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39 of 40 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A Witch in Time - Review, April 8, 2010
This review is from: A Witch In Time (A Bewitching Mystery) (Hardcover)
I fell for Madelyn Alt's books with the magical theme since Maggie O'Neill first stumbled into Enchantments one rainy cold morning and met her future boss and mentor - Felicity. I have eagerly looked forward to each new installment and raced home to brew a pot of tea, find my favorite cat, pillow and blanket and settle in for a good long read. Each of Ms. Alt's books has built on the previous premise of magic, mystery and romance. "A Witch in Time" is her newest entry, and in hard cover. It is, ultimately (and early on) disappointing. Although Ms. Alt is a very good writer, for some reason, she has chosen to concentrate on Maggie's personal relationships with her family in this book and leaves the actual magic by the wayside. Nothing much seems to happen at all. Maggie's deepening relationship with Marcus is explored, but it never lives up to the tease of the last scene in her previous book. As for Maggie's growing "witchy" talents, for some reason, Ms. Alt chose not to write much about those until nearly the end of the book and then they are barely touched upon. Maggie's wonderful and quirky boss and mentor, Felicity, finally makes an appearance but not much of one at that. The mystery isn't much of a mystery and frankly, I found myself not caring at all about the characters involved. When I was done reading the book, I only wished I had waited for the paperback and not plunked down good cash for the hardcover. I have no idea why Ms. Alt chose not to write about witchcraft, magic or The Craft in this book, rather, to write very little about them as those themes have been so wonderfully explored in her previous books, but I was incredibly disappointed. It is the magic, Maggie's growing talents and the promise of more magic that keeps us coming back for more. Unfortunately, the magic just isn't there in "A Witch in Time." Ms. Alt is a very good writer and knows how to keep her readers satisfied, but I feel I will not be the only one disappointed with "A Witch in Time." If I had picked this installment up first, I would never go back and buy the other 4 or 5 titles, which would be a shame, as they are absolutely charming, fun reads.
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23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A bit of a disappointment for a hardcover debut, April 13, 2010
This review is from: A Witch In Time (A Bewitching Mystery) (Hardcover)
Madelyn Alt has created a wonderful series, where a young lady, Maggie O'Neill, finds herself working at a magickal antiques shop called Enchantments run by Felicity Dow. The place is more than its name - Felicity and her friends are practicing witches.
Maggie's previous adventures have been discovering her own power, and seeing that these kind people who call themselves witches are regular folks who just worship in a different environment and may be gifted with different 'powers'.
The magic happens in these books, heretofore paperbacks, is when Felicity Dow is actively a participant in the body of the book. Alt's portrayal of her is indeed magical - a kind soul who has been allowed to grow and study her religion and help others who are so inclined to help grow with her.
What is so disappointing in this hardback book debut is, it focuses on Maggie, and while Maggie is our heroine, she is not the heart of this series. Felicity is.
The hunky witch Marcus has been interested in Maggie for a while, and she finally gets rid of her dud boyfriend Tom. Marcus and Maggie do some heavy kissing, and it is a prelude to them 'taking the plunge', i.e., making love, but it's romance interruptus when Maggie gets a call her sister is in labor and she has to go to the hospital stat.
Marcus is downsized from hunky sexy slightly dangerous dude to Maggie carrier (she breaks her ankle) and just another nice guy who dates Maggie.
Felicity is relegated to a disembodied voice on the telephone that more often than not only says, "What's up Ducks?".
No growth, no progression of characters, aside from Maggie's sister giving unexpected birth and some actions that reflect greatly from that.
Marcus isn't the dangerous hunk with long hair, and a motor cycle we love to read about, Maggie is clumsy, and hears something that misdirects the whole paranormal plot of the series. In fact, there are no paranormal activites at all in this book.
Sorry Ms. Alt.
Go back to paperback if this is an indication of hardback quality.
I want the old Maggie O'Dell and characters back. They are AWOL in this book!
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19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Needs a bit of a boost, April 14, 2010
This review is from: A Witch In Time (A Bewitching Mystery) (Hardcover)
Madelyn Alt has created a wonderful series with her Bewitching protagonist, Maggie who has discovered some new, rather witchy talents.
In this, the sixth book in the series, Maggie and Marcus are now a couple and throughout the story are trying to take their relationship to the next level, but something keeps interfering--like her "perfect" self-centered sister who gives birth to twins, her sister's husband leaving her, friend Steff's problems, continued crime in Stony Mill, and a broken leg.
The book moved slowly and the mystery wasn't that interesting as it was easy to guess "who done it" and why almost from the beginning. Personally I find Maggie's sister Mel to be hugely annoying as well as her mother. Unfortunately if you are like-minded, this book does have a lot of scenes with Mel and Mom. Maggie and Marcus's inability to advance their relationship is a source of frustration not only for them, but for the reader. While it is nice that their emotional commitment deepens, the journey of the pair through the book moves slowly with very little tension (in terms of keeping the reader's focus) provided.
Hopefully in future books, Alt will return her focus to her more interesting characters and focus a bit more on the "witch" issues or magic issues.
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