Review: good but not best in series- leave Marcus alone
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 08 16, 2012
This continues with the story of witches who try and live in modern world and deal with everyday triumphs and failures. While I love the character development I am beginning to sense the author is perhaps too judgmental against people who don't live happy carefree impulsive lives.  Ignoring this prejudice, the book is enjoyable.Marcus carries with him the grief from the loss of his brother as child.  This creates a man who likes to be left alone, is perhaps a bit gruff.  This is not my idea of a great friend; but also I am not sure it is our  right to judge that this is wrong.  Marcus was hurting nobody.  Why force him to care for a child?  Is  this best for the child.Yes, Marcus should be involved; as a means to shed his grief and save the baby.  But does he have to be the primary caregiver?  The baby has no family and the mystery of where she comes from is unfolded in the story.  Would the baby be happier being raised by a full family with two parents and perhaps siblings?  Using the baby as therapy for a bitter man while it sounds heart rending could do great harm to the child.  Luckily in this case it looks like a village will raise all the children who live here; but is it fair to have the baby live with one man who knows nothing of raising a child when so many open hearts are prepared to welcome a new baby.Babies are not pawns for treatment of adult life problems.  Too many teenagers have babies believing the magic of a family will solve their problems.  First solve life problems to become responsible enough and wise enough to raise a child.  In this I disagree with the authors message.  Yet, the story line continues to be a joy to read and sometime even God seems to laugh at placing babies with suitable parents.Is there a plot to magically conquer the world, an evil villain, magic treasure to be found, life and death crisis? No, to any of these. No adrenalin rush, but a chance to revisit old friends from the first book and explore more of their lives.I agree with the author " While each book tells a complete story, you'll enjoy the characters far more if you start at the beginning of the series."I am stingy with my stars. I gave this book 4 stars in part because the author very reasonably priced the kindle edition, not being greedy like some other authors. Please join me in boycotting some authors until they get more realistic in their Kindle pricing. Only for very good works should they approach $8 and anything over $9 I consider unreasonable. Inflation may move this mark in the future but I don't think we should let greedy publishers and authors move the standard.