A Witch's Journey (A Witch's Journey, #1)

by Tena Stetler

[Nadz@Totally Addicted to Reading]

2.5 Stars
My main purpose for reading is to escape reality for a few hours. I expect my trip into the world of fantasy to be lively, engrossing and exciting. As such when the end draws near, I will be sad but exhilarated. Unfortunately, A WITCH'S JOURNEY did not hold this kind of appeal. Instead, it left me feeling cheated by spending time reading a story that did not deliver what I expected.

A WITCH'S JOURNEY tells the story of a witch named Pepper McKay. She is a licensed rehab specialist for a wildlife rescue habitat located in Salem. She was forced to quit her job and leave Salem when she was caught practicing magic. Just when things seem to be going downhill, she discovered that she was the sole inheritor of her aunt's estate in Lobster Cove. In the midst of looking after the details of her inheritance, she met Lathen Quartz.

Lathen is a man of mystery. He is an ex-navy SEAL. He had suffered injuries while on duty, which left him physically and mentally scarred. He was estranged from his family as a result. He relocated to Lobster Cove to escape his demons. He would learn, however, that the only way he would heal was by facing those demons. The concept was good, but the execution was flat. I was expecting suspense, action, and drama, but what I got was a story about a witch who has embraced her powers, fell in love and decided to start her own wildlife rescue habitat. All this is good, but it would have been nice if the story had some pizzazz. Based on the blurb I was expecting that there would be some conflict between the protagonists and the antagonist, however, there was none whatsoever. I kept waiting for the big showdown, but it never came.

I found the character development to be of most interest. I say this because the author provided sufficient back story on the characters, making them easy to relate to. It was easy to understand the reason for their actions. As the story progressed, I learned new things about them and by the time the story ended, it was evident that they had matured. The things that were holding them back were no longer an issue. I found the relationship between the main characters to be too perfect. First of all, they fell for each other rather fast. They had issues like any normal couple would have, however, never once throughout the story did I see these issues being addressed. They were always happy, which I found unrealistic. The only thing real about their relationship was the sex.

There is another aspect of the story that had me puzzled. When Lathen had just moved to Lobster Cove, there was a woman named Kate who wanted to get her hooks into him. He showed no interest but she was pushy and was not pleased when Pepper came into the picture. I was expecting some drama here, but alas, there was none. It felt as if some parts of the story were missing. For example, there was a scene where Lathen, his brother and his father were going to take part in an activity; however, I have no idea if it happened as immediately after it was mentioned, another scene which was totally unrelated began. There were other incidences of this happening. As a result, I found that the story did not flow fluidly. There were some details that I felt did not add to the story

Verdict: This book had so much potential. As stated earlier, the concept was good. The story about witches, magic, and other paranormal activities was good. It was these aspects that kept me reading. However, the lack of a good plot left me feeling cheated in the end.