Book Review: The Water Witch by Juliet Dark

Okay, I suck. It is Tuesday morning, not Monday evening but I am going to post a quick review now and finish it up later tonight after work. I am working on a LibGuide project with a couple of classmates and I got sucked in yesterday. I literally accomplished nothing else on my list but I made serious progress on the guide, which oddly enough is the one assignment not due by the end of this week. Naturally I wasted all my productive time and energy on it.

Summary:
The Water Witch is the second book in the Fairwick Chronicles. After banishing her incubus in the first book, Callie MacFay, a professor of Gothic literature, is trying to settle into a normal(ish) life in the town of Fairwick.  A college town filled with a mixture of humans, witches, and faery creatures of myth and legend. In the beginning of the book we see that she has been mostly successful in her endeavors, however, she still has a Liam sized hole in her life. Determined to move on with her life, Callie is trying to learn more about her powers and her duties as a doorkeeper. And with the looming visit from the sinister Grove witches, a large and powerful coven who are anti-fey, Callie may not have enough time to learn her lessons and save Faery and the residents of Fairwick.

Enter Duncan Laird, will he be the answer to all of Callie's problems? Or is Liam still the only answer Callie requires? Can Callie heal her heart and save Fairwick and Faery or will she have to chose?

My opinion:
Honestly, I really enjoyed reading this book. I liked the first one but it had a few flaws that made me twitch more than once. However, Juliet Dark has built a world of pure fantasy, a world were reality and fairy tale (and nightmares) exist in a co-dependent relationship where academia thrives. A world I would want to live in. Thankfully Ms. Dark's writing allows me to do just that for a few hours. 

So despite the twitching I experienced with the first book, I eagerly awaited the sequel and I was not disappointed. The second book was a stronger tale from start to finish. There were no pacing issues in narration and while still a few quirks on the timeline of the plot, I enjoy the story enough to allow "it's magic" to wash the "but what about..."s away. One has to admire an author that can throw out a Beverly Cleary, The Mouse and the Motorcycle reference and still produce steamy love scenes that will make you blush but somehow don't eat up the plot. This is a sign of true skill. Very few paranormal romance authors can accomplish this feat and even less bother to try. While not the perfect novel, The Water Witch will take you away to a place that is both familiar and exotic, a little erotic, a place that is full of adventure, wonder, and a little heartache. A place worth losing a few hours of daylight to experience its pleasures (and a little moonlight, definitely worth the price of moonlight).

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