itself was never really explained. It seems interesting, the wolves and witches also could use lore and depth. They also introduced a new(ish) type of race called Troll. The story does wrap up and nicely and does not leave any major cliffhangers.
The pace was well written as I never really wanted the story to move faster nor slower. The action scenes varied, I thought some were good but others felt a little lazy. Explanation of the magic could have really helped it in this aspect.
~Characters~ I thought that the bevy of characters were good and I had a lot of fun reading about them. I could have used a little more distinction in their personalities and voice, but overall, I can’t really complain about anything. The dialogue was well written and I felt the interaction between the main characters fluid and natural.
~Final Thoughts~ With a surprising hook and a fun cast of characters, Wizard in a Witchy World was a fun ride that was well worth the time it took to blow through it. It’s books like these that make me happy I search Kindle Unlimited for gems in the rough.
I had a very difficult time getting into this book. I found that at the beginning it sort of jumped into things without any explanation and just carried along. It was fast-paced and then would suddenly slow and follow an entirely different track. Characters were introduced and five seconds later they were the most important person, going to have a relationship, absolutely everything,......but to be ignored for a bit and have someone else come along and be the same thing. The world felt a bit incongruous as magic was there, but it took a long time to be clear if the world at large knew about that or if it was a secret. As such everything felt a bit thrown together and it seemed to be rather far into the book before I felt it had a groove going. Even then it would still have these sudden unusual jumps or rapid stops in action that I simply didn't get. The idea seemed good but the execution was off and I don't think I have enough interest after that to pursue the series further.
I have to admit that since Harry Potter I have always enjoyed magic stories.
This one has a slightly different take in that, it's a witches world that our hero finds himself tangled up in.
Felix is just trying to keep his head down and not call any attention to himself but as we all know that's not how the world works. Enter Gabriella.
Whenever a man finds himself deep in it, there's usually a woman at the center. As they say, all plans are perfect until first contact and this case is no exception.
Not only does Felix have to deal with his vision but now he has a few new problems in the form of some very pissed off witches who have no trust in a wizard.
Not all is at it seems in this little town. There's a faction that wants to consolidate power and they're more than willing to kill to make the obstacles disappear.
While there are some character flaws as mentioned in other reviews, overall it is a very enjoyable read with a newer spin on the witch and wizard dynamic in the magical world.
I would not hesitate to recommend this to fans of the genre or anyone wanting to dip their toes in the pool.
The relationships in this book is just one big cluster fuck. *spoiler* we got people having sex just because why not. We got the main love interest (who is already in a relationship) get intimate with the main character. Like, why, why did the author decide it was a good idea to put the main love interest in a relationship just so she could cheat? This is disgusting. Couldn't the author have found a different excuse for the protagonist not to be together with her at the beginning? Why does it have to be infidelity?
I honestly tried my best to understand the praise this book recieves. I grabbed the audiobook for it and gave it a listen while typing and have found very little to praise about the book and a lot more thaf dragged it down.
The book is to the point and starts as it means to go on. Things happen at a rapid pace that allow it to be completed quickly. The focus on herb lore for magic was interesting for a moment.
This book is poorly paced. It feels like the author is too ready to shoot out scene after scene without allowing the slow moments in a story that can build character, show growth and in general let the audience breathe.
The characters don't speak that differently than one another (all the dialogue has a fast pace that does not differentiate the characters well). This is more obvious in the audiobook version where the reader will at times become confused about who should be speaking and default to the main character's voice.
The conversations also don't flow like dialogue as well, where the characters will talk over and ignore one another in conversations without acknowledgement. "He's not with tbe left hand." " Get out of here you left hand whatever." Comes to mind, though the lines aren't that memorable.
This book, story-wise should have ended with the recue of the little girl, with the consequences of that falling over in a later book. As is, it drags all the way to the Left Hand making a show of being villains. This novel could have used some some story editing.
I don't get the world-building praise for this book. It is one thing to say "This happens here" and "These are like this," but it is another to build the world subtly through character action and language. For situations where direct explanation is needed, it is better to have a character that is ignorant to stand in for the audience instead of just directly telling the audience. This book would bave benefited from that kind of character.
"Come out of nowhere" is a good way to describe most instances of conflict in this book, and the main character spends most of it as a passive actor instead of an active character. His owl is his long lost sister (no foreshadowing beyond a vague feeling of connection.) He has a memory block (not foreshadowed and just kind of pops up.) I could go on, but it would take too long.
The main character is tonally flat. He is a generic nice guy that just wants to be left alone. Instead of doing the sane thing and ducking his head to leave town, be stays in a place where he has very few real connections beyond the ones created by his libido. He has a tendancy to describe himself instead of letting his actions speak for themselves. (I'm the kind of guy who...)
On that subject, I am really tired of reading about author's fetishes.
I honestly don't get the praise or high rating for this book, as it does little to deserve it. I see many compare it to Dresden Files, but it just doesn't have the same caliber of writing. I would put it below Kevin Hearne's Iron Druid Chronicles, and I already have a low opinion of that series.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
I really enjoyed this one. it was a bit of mystery, a bit of fantasy, and perhaps a bit of ther things thrown in to make a complex story that has lots of layers, and only a few get pealed back in this first installment. It will definitely be interesting to see where this series goes I liked our main character, and the things that emerge as the story progresses, it's also interesting how he doesn't back down from a fight, but doesn't often seem to be very well prepared for said fight. You'd think someone trying to come off as being so tough doesn't seem to have his stuff together most of the time when it comes to throw down time. Of course, he muddles though, and that's admirable, but in the beginning of the book, he's acting all tough, ready to have a knock down drag out fight with a whole coven of witches, and by the end, he's doing his level best to shield against attacks from another (admittedly larger) circle of witches. You'd think someone who was so anxious in the beginning wouldn't be relegated to just protecting at the end, but hey, maybe he's learned some life lessons, and realized he's not as big or as bad as he pretends. The story really didn't seem to lean in that direction, but who knows, perhaps in the next book we'll learn why he behaved like that. In any case, out of character behavior aside, it was a pretty good read, and I'd say just about anyone would like it, as it tends to have a bit of everything in it, though if you're not into the whole supernatural witch/werewolf/troll scene, this one might not be your kind of reading material.
I had fun with it until it went downhill. The main love interest is already in a relationship and cheats on her partner. In retaliation, the other MC sleeps with a random side character. I stopped reading there.
It was so fun... why ruin it like that?
The romance was the only thing vaguely interesting about it. The rest is just insanely generic. And after that I have ZERO interest in the romance part anymore. If you add cheating to your romance, be prepared for the part of your audience interested in the romantic bit to bail.
The part that infuriates me about the entire thing is: I just don't get it. Why would you choose to ruin a perfectly serviceable (if bland) story like that for no reason? There are about a million ways to create conflict in a romantic story without making the characters unlikable. Now I hate both MCs with a passion and have no interest in reading anything about them going forward. I'm genuinely disappointed...
It can be difficult to find new series in the urban fantasy genre that don't feel overly familiar. Too often authors appear to be borrowing from the greats, even when its pure coincidence. An intentional nod to their favorite authors, building off existing ideas, neither of these are bad things, unless they aren't accompanied by original story ideas and good writing. I found none of these problems when reading Wizard In A Witchy World. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that McFarlane shares many of the same favorite authors as myself, but the great story telling and writing? That was all their own. Excellent read and a very promising introduction to a new series
I picked this up on Amazon Kindle because it was free to read. I must say I thoroughly enjoyed it.
I am usually a fan of meatier fantasy and science fiction but I found this a lighter read, and that's not a bad thing. Easy to pick up and enjoy during my quiet hours at work and put down when I had to. The pacing was pretty good and because I am new to the whole witches and wizards story line I felt invested enough to keep reading to find out the back story behind the main character.
Such was the ease with which to read this it could easily be made into a television series along the lines of 'Charmed'.
Pick it up if you like fast, light action story telling.
Don't pick it up if you are expecting something with the depth of a Harry Potter novel.
This is a decent story but it takes a while to really get moving. Most of the action is in the last quarter. It is a solid story and a world I want to know more about. Main character comes across a bit smug occasionally and toward the end if the book the author uses my pet peeve plot device of Maggie knowing what is going on with the house but not telling because, you know, reasons... And so leaving the main character ( and us) devoid of vital information that if she'd bothered to mention at any point earlier a how lot of stress could have been saved. :/ Seriously people, its really fucking annoying when authors do that.
Urban witchy wizard fantasy. Solid read and first book of a series. Does suffer from some editing issues but nothing to detract on the whole- a little annoying though hence 1 star docked partially for this and for some pacing issues. The momentum of the plot speeded up a little too fast to finish the book. Another 100 pages needed to flesh out the characters and plot. Though since I bought the other 2 books- hope that will be resolved.
This book was a pretty good addition to my Urban Fantasy library. I'm kind of picky. There wasn't a uncomfortable amount of sex scenes and had plenty of action. I wish that some of the magical action scenes had a little more punch, but McFarlane did a fairly good job turning up the heat. I may just be spoiled from the Dresden Files though. Overall a good book to read or listen to.
Interesting characters, fast moving story, not over-run with name-dropping, too detailed sex, status flaunting. It offers a different view of vampires, werewolves etc. What more could you want in a good story? I am looking forward to the next book in this series. In the meanwhile I am reading some of his other series.
I wasn't too sure of this one right off the bat. But, as I got further into it I got caught up in the story. Wizards, witches, werewolves, and a hint of a Dungeons and Dragons adventure. Fast paced with good characters and lots of twists.
This is a mostly clean read with no gratuitous profanity and a couple of scenes that wasn't explicit.
I usually read sci fi but occasionally dip into the occult world, this is by far the best I've read. I couldn't put it down. Nice intrigue, good plot, and fascinating interactions between unique beings. I wanted a distraction and escape and this book fit the bill. Well done and great writing.
This book was an easy read with colorful characters, nasty villains and fairly typical story. The main character was a wizard, mixed up with a lot of witches, some friendly, some not. He makes a few other friends and more enemies as he finds out about his past and who he really is. The romance parts are pretty terrible.
Having read some of the authors prior work in science fiction, urban fantasy was anything but one that was very well received. It has a few flaws here and there, but looking forward to reading the next in the series.
I enjoyed the adventure and got caught up with the awesome friendships. The witches,wolves and wizards were all a fantastic mix that makes for such a belted story.
I've been waiting with very little patience for the next chapter of the Dresden files and this book hit that sweet spot perfectly. I highly recommend it for both newcomers and fans of that series.
I picked this up by chance and hit upon a book that is fresh and unique, with characters--for the most part--delightfully different from the norm. Already looking for the next book...
Really enjoyed this book. All of the characters were we rounded and thought out. I would recommend this book to everyone. The author is also a favorite of mine in another saga and was very surprised at his writing this type of storyline. Very well done
I like the protagonist but he was meek to the point of being annoying. After being attacked multiple times he still didn’t retaliate. This diminished my enjoyment of the book.
Good fantasy with a large cast of characters, each with different skills and history. The quality of the writing made it easy to keep track of the plot and characters. I liked the H who had amazing skills and a conscience.