Audrey's Guide to Witchcraft

by Jody Gehrman

• ASIN: B008G7L6TS
• Publish Date: 2012
• Publish Status: Unknown
• Format: eBook (Kindle)
• Pages: 293
• Language: English

Reviews

[Kim Deister]

Audrey's Guide to Witchcraft is a quick and fun magical read. I love witchy books and this one had both a sweet romance and a good mystery to keep me engrossed.

Audrey is one of those main characters that is easy to like. She is a smart and thoughtful person, but she has insecurities, too. Her younger sister is everything she is not... outgoing, perky, a budding rock star. Sadie, too, her eccentric and vivid "cousin," also makes her feel a little tame. It is the realization that she is more than she knew that really makes Audrey grow into her own.

The romance in this story isn't insta-love, which I liked. In fact, Audrey is so certain that he will fall for her more outgoing sister that she barely entertains the thought of liking Julian for herself. I like that the romance didn't come easily, but was something that developed over time. complete with some rather unusual obstacles.

I loved Audrey's journal and I wish there had been a little more of it. It was sort of a blend of recipes and witchy notes and it was a lot of fun. I also wished we had had a bit more of her mother in the book to really understand their relationship, etc.

I do love the mythology of the witchy side of the story. There were bits of realism mixed with the fantastical and it was a great blend.

My Recommendation: This is a fun witchy read!

[kimbacaffeinate]

Audrey’s Guide to Witchcraft has a gorgeous cover and inside there is a terrific spell-casting, character filled tale that kept me spellbound. Witches, necromancers, swoon worthy guys and a chocolate cake with raspberries that should be illegal! This witchy tale offered a great start to a new series.

The tale pulls you in from the start. We meet protagonist Audrey and things are about to turn upside down in her fairly normal little life. First, strange things happen at school that kind of freak her out, she has some weird visions/daydreams and a nagging, persistent feeling that something is wrong with her Mom. When she gets home she and her sister are greeted by their supposed cousin, twenty-one year old Sadie. Sadie informs them their mother has had to go home to deal with a family emergency. Audrey and Meg have never met their mother’s side of the family and something just feels wrong. Stranger still weird things are happening to Audrey. Mix in a cute boy who does things to her, the weird dude from her dreams and her unusual cousin and you have the makings for a witchy tale. The tale that unfolded kept me enchanted, as the tale slowly picked up speed and things were revealed to us.

Audrey is a typical teenager, who is eager to take on the world. She loves cooking and chemistry and I ended up liking this geeky, nerd girl. Her sister Meg is one of those girls who seems to have it all, from the way she walks to her ease at being center stage. Sadie was totally cool and just gave of that whole 'hippy-vibe'. I found her to be funny, quirky and quick-witted. I so want to read more about her! Bridget is Audrey’s best friend, and I liked this nerd girl with her made up vocabulary. I admired how loyal Audrey was to her, but also loved the growth we saw in Bridget. Julian is yummy, and I am very curious about him and the effects he has on Audrey. Overall the characters were fairly fleshed out but still have the potential to be more as the series progresses. The romance is sweet, funny, smexy and served on the side is this tale.

Gehrman adds her own delightful twists and colorful characters to a tried and true formula creating a fun, silly, captivating read that kept me intrigued as the tale unfolded. The tale had dark and suspenseful moments filled with evil, necromancers, zombie type creatures and witchy goodness. Gehrman made baking sensual even magical and I liked this added element. I want to test out that chocolate cake recipe..Eep! Audrey’s powers, the coven’s rules, spells mentioned and other witchy details were fascinating. The pacing was perfect and slowly built to the intense climax. While the tale is far from over, she skillfully avoided the dreaded cliffhanger.
Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer

[Angie]

It all starts with a man's face in the custard and the appearance of a long lost, quite eccentric, "cousin". Then 17 year old Audrey's life as she knows it is changed forever. It turns out she's a witch, who just happened to blossom a little later than usual. It comes as a shock to Audrey, but it's also a pleasant surprise since she's always been in her younger sister's, Meg, shadow. Meg is a major pain, by the way!

I really loved all of the magical aspects in the book! It was like I was learning magic along side Audrey, which was fun. The scene of her attempting levitation while "sky clad" was hilarious! Sadie, the mysterious "cousin," was such a great character. She's 21, a witch, and trying to teach Audrey how to use her magic without really understanding it herself. She might be not much older than Audrey and Meg, but she has an air of authority around her. Of course, Audrey is a very likeable character, too. She as her "woe is me" moments from lack of self confidence, but I do think most readers will like her.

Let's talk about the romance for just a second. It's not a huge part of the story, but there's some elements to it that stood out to me. For one, it's electric! Literally. There's some kind of electric current between Audrey and Julian. I can't say more, or I'll spoil it. The other thing, is something I didn't like at all. The inevitable relationship conflict that keeps our two love birds temporarily apart is really lame. It's unique, but it definitely felt forced and random. Other than that, this is your typical paranormal plus human romance, minus the proclamations of everlasting love.

The one other thing that I think could have been better was the bad guy. He definitely had a creepy presence throughout the entire book, but once Audrey actually comes face to face with him, well, he's super cheesy and lame. He reveals too much about his evil plans, which of course Audrey can use against him. He was just too goofy to be a believable villain.

Audrey's Guide to Witchcraft is another super fun, cute, entertaining, smile inducing read by Jody Gehrman. It has a bit of a darker edge than I was expecting, with the dark magic and mentions of blood sacrifices, but overall this is still a nice, light read. Fans of quirky paranormal books will certainly enjoy this one, too.

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.

[Kelsenator]

Originally posted on my blog Kelsey's Cluttered Bookshelf

A big thanks to the author for sending me a copy to review!

When this book first starts out, Audrey knows nothing about witches and magic. All she knows is that she feels something is wrong with her mom. Later that evening, her cousin comes to stay with her and her sister, saying her mom is taking care of a family emergency. Her mom however has never had anything to with her family as long as Audrey can remember. Strange things start happening with her and around her, and Sadie finally tells her she’s a witch, which is almost impossible with her father being a normal guy (gene passing and such).

While seeing visions of a guy that looks like a doctor, she knows something is up, and she’s not getting the whole story of what her mom is doing. Persistence and determination finally helps her lean what’s going on, but she may be in danger now as well. All she can think about though is getting her mom back safely and helping any way she can.

I liked the author’s descriptions of the magic working and how Audrey felt it, it was great. It almost had me feeling like I could be put in her shoes at those moments and use the magic for my own.The witchy gifts were also pretty cool too, who wouldn’t want to make things explode or even float above ground!

Audrey’s the uncool sister and normal girl who loves chemistry and baking. I liked how she had a notebook with her that she wrote everything in, including recipes and random lists that were usually pretty funny. She has her strong moments though, and I could definitely relate when she worried about everything that was going on, I know I tend to worry a lot too.

Her sister Meg steals most of the spotlight with her band and music, and she seems like a spoilt brat a bit when they mention she gets her way all the time with their mom. She’s not terrible, but sometimes you just want to smack some sense into her, like at one point where she makes a certain relationship all about her needs instead. Julian was a good love interest, but I did wish he was in the book a little bit more. Since it seems like there will be more books in the series though, I have hopes for that!

If you want a cute book about witches and fun characters, I definitely suggest this for you!