Even though I have many books sitting around waiting to be read, I still wonder around the bookstore and pick up something from an author that is new to me from time to time. I first saw Dime Store Magic by Kelly Armstrong in May or June of 2004 in the section with new releases in paperback. The book did sound interesting, but I didn’t get it then for some reason. I continued to notice the book for several months before I finally picked it up. The book was in one of my piles here for another several months before I read it.

Dime Store Magic is set in the modern world with supernatural elements. In the book, the world contains witches, sorcerers, werewolves, and demons. They live around humans undetected and most people aren’t even aware that the groups exist. The members of the groups didn’t want humans to find out about them, so they tended to deal with conflicts on their own. The groups didn’t all get along with each other. Some used their powers and abilities for good, while others turned to dark magic and evil.

Paige Winterbourne was a young witch living in the small town of East Falls, Massachusetts. Paige’s mother had been the leader of their coven before she was murdered. Paige was supposed to be the new leader, but the coven elders didn’t like that idea. They believed she was too young. Paige wanted things to be better for the members of the coven and wanted to change some things. Paige had custody of Savannah, a thirteen-year-old daughter of a powerful with, Eve. She had been killed by the same group that killed Paige’s mother. Eve had practiced black magic and the elders, especially Victoria, were uneasy about having Savannah around. Leah, a half demon with telekinetic powers was after Savannah. Leah had been in the group that killed Eve and Paige’s mother.

Leah showed up in East Falls with a plan to get Savannah. This time, Leah was working with the backing of a powerful Cabal, a mafia like organization run by a sorcerer. Victoria was worried that the coven would be exposed and wouldn’t do anything to help Paige with the situation. Leah was willing to kill to get Savannah, and Paige ended up framed for murder. Lucas Cortez, a lawyer and sorcerer, showed up wanting to help Paige. She didn’t want anything to do with him at first since witches and sorcerers didn’t get along most of the time, but he still helped her out of a situation. Paige decided to trust him. Their relationship grew as they worked to keep Savannah safe from Leah.

The supernatural was important to the plot of Dime Store Magic. All the main characters were magical in some way. Paige, Savannah, and a few other minor characters were witches. Savannah was still young and had a lot to learn, but she was very powerful. She didn’t think too much of humans. Leah and a few other characters were half demons. Leah had strong telekinetic powers. Other half demons had other powers, but not too much about any other types of demons was shared since Leah was posing the threat. Lucas was a sorcerer, which was like a male witch. Sorcerers had certain spells and witches had other spells. A witch could learn a sorcerer spell, but it wouldn’t be as powerful as a witch spell for her. The same was true for a sorcerer learning a witch spell. There were different levels of difficulty for the spells. Paige and the other witches in her coven lived like normal humans and didn’t talk about the coven to outsiders. Lucas tended to take cases of magical beings having trouble with one of the Cabals. Members of Cabals were very powerful and considered to be involved in dark magic. The magical aspects of the characters lives were blended in well with the human world they live in. I have enjoyed books and movies that feature supernatural elements for a long time, which is why I picked up this book to begin with. People that enjoy books that deal with the supernatural should check this book out. Most of the other books I’ve read that feature witches haven’t also had all of the other magical creatures in them as well. That aspect of the book reminded me of the television show Charmed.

When I was still thinking about buying Dime Store Magic, I noticed two other books by Kelly Armstrong, Bitten: Women of the Otherworld Book 1 and Stolen. I did read the back of those books and they seemed to not really be connected to this book. The other two were about a female werewolf named Elena. After I bought Dime Store Magic, I saw that all three books, plus another, Industrial Magic, were all considered to be part of The Women of the Otherworld series. I decided to go ahead and read this book now. Elena turned up briefly in a few scenes when she and Paige talked on the phone. From what I can tell, Paige, Savannah, and Leah were first introduced in Stolen. A few things that I think happened in that book were mentioned, but enough was explained so that I wasn’t lost. I do think that this book can be read without having read the two about Elena first. Since I enjoyed this one so much, I did decide that I want to read the other books in this series. I already made a trip to the bookstore to get the other three books. I did do some exploring at the author’s web site and found that she has some short stories posted that connect to the series in some way. I plan to read those as well.

There was some action in different scenes of the book, though I don’t think it is an action packed book. Paige, Savannah, and even Lucas ended up in a few dangerous situations. There was violence in some scenes, but it wasn’t too graphic. Magic was used to help in some of them. Leah was trying to get Savannah so she could be turned to evil. There really wasn’t any mystery to the book since it was clear from early on what Leah was doing. The reason for why she was working with the Cabal was also shared fairly early. Other things happened that were surprising to me though. There was suspense in several scenes as well. The supernatural was more of a focus of the book than mystery, but that didn’t bother me since I enjoy supernatural books. I would have liked it if there had been a bit more shared about the magical aspects. People in the mood for a strong mystery would probably be disappointed with this book.

Lucas arrived on the scene wanting to help Paige. He kept it from her as long as he could that he was a sorcerer because of the hostility between the two groups. That was very long since witches and sorcerers could always identify each other. Paige didn’t want his help, but she gradually changed her opinion of his after he was able to help her a few times. He was keeping something else from her, but he did share that as well before long. Paige and Savannah were in danger, so Lucas decided to stay close to protect them. He and Paige did spend a lot of time together and grew closer. They became intimate. There was a sex scene that was descriptive, but not really graphic. There were a few other scenes that had sexual references in them. I did enjoy the developing relationship between them. It wasn’t the main focus of the book and it didn’t detract from the other things going on.

Dime Store Magic was told in the first person point of view from Paige’s perspective. That did help to make her very developed since all of her thoughts and feelings were shared. The motives for some of the other characters weren’t as clear at times, but that is normal for this point of view. The other characters weren’t as developed as much as Paige, but I thought they were still well developed. Savannah did seem to be a bit flatter since she seemed to be in a bad mood a lot, but she was still grieving for her mother and she was a teenager. Victoria seemed to be a very bossy, judgmental, controlling woman. She didn’t want to give up control of the coven to Paige even though that is what Paige’s mother had wanted. Paige struggled with several things over the course of the book and changed her ideas about some of them. She ended up in some dangerous situations and she did manage to stay calm for the most part. Paige was also the narrator for the fourth book in the series, Industrial Magic. Bitten: Women of the Otherworld Book 1 and Stolen were told from Elena’s point of view.

I really enjoyed Dime Store Magic and am glad I decided to pick it up. I thought that it was very interesting and I’ve already picked up the other three books in the series. People that enjoy books with supernatural elements in them should try this one as well. Anyone that doesn’t like books with supernatural elements should stay away from the book.

www.kellyarmstrong.com

Women of the Otherworld Series
Bitten: Women of the Otherworld Book 1 ~ Stolen ~ Dime Store Magic ~ Industrial Magic ~ Haunted ~ Broken ~ No Humans Involved ~ Personal Demon ~ Living With the Dead ~ Frostbitten ~

Recommended: Yes