Slouch Witch

The Lazy Girl's Guide to Magic, Book 1

By: Helen Harper

Narrated by: Tanya Eby

Length: 8 hrs and 9 mins

Publisher's summary

Let's get one thing straight - Ivy Wilde is not a heroine. In fact she's probably the last witch in the world you'd call if you needed a magical helping hand, regardless of her actual abilities. If it were down to Ivy, she'd spend all day every day on her sofa, where she could watch TV, munch junk food, and talk to her feline familiar to her heart's content.

However, when a bureaucratic disaster ends up with Ivy as the victim of a case of mistaken identity, she's yanked very unwillingly into Arcane Branch, the investigative department of the Hallowed Order of Magical Enlightenment. Her problems are quadrupled when a valuable object is stolen right from under the Order's noses.

It doesn't exactly help that she's been magically bound to Adeptus Exemptus Raphael Winter. He might have piercing sapphire eyes and a body a cover model would be proud of, but as far as Ivy's concerned, he's a walking advertisement for the joyless perils of too much witch work.

And if he makes her go to the gym again, she's definitely going to turn him into a frog.

©2017 Helen Harper (P)2017 Tantor

A very enjoyable read/listen

I loved this book and an re-listening to the whole series. I enjoyed every minute.

terrific match of character voice and reader

I liked this story quite a bit, it was a fun mystery. the characters were even better. and the reader perfectly captured the laconic voice I read into the heroine.

curious, but enjoyable

can't understand why a book that clearly is set in Britain is narrated by American. enjoyable, but the UK slang was distracting in an American accent.

Good story, confusing narration

It was quite confusing that a British woman was narrated in an American accent. It took me a while to get used to that. The story was good though and I will continue to listen to the series.

Looooove

I'll keep this simple: Favorite. UF. Comedy. Series. Everrrrr. The romance, characters, world, the cat . . . everything, just everything

Great story, funny characters.

Finished the book in one day, couldn't wait for the mystery to be solved. Loved all the characters. The narrator wasn't so bad as other have said. I thought she did a good job on the female character's attitudes. Downloading the 2nd book. Hope the 3rd will be out soon.

Ivy is incredible!

Ivy was expelled from the order for something she did do. She enjoys driving a taxi as little as she could to support her lifestyle, which is insolence magnified. By a mistake she is bound for over a year to the most arrogant almost OCD yet skilled witch. Their interactions make the book! It is humorous to watch them as they are confronted with multiple murders and thefts. The narrator, Tanya Eby, does a great job with Helen Harper's story!

Fun, well written witchy whodunnit

Really enjoyed the world building, characters and mystery element. Excited to listen to rest of the series.

Arg!

I absolutely loved this book, but how are you gonna leave us with an ending like that Mrs Harper!? 😳😬 killing me! Can’t wait to read/listen to book 2! Mrs Eby made all the different peoples voice recognizable as different and fun!

Laugh Out Loud Funny

It was an interesting choice to go with a non-British narrator, but it surprisingly doesn't clash with the story--Ivy's nationality was never really brought up, so it's easy to assume she grew up in Canada or something before moving to Oxford for college.

The story itself is hilarious, and the narrator delivers the comedy with a slyness that definitely works. Ivy has more of a controlled nature than some of Harper's previous characters, which is a refreshing change.

Winter is also a bit different from some of her other male leads. He comes across as more of a bookish, A-type personality with the charm and charisma of a rock, which is oddly endearing the more you get to know him as the book progresses. It helps that I know someone with exactly this personality who is also disgustingly handsome, so it was easy to envision.

I really loved Saskia Maarleveld's narrations, so I was a little bummed not to see her return, but Tanya Eby was fantastic. She's managed to convince me that she was the perfect narrator for Ivy, which is even more impressive considering how reluctant I was for the change. Nicely done, all!