Magic and the Modern Girl

<b>Type and Source of Book:</b><br />Ebook borrowed from the Ontario Library Service<br /><br /><b>Thoughts - ***Warning!! Contains spoilers below!***:</b><br /><br />I will probably never say this again so I'm going to say it first: The third book is by far the best book in this series! The first book was good, the second okay - but this book - the third book - was the best. However, it wouldn't have been able to stand alone: it needed the other two to set the story and characters. It also wouldn't do if you combined all three into one giant book, as they needed to be separated into stages. To give an analogy of what I mean, this is how the books would go:<br /><br />The first book would be a seed: after searching for the right composition, this seed was carefully selected, lovingly transported, gently placed into the earth at the precise location, and covered with all the hope of someone who grew SO attached to something so miniscule and could only hope of what the seed may bring.<br /><br />The second book would be a spout: that seed that you loved and hoped and dreamed that would grow finally did!... Into a stinkin sprout. What the heck! Sure... growth takes time - everyone knows that, but dangit I wish it would grow faster! Look at it there - it's PUNY!!! ...Maybe I should have watered it more.... or less... I don't know - anything to get more than a speck of a sprout.<br /><br />The third book would be a tree: not just any tree - the ground would shake around the sprout and creatures would flee from the noise and then an ERUPTION of twigs, leaves, branches, and bark would FLY up out of the ground - similar to a Jack in the Beanstalk type (but not up to another world... that's just too high). Nevertheless, the tree is HUGE!!! The leaves would be the size of my head and I would never be able to wrap my arms around the trunk - actually, my entire FAMILY with hands linked STILL couldn't wrap around it! THIS! THIS is what I'd been hoping and waiting for!<br /><br />Yet without the first two stages (or the first two books), this tree would never have existed.<br /><br /><br />Okay okay - now on to the review:<br /><br />Duh - I liked it. The end. (Kidding!!!)<br /><br /><br /><b>**SPOILER TIME**</b><br /><br />Things finally clicked and made me happy in this book. The relationships with the three generations of women (daughter, mother, grandmother) finally found a balance - and in some cases, literally, with the balance of their magic combined. The addition of the creation/release of Clara and Gran's creatures (Majom - little boy - monkey/ Nuri - woman - parrot) were a nice touch to the storyline - especially since it made Jane actually do magic!! I love the magic parts, of course! The friendships with Neko and Melissa strengthened. And David - ahhhh David - finally my heart was happy with how this story went... I enjoyed finding out about his real life (away from Jane) and his home, and chopping wood, and even his beloved dog, Spot. I was already on Team David before I found out about him - and this just made him so much more lovable. And the ending! Not like book 2, where things wrapped up - this book hinted at a promise of a future for the characters! Whether or not we will see it is one thing, but at least I can sleep and dream happily of what may have happened to them all (even Kit - the library intern got a happy ending!).<br /><br /><br /><b>The Plot:</b><br /><br />The plot followed the predictable storyline of the person who has it all and loses it all, then regains it and realizes how important "it all" was!!! <br /><br /><i>"You decided not to give Clara the runes?"<br />"They aren't there."<br />"What?"<br />"They're ruined. Crumbled</i><br /><br />(haha - <b>runes ruined</b>... well... not haha to Jane of course - but I giggled)<br /><br />Where was I? Oh yeah - the storyline being the "learn the meaning of X" type lesson... Except this was more of an out of body experience - it's as if you've been walking around in a trance or if you've been lying in a coma - then suddenly your spirit or essense or being or whatever just SMACKS into you and you look down at your hands and realize you can FEEL and wiggle your nose and experience that you can SMELL.... You get the picture. This lesson for Jane was a doozy. And I'm glad she had to go through it - because I was getting a little annoyed at her just wasting her days and not utilizing her magical talent - finally she woke up!!!<br /><br /><br /><b> The I.B. </b><br />Lastly, there were more I.B. references!! Since I collected them for the second book's review, I will do it again for the third. Here are what I.B. stands for in the third book:<br />-Infuriating Boob<br />-Infantile Baby<br />-Ingrate Bastard<br />-Inexcusable Beast<br />-Irreparable Bum<br /><br /><br /><b>Quote Time! Captured quotes that I want to keep and treasure:</b><br /><br />Giggles:<br /><i>"I really don't think that he meant it that way."<br />"What other way is ther to mean it?"<br />"The witch way."<br />"The which way?"</i><br /><br /><i>A giddy thought rose in my mind, that I could manipulate the pair of them, saying whatever I wanted to hear them say. Jane Madison is a powerful witch. I will do whatever Jane tells me to od. I will never, ever question Jane Madison again for as long as I shall live. Yeah.</i><br /><br /><br />Touche:<br /><i>"I wasn't fishing for compliments."<br />"And I wasn't biting a lure."</i><br /><br />Painting a Picture:<br /><i>Ice cubes clanked against each other as he excavated them from the freezer, and he tossed one to Spot, who caught it in midair.</i><br /><br />Haven't We All Done This (Rubix Cube):<br /><i>I figured we'd have at least five minutes before he realized he could peel off the stickers and reattach them to any face of the cube, completing the puzzle in an unconventional flash.</i><br /><br />Awwww:<br /><i>"An autumn wedding for two people in the autumn of their lives"</i><br /><br />Life Lesson - go Gran!:<br /><i>"I decided that there are times in life when people should make a statement. When they should stand up for what they believe in. When they should announce to all the world their goals. Their priorities. The things that are important to them.</i><br /><br />Canadian Themes:<br /><i>I had asked for Egs Nova Scotia - essentially, Eggs Benedict, with lox standing in for the Canadian bacon.</i><br /><br /><i>..Alanis Morissette and her song aside, I knew it would be ironic if I'd fought the Coven, gained my witchy independence, only to lose Neko and my arcane collection now, through lack of use.</i><br /><br /><br />Dang:<br /><i>..which led to a discussion about summer vacations, which led to my sad confession that I had not traveled anywhere interesting for years.</i><br /><br />Perfect Ending:<br /><i>"Sesame bagels," he whispered against my throat, turning me back toward the stairs. "For breakfast."</i><br /><br /><br /><b>Words and Their Kobo Definitions:</b><br /><br />Schadenfreude - <i>enjoyment obtained from the troubles of others</i><br /><br />Anima - <i>an individual's true inner self that reflects archetypal ideals of conduct</i><br /><br />Hedonist - <i>the doctrine that pleasure or happiness is the sole or chief good in life</i><br /><br />Nosegay - <i>a small bunch of flowers</i>

Started out great, then people forget there was a plot<br /><br />Jane Madison is a witch, but she hasn't been using her "witchy" powers in so long, she's losing them. After whining about this to her friend, Melissa, her ward, David, suggests she performs a big spell to bring back her magic. She chooses to create an anima, but this turns out badly when she realizes that the anima hasn't given her any of her powers back!<br /><br />During these last days of Borders' Going Out of Business Sale, I've been continuously perusing the racks, hunting for books that A) I've been meaning to buy and B) books that might be interesting. This book I spotted, with its cute cover, on one such trip. And since I knew that it would be fluffy and light-hearted, I figured I'd snatch it up and read it on a flight. So when I found myself flying, I made sure to squeeze this book into my luggage.<br /><br />The first 100 pages or so are more or less solid. Sure, the book is completely fluffy, more chick lit than paranormal, but I liked the refreshing change of pace. No major baddies to fight. No worlds to save. No Messiahs to protect. Just a simple woman living a simple life.<br /><br />The next 150+ pages are when the problems start to arise. The whole story comes to a <i>complete</i> halt as Jane tries to figure out her feelings for this great guy, Will. Gone is her desire to retain her powers. Gone is the urgency to find the damn anima. Instead, let's be a b!tch to this great guy and totally drag him all around the place.<br /><br />In the beginning, I liked Jane. She was fun, she was pretty realistic, and she wasn't omnipotent. However, as the story progressed, I disliked her more and more, until I wanted to start clubbing her. She whines <i>continuously</i> to her friend, Melissa about her stupid, solvable problems and almost completely ignores Melissa's problems. After seeing her anima, she breaks up a date with Will, doesn't say why (only that it deals with "David"), and then proceeds to MOPE the REST OF THE NIGHT. Oh, sure, she calls David, doesn't get an answer, but if she is going to cancel a date, why not chase after anima? If she wanted to call David, use the cellphone! Go to a corner, make a quick call, if he doesn't answer, then proceed with the date! Why make life more miserable for yourself?<br /><br />I don't see how Melissa put up with Jane. She has her own problems, but she seems to always have time to listen to Jane whine about her messed-up life. I guess after Melissa gets the amazing Rob, she can put up with anything Jane gives her.<br /><br />Neko is such a hideously stereotyped gay character, I cringed. Fashion savvy? Check. "Girlfriend" at the end of each line of dialogue? Check. Can steal away boyfriends? Check. Hypersexual? Check. Smarmy and smart alecky? Definitely.<br /><br />Will was a great guy, and I definitely wanted to see Jane happy with him. David, on the other hand, felt like a control freak. After he dumped her the night after they bumped uglies, I was totally ready to let him fly. But, of course, I am just a reader, not the author, so this wasn't my story to dictate. Let me just say that I have NO IDEA why Jane went back with this guy (even though he did say he was wrong and sorry, both of which did give me a wee bit more respect for him).<br /><br />The story started out good (even though there was a TON of infodumping and recapping from the previous books that felt like overkill), but then flew off the tracks. Jane loses her powers, tries to regain them and fails. But then, instead of pursuing her anima, she proceeds to whine and gripe and make her love life miserable (AND drag Will around by the nose, poor guy). We have Gran's wedding, which appears out of nowhere, disappears, then reappears to be hastily and suddenly tied up at the end (it makes NO SENSE why Gran suddenly decided to go from huge wedding to small wedding). The last 50 pages or so finally returns to the plot, but by that point, I was mad at the book and very close to not finishing it (I did because I hate quitting the book).<br /><br />In the end, what started as a nice, relaxing, frothy read turned into a 1000 piece unfinished jigsaw puzzle. What could have been a good story got swamped by other, unimportant plotlines, stupid actions, and stupid characters. By no means the worst book I've read, do not open this book without expecting a LOT of chick lit and you will probably enjoy it. Otherwise, just skip it.

Registered on Bookcrossing - <a target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow" href="https://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/6738324">https://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/...</a><br /><br />My review: This is a fun story. I really liked Jane Madison. I thought this was the last book in the series, but there is a new series that continues after this: Jane Madison Academy. I didn't read any of the other books in this series, but there was enough back story explanation so that I didn't feel lost and confused. I will try and find the others in this series. I loved all of Jane's quirky friends and family. Mojito therapy sounds pretty good. ;-)

I have to say this is the best one so far. Jane finally grows up. The story has suspense, romance, magic, discovery, humor, and conflict everything you need to make a good story. I liked the journey that Jane made, the adult decisions she had to make and the fact that she didn't make them lightly. Even though this is basically a light entertaining read, it had just enough weight to keep it interesting. I look forward to the next one.

In the beginning of Magic and the Modern Girl, Jane Madison hasn’t used her powers in quite a while. She doesn’t really think of the consequences until she looks in the basement of her cottage to discover that her runes have dissolved and her books are almost wiped clean. After contacting her Warder, David, Jane discovers something very disturbing. Since she has neglected her magical abilities, she is losing them. In a desperate attempt to jump start her powers, she attempts a large spell, but things do not go as planned. Meanwhile, Jane has even more things to worry about. Her grandmother is getting married and seems to be planning the most extravagant wedding of the century. Her mother, Clara, has announced that she is once again, leaving. And of course there’s Will Dexter, a charming and very normal guy who may convince Jane to give up magic for good.<br /><br />Magic and the Modern Girl is the third and final Jane Madison book. To be honest, I’m glad that they’re ending the series here because the books are beginning to fall into a bit of a formula. Each book has Jane facing a magical dilemma. A new romantic interest in introduced and the relationship doesn’t quite turn out how Jane expects. Add in some snarky comments from Neko, flakiness from Clara, tension with David, and friendship moments from Melissa, and you pretty much have a Jane Madison novel. Now that’s not to say that these books aren’t enjoyable to read. I absolutely loved Girls Guide to Witchcraft, and found Sorcery and the Single Girl to be a blast, but when picking up Magic and the Modern Girl, the similarities to past books did end up hampering my enjoyment.<br /><br />Now that’s not to say that I did not enjoy this volume as it was plenty fun to read. I liked the fact that we got resolutions on a lot of the conflicts between characters. I like the fact that we had a love triangle that wasn’t “girl must chose between truly decent guy and jerk-off guy.” So, even though it was a step down from the previous books in the series, it was far from a complete disappointment, and ended up ending things quite well. I plan on continuing to read Mindy Klasky’s books (although I kind of wish she would write another straight fantasy book, as chick lit is less my thing). I know she’s planning on starting a similarly themed series involving genies coming out this year, and I’m curious to see what she’s come up with.

Okay! So I read one quirky paranormal romance/mystery and now I can't seem to stop reading them. You're probably thinking "Enough already!", but truthfully, I can't seem to help myself. These days, my waking hours are long and demanding and when I get home at night, I really need to unwind with something that I don't have to think about too much. These books that I've been reading seem to be just the ticket.<br /><br />Jane hasn't been using her magic. In fact, you could say she's been very neglectful. Her powers have dwindled, her books are fading, her bits and bobbles are disappearing, and her relationships with her warder is practically non existent. Not only does she have to deal with all of that, but her Grandmother is getting married, her best friend finally has a boyfriend, and Jane thinks she's finally found her guy!<br /><br />So what's this Modern Witch to do? Well she's going to have to pull out all the stops and get help from everyone in order to make things right. She creates an Anima, named Arial, and of course, things go completely wrong because she doesn't focus and just about loses all the magic she has left! What a mess! Now Jane needs to convince Grandma, her mom Clara, her familiar Neko and David, her warder and protector, to help her.<br /><br />The rest of the story lumbers along, and doesn't move at the same clip as the previous stories. It took me a bit longer to get thru it and sometimes I found my self skipping ahead just to get to the good parts. The interaction between Neko and Jane was limited, due to Neko moving out, and the same with David, but due to the mere fact that Jane hasn't used her magic.<br /><br />It was interesting to see Jane get a boyfriend who she could finally open up to, but I didn't see that relationship going anywhere. It was so obvious that she had feelings for David, all the way back to the first book in the series. But nothing keeps a reader interested more than unrequited love or in this case, indecisive love.<br /><br />The climax, naturally, happens at Grandma's wedding! But since I don't want to give away the story, I will just end and say, that if you're following the series, you will need to read this in order to find out if Jane gets her magic back or not.

<b> <i>Magic and the Modern Girl</i> </b> is the final book in the <i>Jane Madison</i> trilogy. I was kinda disappointed with this one, esp since "that's all she wrote" on the matter. But, Mindy Klasky did eventually wrap everything up, just not the way I would've thought things would've played out. <i>They are allowed to do that from time to time. LOL!</i><br /><br />Jane, having chosen to not join the coven in the last book, finds life is just getting in the way of using her magic. She's been busy with work, family, friends, life and she hasn't used magic in months. Too many months as it turns out. The lack of use has caused her magic to being to die out. <br /><br />Neko, her familiar, has moved out of the house. Mainly because she can't stand his bad house-mate manners and feels he would be happier with his boyfriend anyway. <br /><br />After her past love-life devastation, she's a little leary when she meets the "perfect man". <br /><br />All of this comes to a "tiny wisp of a woman taking over the arts" head as Jane tries to "rebuild" her magic, come to grips with the fact that her mother is going to leave again, she's possibly met Mr. Right and the many other things that make her "Chaos Jane". &lt;-- my nickname for her

Librarian and erstwhile witch Jane Madison hasn't practiced her witchcraft in almost a year. She's been devoting herself to her career as librarian and, to be honest, avoiding everything that is witchy. She discovers, to her horror, that not only are her powers dwindling, but all her witchcraft books and tools are losing their potency and are in danger of either being destroyed or confiscated.<br /><br />She works a spell to bring her powers back to rather distastrous results. Meanwhile a lover who truly loves her appears -- or is it two? What results is a wisecracking good story of an endearing heroine as she says goodbye to loser boyfriends and hello to love, confidence, and discovery. Happy endings are also there for her BFF, her grandmother, and all the other characters we have come to care about in this delightful trilogy.

In some ways a better book than book 2, on other ways worse. Jane has been shown to be a completely self-centered person who has never asked David (her Warder) one important thing about his life, has abandoned him for 6 months and never checked to see what that did to his career or his life (who's paying him, for goodness sakes?), and even found out at one point that her best friend had moved her new relationship along to the sleep over point without Jane even knowing they'd slept together. Which is all pretty inconsistent from the gal who was presented off and on throughout the books. It's just hard to believe some of the basic premises sometimes. But overall it was a good story and had a satisfying ending.

I think this was a sequel (I haven't read the first ones) so I didn't get a few things. There was a fair amount of review, which was nice, but even so sometimes I felt like it was too much. Some things I didn't really get but didn't want to. Generally I liked the characters but main girl bugged at times. I have no interest in the rest of the series.