Review of To Love a Witch by Amanda M. Lee

Book 16 in the Wicked witches of the Midwest series is a magical delight both mysterious and romantic and definitely one to please series readers.

Bay Winchester is at a crossroads in her life. Her powers are growing, her personal life is settled, and there’s a young witch in crisis under her care.
Things are … difficult.
A good witch at heart, Bay knows that the teenager she’s trying to tame is dangerous. To keep Hemlock Cove safe, she’s isolated her at the campground property she owns with her boyfriend Landon. While visiting one day, a ghost catches her attention across the lake … and when Bay crosses to investigate, she finds a fresh body and a whole lot of trouble.
It seems the new property owner is currently dating the victim’s ex-boyfriend and there’s a convoluted mess to untangle. That’s on top of the other people in town – including Aunt Tillie’s nemesis Mrs. Little – who keep showing up at the lake with an agenda.
Bay has no idea what to do. She needs to keep her teenage protégé hidden while uncovering a deadly story of an affair gone wrong and greed run amok. All the while she wonders what will happen if she can’t turn things around for her new teenage responsibility. What will she have to do to protect the people that she loves?
If that wasn’t enough, Landon is acting out of sorts. His demeanor is strange and he’s having secret conversations with her mother while trying to keep Bay out of his sock drawer. She can’t figure out why and her imagination is running wild.
It’s going to be a race to the finish. There’s an out-of-control ghost, a teenager who doesn’t want to be helped, and a man who has a plan to give his favorite witch everything she’s ever wanted.
This is the one you’ve been waiting for. The big moment is finally here.

Available on Amazon and through Kindle Unlimited.

The mystery to solve is who killed Valerie Lennox, a local real estate agent with some major attitude towards her ex. Maybe the ex had enough of her pouting or maybe it was his new, wealthy girlfriend who got fed up. There’s also the possibility that Valerie’s death was tied into a specific piece of lakefront land that has attracted the keen interest of several players. Or it could be something else entirely, linked to Bay’s teenage protégé, perhaps? Admittedly, as the story unravels, it doesn’t take too long to pinpoint the most likely culprit. However, the how and why still need to be worked out. The final showdown is dramatic and a touch suspenseful… just perfect for a story in this series.

A key plot point in this book is working with “want-to-be” dark witch, Dani. Dani is a teenage witch who was led astray by an aunt. It’s now up to Bay, Aunt Tillie and Hazel to get her back on the straight and narrow path, if that’s at all possible. There are several discussions with key characters about what Dani’s fate should be and several scenes where Dani’s attitude is on full display. Given how much of the novel was centred around her, I would have liked a fuller resolution than what was provided. 

The romance is in full bloom in this one. Clove has just returned from her honeymoon. Bay’s mother and Chief Terry are still basking in their ‘new’ romance; and Landon is ready to ask a big question. It’s the moment we’ve been reading up to for some time now. I mean, it’s only about ten times per book we have to hear about how much Bay and Landon love each other and how well-suited they are. This is the one where he moves to make it official. The scene that is described is so perfectly magical and beautiful, it couldn’t be more fitting for the characters and world readers have come to enjoy in this series. 

Overall, a good mystery and an excellent dose of romance! I give To Love a Witch 4/5 espresso shots.