Jenn's Review: It Takes A Witch

Summary:  Darcy Merriweather has just discovered she hails from a long line of Wishcrafters-witches with the power to cast spells by making a wish. She's come to Enchanted Village to learn her trade but finds herself in the middle of a murder investigation...  ~product description

Review: Having adored Heather Webber's Lucy Valentine series, I knew It Takes a Witch under her new pen name Heather Blake would have a lot to live up to. (I'm actually am so enamored with the Lucy Valentine books that I don't want to read book three which, as it stands now, is the last book in the series.)  I am pleased to report that It Takes a Witch held its own.

Whereas the Lucy Valentine books dabble in the paranormal, It Takes a Witch is fully paranormal because it centers around a community of Crafters (AKA witches) living among mortals in a little New England town.  The town capitalizes on their witchy reputation by commercializing it, and making it a magical destination, completely unawares that there are real witches in residence.  However, Enchanted Village has had a recent crime wave that starts with some pick pocketing and ends with a murder which is not only bad for publicity, it's downright un-neighborly.  I love the setting of this book because I live not too far from a quaint mystical community that may or may not be home to real witches and It Takes a Witch provided a wonderful scope for the imagination.

The mystery is good.  I didn't find myself pushing to figure out the whodunit of it all because there were so many small mysteries to enjoy unravelling.   Some of the things I solved before Darcy and some I didn't... and a few little things Heather Blake left unresolved for the next book.  There's also a good dose of her trademark humor and witty dialogue.

My only complaint is that I felt that I didn't get to know the characters quite as well as I would have liked, but there were an abundance of them, which is perhaps why Blake didn't explore them as deeply as she could have.  I loved that so few of the characters are who they seem to be on the surface.  I also liked the fact that Darcy wasn't investigating the town crime wave because she was nosy or curious, but because she got pulled into it in an attempt to protect her family.

This story was a snapshot into Darcy's and Harper's life.   I want to know about Darcy's past. I want to know Nick's story.  I want to know more about Darcy's family heritage as Crafters.  I want to know more about the community of Crafters.  I want to know more about the different Crafters.  I want to know about the Elder.  And I definitely want to know more about the crazy twist at the end.  I want... to read the next book!

The crazy thing is, I wouldn't mind if Heather Blake switched protagonists with each story in the series.  That's not to say that I didn't love Darcy, it's just that there isn't an uninteresting character and they certainly provide a wealth of untapped stories for the continuation of the series.  

If you are looking for a nice light mystery with lots of great characters,  a little magic, and a little romance, you've got to check out It Takes a Witch.  Also check out her other books, published under Heather Webber.  I have quite a few of them in my TBR pile.

Final Take:  3.75/5


Want to sample It Takes a Witch?  Here's an excerpt.