Witch for Hire:
A 3.5* review. I received this book via an audiobook as a promotion for doing a blog tour. That being said, an audiobook can definitely influence my perception on the book as a whole.

When I first started this book, the narrator had a very grating voice which was not a good start for me. It was this weird, awkward falsetto that really annoyed me to no end. The main character is female yet for some reason, the narrator was male who tried way too hard to sound feminine but failed miserably. It took quite a while for me to finally get somewhat used to that voice before I could really enjoy the book.

However, once I managed to put that aside, I started to get into the plot and the characters. I found myself enjoying the story immensely. I liked learning about Michelle and seeing how she goes about to solving all of these problems from the police. The other character, Elron, is also a favorite of mine. The squabbles that he and Michelle goes through are hilarious and entertaining but at this point, there aren’t too many interactions between the two. However, you can definitely tell that there is tension, the good kind, between them.

What I enjoy most about the book is all of the magical creatures involved. There are elves, demons, unicorns, gargoyles, etc. and I love books like these where there is a plethora of various creatures. And with Michelle’s work as a consultant for the police, she gets right in the middle of various issues and for this book, it mostly focused on trolls.

At this point, I have finished the first three books and I have to say that the first one is probably the least interesting just because there is a lot of buildup with the characters and plot. That’s not saying that the first book isn’t entertaining on its own but out of the three, I would consider this book as mostly meant for world-building.

Overall, I did find this book an interesting read and I can’t wait to find out what the rest of the series has in store for Michelle (and Elron, hopefully).

Witch’s Path:
The best part of this book was by far the T-Rex. It came as a shock to me that this creature even existed despite the fact that it technically wasn’t alive but still. At first, I was more surprised that this T-Rex showed up and the best part came when Michelle “adopted” it and described it as the world’s largest dog but with a much greater intelligence level.

Other than that exciting tidbit, I enjoyed the book a lot. I’m glad that the relationship between Elron and Michelle are slowly developing into something more that it can actually be seen as realistic. They’re getting to know each other slowly and they’re starting to like what they see in the other. Or at least, in Michelle’s case, she’s starting to appreciate his help and interference more.

My favorite part is still Michelle’s job and how she navigates various different crazy situations and how almost all of them entails some magical creature. I really enjoy how the plot isn’t one-dimensional as in there are multiple layers. There is obviously Michelle’s job and the everyday – almost average – problems, then there are the more serious ones such as the abduction of her best friend, and finally, as the plot and book continues, there is an inkling that some far more dangerous is at play (i.e. evil sorceress wanting her dead, etc.)

I’m really excited to see how the third book develops and what happens when the power behind the sorceress is revealed and what that means for Michelle.

Witch’s Trial:
I love how fun and entertaining these books are – it’s perfect for the days when you just want to zone out and not have to think too hard in terms of what’s going to happen next for thrillers or lots of heart anxieties with those romances.

Michelle is such an interesting person – she’s well-rounded which I really like. I also like how she’s managing to gather a groupie without even realizing which includes creatures such as mermaids, gargoyles, werewolves, brownies, elves, dinosaurs, etc. She’s also incredibly powerful and I like the plot arcs that discusses her background and her family. The side plot with the other witch clans vying for her attention is pretty hilarious yet frustrating for Michelle.

I also like Elron’s character a bit more in this book. There are still a few times when I find him awkward but that’s to be expected since he is 1500 years old and is a bit ignorant of modern ways such as using the plants to spy on Michelle as a way to protect her. Michelle is a witch and is really powerful so she is more than capable of protecting herself but I guess for Elron, he just wants some reassurance.

When the whole demon situation is revealed, I can’t say I was too surprised. However, I was definitely surprised as to who the demon was using as its host body but I did have a slight inkling at the end of book two. I am glad though that despite everything, I think that Elron and Michelle will come out of it fine in the next book. The good thing about being so old is that you become wiser and Elron is definitely that.

Overall, I really enjoyed myself with this book. I think I will try to finish the rest of the series but not in audiobook format since at the end of the day, I’m just not a huge fan of a man speaking in falsetto and listening to it for 22 hours.