Review: Mark of the Witch

Mark of the Witch by Maggie Shayne

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Reincarnation, love torn apart to be reunited with a purpose, magic and evil men - classic Ms. Shayne tropes. This new series focused on witchcraft instead using it as an accoutrement shows a promising beginning. Indira Simon is the witch in denial. She is in a crisis of faith. At the same time, Father Tomas is questioning his beliefs and dedication to the Gnostic Church. The two are conveniently brought together by a mutual friend, Lady Rayne. Lady Rayne is Indira's good friend who also is the head priestess of the local coven. She's also Father Tomas's younger sister.

This world Ms. Shayne creates clearly shows good versus evil. While the main characters may be troubled about their situation and what to believe, the conflict is always clear. It's one side or the other, there are no compromises or blurring of lines here. What Ms. Shayne does do is show now it's not a person's religion which can be evil or good, it's the person practicing it which is purely evil or innocent. There is an abundance of hatred aimed at the witches. This is as expected. Most of the events are easy to guess. Even the ending is expected. The journey to the ending is what makes this book enjoyable. Learning about the past lives enhances the characters. The reader begins to like Indria a bit more.

Indria comes a cross as a wishy washy blonde. She's repeatedly down on herself and self-critical about her thin body, straight blonde hair and tiny boobs. Her past life is much more interesting. She's a powerful witch with sexy sultry body to go with it. The raven black hair is a nice exotic touch. While current Indria seems to be afraid of everything, ancient Indria can kick ass with awesome magical powers. As Indria learns more about her past, she becomes more self assured. The dreaded past is very similar to the movie, The Mummy. Not to give away a spoiler, but the memories coming back to both Tomas and Indira follow the Mummy Return's plot in similar ways. Ms. Shayne uses a different twist here and there to make it uniquely her own. This book is recommended to paranormal romance lovers who want see star crossed lovers united.



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