Witches of Dubious Origin by Jenn McKinlay (Oct 28, 2025) Thank you, @berkleyromance @acebookpub @prhaudio and @mckinlayjenn for the gifted advanced print and audio copies of this absolutely adorably fun cozy fantasy that I truly hope is the start of a series because I am not ready to let go of these amazing characters! #berkley #berkleypartner
Zoe Ziakas has her quiet life as a small town librarian upended when a mysterious book is delivered to her at work. It is black with an unbreakable lock and something about it calls to her. Being a good librarian, she wants to know more about the book, so she travels to the Museum of Literature. Within the museum is a department dedicated to books with magical properties. It is called Books of Dubious Origin (BODO). But when she meets with the unique cast of characters that work for BODO, she learns something shocking – Zoe is the last descendant of a powerful magical family and this book calls to her because it is their family grimoire. But Zoe has barely any time to process this news before she becomes a target – because of the power in the grimoire. Soon she’s being chased by ghosts, the undead and a pesky raven. With the help of the BODO employees (including the far too handsome Jasper), Zoe will need to solve the mysteries of the grimoire to save herself.
It has been ages since I’ve read such a charming and wildly entertaining cozy fantasy! I don’t want to say too much because part of he fun of the story is putting together the pieces along with Zoe. The best part of the book is the found family of the BODO team – each of the team members is so unique and bring something great to the story – both in their magical abilities and their personalities. It is full of action, whimsy and charm – the warm hug and hot cocoa of fantasy novels, I just adored it.
🎧 Audiobook Thoughts: (9h 42m) Saskia Maarleveld does a really lovely job in this performance. She’s got a variety of ages, backgrounds, and accents that she deftly narrates in a way that makes listeners really FEEL the charm of the story.
Book: 🌟🌟🌟🌟💫
🎧 Audio performance: 🌟🌟🌟🌟💫
🔥 Spice: Just Kisses
Book Smart Kate 