Book Review: Girl's Guide to Witchcraft

Girl's Guide to Witchcraft is the first book in the Jane Madison series by Mindy Klasky. Jane Madison is a librarian in a small town. After some changes to her job (i.e. having to move into the cottage on library grounds and wear colonial costumes to work) Jane has one another surprise. While moving into her new home she discovers a secret cache of magic books. A little experimenting gains her a familiar, a warder to teach her, and a spell that makes her irresistible to men, even those who have previously ignored her. A few more secrets and some spelling fun has Jane getting herself into some trouble but loving her new life.

Girl's Guide to Witchcraft was a decent start to a new series. I really liked the set up, and the personality of Jane and her spunky best friend and grandmother. I also liked the fact that she was a librarian, a professor we share. However, I found myself becoming a wee bit bored and looking to skim after awhile. The beginning and ending of the story were fun, interesting, and occasionally funny but I found the middle a bit draggy. I felt like things could have been condensed a little.

All in all I enjoyed reading Girl's Guide to Witchcraft, despite my occasional impatience with the story. It was a good read, but nothing that stood out to me as a fantastic new series. I would recommend the book to those that enjoy Klasky's writing as well as cozy books featuring witchcraft and a little romance. I might take a peak at the next book in the series if I run across it, but I will not be hunting it down.