Bitch Witch

Sarah Elizabeth Archer is a bitch witch. Surrounded by dark energy, she can draw on it to manifest her will. While she tries to suppress her natural abilities, people piss her off, often with unforeseen consequences. An incident in a Target parking lot results in a love spell gone awry, a cowboy/veteran who cooks a mean lasagna moving into her house, and a coma.

And that’s the least of her troubles.

Bitch Witch by S.R. Karfelt is a cross-genre book that defies expectations. Dark matter acts on Sarah like a substance addiction, the magic an addictive entity and a character itself, actively working to keep her hooked. This is a creative and refreshingly unusual explanation of magic. The friendship between Sarah and Paul is a pleasure to read, although the romantic element seems a bit forced. Conversely, the character of Katherine seemed somewhat heavy-handed and cliche but in the end takes a surprising turn. A pet-peeve for this reviewer was casting Paul as a tortured veteran, which is an overused and damaging stereotype. But all in all, Bitch Witch is an entertaining book that can be recommended to readers with a few specific reservations.