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Secondhand Magic #1
Null Witch
Emily Davenport wants nothing to do with witches. She’s a null—a witch born without magic of her own. Ridiculed and derided by her prestigious family, she fled to the desert southwest to live a “normal” life as soon as she could. But now someone or something is preying upon witches in Santa Fe, and when the police department’s lone Magic Crimes detective calls on her for help, her comfortable life in obscurity is threatened forever.
241 pages, Unknown Binding
Published December 27, 2019
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January 15, 2020
It's seems I read a different book given the other glowing reviews I've seen on GR. But honestly I can't give this book more than a 1 star. Surely it has a nice idea and kind of interesting plot, unfortunately it highlights the difference between good and bad writing.
It's not terrible and I am sure the writer will improve with time and experience, but at the moment her writing needs some serious boost.
Problems:
-world building/foundation
You need to research and have a clear understanding of the world.
Here we have the first 3 strikes against the book in a very short time and close to the beginning. A cop takes the first person he found on the street as a consultant, that same consultant had no problem in getting 'grandfathered' without pay while forcibly put on leave, the consultant had no experience nor knowledge about what she should be consulting about, that same consultant immediately spills the beans to a suspect.
In a few pages I was ready to dnf the book because clearly police procedures were forgotten about, and no reasons where given about. It's not a different world from ours. And it goes on on this line with the dumb as fuck heroine and her dumber brother going around doing everything in their power to make sure that the investigation would be destroyed.
Some things made no sense in the story aka Joseph and the money. What was the reasons for that thread except to add noise to the plot?
I may understand the reason why a father does what he does for his daughter but at the same time I wonder about it. It's a world with para police, you don't think they'll come for you? And why Alice's personality gets clicked on and off. Magic isn't a soul.
No reason why her brother's magic came and went either except it was convenient for the plot.
-Characters
And here I shuddered for all the book.
An heroine that run away from a family that ostracized her but forgets everything as soon as the plot conveniently needed so.
Plenty of characters were there as props, not as real people incorporated in the world.
Personal nit, but a big one.
Her brother. He was a constant nail on a board. A stupid, and I really mean stupid, teenager, sulking, whining, messing around. He on his own would have dragged this book down into hell.
It's not terrible and I am sure the writer will improve with time and experience, but at the moment her writing needs some serious boost.
Problems:
-world building/foundation
You need to research and have a clear understanding of the world.
Here we have the first 3 strikes against the book in a very short time and close to the beginning. A cop takes the first person he found on the street as a consultant, that same consultant had no problem in getting 'grandfathered' without pay while forcibly put on leave, the consultant had no experience nor knowledge about what she should be consulting about, that same consultant immediately spills the beans to a suspect.
In a few pages I was ready to dnf the book because clearly police procedures were forgotten about, and no reasons where given about. It's not a different world from ours. And it goes on on this line with the dumb as fuck heroine and her dumber brother going around doing everything in their power to make sure that the investigation would be destroyed.
Some things made no sense in the story aka Joseph and the money. What was the reasons for that thread except to add noise to the plot?
I may understand the reason why a father does what he does for his daughter but at the same time I wonder about it. It's a world with para police, you don't think they'll come for you? And why Alice's personality gets clicked on and off. Magic isn't a soul.
No reason why her brother's magic came and went either except it was convenient for the plot.
-Characters
And here I shuddered for all the book.
An heroine that run away from a family that ostracized her but forgets everything as soon as the plot conveniently needed so.
Plenty of characters were there as props, not as real people incorporated in the world.
Personal nit, but a big one.
Her brother. He was a constant nail on a board. A stupid, and I really mean stupid, teenager, sulking, whining, messing around. He on his own would have dragged this book down into hell.
August 23, 2020
🤦♀️
The author needs to avail themselves of an editor. This is an okay rough draft and had the potential to be a good book with some work put into it, but the current version is not worth the time it takes to read. There is at least one point where three words are run together into a jumbled mess that certainly would not have passed spell-check.
Throughout the book the author uses a conversational tone in which they repeatedly ask the reader “you know?” instead of using their own words to describe what was happening. It’s almost as annoying as Ivy Asher’s and Raven Kennedy’s non-stop our-dated pop culture references that they use in lieu of character development or world building. When authors skip over things like establishing who characters are, they are relying on readers to intuit what they intend to convey, which is not as fun or engaging as authors seem to think. The character who received the most attention from the author was Dan, the selfish wet-sandwich. For the life of me, I have no idea what was supposed to be interesting or likable about him and when the fmc apologized to him, I wanted to scream.
What is most frustrating is that I am intrigued by the idea of nulls existing in paranormal AUs. It’s the exact opposite of the vast majority of sci-fi/fantasy worlds where the protagonists routinely end up as the most powerful whosi-whatsit who ever lived. I’ve read more than a thousand books where female protagonists start in a tough spot, but are virtually all-powerful supreme alpha-Gods by the denouement of a series.
The problem here is that the author begins many ideas but takes them nowhere, none of the characters are particularly compelling, and I saw my own brain when I rolled my eyes at the big reveal. Remember the guy from the cafe in the first chapter and that time the fmc stopped for lunch? Long story short, his daughter burned out her magic, so he was killing witches to help her. Emily thought the daughter was cute in her nightie, so she decides that it didn’t matter that the dad was a serial-killer.
The author needs to avail themselves of an editor. This is an okay rough draft and had the potential to be a good book with some work put into it, but the current version is not worth the time it takes to read. There is at least one point where three words are run together into a jumbled mess that certainly would not have passed spell-check.
Throughout the book the author uses a conversational tone in which they repeatedly ask the reader “you know?” instead of using their own words to describe what was happening. It’s almost as annoying as Ivy Asher’s and Raven Kennedy’s non-stop our-dated pop culture references that they use in lieu of character development or world building. When authors skip over things like establishing who characters are, they are relying on readers to intuit what they intend to convey, which is not as fun or engaging as authors seem to think. The character who received the most attention from the author was Dan, the selfish wet-sandwich. For the life of me, I have no idea what was supposed to be interesting or likable about him and when the fmc apologized to him, I wanted to scream.
What is most frustrating is that I am intrigued by the idea of nulls existing in paranormal AUs. It’s the exact opposite of the vast majority of sci-fi/fantasy worlds where the protagonists routinely end up as the most powerful whosi-whatsit who ever lived. I’ve read more than a thousand books where female protagonists start in a tough spot, but are virtually all-powerful supreme alpha-Gods by the denouement of a series.
The problem here is that the author begins many ideas but takes them nowhere, none of the characters are particularly compelling, and I saw my own brain when I rolled my eyes at the big reveal. Remember the guy from the cafe in the first chapter and that time the fmc stopped for lunch? Long story short, his daughter burned out her magic, so he was killing witches to help her. Emily thought the daughter was cute in her nightie, so she decides that it didn’t matter that the dad was a serial-killer.
September 5, 2022
For a book written in 2019, I expected less racism???? (My review includes spoilers, but I'm not labelling it as such, so you may see this first part upon preview).
It starts off interesting, and then the MC, Emily, is just another "Pick Me" girl, who claims she knows things about history but still calls Indigenous people Natives, "tribal-run" casinos & calls a "Native American" woman bartender "more handsome than pretty." (Imagine me rolling my eyes so hard at such a racial stereotype). Oh, it gets better though, she can't decide if the woman is a man or woman, because they are androgenous looking and she finds it "facinating." (So she's basically staring at this poor bartender). She then determines that the bartender is they/them, not by ASKING no, just by her own assumptions, and the bartender's gender switches from she/her to they/them on Emily's whim.
She proclaims that she doesn't take forever to do "that whole make up thing" then proceeds to do a full face of make up, including eye liner, blush, foundation to cover freckles & curling her hair within 15 minutes???? Bitch please. You don't have magic, remember???
For Emily, she thinks she's very progressive but definitely judges everything and everyone she sees to us, the readers. "Trailer park house was surprisingly clean for having 2 kids who live there!"
"I learned how to numb myself with food at a young age. I’d been a chunky kid growing up—like my slim, gifted siblings needed anything else to tease me about. But during nursing school, I buckled down and lost the extra weight. I wish I could say I was one of those people who didn’t have to work at maintaining a healthy weight. If I wasn’t careful, the pounds would start creeping on again. But I watched what I ate most of the time and exercised."
Has this author been to nursing school? Just curious, because I have plenty of friends who have, and ate their stress through nursing school & practicums. As someone who also eats her feelings, this passage is blatent Eating Disorder ignorance & "Pick Me" girl energy. So add Fat-phobic to the list of shit that is so unoriginal about this Mary Sue.
For someone who "doesn't have extra cash to burn" she certainly has enough to eat out for dinner almost every night, buy a new phone when her old one takes a dunk in her bath, and on top of it, where is she buying a new phone at 10pm at night? She gets home, baths, dumps phone, it's 9pm. She calls friend, goes to his work and then buys a new phone, goes home, gets dressed up, puts on her magical full face of make-up & curled hair in 15 minutes & goes to a casino to find her brother. Sure, hun. 🙄
As a Null, I wonder why she knows so much about wards and protections? I mean, she tells us within the first encounter/touch of a ward that she doesn't know what it does, but suddenly thoughout the rest of the book, she really knows what all the wards do just by feeling them energetically??
Also if Witches came out 5 years ago, why do all areas have wards? Wouldn't it take a little longer for the world to build up the ability to make magic-proof curtains in the hospital (which apparently don't get washed often, according to the logistics of why she can't have magic-proof scrubs?? But I worked in hospitals and they replace the curtains every day (or sooner depending if soiled) for cleanliness standards?????)
Every Latinx is "Hispanic." (And in case you need to know why this isn't great, Teen Vogue did a great article in 2018 on why it's problematic).
The writing itself is 30/70 of decent to a fucking slog. Walking into a casino, she makes note of everything. Plus her added opinions and imaginations. I don't fucking need to read what you imagine to happen in a casino security office. I have a pretty good idea, so skip skip skip ahead I go. Every time she pulls out her: "I imagine it's like..." I get pulled into a character who has no original thought, slogging down the pace of the story.
The racial profiling and stereotypes. Dear. Fucking. Goddess. Here's a direct quote:
"I couldn’t quite tell if he was Hispanic or Native American, which could be problematic in this region. Much like the bartender, he had a chiseled jaw, but he also had a neatly trimmed mustache riding his upper lip. Native American men tend to prefer being clean-shaven. It’s a common misconception, as a result, that they can’t grow facial hair. Random trivia. You’re welcome."
"Really, you’d think the casino netted the tribe enough money without speed-trapping all the tourists on top of it."
The only thing PROBLEMATIC here, Emily, is that you are an ER nurse who is inherently stereotyping anyone of colour.
Oh, and some casual transphobia:
"If Dan had become Danielle, I’m pretty sure Liam would have mentioned it. Then again, maybe it had been in one of those holiday updates I hadn’t read. If I hadn’t seen that photo in the bar I’d have way more cause for concern."
Again, she judges everyone around her, including other women based on their appearances, while being sexist, ageist and racist. Triple threat.
The timeline is very fuzzy here, a good editor would have been able to clean this mess up, but whatever. So we go from 9pm on Wednesday (I'm assuming??) bathing, phone dunk, driving to friends work, getting new phone, finding brother conveniently at the first casino she goes to, drives him home and then it's suddenly nighttime on Thursday?? Okay Lori Drake, I forgot your character is a Mary Sue, doesn't need to eat or sleep, nor does she get tired.
Dear fucking goddess. "A hint of Asian in her blood," REALLY??
Apparently the cops partner "ate her own gun" 3 weeks ago and he's so casual about it. 😬
She gets pulled out of work for "as long as it takes" to help this cop, and probably won't get paid. Cool. I thought she was a shunned former rich girl bullied by her family and being rebellious, but also able to afford eating out every day and a new phone but she's definitely "crunched for cash." 🙄
Emily's name at this point should be "Karen" with the amount of back-handed "compliments" and judgemental observations she makes. She's one 9-1-1 phone call away from being a true Karen, I guess. She doesn't even hold back her judgement and criticism from Witches, either. She's an ALL gender & race hater.
"To my surprise and joy, they didn’t use their magic to cover up bad musicianship and were actually great."
Also, she signed an NDA and is talking to her brother about everything she SHOULDN'T be. How am I not surprised. Rebel Emily doesn't need rules.
Almost everyone in this book is a person of colour, but the author has casually placed so much micro-aggressive racism that it doesn't make this a good read at all. All the victims are Latinx or Indigenous. It's tiring pointing out all the harmful stereotypes.
So it turns out Emily has been getting an allowance from her family, she hasn't touched it in years, so she assumes it only at a quarter of a million dollars. AND SHE STILL WONT USE IT. I don't understand this type of pride. If my family was rich assholes but still giving me an allowance, I would take it and spend it on shit I needed/wanted, knowing I was using their money for my happiness. Isn't that the ultimate revenge?? Not living in near-poverty for pride???
Oh, I thought we could get away without casual gender stereotypes in gay relationships but nope. She says this about the "love of her life" who turned out to be gay, and she still is hung up on him: "He’ll make someone a great wife one day." 🙄 😬
More fat phobic comments from terrible human being, Emily: "The uniformed woman was a little thick around the middle and obviously flattered to have the attention of a young, attractive man."
Every time Emily, the MC, makes some casual judgemental observation I ask my self why I continue to read this - since the author herself is showing her own racism, sexism, ageism and classism constantly. I'm just glad I didn't pay for this book.
So she meets a woman who appears 18 but talks/acts like she isn't, but also has a large "unattractive" scar on the side of her face. Emily keeps making mention of the "melted" side of her face, and how grotesque it is.
Ah, the conclusion of this mystery is not even surprising. A little white girl is in a magic-drained coma, and her white dad has been killing Indigenous and Latinx people to feed his daughter magic to keep her alive to try and bring her back to her "healed" self. Of course Emily, another white girl, would find sympathy with the white man and his daughter. She says this about him:
"Sure, he was basically a metaphysical rapist who’d been violating witches in the worst way, leaving behind broken husks that lacked the will to go on living. But Alice— Alice was an innocent. For a child to lose her magic so young? My heart ached for her. If there was a snowball’s chance in Phoenix that she could be healed, it was worth it."
What about the 17 year old who was drained??? Can't we fix him??? I guess he doesn't matter though, cuz little white girl needs a future amiright???
This world of magic is so fucking stupid. So, witches are encouraged to register, but have had massive hate crimes against them from 'Brotherhood of Humanity' the KKK of witches (according to Emily). And it turns out that when you register, it's PUBLICALLY SEARCHABLE. Why would ANYONE register then???? Oh, because it's the LAW?? I'm so confused as to how anyone thought this was a good idea? It's giving me real Genocide-vibes. Literally it would become a hit list for these people to go around and kill witches, oh, and it's really touch and go when you want to protect yourself from an assailant if you're a witch being attacked, in fact it's so regulated that you basically can't use magic against others. Yet we see so many people using magic against each other? Constantly? So which is it????
I will not be reading the next book. Emily was such an aimless, judgemental, shallow woman who seemed way too casually racist & sexist to bother reading about.
If you want to read well-crafted world of magic, full of bad-ass, fully-developed, determined women, try picking up Illona Andrew's Hidden Legacy series. It's better reading than this, with REAL diversity and real funny paets that aren't at the expensive of others.
It starts off interesting, and then the MC, Emily, is just another "Pick Me" girl, who claims she knows things about history but still calls Indigenous people Natives, "tribal-run" casinos & calls a "Native American" woman bartender "more handsome than pretty." (Imagine me rolling my eyes so hard at such a racial stereotype). Oh, it gets better though, she can't decide if the woman is a man or woman, because they are androgenous looking and she finds it "facinating." (So she's basically staring at this poor bartender). She then determines that the bartender is they/them, not by ASKING no, just by her own assumptions, and the bartender's gender switches from she/her to they/them on Emily's whim.
She proclaims that she doesn't take forever to do "that whole make up thing" then proceeds to do a full face of make up, including eye liner, blush, foundation to cover freckles & curling her hair within 15 minutes???? Bitch please. You don't have magic, remember???
For Emily, she thinks she's very progressive but definitely judges everything and everyone she sees to us, the readers. "Trailer park house was surprisingly clean for having 2 kids who live there!"
"I learned how to numb myself with food at a young age. I’d been a chunky kid growing up—like my slim, gifted siblings needed anything else to tease me about. But during nursing school, I buckled down and lost the extra weight. I wish I could say I was one of those people who didn’t have to work at maintaining a healthy weight. If I wasn’t careful, the pounds would start creeping on again. But I watched what I ate most of the time and exercised."
Has this author been to nursing school? Just curious, because I have plenty of friends who have, and ate their stress through nursing school & practicums. As someone who also eats her feelings, this passage is blatent Eating Disorder ignorance & "Pick Me" girl energy. So add Fat-phobic to the list of shit that is so unoriginal about this Mary Sue.
For someone who "doesn't have extra cash to burn" she certainly has enough to eat out for dinner almost every night, buy a new phone when her old one takes a dunk in her bath, and on top of it, where is she buying a new phone at 10pm at night? She gets home, baths, dumps phone, it's 9pm. She calls friend, goes to his work and then buys a new phone, goes home, gets dressed up, puts on her magical full face of make-up & curled hair in 15 minutes & goes to a casino to find her brother. Sure, hun. 🙄
As a Null, I wonder why she knows so much about wards and protections? I mean, she tells us within the first encounter/touch of a ward that she doesn't know what it does, but suddenly thoughout the rest of the book, she really knows what all the wards do just by feeling them energetically??
Also if Witches came out 5 years ago, why do all areas have wards? Wouldn't it take a little longer for the world to build up the ability to make magic-proof curtains in the hospital (which apparently don't get washed often, according to the logistics of why she can't have magic-proof scrubs?? But I worked in hospitals and they replace the curtains every day (or sooner depending if soiled) for cleanliness standards?????)
Every Latinx is "Hispanic." (And in case you need to know why this isn't great, Teen Vogue did a great article in 2018 on why it's problematic).
The writing itself is 30/70 of decent to a fucking slog. Walking into a casino, she makes note of everything. Plus her added opinions and imaginations. I don't fucking need to read what you imagine to happen in a casino security office. I have a pretty good idea, so skip skip skip ahead I go. Every time she pulls out her: "I imagine it's like..." I get pulled into a character who has no original thought, slogging down the pace of the story.
The racial profiling and stereotypes. Dear. Fucking. Goddess. Here's a direct quote:
"I couldn’t quite tell if he was Hispanic or Native American, which could be problematic in this region. Much like the bartender, he had a chiseled jaw, but he also had a neatly trimmed mustache riding his upper lip. Native American men tend to prefer being clean-shaven. It’s a common misconception, as a result, that they can’t grow facial hair. Random trivia. You’re welcome."
"Really, you’d think the casino netted the tribe enough money without speed-trapping all the tourists on top of it."
The only thing PROBLEMATIC here, Emily, is that you are an ER nurse who is inherently stereotyping anyone of colour.
Oh, and some casual transphobia:
"If Dan had become Danielle, I’m pretty sure Liam would have mentioned it. Then again, maybe it had been in one of those holiday updates I hadn’t read. If I hadn’t seen that photo in the bar I’d have way more cause for concern."
Again, she judges everyone around her, including other women based on their appearances, while being sexist, ageist and racist. Triple threat.
The timeline is very fuzzy here, a good editor would have been able to clean this mess up, but whatever. So we go from 9pm on Wednesday (I'm assuming??) bathing, phone dunk, driving to friends work, getting new phone, finding brother conveniently at the first casino she goes to, drives him home and then it's suddenly nighttime on Thursday?? Okay Lori Drake, I forgot your character is a Mary Sue, doesn't need to eat or sleep, nor does she get tired.
Dear fucking goddess. "A hint of Asian in her blood," REALLY??
Apparently the cops partner "ate her own gun" 3 weeks ago and he's so casual about it. 😬
She gets pulled out of work for "as long as it takes" to help this cop, and probably won't get paid. Cool. I thought she was a shunned former rich girl bullied by her family and being rebellious, but also able to afford eating out every day and a new phone but she's definitely "crunched for cash." 🙄
Emily's name at this point should be "Karen" with the amount of back-handed "compliments" and judgemental observations she makes. She's one 9-1-1 phone call away from being a true Karen, I guess. She doesn't even hold back her judgement and criticism from Witches, either. She's an ALL gender & race hater.
"To my surprise and joy, they didn’t use their magic to cover up bad musicianship and were actually great."
Also, she signed an NDA and is talking to her brother about everything she SHOULDN'T be. How am I not surprised. Rebel Emily doesn't need rules.
Almost everyone in this book is a person of colour, but the author has casually placed so much micro-aggressive racism that it doesn't make this a good read at all. All the victims are Latinx or Indigenous. It's tiring pointing out all the harmful stereotypes.
So it turns out Emily has been getting an allowance from her family, she hasn't touched it in years, so she assumes it only at a quarter of a million dollars. AND SHE STILL WONT USE IT. I don't understand this type of pride. If my family was rich assholes but still giving me an allowance, I would take it and spend it on shit I needed/wanted, knowing I was using their money for my happiness. Isn't that the ultimate revenge?? Not living in near-poverty for pride???
Oh, I thought we could get away without casual gender stereotypes in gay relationships but nope. She says this about the "love of her life" who turned out to be gay, and she still is hung up on him: "He’ll make someone a great wife one day." 🙄 😬
More fat phobic comments from terrible human being, Emily: "The uniformed woman was a little thick around the middle and obviously flattered to have the attention of a young, attractive man."
Every time Emily, the MC, makes some casual judgemental observation I ask my self why I continue to read this - since the author herself is showing her own racism, sexism, ageism and classism constantly. I'm just glad I didn't pay for this book.
So she meets a woman who appears 18 but talks/acts like she isn't, but also has a large "unattractive" scar on the side of her face. Emily keeps making mention of the "melted" side of her face, and how grotesque it is.
Ah, the conclusion of this mystery is not even surprising. A little white girl is in a magic-drained coma, and her white dad has been killing Indigenous and Latinx people to feed his daughter magic to keep her alive to try and bring her back to her "healed" self. Of course Emily, another white girl, would find sympathy with the white man and his daughter. She says this about him:
"Sure, he was basically a metaphysical rapist who’d been violating witches in the worst way, leaving behind broken husks that lacked the will to go on living. But Alice— Alice was an innocent. For a child to lose her magic so young? My heart ached for her. If there was a snowball’s chance in Phoenix that she could be healed, it was worth it."
What about the 17 year old who was drained??? Can't we fix him??? I guess he doesn't matter though, cuz little white girl needs a future amiright???
This world of magic is so fucking stupid. So, witches are encouraged to register, but have had massive hate crimes against them from 'Brotherhood of Humanity' the KKK of witches (according to Emily). And it turns out that when you register, it's PUBLICALLY SEARCHABLE. Why would ANYONE register then???? Oh, because it's the LAW?? I'm so confused as to how anyone thought this was a good idea? It's giving me real Genocide-vibes. Literally it would become a hit list for these people to go around and kill witches, oh, and it's really touch and go when you want to protect yourself from an assailant if you're a witch being attacked, in fact it's so regulated that you basically can't use magic against others. Yet we see so many people using magic against each other? Constantly? So which is it????
I will not be reading the next book. Emily was such an aimless, judgemental, shallow woman who seemed way too casually racist & sexist to bother reading about.
If you want to read well-crafted world of magic, full of bad-ass, fully-developed, determined women, try picking up Illona Andrew's Hidden Legacy series. It's better reading than this, with REAL diversity and real funny paets that aren't at the expensive of others.
August 20, 2020
There are several minor inconsistencies in the plot that began to make me think the author wasn’t really on top of the story. A police officer can get an ER nurse off work for a week with just a thirty second conversation? It was made clear that Emily was not well off and her nurse’s pay was all she had to live on, the loss of a weeks wage would be highly significant.
Also I never really understood the magic system and Emily’s abilities, there was magic going backwards and forwards but it wasn’t really explained that well.
Having said all that, I actually enjoyed quite a lot of the story, even though I thought there was a lot of ‘filler’ and it would have been a lot better if at least half the men in Emily’s life just disappeared, especially Daniel, who was seriously annoying. Unfortunately I think the author really wanted to write romances.
If possible I would have given 2.5 stars
Also I never really understood the magic system and Emily’s abilities, there was magic going backwards and forwards but it wasn’t really explained that well.
Having said all that, I actually enjoyed quite a lot of the story, even though I thought there was a lot of ‘filler’ and it would have been a lot better if at least half the men in Emily’s life just disappeared, especially Daniel, who was seriously annoying. Unfortunately I think the author really wanted to write romances.
If possible I would have given 2.5 stars
January 6, 2020
This is book one of the SecondHand Magic series and follows the main character Emily Davenport in her day to day life. She is from a hugely magical family and is the only one with no magic at all. She has had to put up with being called a ‘Null’ all of her life, especially from her brothers. Her mother is the matriarch of the family, who can trace their magical lines from before the Salem Witches and are a powerful family. Emily is a complete failure in her family’s eyes and left as soon as she could to go and work as far away as possible from them all, in New Mexico, and has only little contact with one of her brothers.
She works as an ER nurse and can see whether people have magic or not. Since magic got revealed worldwide, those wishing to practise magic have to be registered and must follow a certain set of rules when doing so, to protect the rest of the population. Everywhere has magical wards to detect illegal wards or magic, especially places like casinos and banks. Even the hospital where Emily works, has magically enhanced cubicle curtains, to ensure a witch doesn’t injure a medical person trying to assist them, when they may not be in control of their magic through injury.
One night she observes a young woman being brought into the ER, who she knows is a witch, but who has burnt up all of her magic, leaving just a husk behind. This is not something that happens very often and she considers it unusual. There is something familiar about the patient, but she can’t remember where she knows her from at that moment. She reports this case to her local police station and soon learns there has been another case as well. The two victims were part of the same coven. The policeman she gets shown to, named Escobar, is a mundane, a non-magical person, who is the only officer working in the magic Crime department. His magical partner apparently killed herself just a few weeks previously and no one has replaced her.
Escobar needs the assistance of Emily to try and solve this latest case and finds herself getting back in touch with another of her brothers, when she finds he is linked to one of the victims. He has been cast out of the family by their mother for a deed of his and is now been bound by his mother and unable to do any magic. His mother is punishing him and making him live as a normal person! When he turns up and Emily gets him away from trouble, they come across a strange sight, of a witch being drained of their magic right in front of them. A magical trail is flowing into the sky and away into the distance. Someone must be doing this, but they aren’t even nearby!
Emily’s brother Daniel can’t do anything, so Emily tries to get the man’s attention and suddenly experiences weird sensations travelling up her arms, where she has grabbed him. She has awoken a strange magical ability in herself without knowing how and manages to save the man’s life. She has no idea what she did and still has no magic of her own. She has to find out more about what she did and how she did it. She gets taken to visit an isolated woman on one of the Indian reservations, to learn more about this. She finds out this is a very rare power that she has and it may be a way to save her own kind.
She and Escobar, with Daniel’s magical knowledge to help them out, still have to find out who is responsible for the burnouts of numerous witches, over a period of some weeks. The reason behind these events is certainly not what you might expect and how Emily can put a stop to this is still a painful event. Emily may now have a magical skill, but without her own magic, she still feels somewhat of a ‘null’, as she has been called all her life. She asks Daniel not to tell the rest of her family. What she will do with this newly discovered ‘power’ is for the next books in the series to reveal to the readers. I, for one, can’t wait to see what happens next. I received an ARC copy of this book from BookSprout and I have freely given my own opinion of the book above.
She works as an ER nurse and can see whether people have magic or not. Since magic got revealed worldwide, those wishing to practise magic have to be registered and must follow a certain set of rules when doing so, to protect the rest of the population. Everywhere has magical wards to detect illegal wards or magic, especially places like casinos and banks. Even the hospital where Emily works, has magically enhanced cubicle curtains, to ensure a witch doesn’t injure a medical person trying to assist them, when they may not be in control of their magic through injury.
One night she observes a young woman being brought into the ER, who she knows is a witch, but who has burnt up all of her magic, leaving just a husk behind. This is not something that happens very often and she considers it unusual. There is something familiar about the patient, but she can’t remember where she knows her from at that moment. She reports this case to her local police station and soon learns there has been another case as well. The two victims were part of the same coven. The policeman she gets shown to, named Escobar, is a mundane, a non-magical person, who is the only officer working in the magic Crime department. His magical partner apparently killed herself just a few weeks previously and no one has replaced her.
Escobar needs the assistance of Emily to try and solve this latest case and finds herself getting back in touch with another of her brothers, when she finds he is linked to one of the victims. He has been cast out of the family by their mother for a deed of his and is now been bound by his mother and unable to do any magic. His mother is punishing him and making him live as a normal person! When he turns up and Emily gets him away from trouble, they come across a strange sight, of a witch being drained of their magic right in front of them. A magical trail is flowing into the sky and away into the distance. Someone must be doing this, but they aren’t even nearby!
Emily’s brother Daniel can’t do anything, so Emily tries to get the man’s attention and suddenly experiences weird sensations travelling up her arms, where she has grabbed him. She has awoken a strange magical ability in herself without knowing how and manages to save the man’s life. She has no idea what she did and still has no magic of her own. She has to find out more about what she did and how she did it. She gets taken to visit an isolated woman on one of the Indian reservations, to learn more about this. She finds out this is a very rare power that she has and it may be a way to save her own kind.
She and Escobar, with Daniel’s magical knowledge to help them out, still have to find out who is responsible for the burnouts of numerous witches, over a period of some weeks. The reason behind these events is certainly not what you might expect and how Emily can put a stop to this is still a painful event. Emily may now have a magical skill, but without her own magic, she still feels somewhat of a ‘null’, as she has been called all her life. She asks Daniel not to tell the rest of her family. What she will do with this newly discovered ‘power’ is for the next books in the series to reveal to the readers. I, for one, can’t wait to see what happens next. I received an ARC copy of this book from BookSprout and I have freely given my own opinion of the book above.
June 16, 2020
Null or just foolish
The premise of the story wasn’t bad but the leading character, Emily , just made incredibly foolish choices and appeared to be okay with people attacking her. Additionally, it was completely unbelievable that an ER nurse could just be pulled out of work for a week, which was noted in the story to be a hectic schedule, to consult for the police.
The premise of the story wasn’t bad but the leading character, Emily , just made incredibly foolish choices and appeared to be okay with people attacking her. Additionally, it was completely unbelievable that an ER nurse could just be pulled out of work for a week, which was noted in the story to be a hectic schedule, to consult for the police.
December 22, 2021
(FYI I tend to only review one book per series, unless I completely change my mind on a series, so want to change my scoring.)
2.5*
Nice idea, just some of the stuff didn't make sense. (Sorry not well and can't put it into words, but glancing at other lower ratings, the other reviewers have done a good job of that for me.)
First time read the author's work?: Yes
Will you be reading more?: Possibly -- I actually read the first 3 and the rating is for all of them.
Would you recommend?: Possibly
------------
How I rate Stars: 5* = I loved (must read all I can find by the author)
4* = I really enjoyed (got to read all the series and try other books by the author).
3* = I enjoyed (I will continue to read the series)
or
3* = Good book just not my thing (I realised I don't like the genre or picked up a kids book to review in error.)
All of the above scores means I would recommend them!
-
2* = it was okay (I might give the next book in the series a try, to see if that was better IMHO.)
1* = Disliked
Note: adding these basic 'reviews' after finding out that some people see the stars differently than I do - hoping this clarifies how I feel about the book. :-)
2.5*
Nice idea, just some of the stuff didn't make sense. (Sorry not well and can't put it into words, but glancing at other lower ratings, the other reviewers have done a good job of that for me.)
First time read the author's work?: Yes
Will you be reading more?: Possibly -- I actually read the first 3 and the rating is for all of them.
Would you recommend?: Possibly
------------
How I rate Stars: 5* = I loved (must read all I can find by the author)
4* = I really enjoyed (got to read all the series and try other books by the author).
3* = I enjoyed (I will continue to read the series)
or
3* = Good book just not my thing (I realised I don't like the genre or picked up a kids book to review in error.)
All of the above scores means I would recommend them!
-
2* = it was okay (I might give the next book in the series a try, to see if that was better IMHO.)
1* = Disliked
Note: adding these basic 'reviews' after finding out that some people see the stars differently than I do - hoping this clarifies how I feel about the book. :-)
January 17, 2021
I liked the world and the story telling, I am just not sure I connect to the characters. It is a stand alone book right now but obviously there intends to be a second one so let us see.
The book was about complicated family relationships, complicated friendships and just complicated things all around, yet I felt not enough emphasis was put on any of those relationships. Something I am becoming keenly aware of is female friendships. Why are so many of our protagonists so isolated. She didnt have any close friends in her life, just an ex Matt who came out as gay and is now her bestie perpetually trying to set her up. There were not any other female characters introduced and given any importance to (except the dead victims). I will try the next book that comes out because the first in the series can always be an outlier as a world is created.
The book was about complicated family relationships, complicated friendships and just complicated things all around, yet I felt not enough emphasis was put on any of those relationships. Something I am becoming keenly aware of is female friendships. Why are so many of our protagonists so isolated. She didnt have any close friends in her life, just an ex Matt who came out as gay and is now her bestie perpetually trying to set her up. There were not any other female characters introduced and given any importance to (except the dead victims). I will try the next book that comes out because the first in the series can always be an outlier as a world is created.
January 22, 2023
It was ok. A bit all over the place and the 1st person POV felt quite jarring especially after spending the last couple of weeks reading only regular 3rd person POV books. Guess, I'll just never be a fan of 1st person POV.
The most annoying and distracting thing about it were the conversations between Emily and the other characters and her habit of giving a non-stop running commentary on the presently ongoing conversation. ugh.
Still, I liked the overall story. Emily was fairly likeable, even if there were a few too many romantic interests for my liking
Oh and I really wasn't thrilled with Dan and Em going all TSTL towards the end. Really?!? Or how things played out with the perp, you know, him essentially ending up as a martyr. Very unsatisfactory.
Less "cool" conversations with the reader more everything building/development - world, character, story/plot
The most annoying and distracting thing about it were the conversations between Emily and the other characters and her habit of giving a non-stop running commentary on the presently ongoing conversation. ugh.
Still, I liked the overall story. Emily was fairly likeable, even if there were a few too many romantic interests for my liking
Oh and I really wasn't thrilled with Dan and Em going all TSTL towards the end. Really?!? Or how things played out with the perp, you know, him essentially ending up as a martyr. Very unsatisfactory.
Less "cool" conversations with the reader more everything building/development - world, character, story/plot
January 4, 2020
Wonderful Partnership Indeedy
I can't wait for book 2. This is a well constructed storyline with speaking characters ¡
There are so many threads all cohesive to this story it gave me chills!! I know three are many parts of this book w will see again, Emily's mother being one I'm sure! Once she finds out...and she will, well she'll want her daughter now. Won't she?
And that's not even the main part Not even a teeny tiny bit of the story! But it does the detail Lori Drake has injected into this series, that it has stuck with me.
I look forward to seeing Emily, Dan, Matt Escobar, and John again. Soon i hope.
Highly recommend
I can't wait for book 2. This is a well constructed storyline with speaking characters ¡
There are so many threads all cohesive to this story it gave me chills!! I know three are many parts of this book w will see again, Emily's mother being one I'm sure! Once she finds out...and she will, well she'll want her daughter now. Won't she?
And that's not even the main part Not even a teeny tiny bit of the story! But it does the detail Lori Drake has injected into this series, that it has stuck with me.
I look forward to seeing Emily, Dan, Matt Escobar, and John again. Soon i hope.
Highly recommend
January 9, 2020
This was a really great book. It was also very original with its take on witches. The fact that you can be from a powerful witch family and not have any magic is crazy. Emily is a nurse and a woman is brought in unresponsive. They can't find anything wrong with her but Emily knows the woman is a witch and she has burned out. Later that night she dies. This prompts Emily to seek out her friends. The characters are compelling and the story is well written with an air of mystery. I loved it. I cannot wait for the next book to come out.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
May 15, 2020
it was different...
...in a good way, a very good way. The magic system is unusual, I liked the characters and their relationships, I really appreciated that the MC was looking but hadn’t found anyone in particular, so a romance wasn’t in really the picture (there were hints for maybe later, but nothing tangible right now). I felt both the hurt and the love in the sister-brother interchanges, and even the few dumb things the MC did made sense because of who she is as a person. I liked this one a lot and will buy the rest of the series.
...in a good way, a very good way. The magic system is unusual, I liked the characters and their relationships, I really appreciated that the MC was looking but hadn’t found anyone in particular, so a romance wasn’t in really the picture (there were hints for maybe later, but nothing tangible right now). I felt both the hurt and the love in the sister-brother interchanges, and even the few dumb things the MC did made sense because of who she is as a person. I liked this one a lot and will buy the rest of the series.
May 3, 2021
A very captivating book with lots of twists and turns. From the comparative calm of ER nursing, Emily is pushed into helping to find the cause of the mysterious deaths that are happening to Witches that are being brought into her Hospital and showing all the signs of being drained of their magical craft. Someone is draining them and leaving a husk of a person and the police need her help.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and managed to learn a couple or so new delicious sounding words. I can't wait to start reading Hollow Witch, Secondhand Magic #2
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and managed to learn a couple or so new delicious sounding words. I can't wait to start reading Hollow Witch, Secondhand Magic #2
January 27, 2023
1 star — they kept calling indigenous people “indians” (which just personally rubbed me the wrong way) and i developed such a strong hate against fmc and all of the characters in general lol the lack of logic by the author in regards to police procedures or real life circumstances was just the cherry on top of this dumpster fire (i.e. fmc getting off work without a complaint??? consulting with no expertise???) 🤡 i connected with NO ONE and i did not want to. i skimmed the end bc i just did not care anymore.
March 21, 2020
A fun novel…Just the escape I needed!
Thumbs up for Null Witch. I enjoyed the relatable characters, especially the main protagonist. It was fun being inside her head. The story unfolded in a believable way and I felt drawn into this new world where people have magical powers.
What I loved most were the sarcastic quips throughout, causing me to laugh aloud a bunch of times. The unexpected twists and turns along the way made this a fun and memorable read.
What I loved most were the sarcastic quips throughout, causing me to laugh aloud a bunch of times. The unexpected twists and turns along the way made this a fun and memorable read.
January 5, 2020
I can't wait for book 2. This is a well constructed storyline with speaking characters
There are so many threads all cohesive to this story it gave me chills!! I know three are many parts of this book w will see again, Emily's mother being one I'm sure! Once she finds out...and she will, well she'll want her daughter now. Won't she?
And that's not even the main part Not even a teeny tiny bit of the story! But it does the detail Lori Drake has injected into this series, that it has stuck with me.
I look forward to seeing Emily, Dan, Matt Escobar, and John again. Soon i hope.
Highly recommend
There are so many threads all cohesive to this story it gave me chills!! I know three are many parts of this book w will see again, Emily's mother being one I'm sure! Once she finds out...and she will, well she'll want her daughter now. Won't she?
And that's not even the main part Not even a teeny tiny bit of the story! But it does the detail Lori Drake has injected into this series, that it has stuck with me.
I look forward to seeing Emily, Dan, Matt Escobar, and John again. Soon i hope.
Highly recommend
January 21, 2020
A witch with no magic. A magic cup who is not witch at all. And when bodies starts to piling up they have to cooperating to catch the killer. Well written story with good reality and plot. Easy to read and relaxing but keeping me reading.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
January 26, 2020
Null Witch by Lori Drake is such a wonderful story to read. This is book number one in this wonderful start to a brand new series that I have fallen in love with and can not wait to read the next book in this series.I highly recommend this story to everyone who loves reading about witches and fantasy.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
May 25, 2020
Well done
A few grammatical issues, but nothing story-killing. Didn't detract from the plot. The character building pulled me in just as much as figuring out what happened to the witches. I probably would've preferred more insight into the reaming she and her brother got, but that won't stop me from stalking my inbox for word on when book 2 comes out, honestly.
A few grammatical issues, but nothing story-killing. Didn't detract from the plot. The character building pulled me in just as much as figuring out what happened to the witches. I probably would've preferred more insight into the reaming she and her brother got, but that won't stop me from stalking my inbox for word on when book 2 comes out, honestly.
August 8, 2020
There's nothing Dull about being a Null
It's a good start to a interesting series. An amusing heroine with unresolved family issues, a supportive best friend, and a job she loves. But she never realized how bored she felt how many much man candy she would meet until the local police had her help with solving some magical murders.
It's a good start to a interesting series. An amusing heroine with unresolved family issues, a supportive best friend, and a job she loves. But she never realized how bored she felt how many much man candy she would meet until the local police had her help with solving some magical murders.
January 10, 2020
good book, The usual Null, was some one that could cancel out all magic within a certain range from them- as in a vampire suddenly was human again has to remember to breathe, a werewolf was suddenly running around naked- so this was a twist. should read, looking forward to next book
June 24, 2020
A great read
I really enjoyed this book. It was well written and the storyline flowed at a fast pace. I couldn't put it down. The characters were quirky, engaging and fun. Highly recommend.
I really enjoyed this book. It was well written and the storyline flowed at a fast pace. I couldn't put it down. The characters were quirky, engaging and fun. Highly recommend.
July 16, 2020
Fun read
Really enjoyable read! I’m usually a harsh critic but I highly recommend this book. Emily was relatable, interesting and didn’t have any “omg why is she so whiny” angsty heroine moments throughout the story. I can’t wait to read more!
Really enjoyable read! I’m usually a harsh critic but I highly recommend this book. Emily was relatable, interesting and didn’t have any “omg why is she so whiny” angsty heroine moments throughout the story. I can’t wait to read more!
August 11, 2020
Interesting
Being a null is the new hit thing in paranormal. This was a solid run at the concept. Emily is an accidental detective learning she is not quite as useless as she thought magically. Her relationship with her brother and best friend are the most interesting.
Being a null is the new hit thing in paranormal. This was a solid run at the concept. Emily is an accidental detective learning she is not quite as useless as she thought magically. Her relationship with her brother and best friend are the most interesting.
September 6, 2022
I liked the story and the characters are somewhat interesting, but I’m not sure if I want to read another book or not. Mostly because it has no really interesting male characters, some are nice but mostly average.
January 6, 2020
So. Fun. Engaging characters, crisp dialogue, and a haunting mystery at the core. Can't wait for the next in series!
May 3, 2020
💯 KINDLE UNLIMITED
The book had an interesting plot, but I was turned off by how every character seemed to constantly smirk and how easily a nurse was recruited to being a sleuth.
The book had an interesting plot, but I was turned off by how every character seemed to constantly smirk and how easily a nurse was recruited to being a sleuth.
July 6, 2020
Nice read
This is the first novel I’ve read by this author. It was good enough for me to start reading her earlier work.
This is the first novel I’ve read by this author. It was good enough for me to start reading her earlier work.
February 6, 2021
Not for me. Didn't pick up and just wasn't interesting enough to continue past 40 %
June 12, 2021
Boring. Loads of characters and no substance. Seriously annoying brother and a sister that can't remember a thing growing up in a very old established coven. Yawn
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