Agatha realizes the book has magical powers, powers she knows Zoe has promised her mother never to use. Agatha puts Zoe in touch with librarians who look after magical items. Zoe learns that she’s the last in a line of very powerful witches. Despite the promise she made to her mother, she must learn how to use her powers. Someone wants to take control over the book, but that can only happen if Zoe is dead. Once she figures out how to open the book, she’ll need to learn how to read the spells. She’ll have to learn about her past and come to terms with it if she wants to have a future. Readers were first introduced to the Museum of Literature in Booked. While it does help to read those works first, it’s not necessary for WITCHES OF DUBIOUS ORIGIN. I admire Zoe’s determination to understand magic and to use it to help others. The secondary characters, especially Olive, added humor to the story. I would very much like to know more about her. The goofy dangers, the ghost pirates, zombies, and more kept me turning the pages to see how everything turned out. This cozy fantasy is the perfect creepy read for fall. I do hope this is the start of a new series, as it's the perfect blend of magic and books.
When a librarian discovers she’s descended from a long line of powerful witches, she’ll need all of her bookish knowledge to harness her family’s magic, in this enchanting cozy fantasy from New York Times bestselling author Jenn McKinlay.
Zoe Ziakas enjoys a quiet life, working as a librarian in her quaint New England town. When a mysterious black book with an unbreakable latch is delivered to the library, Zoe has a strange feeling the tome is somehow calling to her. She decides to consult the Museum of Literature, home to volumes of indecipherable secrets, some possessing dark magic that must be guarded.
Here, among their most dangerous collection, the Books of Dubious Origin, Zoe discovers that she is the last descendant of a family of witches and this little black book is their grimoire. Zoe knows she must decode the family’s spell book and solve the mystery of what happened to her mother and her grandmother. However, the book’s potential power draws all things magical to it, and Zoe finds herself under the constant watch of a pesky raven, while being chased by undead Vikings, ghost pirates, and assorted ghouls.
With assistance from the eccentric staff of the Books of Dubious Origin department—including their annoyingly smart and handsome containment specialist, Jasper Griffin—Zoe must confront her past and the legacy of her family. But as their adventure unfolds, she’ll have to decide whether or not she’s ready to embrace her destiny.
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