Added: Ames' review at the bottom of Kailana's.
From Canada's new queen of suspense, another hugely entertaining supernatural thriller that will have you on the edge of your seat. Prepare to be enchanted . . .Dime Store Magic by Kelley Armstrong
Forget the cackling green hag in The Wizard of Oz, forget Samantha from Bewitched. Real witches are nothing, NOTHING like this. For years real witches have hidden their powers, afraid of being persecuted. They have integrated so well into the community, you could have a witch living right next door and never know about it. Take Paige, for instance, whom we first met in Kelley Armstrong's novel Stolen. Just an ordinary twenty-something who runs her own website design company, worries about her weight and wonders if she'll ever find a boyfriend. Okay, so she's leader of the American Coven and guardian of Savannah, the teenage daughter of a black witch. Really, life is ordinary. But then a telekinetic half-demon, Leah O'Donnell, shows up to fight for custody of Savannah. And although Paige is ready for her, she's not quite so prepared for the team of supernaturals that Leah brings with her, including a powerful sorcerer who claims to be Savannah's father.
When all hell breaks loose -- literally -- and Paige is accused of witchcraft, Satanism and murder, the Coven, fearing exposure, abandons her. Cut off from her friends, Paige is forced against her better judgment to accept the help of a young sorcerer lawyer. And she quickly comes to realize that keeping Savannah could mean losing everything else.
Breathtakingly thrilling, hip and funny, this new novel is another page-turning triumph from an author who is going from strength to strength.
Published by Seal Books in 2004
3.5/5
It is sad that you are in love with a series, and then there is the book. The book that is not terrible, but after reading the other two books before it and loving it, it disappoints you. I finished this book on my trip, but it took me a bit longer to get through. I really liked Bitten and Stolen, but this one was not as great. I think the problem with it is not that it was badly written, but that in the previous book there was a group of main characters and lots of action, this book sort of slows down after reading that one.
And, I am sorry to the author, but Paige ANNOYED me. It started in Stolen, but by the time that I finished this book I was resisting the urge to tell her to smarten up or something. She tried, it was obvious she was trying not to be annoying, but she annoyed me. That being said, it was still not a bad book. Paige is a witch, so this book followed the witch community. Paige was introduced to us in Stolen when she went to warn the werewolf community that there were people hunting down the paranormal community.
In this book, we see a major contrast between the werewolf community and the witch community. The werewolves stand by each other, they will go to bat for each other no matter what. For the witches, they have turned away from their roots and spend their life trying to hide the truth of their identity from the outside world. They do not approve of Paige taking in Savannah because her mother was a black witch, but they do not stop their. When one of the evil people from the previous novel returns seeking Savannah, Paige is set up countless times and risks losing Savannah forever, but the witch community will not help her.
Overall, it was not a terrible novel, and I just have no patience for some of the characteristics of Paige, but it was not enough to make me not want to continue with the series. I think one of the problems with Paige is she is younger than Elena. I still look forward to reading Industrial Magic.
AMES' Take on Dime Store Magic
Grade: I hate grading - but if I must, I give this a B-.
I read Bitten 4 years ago and loved it. It was Canadian, featured werewolves and had a great romantic element. I read Stolen when it was released, but I my preference remained with Bitten. Then I bought Dime Store Magic and tried reading it. But like Kailana, Paige annoyed me-big time. She annoyed me in Stolen and I just couldn't be bothered. Witches? Please.
But then Nath had her challenge and I just had to give this another shot, because reviews of No Humans Involved sparked my interest. I figured it other people could muddle through DMS, I should be able to as well.
Although the first 100 pages were very slow to get through, I'm glad I persevered. Paige will never be one of my favourite characters, but I liked her by the end of the book. What made those first 100 pages so hard was the fact that we have a somewhat clueless goody two-shoe who is up against some villainous characters who will get their way, no matter what. So I just knew all these bad things were going to happen to her, and I just can't deal with that kind of tension. But when I realized Paige was not going to crack under all the stress from these events happening, I decided to have faith in Ms. Armstrong's character. Once that happened, this book turned into a good read and now I'm definitely looking forward to Industrial Magic.
And although this review is being posted late-I did finish it before the deadline! Bring it on, Nath. LOL
7 comments:
I enjoyed Industrial Magic more than DSM. There is more interaction with other characters/races, and I liked all the cabal stuff. It develops the overall world more, and I liked the mystery. I bet you'll like it better as well.
hey Kelly!
did you read Industrial Magic? I agree with Devon, IM is much better than DSM :D I think DMS is a necessary book in the series, but not one that I would re-read many times.
Industrial Magic is the better book of the Paige books but I think it sets up her and Lucas nicely. I quite enjoy their romance, almost as much as Elaina and Clay. Paige annoyed me in
stolen but not so much in Dime Store Magic. She's around my age and I understand what she is going through at points. Plus she's a bit more average, almost more relatable. If anyone annoys me a bit(and this is probably only me) it's Savannah. Don't know why, but the whole, 'really beautiful, powerful,cool, almost evil' thing, isn't quite working. Like I said, probably just me.
I think DSM is actually my favorite of the series, but I seem to be the only one! I guess it does have a lot less action than the others, but I didn't mind. Paige does come off goody-goody in the first two books, but I felt like she was a really admirable character once we saw things from her point of view. And I love Lucas--a lot. :)
Ames--I think you might like Industrial Magic better.
I tried reading this once, got halfway through and never finished. I just put it down one day, and never came back--and sort of forgot I never came back. LOL. The book was, like Kailana said, slower paced than the action-packed books that came before it. I loved Bitten and Stolen and was disappointed with this one. But I may start it again. (Oh and Ames I, too, hate grading! lol)
Hmm, another series...sheesh, I do want to "meet" Paige though and see if she annoys the snot out of me too.
I have to stay it took me awhile to get into Dime Store Magic but after I got thorough the first few chapters, Paige grew on & the action started I really enjoyed the book.
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