The Book Witch by Meg Shaffer

Blurb:

She can hop into any novel, but she just can’t stay there.

Come along with the Book Witch in this magical and inspiring love letter to reading from the USA Today bestselling author of The Wishing Game.

Rainy March is a proud, third-generation Book Witch, sworn to defend works of fiction from all foes real and imaginary. With her magical umbrella and feline familiar, she jumps in and out of novels to fix malicious alterations and rogue heroes like a modern-day magical Nancy Drew.

Book Witches live by a strict code: Real people belong in the real world; fictional characters belong in works of fiction. Do not eat, drink, or sleep inside a fictional world, lest you become part of the story. Falling in love with a fictional character? Don’t even think about it.

Which is why Rainy has been forbidden from seeing the Duke of Chicago, the dashing British detective who stars in her favorite mystery series. If she’s ever caught with him again, she’ll be expelled from her book coven—and forced to give up the magical gifts that are as much a part of her as her own name.

But when her beloved grandfather disappears and a priceless book is stolen, there’s only one person she trusts to help her solve the case: the Duke. Their quest takes them through the worlds of Alice in Wonderland, King Arthur, and other classics that will reveal hidden enemies and long-buried family secrets.

Review:

"A witch is always on the edge, between the light and the dark.”

-Meg Shaffer , The Book Witch

Rainy March is a Book Witch, capable of defending works of fiction and leading characters who meander out of their stories back to the stories they manage to escape from. With magical abilities, a magical umbrella, and a magical familiar, she delves into novels to remedy plots gone wrong—acting as a modern day, bookish superhero. The only pitfall? Book Witches have to follow a long and strict list of rules, one of which is to always keep fictional beings in their fictional universes, while real beings remain in the real world. She’s not allowed to interact with anything in the books she invades and fixes…unless, that is, she wants to become part of the stories she always set out to save. The worst thing she could possibly do is fall in love with a fictional character, which is the worst rule a Book Witch could break. When she’s told to avoid the Duke of Chicago, a charming and wealthy detective who is widely renowned for being attractive, alluring, and utterly undeniable (and who just happens to be the main character in her favorite book series), she toes the line between breaking the rules and breaking her heart when she discovers Duke’s story needs saving—and so does hers.

After she meets with him for the first time, she’s warned against finding him again or she’ll be exiled from the Book Coven she’s always loved to work and worse, to give up all the magical abilities, artifacts, and pets she has. When a disappearance and a pilfered book dissolve into a mystery before her, she’s forced to break the rules once more to recruit the help of the only person she trusts to solve it: the Duke of Chicago; the very fictional man she’s meant to avoid.

I’ve never read such a “meta” book in my life—and I say that as a compliment! I have seen a lot of stories in video games and movies where the characters address the concept of multiple worlds, including the real world wherein viewers and consumers live, but I never imagined it would be possible to pull off in a fictional universe or medium like a novel. Meg Shaffer pulls off the impossible: crafting an interesting, hilarious, high-stakes cozy mystery fantasy in a world that addresses the meta of reality.

I couldn’t get enough of this novel. Sometimes, it takes me a while to get through ARC copies (no matter how excellent they are) and this was not one of those books I took more than a couple of days to read. This astonishing narrative is one that will drag readers into its pages, hook-line and sinker. 

Packed with ironic, humorous, and strong characters with resolute, shining personalities, The Book Witch is a perfect escape from reality, especially in a world where cozy is such a commodity. I could just as easily have read this book while cozied up in a blanket and sipping a mug of cocoa as I could between finishing assignments for my college classes. Karsak knows how to write a narrative that pleases, and her book caused me to smile or laugh on more than one occasion.

Despite my research, I couldn’t decipher if this book was Karsak’s debut release. First published novel or not, it was a masterful example of what makes storytelling and writing styles original to the author so necessary. I devoured this novel and would definitely read another cozy fantasy by the wonderfully talented and exceptionally prolific Meg Shaffer!