The Bookaholic Cat: Early Review: The Water Witch by Juliet Dark

Title: The Water Witch

Author: Juliet Dark

Series: Fairwick Chronicles, book 2

Genre: Romantic Paranormal Fantasy

Publisher: Ballantine Books (February 12^th)

Source: Review copy from publisher

Format: E-book

“After casting out a dark spirit, Callie McFay, a professor of gothic literature, has at last restored a semblance of calm to her rambling Victorian house. But in the nearby thicket of the Honeysuckle Forest, and in the currents of the rushing Undine River, more trouble is stirring…

The enchanted town of Fairwick’s dazzling mix of mythical creatures has come under siege from the Grove: a sinister group of witches determined to banish the fey back to their ancestral land. With factions turning on one another, all are cruelly forced to take sides. Callie’s grandmother, a prominent Grove member, demands her granddaughter’s compliance, but half-witch/half-fey Callie can hardly betray her friends and colleagues at the college.

To stave off disaster, Callie enlists Duncan Laird, an alluring seductive academic who cultivates her vast magical potential, but to what end? Deeply conflicted, Callie struggles to save her beloved Fairwick, dangerously pushing her extraordinary powers to the limit—risking all, even the needs of her own passionate heart.”

The Water Witch is the second book in the Fairwick Chronicles by Juliet Dark (Carol Goodman).

After events in The Demon Lover (first book) Callie is feeling guilty for believing that her incubus lover, Liam, had killed some students, subsequently casting him off to the Borderlands, to only later discover he was innocent of charge. But now it’s too late, she can’t do nothing about it but try to live with her guilt and with her hot dreams where they can be together.

After discovering she is half-fey/half-witch and the Doorkeeper to the Fairy Portal, Callie is trying to come to terms with what is required of her; she’s also trying to master her erratic powers, especially after letting out of Fairy the undine Lorelai, who not only wants revenge from Callie but also puts in danger the men of the little town of Fairwick.

If that wasn’t enough for poor Callie to deal with, her grandmother and her coven of witches, The Grove, want to permanently close the portal to Fairy.

More than half the populations of Fairwick is Fey or Fey descendant, they cannot live in Fairwick if the Portal is close, so they all would have to choose between returning to Fairy or staying in Fairwick where they will slowly fade away until they are no more.

Callie has found in the people of Fairwick the family she never had next to her grandmother and she’s willing to do anything to help her friends, even going against her own blood, but Callie’s worst enemy is her lack of knowledge and her naïveté.

After the end of The Demon Lover I was looking forward to this book, I wanted Callie to get into her powers, fight for her unjustly blamed lover and find a way to rescue him and be with him forever, yes, I know, it was a kind of corny wish but it was what I was expecting of this book, sadly it didn’t happened. I’m not saying I didn’t enjoy reading The Water Witch, because I kind of did, only not as much as The Demon Lover.

My biggest problem was with Callie and her inability to see what was in front of her. The clues for what she needed to do could have been written in neon lights and she wouldn’t have seen them. She spent more time trying to forget Liam than trying to find a solution for what she needed to do. Something else I couldn’t believe is her lack of curiosity about her background, she’s half-fairy but what kind of fairy? She thinks she’s ready to do things she’s not ready, she asks her friends to trust her, she tells them she has everything under control to just mess everything up. If I were her friend I would be very upset with her for the amount of mistakes and accidents she caused.

There was something else about some kind of Fairy gold with special powers, it’s highly addictive and Callie was using it like there was not tomorrow, everything pointed out that she was addicted to it but suddenly she wasn’t. o_O

Two new characters are introduced to the story, Bill the handyman that is helping repair Callie’s house and Duncan Laird the wizard that is called to be Callie’s mentor. I also had a problem here, not with them but again with Callie, there were signs everywhere about their real motives and Callie couldn’t be blinder, she was just lusting after both of them and wondering why she was feeling attracted to them instead of seeing their real intentions, which were very clear.

One thing I really liked about this book and this series in general is the rich world Mrs. Dark created. It’s a very complex and diverse world very rich in folklore. There are not only Fairies, but also witches, demons, demigods, Nordic descendants, elves known as Nephilims, and many other creatures. The world building and Mrs. Dark’s proficient writing saved this book.

The plot was engaging and entertaining enough, but sadly the end not only felt rushed but it ended in a big cliffhanger.

Would I read next book of the series, The Hallow Door? I won’t pre-order it or run to buy it on release date, but yes, I will read it; I really want to know how everything is going to end for Callie, Liam, and the town people of Fairwick. I just hope Callie uses her brain more than her ovaries in The Hallow Door.

My Verdict: 3 Stars