The Corner Store Witch

The Corner Store Witch by H.D. Lynn
Published by Throw This Book at Me on September 20, 2016
Genres: Paranormal, Witches, Young Adult
Pages: 326
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher
Purchase on: Amazon// Barnes & Noble// BookBub
Add to: Goodreads // StoryGraph

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.



The Chronicles of Narnia but with more swearing, more katanas, and less allegory. It's nerdy, anime inspired fun for the whole family.
Leone owns Pulp Magic (Comics, Books, Games, & More). Angry customers are her biggest concern-until a man from another world literally drops into her shop. And oni have followed him. Leone defends herself with a magical staff, which marks her with powerful runes. Her supernatural tattoo sleeves make her desperately thirsty, yet practically allergic to water-and oh, they foretell the fate of the realms of demons, gods, and men.
With her four friends and inter-dimensional guide, Leone travels to the realm of the gods, searching for magical cosmetic surgery. She doesn't want to carry the fate of the world literally on her arms. But the truth she finds-of a war raging between worlds-changes her, challenges her.
What's a nerd to do with the fate of all worlds at stake? Ah yes, kick some demon ass.

review

I have no idea what to make of The Corner Store Witch by HD Lynn. If this should be taken seriously or as a parody or both. I do know that the title and cover, both of which make this sound fantastic, were completely misleading. There is no witch, only a girl who gets tangled up in some mystical mess, and she certainly doesn’t seem as well-versed or confident in her abilities as the girl on the cover. I cringed as ‘nerd’ pop culture mentions littered the first few pages and then again at the reactions of the girls at a random man landing in the shop.

The entire book seemed to be a parody of urban fantasy tropes and geek culture, and if it was, then I could understand it a bit better. Having girls at the center, especially non-white girls that were smart and educated, thrust in a medieval-esque adventure seems to be a twist on everything. Especially when the demon oni seem to be surprised and disgusted? at seeing a dark skinned girl. Considering they’re demons and from a different realm, it doesn’t make sense UNLESS it is a parody of the fact that racists like to say people of color can’t play certain fantasy characters because they are “obviously white” or whatever other nonsense they spout.

But then, it takes itself seriously at other times and I wonder, is this for real? Am I supposed to take this seriously, as an actual urban fantasy novel? It’s just too much, too over the top. Though it was under 200 pages, I honestly struggled to finish it. The only reason it got two stars was because I was a) able to finish it and b) it might work as parody.

Sorry to say but I think The Corner Store Witch by HD Lynn is going to have to be a pass from me.

two-stars

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