I have enjoyed most of Debora Geary's books, and this one was entertaining but lacking on several levels.  My biggest problem with it was the totally unbelievable behavior of the trained psychologist witch.  I understand she had a lot of childhood issues and needed to work through her hang ups, but this woman was like an empath, sucking up every emotion, suggestion or idea that touched her!  It was often like reading a fairy tale (the kind that only children would enjoy).  I love the comeraderie of Witch Central, but not even REAL FAMILIES are this devoted to one another.  It borders on the absurd the way everyone comes running to manage the next emergency no matter the hour!  And talk about cheesy...the realtors in this story must be magicians or minor goddesses to be able to find "the perfect" homes and neighbors for people so easily!  Why, all you have to do is live next door to elderly people and they will fall all over themselves to be friendly and ask to babysit your unborn child.  Why not?  Aren't all elderly people full of energy and joy all the time?  Apparently this story is meant to be unbelievable because it is a total farce.  So many of the main characters got on my nerves that I finally decided to just ignore their ridiculous perfection as much as possible and just pretend this is the author's version of Heaven or Utopia.  Just don't expect to go away from this story feeling happy...it delivers entertainment, but it left me feeling irritated simply because it was so insanely unbelievable!
I have enjoyed most of Debora Geary's books, and this one was entertaining but lacking on several levels. My biggest problem with it was the totally unbelievable behavior of the trained psychologist witch. I understand she had a lot of childhood issues and needed to work through her hang ups, but this woman was like an empath, sucking up every emotion, suggestion or idea that touched her! It was often like reading a fairy tale (the kind that only children would enjoy). I love the comeraderie of Witch Central, but not even REAL FAMILIES are this devoted to one another. It borders on the absurd the way everyone comes running to manage the next emergency no matter the hour! And talk about cheesy... the realtors in this story must be magicians or minor goddesses to be able to find "the perfect" homes and neighbors for people so easily! Why, all you have to do is live next door to elderly people and they will fall all over themselves to be friendly and ask to babysit your unborn child. Why not? Aren't all elderly people full of energy and joy all the time? Apparently this story is meant to be unbelievable because it is a total farce. So many of the main characters got on my nerves that I finally decided to just ignore their ridiculous perfection as much as possible and just pretend this is the author's version of Heaven or Utopia. Just don't expect to go away from this story feeling happy... it delivers entertainment, but it left me feeling irritated simply because it was so insanely unbelievable!