Fire Burn and Cauldron Bubble (Jolie Wilkins #1) By: H.P. Mallory

Plot:

A self-deprecating witch with the unique ability to reanimate the dead. A dangerously handsome warlock torn between being her boss and her would-be lover. A six hundred year old English vampire with his own agenda; one that includes an appetite for witches. The Underworld in a state of chaos. Let the games begin. Life isn’t bad for psychic Jolie Wilkins. True, she doesn’t have a love life to speak of, but she has a cute house in the suburbs of Los Angeles, a cat and a quirky best friend. Enter Rand Balfour, a sinfully attractive warlock who insists she’s a witch and who just might turn her life upside down. Rand hires her to help him solve a mystery regarding the death of his client who also happens to be a ghost. Jolie not only uncovers the cause of the ghost’s demise but, in the process, she brings him back to life! Word of Jolie’s incredible ability to bring back the dead spreads like wildfire, putting her at the top of the Underworld’s most wanted list. Consequently, she finds herself at the center of a custody battle between a villainous witch, a dangerous but oh-so-sexy vampire, and her warlock boss, Rand.

Review:

Super frustrated by this book. I’m not sure why, but I was excited to read this, I should have tempered my expectations after I read the first book in the Dulcie O’Neil series, also by Mallory.

All the character flaws I disliked in Dulcie were amplified in Jolie. She was stupid, emotional, and seemingly incapable of a logical thought. She only ever reacted to what was going on and almost never did anything to further the story herself.

I think the reason I hated her so much is because she reminds me of girls who rely completely on others to take care of them, and do nothing to prepare themselves for the future when someone will not be there and they’ll be on their own. I don’t understand people like that, they’re so helpless and in books they always seem to fail up.

She has almost no curiosity. She’s just been told she’s part of this strange new world and while she is being tutored, she evidently isn’t taking any initiative and asking questions that apply to herself. For someone who comes off as self-absorbed she doesn’t try to figure out anything about herself or her place in the world.

When she joins in on conversations I felt like slapping her because she was so stupid. It’s as though she wasn’t paying attention to anything that was going on and just said something relevant to the current conversation, but not taking into consideration everything that she should have already learned.

I’m not sure how I finished this book, it took forever. The ending brought yet another man infatuated with Jolie and all of a sudden she has a huge magical gift and is able to defeat a fairy turned dragon securing the fairies aid in the coming war. Once again a stupid, vapid girl somehow saves the day.

1/5