{REVIEW} AUDREY'S GUIDE TO WITCHCRAFT by JODY GEHRMAN

Series: Audrey's Guide #1
Genre: Paranormal YA
Publisher: Magic Genie Books
Publication Date: 6/30/12
Format: ebook (Kindle)
Pages: 293
Source: Received from author for review

Falling in Love, baking a magical cake, fighting an evil necromancer—it’s all in a day’s work for Audrey Oliver, seventeen-year-old witch-in-training.

When her mother goes missing and her twenty-one-year-old witchy cousin shows up out of the blue, Audrey knows something’s gone horribly, dangerously wrong. Now it’s up to her to get her own magical powers up to speed before everyone she loves is destroyed by the sorcerer intricately connected to her mother’s secret past.

Audrey's Guide to Witchcraft was a story that I had been looking forward to reading for months. I held off until the week of Halloween, thinking that I would be in the perfect mood for some magic.

The story was fun had a lot of sweet moments. Audrey was a main character that I did enjoy. She was kind, thoughtful, and smart. She feels as if her younger, rocker sister, Meg, outshines her. And in some ways, Meg did outshine Audrey. So did their cousin/temporary guardian, Sadie. Sadie and Meg were fun, quirky characters and in comparison, Audrey sometimes felt...tame. And that's okay because that's simply who Audrey was, quiet and calm.

Things liven up for Audrey, though, when she meets Julian and the sparks fly! Literally. Audrey and Julian share a mystical connection that I never quite understood, but it did provide for the sweetest, most magical moments in the story. I love that he pushed Audrey to be up front with him, but didn't bully her into giving him answers that would put them both in more danger. He was very understanding of Audrey's quirkiness, probably a bit too understanding to be quite believable, but still, I enjoyed him.

Since I mentioned believability, I have to say that this was my only true issue with the story. Audrey and Meg's mom goes missing. A mysterious "cousin" shows up, says their mom had something to attend to, and doesn't give them a way to contact her. Instead of pitching the mother of all hissy fits and demanding answers, Audrey and Meg just go with it. They don't really like situation, but they don't fight it, and Meg even throws a party. I just didn't understand this angle, and felt like it was simply too easy.

However, I did enjoy Audrey's Guide to Witchcraft. It was magical, sweet and fun. I enjoyed watching Audrey develop and embrace her powers. The romance was just perfect to fit the tone of the story, and the ending was very dramatic. I do feel that younger teens would especially enjoy Audrey's story.

Full of sweet magic and a sweet leading character, Audrey's Guide to Witchcraft is a story that will appeal to fans of teen witches.



Favorite Quote:

  "Just then the moon emerged from where it had been hiding behind a cloud and silvery light spilled onto the porch. I could see Julian's face much more clearly. The effect was peculiar, though. Half of his face, lit dimly by the living room lights spilling through the big bay windows, gleamed with color; the other half, now illuminated by moonlight, looked monochromatic. The result was a weird blending of old and new, like film reel that was half color, half black and white.  As our eyes locked, I felt wind rushing through me. Only his sincere brown eyes boring steadily into mine kept me from spinning off into the star-spattered sky."  (13%)



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