Boss Witch By Ann Aguirre

Review by Kayleigh

Series Name: Fix-It Witches, #2 

Clem hurried outside, her heart beating so fast that it made her slightly dizzy. “Hey!” 

She wasn’t normally like this, but she wound her arms around his neck and squeezed him, hoping a sudden hug attack would divert him. Gavin returned the embrace, his big hands splayed to cradle her close. For a long moment, she breathed him in: soap and leather oil, a hint of mint, and just a whisper of citrus. Wow, he smells amazing.

“Missed me, then?” he asked, a thread of amusement lacing his tone.

“You got me.”

Ann Aguirre takes us back to her Witchy Waterhouse cousins and readers will surely be entertained with her cast of loveable characters. 

Clementine Waterhouse is a perfectly logical witch. She doesn’t tumble headlong into love. Rather she weighs the pros and cons and decides if a relationship is worth pursuing. At least that’s always been her modus operandi before. Clem prefers being the one in charge, always the first to walk away when the time is right. Attraction has never struck her like lightning.

Until the witch hunter comes to town.

Gavin Rhys hates being a witch hunter, but his family honor is on the line, and he needs to prove he’s nothing like his grandfather, a traitor who let everyone down. But things in St. Claire aren’t what they seem, and Gavin is distracted from the job immediately by a bewitching brunette with a sexy smile and haunting secrets in her eyes. 

Can the bossiest witch in town find a happy ending with the last person she should ever love?

Ok, so when I read Witch Please in the fall I didn’t instantly love it, but I was still ready to go back and hang out with the Waterhouse witches because Clem was one of my favourite characters in the book and I wanted to read her story. And I’m so glad I did. I loved Boss Witch – it’s funny, spicy and so engaging.

Although this is the second book in the series, you could read it as a stand-alone. Book one and book two overlap each other a bit in the timeline and you see the same situations from different character perspectives which I thought was a unique way of moving the story along and giving more insights into characters. For world building, I would still recommend you read book one though. 

In Boss Witch, the whole cast of characters are revisited (with some new faces of course) and I feel like you get a better understanding of the main players in this book. Clementine, as I noted, was one of my favourite characters in book one, and I loved learning more about her background, family dynamics and what motivates her in this book. The very hunky witch hunter, Gavin, was such a yummy character. As the son of the head witch hunter he has strong family expectations, like Clem and her relationship with her Gran. Gavin, however, has this soft side that tumbles out of him as he gets to know Clem and the other people in the town. I loved the fire station scenes where Gavin would go and sit with senior citizens and get to know them. It started out with him trying to find out information on the magic activity in town, but turned into genuine relationships where he had meals with them and helped them with chores around their houses. Gavin, I realized, was just lonely for family and a sense of belonging. When push comes to shove and he has to choose between his witch hunting family or his newfound family, Gavin suddenly has a very difficult decision to make. 

Gavin and Clem, as we know from book one, are really attracted to each other. Clem is trying to keep Gavin distracted from hunting down her cousin, Danica, whose love affair is throwing off magical energy like crazy. So, as dear cousins do, Clem sacrifices herself (not literally) and works on seducing the witch hunter (hard job, right?). Gavin, who does not know Clem is a witch, is trying to do his job and stay focused and not get on his father’s bad side. They both know a relationship would be a bad idea, but they cannot keep their hands off each other. I loved their relationship dynamics: spicy chemistry but also a deep sense of making each other a better person because they care. I want more Gavin and Clem. More! Gavin does a lot of learning in this book: about himself, about good and evil and about the values of other people. While I’m not giving any spoilers here, I have to say that his redemption arc is one of the most satisfying I’ve read in a long time.

Something else that I loved about book two of the series was that we learned more about the magic system and the politics involved in the covens. It helped me understand how the witches worked together and how they kept their magic hidden from the regular people for so long. I also loved that we got to revisit the coven again and see the amazing sisterhood that Clem has around her. While this is a romance book, it’s also a love letter to the importance of female relationships that women need to build around themselves. Love it!

Finally, no review on this book would be complete without mentioning Benson, the adorable mouse that Clem buys for Gavin because she realizes he needs more emotional connections in his life and more relationships that let him offer love and receive it freely. Benson is a stand-out character for me and an important plot point in the book. I always wanted a mouse as a kid and my mum was firmly against it, but this book brought back all of my childish yearnings. 

I thoroughly enjoyed Boss Witch: it’s funny, smart and filled with strong women who will do anything to protect their families. I can’t wait for book three to come out. 

Thank you to Sourcebooks and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.