The Hearth Witch's Guide to Magic & Murder

CN: murder, death, grief I am not the most avid fantasy reader. And if I wander into this genre, I tend to read more “light” stuff, mostly cute stories with a touch of romance and a clichéd cast of species like witches, werewolves and vampires. So “The Hearth Witch's Guide to Magic & Murder” was my first venture into more “grown-up” fantasy. And what can I say? I loved it! I liked the mix of different mythologies; how naturally different languages were implemented. I liked the writing style which was a little bit more “mature” (in lack for a better word) than what I am used to. Even if it means that, as a non-native English speaker, I had to look up some words I didn’t know. But it totally fit the atmosphere of the story. Oh, and some of the footnotes – yes, there are footnotes – made me grin. I also really liked the characters. I had so much fun watching Avery discover modern technologies like a smartphone, learn how a shower works and stumble over words that had quite a different meaning two hundred years ago. Saga was a great companion (not my wording but an often-repeated phrase from the book), helping Avery navigate this new world and helping her with her investigation. I really liked their dynamic. There was actually just one thing that prevented me from rating “The Hearth Witch's Guide to Magic & Murder” 5 stars: the plot. Well, not the entire plot, to be fair. I was quickly hooked and eager to see how it would unfold. But around the 70% mark, the story began to lag a little. I was still interested in what was happening but I had to fight a little to stay invested. Well, maybe that's what puts the “cozy” in cozy fantasy. But, yeah, all in all I was quite surprised by how much I liked this book. I am excited for more stories from Kiri Callaghan, especially “The Hemlock Saga”. Can we please appreciate the brilliant pun in the title of the series? Thank you! [Thanks to Sourcebooks and Netgalley for providing me with an eArc of this book. I will get myself a physical copy ASAP!]