Review–Dime Store Magic (Women of the Otherworld #3) by Kelley Armstrong

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Dime Store Magic (Women of the Otherworld #3)
 
by Kelley Armstrong
 
Summary: Paige Winterbourne was always either too young or too rebellious to succeed her mother as leader of one of the world's most powerful elite organizations- the American Coven of Witches. Now that she is twenty-three and her mother is dead, the Elders can no longer deny her. But even Paige's wildest antics can't hold a candle to those of her new charge- an orphan who is all too willing to use her budding powers for evil... and evil is all too willing to claim her. For this girl is being pursued by a dark faction of the supernatural underworld. They are a vicious group who will do anything to woo the young, malleable, and extremely powerful neophyte, including commit murder- and frame Paige for the crime. It's an initiation into adulthood, womanhood, and the brutal side of magic that Paige will have to do everything within her power to make sure they both survive.

Source: I purchased a paperback.

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Review:

I had no idea the Women of the Otherworld series continued with other characters after Stolen. I thought the series would be from Elena’s point of view the whole time. I suppose that’s what I get for not reading the synopsis of books when I commit to a series. I’ve had Bitten and Stolen on my shelf for literally 2 years and never read them because I wasn’t ready to commit to a 13 or so book series. To find out I could have read those two, stopped, and could have pick up the rest of the series AT ANY TIME was so aggravating to me. I have to mentally commit to long series and 9 times out of 10 a book in a series ends with some sort of cliffhanger. You know, maybe I’ve just been reading YA too long and not enough adult PNR and Urban Fantasy because I’ve noticed they normally end in some sort of satisfying way.

Anyway, despite my initial outrage that Dime Store Magic was from Paige’s point of view, I kept going. Next thing I knew, I was on the edge of my seat. I think I was more invested in Paige’s story then I ever was in Elena’s, so I guess the change of narrators wasn’t an issue. I did a complete 180 and now I’m actually excited for other point of views I’ll get in the future. I loved the plot and I loved the way the witch coven worked. The idea that witches hid, were fearful of being discovered, and valued secrecy over aptitude and power seemed so logical! What an awesome perspective to show in a series about witches. I’m intrigued by the future of the coven based on their fear and Paige’s willingness to explore any avenue to gain power in a non threatening and evil way.

Lucas is not like many PNR male romantic interests. He’s kind of dull, totally wordy, and such a nice guy. But I thought he was the cutest thing ever and I, like Savannah, picked up on his interest in Paige and started rooting for them to do more than work together. I loved the way they worked together and the way their relationship unfolded. It’s certainly not the kind of relationship you’d enjoy if you’re expecting super sexy alpha male PNR, but I liked the contrast from Clay and Elena’s relationship.

I feel like Dime Store Magic has a lot of negative or middle of the road reviews because not many people liked Paige or Lucas and thought they were dull, but I enjoyed the book more than I imagined I would. I didn’t like Paige much in Stolen, but I realize that a witch who was always taught that other magic was evil by a coven who hid spells that worked would be a witch who was frustrated, somewhat weak, and misguided. It’s in Dime Store Magic that we see her grow out of it, uncover the issues within the coven, and gain the strength to choose knowledge over fear. I don’t know how anyone could be bored with that!

I will definitely continue the series and I kind of love that the books seem to be in pairs in the series. I feel a lot less pressure to trudge through all of the books and it’s nice to know I can finish Paige’s story and move onto other books before returning to this series or I can continue to devour the series. I have choices. I recommend the books so far and I can’t wait to read more.

4%2520star

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