Another great installment of the Women of the Otherworld series! The first two were about werewolf Elena Michaels and the last introduced Paige Winterbourne, the protagonist of this story.

Paige is stubborn, smart, and determined – something her new ward Savannah should be happy about. Savannah lost her mother, Eve, in the last book and Eve was a suspected practitioner of black magic. Despite receiving no support from her coven, Paige is determined to keep Savannah and mentor her to be a witch for good.

Paige’s first challenge to her guardianship is a legal custody case from a sorcerer cabal (their corporate equivalent of a coven). Things go from bad to worse as Paige discovers the custody suite involves the psycho half-demon Leah and a powerful sorcerer who alleges he is Savannah’s biological father. From here things only continue to escalate and poor Paige and Savannah are dealing with issues ranging from annoying to downright life-threatening as the book continues. Luckily a sorcerer do-gooder/pro-bono attorney, Lucas, steps in to help and Paige and Savannah.


Yay for Lucas - but despite his help things keep spiraling out of control. This book started slow but ended up being quite a ride!

So far every book in this series has been completely different but I have liked them all. It is hard to compare since they are so different but so far I like #2 the best, then this and #1 is my least favorite (but it is still entertaining). Paige and Elena both know how to roll with the punches, though Paige is a bit more naïve and white-hat than Elena.

Spoiler

I loved Lucas, he is such a straight laced guy, but Paige knows how to bring him out of his shell. I can’t see where their relationship goes from here – I wanted more from this book but I’m glad their story will continue in the next.

.

Spoiler

Wow, things went to hell quickly for Paige! From the craziness in her town to the firebombing of her house and abduction, barely escaped murder/rape, and then Savannah losing her mind and summoning some demon king. I was so happy that crazy Leah finally got hers… I’ve loathed her since the last book – that fake friendly thing drove me nuts.


(apparently this is my review for Jimmy Fallon gifs ¯\_(ツ)_/¯)

Audio note: there was another narrator change and she was pretty decent – it’s a bit annoying to have so many narrators.

If this had contained lesbians and no het sex, it'd have gotten 5 stars.

Neat little story about Paige, the vanilla witch in the supernatural women series. Enjoyable, quick read.

Includes a great zombie scene in a funeral home. Awesome.

I really wanted to like this. But I don't.

First thing I have to say is when I picked up Dime Store Magic I expected witty humour, a strong take no lip heroine, and action galore. And the second thing I have to say is that is what I got. Kelley Armstrong’s writing never ceases to disappoint whether the genre be YA or Adult. The characters are always real, the relationships between them dynamic, and the darkness thrown in keeping me glued to the pages.

From the Prologue the stage was set and from there the problems and enemies that Paige and Savannah had to face just kept mounting and mounting the next tougher to handle then the one before it. In this story loyalties were tested, prejudices broken (sort of) and our heroine strengthened. It was just one big chaotic ripple effect leading up to the climatic explosion in the end (not really but you get the idea) and I have to say if this was a movie I’d be walking away from the theaters going wow.

Plot:
Paige the witch is the de jure leader of the local coven as well as the legal guardian of Savannah, who is a grumpy teenage proto-witch. Savannah's mom was a Dark Magic Witch with questionable associates, which means the coven really disapproves of Paige looking after her. So when people arrive to challenge Paige's custody of Savannah, Paige finds herself having to choose between her coven and her charge.

Thoughts:
1. I have... complicated feelings about werewolves and also most of the Elena-Clayton storyline, so when I start reading Women of the Otherworld, I usually start with Paige because I really like Paige. Also, Paige tends to come with bonus!Lucas and if there is anything in the WotO books I really, really love and can't get enough of it's

Spoiler

Lucas and the Cortez Cabal family shenanigans.

2.

Spoiler

Rebellious Mafia Prince

is one of my absolute favorite tropes. And this one comes with bonus Indulgent Dad. Please imagine my happy face here.

3. That said, the absolute best part of this book for me was the figuring out of the spells. Paige's discoveries on how to make spells work was excellent. I remember it was what made me really happy the first time I read this book, because that's just- decades of oppression and powerlessness conquered by nerds doing research? CATNIP.

4. Lucas is just such a persistent little shit who just wants to do whatever the fuck it is he thinks he's doing. Everyone else is so darned confused, and he likes it that way. I also appreciate the fact that he's got such a giant flaming crush on Paige that is doubly hilarious because he (a) fails to telegraph it in all of the ordinary slavering manly man ways and so Paige has no clue whatsoever and (b) his attempts to telegraph the crush include bringing a motorcycle out of retirement in an attempt to be attractive to girls. Nerrrd.

Conclusion:
Solid story, with really good worldbuilding and likeable characters.

screeching about dorks in love and found families, don't mind me

I really enjoyed [b:Bitten|11918|Bitten (Women of the Otherworld, #1)|Kelley Armstrong|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1166490275s/11918.jpg|2606334]and found [b:Stolen|11922|Stolen (Women of the Otherworld, #2)|Kelley Armstrong|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1166490277s/11922.jpg|14289]lackluster and was about to pass on this series especially when a new main character is introduced in this book. Paige is a witch, with a young charge in her care named Savannah. With Paige only being 23, and Savannah being 13, this presents it own set of problems. Savannah knows who she is and isn't afraid to act on it. Add this in with being a teenager and conflict is always on the front burner with these two. Then Paige is served with custody papers and everything becomes even more chaotic. The Coven wants Paige to make this all go away even if that means giving up her charge, the people in her town want her to go away and leave their town in peace and Paige just wants everyone to leave her alone. As these two work through these issues, they begin a relationship that is not just parent/child but so much more.

This book detailed what happened after the events of the last book, but continued with Paige and Savannah's story. You learn more about their backgrounds and lives as witches. Pretty interesting stuff.