Under Her Spell by Bridget Essex came to me from a variety of different means. One, which I'll mention in detail below, was because she was the author of another book I had read. The second, though I didn't know it at the time, was because it was an update to a book I had read a while back.
First though to the book proper. Under Her Spell (and let's be honest here. How was I NOT going to grab this book?) deals with Isabella Fox (a very mediocre witch) and her talking familiar Alice. Isabella has just been run out of her last town and she needs a new job. As a witch for hire, especially one that is only so-so, she doesn’t have a lot of options. She spots an ad for a town that needs a witch to cast one spell a year. How could she possibly screw this one up? So she ends up with the town of Benevolence. Benevolence is quiet on the verge of boring. The town is full of "Shifters", people that can take animal form and have their own type of magic. She only has one spell to cast every year (and she is not even convinced it’s needed) and it would be the perfect gig. Except for the Outcast. The outcast is Emily Deer. Her ancestor betrayed the town to the Wolf of Winter and now her whole family is outcast. Since Isabella doesn't even believe the Wolf is real (and whom she is supposed to cast the spell to ward off) she seeks out this strange, and beautiful outcast.
And that is where it hit me that I had read this book already...sort of. I had read "One Solstice Night" by Elora Bishop some years back. Well, Elora Bishop is Bridget Essex. One Solstice Night is just a section in Under Her Spell. The remaining sections cover Imbolc (a ghost story) and the Equinox (dealing with an ancient god).
The common theme though is love. Love of friends, family and of course romantic love. Though to use a quote, "there was plenty of magic." Isabella and Emily are a great romantic couple. Emily is so down to earth and Isabella is such an air head (but in the best ways possible) that you can't help but root for them. The only couple that is better is Virago and Holly (they are below).
There are a lot of cool locales that I hope we get to see in Essex's other books (again, see below). The Hag Bar in the World’s Largest Swamp was a really cool idea. It was very easy to see all these witches, holding brooms and their drinks walking around, drinking, chatting. I wish I had thought of it. Benevolence is an interesting town. I enjoyed the casual magic people were using and Essex did a great job of detailing the inhabitants. The Rose Temple is a fantastic setting for any D&D game (ghosts and all) and I can't wait to read more about Arktos City from her other books.
Now I came to Bridget Essex via another book. I had been searching for a book where a Knight falls in love with a Witch. Spend any time here and you know I love witches but I am also fond of Paladins. I was looking for a book then where a knight in shining armor finds a witch and falls in love with her. What I ended up finding in my search was A Knight to Remember by Essex. It had everything I was looking for, a dragon, a knight, a witch and even librarian (my current witch character is also a sage). It just didn't have them in the order I was looking for! The knight (Virago) and the librarian (Holly) fall in love, and the witch is the librarian's brother! Still. This was also a really, really great read. It introduced me to Essex (or re-introduced me) and to her creation of Arktos City. I will say that Virago is one of my favorite charcters ever. She is so pure and focused on her task, duty and mission that she could have come off as a complete jerk, but instead, she was noble and just. She really was the epitome of a paladin in my mind.
From this book and her website, I found so many other books including Under Her Spell.
A Knight to Remember is another fun read, but not much in the way of witches in it. Though I have to admit I was cheering at the end during the Ren-Faire Jousting scene.
I am going to be reading more of Essex's books. She has a gift for writing and for making characters you really want to cheer on. Plus I have a guess on what is going to happen next for Emily and Isabella and I need her to write the next book so I can find out if I am correct!
Bridget Essex can be found on the web at: https://bridgetessex.wordpress.com/
Books Read so far: 16 (16.5 if you count AKtR)
Level: Crone
Witches in this book: Isabella in Part One and Three, her classmates and various other witches in Part Two.
Are they Good Witches or Bad Witches: Isabella is a mediocre witch. No, she is all good.
Best RPG to Emulate it: Lots of great choices to be honest. Arktos City feels like it is right out of Blue Rose. The openness of witches, shifters and same-sex love is also right out of Blue Rose.
Virago, the knight in A Knight to Remember, is a Rose Knight in all but name to be honest.
Use in WotWQ: Hell yes! In fact I would love to have Isabella and Emily make an appearance as guest stars. Plus her witches drink inordinate amounts of tea just like mine do. How can I say no to that?
In truth, there is so much great stuff here for a game. Here and there in her books Essex has built a mythology and a history worth exploring. From her knights, to Arktos City, to the Temple of the Rose Goddess and her magical academy. Not to mention all the shifters and witches!
Gamers also already know the knight Virago.
Here she is on the cover of a Knight to Remember.
And again on Q Workshop's Classic RPG Dice Set!
I know, both Essex and Q-Workshop legal purchased the same bit of stock art and it might be a little tacky of me to share this. But I will admit I bought those dice just because they had "Virago" on them. I already have some dice for War of the Witch Queens, but I might sneak these in.
Looking forward to reading more.
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