Wednesday, April 8

Witch Bank – Catherine Jinks

Heather has learned to be as unobtrusive as possible – that way she’s less likely to attract her tyrannical father’s attention – so she’s not surprised when most people at the bank where she now works tend not to notice her. When her boss suggests that she may actually be able to become invisible at will and, like her, be a witch, Heather is taken aback but rapidly becomes involved with the small coven associated with the bank. All goes well until Heather discovers that, even when she’s deliberately being invisible, a strikingly handsome computer tech can see her – Jasper’s attractive, and seems interested, but shortly after he fixes her computer Heather starts having blackouts. Is Jasper as benign as he seems?
I can’t tell how much of my disenchantment with Witch Bank comes from the dated elements (inevitable when technology plays a significant role in a book nearly fifteen years old) and how much is due to actual flaws in the text. Either way I found myself not particularly invested in the story or the outcome. Unlike Jinks’s Pagan series, Witch Bank lacks wit and humour, and though Heather grows by the end of the novel and I finally able to stand up to her dad, the other characters are significantly less well defined. Jasper in particular remains something of a cipher, which is unfortunate given the pivotal role he plays in plot development. - Alex

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