Witches of Dubious Origin

By: Jenn McKinlay

Narrated by: Saskia Maarleveld

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.

could be a great series

there's a lot left unsaid. I would like to see where the books of dubious origin crew goes from here. it would be cool if each character got their own book or something.

What a delightful, magical escape!

I have spent the last two days wrapped up in the magic that Jenn McKinnlay has woven for us in this tale. Considering the fact the previous two days were difficult ones for me, this escape was even more welcome. Her wonderful characters and creative imagination drew me in from the very first chapter and the reader was delightful and truly brought the story to life. I highly recommend this book, and I cannot wait for the next book in the series!

Hope it’s a series.

Fun, well-paced, sweet found-family stuff in addition to all the witchy stuff. Lots of open threads left over for a series. Looking forward to it.

Intriguing story

This was a pleasant listen from a reliable author. I like the narrator, whom I have never heard before. She did a good job of distinguishing character voices without going overboard. I was a little irked that, at the final climax of the book when the author did such a great job of building the urgency of the characters’ situation, the main character took the time to discuss “what if I can’t do it” and there was more discussion between characters. I do hope this is just the first in a new series and I look forward to reading more.

Fun and very well written

This is the first book I’ve thoroughly enjoyed in a long time and maybe the first I’ve give 5 stars to all aspects.

Jenn McKinlay is typically a fairly formulaic cozy mystery writer. I have read most of her work though some of it is written less than others. But this novel is well written start to finish.

I can’t pigeon hole the genre though, it’s not a mystery and not really a romance. Coming of age? I’m not sure, but I do recommend it.