A Witch in Time
By Madelyn Alt
2 Covers Out of Five
My hopes for a new direction in this series were dashed by
this volume, which is pure soap opera.
And not good soap opera, like Downton
Abbey. More like the soap opera
where people’s actions are forced rather than following any character logic or
where they make ridiculous decisions and are shocked by the consequences. Maggie’s sister Mel gives birth and its
twins, a surprise she didn’t tell anyone about, least of all her husband. As said husband was apparently never much of
a family man (they already have two daughters), Mel hopes that surprise twins
would give him reason to be home more.
Instead, he walks out on his family.
While this is terrible and deplorable, there appears to not have been a
lot of trust in the relationship. Also,
the reader only gets one side of the story, as the husband has barely appeared
in the series.
Maggie overhears a conversation that seems sinister and
breaks her ankle walking down the stairs.
There is also a mystery in there, involving another mother who just gave
birth, but that doesn’t even kick into gear until the third act. With such a short time to deal with the
mystery, instead of red herrings that characters can only spin wild theories
that indicate they may not be functioning at their best intelligence.
The biggest problem is that none of the drama or
consequences seems to directly affect Maggie. She exists on the periphery of
everything that is happening. Even her broken
ankle is less of a burden and more of an opportunity for her new boyfriend to
show what a great boyfriend he can be.
And unless the main character encounters challenges and risks, there isn’t
much to a story, making this volume practically superfluous.
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