Book Review: Charmed – Something Wiccan This Way Comes by Emma Harrison

Title: Charmed – Something Wiccan This Way Comes
Author: Emma Harrison
Genre: Charmed, Witches, Supernatural, Young Adult
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children’s Books
Publication Date:
Rating: 3 stars
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Sister Wiccas gather round. By our power we are bound. Hand in hand and heart to heart, force all evil to depart! Paige Matthews is new to the whole “Power of Three” thing, and looking to explore her powers. So when she reads of a Wiccan convention taking place just outside of Las Vegas, she thinks it’s a great opportunity for her and for her sisters to learn more about their witchy ways. Though the girls are all over saving innocents, they aren’t that heavy into Wicca practices, and Paige thinks the retreat could be enlightening. Piper and Phoebe, however, aren’t so sure. They’re certain that while they spend their days battling honest-to-badness black magic, their so-called supernatural sisters will be nothing more than a bunch of blessed wanna-bes. Soon though, they hear of a rash of murders committed against practicing Wiccans, and making an appearance at the convention becomes top priority. But as they head for the desert campgrounds, are the Charmed Ones headed straight for disaster?

Something Wiccan This Way Comes has a great title. Hands down for that one. The premises is nice as well, with the Charmed Ones heading to a wicca convention – that’s a new one, eh? And we have Paige to thank for that idea! – mostly because something or someone is killing innocent witches, and as usually, it’s up to the Charmed Ones to do something about it. At least, that’s why Piper and Phoebe agreed to join their sister on a trip to Las Vegas. Or well, that’s the reasons they give to her, although we all know that even the Charmed Ones can’t resist Las Vegas.

Upon their arrival at witch-camp, the three magickal sisters soon learn that unfortunately they won’t be staying in one of those uber-cool, extremely luxurious hotels. Instead, they’ll spend their time in a small tent. But that can’t ruin the fun, which only gets greater as they meet their fellow wiccans and realize half of them don’t even have any actual magic skills. But innocents are innocents, and the Charmed Ones are determined to help. Then, in the middle of the night, the leader of one of the covens present gets kidnapped and is later found murdered. The Charmed Ones rush into action, aided by two wiccan sisters who lost one of their sisters to the wicca-kidnapper as well, and who Piper immediately sympathizes with, reminiscing her pain over the loss of Prue.

When they finally get a clue of who the kidnappers are, it looks like chances are turning for the Charmed Ones and the wicca community. But unfortunately, things aren’t always as they seem, and sometimes danger comes from a corner most unexpected…

I enjoyed the interactions between the three sisters a lot in this book, and also the fact that Cole and Leo – although I love them to bits – weren’t always present. As I said, I love them, but having them around always can be annoying, especially when the Charmed Ones desperately need some sisterly bonding. Plus, having the Charmed Ones communicate with other witches, most of them wannabes, is hilarious and entertaining as well. It’s totally like Piper to get worked up over people pretending to be witches, but possessing no actual magic, and it’s totally like Phoebe to absolutely not worry about that.

The plot twists, especially the one at the end, were outstanding in this book. It reads more like a mystery novel than an actual Charmed novel though, a murder-mystery, and our three favorite sisters are the detectives in this book. The author did an excellent job getting the personalities of the Charmed Sisters right, and I loved how authentic all three of them were. Phoebe remains my all-time favorite, but I’d give an arm and a leg for Piper’s powers. This book also shows that albeit powerful, they are not without failure, and they too can make mistakes.

Something Wiccan This Way Comes is a fun, original (although not one of the most original, mind you), character-driven book that focuses a lot on the relationship between the three sisters and their coming to terms with the existence of other wiccas who aren’t all that bad, even if they have no real powers. They also learn a valuable lesson about trust and about what it means to be a Charmed One. A nice book for Charmed fans, but not the best one in the series.