Book Review: The Trouble with Magic

The Trouble With Magic by Madelyn Alt
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Often when I finish reading a book, I read the reviews of others to see what I might have missed and to refresh my memory on details.

One reviewer commented that she was disturbed by the paranormal in this book, but given that it's a paranormal mystery, one would expect that. Another reviewer commented that "more of a mystery that happened to have some magic elements than it was a fantasy book," which I agree with. I prefer more paranormal in a paranormal mystery, but since this was the first in the series and we are seeing the paranormal activity through the eyes of a character who is just becoming fully aware of the paranormal world, I think it was just the right amount.

One reader felt that there was too much "Witches good, non-witches bad" (my wording) in this book, whereas another was pleased that the writer did such "a good job about explaining this misunderstood religion." I think we have to remember that this book was published in 2006 by a large publisher, which means that it was probably written around 2003 or 2004, if not earlier. Back then people felt they had to get that message across. (I'm speaking from personal experience: Someone had the same comment about my first novel, published in 2003.)

Not mentioned very often is that there's a little romance in the background. Those who like paranormal romance will find something to like here. I prefer more mystery, intrigue, and paranormal myself, but it worked with the story.

All in all, I thought it was a good start of a series and handled the paranormal well (though I was confused about why they would shut down the power so quickly after raising it in one scene). I look forward to reading the next one.

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Book Review: Dead Ever After (Sookie Stackhouse, #13) by Charlaine Harris

Dead Ever After by Charlaine Harris
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I'm always surprised by the vehemence of some of the reviews I see about the Sookie Stackhouse series. To those who complain about Harris's writing style or how simple Sookie acts, read some of Harris' other series. Her other characters can be sophisticated and complicated. Sookie is an average person. She reminds us that we don't have to be the most educated, the most wealthy, the most polished to be a worthy human being. And she reminds us that we can all make mistakes in the name of love.

Some reviews of this last book in the series are angry for another reason: They're not happy who Sookie ends up with in the end. Harris is an experienced, skilled, writer, with experienced skilled editors. If she felt that was the best ending for her story, for her book, we can be sad, we can wish it were different, but we should stand by her decision to end the series the way she did.

Would I have ended the series the same way? No. But I'm still glad I read it, and I think it was concluded reasonably well. I'll miss Sookie, but I look forward to reading Harris's other works.

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