A Witch’s Guide to Practical Magic

I’ll admit, I side-eyed the ‘disgraced witch returns to magic school’ premise at first—been there, heard that. But *A Witch’s Guide to Practical Magic* won me over by refusing to romanticize the past. Nell Clayton is a fantastic protagonist precisely because she’s *not* likable in the usual ways: she’s stubborn, often wrong, and her coping mechanism is to pretend she doesn’t care about anything, which (of course) means she cares *too much*. The audiobook’s pacing mirrors her emotional unraveling—slow and resistant at first, then gaining momentum as the hex’s fallout forces her to engage with the people she ghosted. I’d love to hear a narrator who leans into Nell’s defensive humor (think *Fleabag* meets *Sabriel’s* dry wit) while letting the quieter moments—like her grudging reunion with her ex-best friend—land with raw honesty. That said, the romance subplot occasionally feels like it’s pulling focus from the more interesting dynamics (Nell’s fraught mentorship with a jaded professor, the academy’s darkly bureaucratic magic system). And while the hex’s stakes are creative, the final act’s resolution hinges on a reveal that, for me, didn’t quite earn its emotional payoff—it’s satisfying, but not *earned* in the way the character work is. Still, the production (assuming it’s handled with care) has huge potential: this is a book that *needs* atmospheric sound design—creaking floorboards, the sizzle of failed spells—to sell its moody, layered world. If you’re craving a paranormal listen that’s more *sharp* than *sweet*, with a heroine who’s flawed in fascinating ways, this is your ticket back to Cackleshore. Just don’t expect to leave unchanged.