A Hiss-tory of Magic

by Harper Lin

[jesstheaudiobookworm]

4.25★ Audiobook⎮Confession: I’m a crazy cat lady. With three rescues of my own, it’s fair to say I’m upset with all things feline. So, of course, A Hiss-tory of Magic was an automatic listen for me. It helps that I’m also interested in Paranormal fiction, specifically books pertaining to magic. The crossover between witches/magic and cats is my literary sweet spot.

I’ve never heard of Harper Lin, much less heard anything from her, so I had no idea what to expect from this. I was in the mood for something light and quirky and A Hiss-tory of Magic delivered. It turned out to be considerably more substantive than I was expecting. I’ve heard cozy mysteries where animals help their human familiars solve crimes, but they always end up being shallow and downright silly. A Hiss-tory of Magic was a fair bit more intellectual, as cozy mysteries go.

For starters, the writing was heads and tails above anything similar that I’ve heard. Lin dedicated significant time to world building and character development, while balancing the action and plot. There wasn’t a whole lot going on in the romance department, which suited me just fine. There’s plenty of time for something romantic to develop at a more natural pace in future installments.

A Hiss-tory of Magic felt more like the first installment in a series rather than a serial. It reminded me a lot Halfway Dead and somewhat of The Lazy Girls Guide to Magic. There’s so much potential here. A Hiss-tory of Magic set this series off to a great start. There’s a good chance I will continue with it.

Narration review: I have to consider the narration of A Hiss-tory of Magic to be its weakest point. Although, it certainly wasn’t terrible, by any means. Anne James has a pleasant timbre to her voice and she provided adequate characterization. But there was something off with her pacing and inflection that kept niggling the back of my mind throughout the production. It always seemed like she was over enunciating the words and her inflections seemed to rise at the end of statements, making them sound like questions.

Overall, this wasn’t a huge deal. But it did slightly detract from my listening experience, so it’s worth a mention. I will say, however, That it wouldn’t stop me from hearing the rest of the series (once it’s released). ♣︎