I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
The Book Witch by Meg Shaffer Published by Ballantine Books on April 7 2026
Genres: Adult, Fantasy
Pages: 320
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon, Buy on Bookshop.org
Goodreads
The nitty-gritty: Magical, funny and surprising, The Book Witch is a delightful, “can’t miss” story that embraces the joys of books and reading.
“All stories are love stories if you love stories.”
Book lovers rejoice! The Book Witch might be the best love letter to books and readers I’ve ever come across, and while I’ll admit the beginning was a little shaky for me, Meg Shaffer pulled off a huge surprise midway through that turned everything around. This is one of those books that gets better and better the longer you read. The characters are lively, the dialog is outrageously funny, and Shaffer’s insights into reading will resonate with anyone who loves stories, libraries, bookstores, and of course, the writers who make all those things possible.
Rainy March is a Book Witch, someone who can magically jump into books whenever a story goes sideways. Her task is to “fix” problems caused by a villainous group called the Burners, whose goal is to destroy books for good. Rainy is also in love with a fictional character named the Duke of Chicago, the handsome, charismatic detective from Rainy’s favorite mystery series. Rainy knows one of the rules of Book Witches is to never fall for characters in books, but what can you do?
And then Rainy faces a couple of real life mysteries: her beloved copy of The Secret of the Old Clock has been stolen, and her grandfather appears to be missing as well. Rainy can’t think of anyone more suited to the task of helping her than the Duke, and so begins a grand adventure, as Rainy and the Duke follow leads that take them into some of the most famous books of all time.
I have to start off by mentioning that the plot of The Book Witch is extremely chaotic, which makes it very hard to sum up in only a few paragraphs. Shaffer takes her readers down rabbit holes (literally!), into books within books, back to the real world and more, twisting her story so that it’s often hard to figure out where you are at any given time. But my advice is to just go with it, because the payoff is worth it. Not only do we follow the various book mysteries that Rainy must solve, but Rainy’s backstory is an intriguing mystery as well. Her mother died when she was a baby, and we learn there is a connection between the missing Nancy Drew book and her family, but neither the reader nor Rainy knows what that is.
One of the things that tripped me up in the beginning was the relationship between Rainy and the Duke (I’ve glossed over that part of the plot to save time), where they meet in one of the Duke’s books and immediately fall in love—I mean immediately. The Duke’s ridiculously cheesy dialog confused me at first, but later in the story everything starts to make sense. Once again, my advice is to just go with it. He is a fictional character, after all!
Rainy is adorable and I loved her. Her familiar is a cat named Koshka who joins her on assignments, and it’s always fun to see a well written animal companion. And while she dearly loves the Duke, she’s more interested in her job and uncovering the mysteries in her past. Several times she pushes the Duke away because he’s interrupting her investigation, lol. All of the side characters are fully thought out as well, and get ready for some mind blowing connections between a few of them!
But now let’s talk about my favorite part of The Book Witch—all the clever ways that the author weaves her love of books and reading into the story. Rainy hops into famous classics like Dracula, Pride & Prejudice, Alice in Wonderland, The Haunting of Hill House, and many many more. In one scene, she has to convince Elizabeth Bennet to go back into her book so she can marry Mr. Darcy😂 I loved seeing these interactions and the way Rainy deftly handles each character. And if you loved the Nancy Drew books, you need to read this. There’s also an emotional tie-in to The Velveteen Rabbit, and even Little Free Libraries get a shout out! Shaffer divides her book with genre labels—”Romance,” “Non-Fiction,” “Mystery”—and what’s even better is that the labels perfectly fit what is happening in the story. I was in tears more than once, partly out of nostalgia, but mostly for that magical feeling you get when you read something unforgettable.
There is an “ah ha!” moment at about the 75% mark that takes the story to another level, and the rest of the book is pure magic. The feel-good ending gave me goosebumps, and I was very sad to reach the last page. The Book Witch was such a treat, and it should be on every book lover’s TBR.
Big thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy.
This book seems intriguing! It’s definitely going into my tBR list.