Life’s a Witch is a perfect book to jump into if you are looking for a new paranormal romance series! It’s book one in the Guild of Guardians and is a spin-off story of one of the characters, Astra.
Astra has been convicted of theft and is sentenced to The Guild of Guardians, a prison for the supernatural. The prisoners spend their sentences working to capture other criminals. Astra is assigned to a group with a cast of characters that hit on a ton of personality types. Knoxe, Tor, Raze & Pascal are the others in her group, and she finds them less than friendly at first, but soon finds a rhythm with them.
What I Loved: Genise’s writing managed to pull me into the main character’s story very quickly. I was surprised how invested I became! Eva, the main character is likable, but has faults and baggage which made her relatable. Her character development really made me invested in the story.
How I Felt: I was so pleased to see how quickly this book moved along. Chapters were written with focus and purpose, making each one enjoyable to read. I liked the main character Eva, and I really liked Roland, her love interest. Eva’s character has flaws, making her more interesting. One of those flaws is her willingness to let her ex back into her life. I found myself shaking my head at her, begging her to say no at multiple times in the story. You’ll have to read it to find out what happens though!
To Read or Not To Read: Anyone who loves romance books with a bit of erotica thrown in will love this book! It’s somewhat short as a novella, making it a quick, fun read.
What’s This Book About Anyway?
Eva has had some bad experiences with guys in her past. Her ex, Derek turned out to be married, leaving her a bit scarred from the relationship. She gets set up with Roland, who seems like he could be just the guy for her, except he lives in another state. They find they have a lot in common, and begin a long-distance relationship over the phone. Can this budding relationship turn into something that will last?
The view into a sub-culture of Punjabi women. The widows are their own group and require different dress, actions, and respect than other women. They made me giggle at times and sad at times, but I loved them through it all.
How I Felt:
So, my husband went with me to Barnes & Noble and was like, “Hey, what about this one.” He thought he was being a bit funny because of the name, but then I got sucked into yet another intriguing cover and title. So, I did not realize this was part thriller until it happened. I was a bit taken aback by the thriller aspect. I thought this book would read more like a domestic fiction, and it really threw me off for a bit. I struggled to get through the middle 100 pages because I couldn’t quite figure out what this book wanted to be. There are a lot of story-lines and if one or two had been dropped, the book may have gone a bit smoother for me. Once I was able to just accept the book for what it was, a bit of romance/thriller/erotica all thrown into one stew-pot, it was easier to read.
Getting past those feelings, the book was good. It was intriguing and kept me wanting to know how things would turn out.
The “Erotic” in “Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows” is not kidding. The erotica sections made me laugh sometimes because they were silly, but others are pretty enticing and a bit naughty! Fair Warning!
To Read or Not To Read:
As long as you are ok with a little erotica thrown into your book, this was a worth-while read. I enjoyed it and would recommend it to people that enjoy a bit of a leisurely stroll through a good book. This one doesn’t pick up the pace for the thriller story line until deep into the pages.
Where To Find This Book:
Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows by Balli Kaur Jaswal can be found at these sites.
Nikki is a Punjabi young woman living in London. She’s trendy and very non-traditional which can be a frustration to her family at times. She applies for, and gets, a position at the community center to teach an English writing class, open to Punjabi women.
She quickly discovers that her lesson plans will need to go out the window as she one day arrives late to find them reading aloud from an erotic novel. This sparks some liveliness into the widows, who end up returning to class with stories of their own. What will Nikki do? She doesn’t want to lose her job, and yet she wants to support the women.
Just the Facts:
Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows by Balli Kaur Jaswal Genre: Contemporary Page Count: 314 Publisher: William Morrow Pub Date: June 13, 2017
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