REVIEW: The Problem with Black Magic by Karen Mead

The Problem with Black Magic by Karen Mead

My rating: 4 of 5 stars




Fiercely independent Cassie Tremblay divides her time between working the cash register at her neighborhood coffee shop and studying to produce the grades to get into a top-tier university. Sam, a mysterious co-worker at The Daily Grind, seems to have taken an instant dislike to her, but for Cassie, the looming specter of the SAT Verbal section is a much bigger concern.

After a freak accident nearly leaves Cassie and her co-workers dead, a spell cast in desperation transforms her from a regular teen to a valuable familiar: a magical well a demon can tap. As if she didn't have enough problems, now every demon (and their monstrous minions) seems to be after Cassie's latent magic, and will stop at nothing to possess her.

Blending a hint of gothic romance with wry humor, The Problem With Black Magic is a tale of one young woman's struggle for independence in a brand new world of sorcery, intrigue, and wonder.

My Review:
This fast-paced young adult story is full of action, suspense and magic. I love a good story with magic! This one is filled with both black magic concerning demons and the white magic of witches. Add in a few vampires and its a great combination for a fun paranormal read. The characters really took on their personalities making them feel like real people. So much so that even as I was rooting for Cassie and Sam, I was also irritated with some of their decisions. But that only made me turn the pages faster to find out what happened to them next! I truly enjoyed reading this story, and I look forward to reading future books in this series. I would love to see the romance blossom between the main characters. Ms. Mead also has me intrigued with the secondary characters and how the future will play out for them. I only wish this story had been written in first person POV. For the most part this is Cassie's story, but I would have loved to see it completely through her eyes to add to the level of suspense.   



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Summer Writing Camp

Yesterday was the official start of the August 2012 Camp NaNoWriMo! I've only just learned of this event in mid-July so I had some time to develop a story idea to write. To be honest, I went through 3 ideas before I settled on this one. I had 2 dreams that worked really great for stories, but I needed more time to flesh them out a bit, so I'm setting them aside for future projects.

Now for this month, I'm continuing to explore the Merriweather Witches. If all goes well, the first draft of Book 4 will be finished by August 31! And while I'm at it, I might just keep going with Book 5 in November. I actually have ideas for seven or more individual books all dealing with Merriweather siblings and their friends. So far, I've gotten a wonderful response about the first two which are published by The Wild Rose Press. Readers are asking for more! Well, I aim to please!

For those of you who haven't heard about NaNoWriMo (short for National Novel Writing Month), the idea is to finish writing a 50,000 word novel in a month. This takes place every November since 2000. Camp NaNoWriMo is a newer event and takes place during the summer months of  June and August.

If anyone would care to track my progress, you can find me in my cabin with my writing pals. We'll be sipping icy sweet tea while we type on our laptops in between eating smores by the fireside. Oh, I hope they have bug spray!