“Playing the Witch Card,” by KJ Dell’Antonia. G.P. Putnam’s Sons. September 12th, 2023. 352 pages. $17.00 (paperback).

Flair Hardwicke ran from magic when she was a teenager, leaving everything it involved as far behind as she could. But when her husband cheats on her again, Flair finds she has no choice but to move to the house and bakery her grandmother just left her.

She is determined to remain magic-free – supernatural shenanigans will not take place in her back room, and no side-hustles will be found there. But then Flair creates beautiful tarot card cookies, with almost no memory of it happening, and her bakery finally becomes a hit in the town.

Flair’s family tarot deck and her magic-loving, chaotic mother show back up to complicate her life, as does her soon-to-be-ex – in the trunk of his car. The more she tries to control the chaos, the worse she makes it. She learns there is far more at stake than her own use of magic, and it may be the only way to save the day.

Flair is in her 30s, starting over, and trying to navigate a new job, a new town and being a single mom. It’s wonderful to find a book in this genre with an older female main character, and one dealing with so many things we can relate to. Yes, she has magic, but it isn’t the kind that makes her life easy. Flair’s struggling to build relationships and unsure whether she’ll ever fall in love again, and I appreciated that!

First off, I must mention that the plot of this book is a slow build. If that isn’t something you like or enjoy, you’ll have trouble with this one. Most of the fast-paced plot takes place in the last quarter of the book. That said, it’s a fun build-up as we learn the back story of the town and its people, Flair’s relationship with the community and with her grandmother – and most of all about the magic.

This story has a lot of heart in it and is driven by Flair’s character. As the story unfolds, Flair learns how to be a single mother and deal with her daughter. There are flashbacks, and we read about how Flair reacts to trauma from her childhood and to memories, choices and mistakes that haunt her. Although she swore off magic completely, Flair must learn to deal with the role of magic in her life. She must learn how to forgive, if not forget. It is very much a novel about realizing that you can’t always be in control but you can change your mind. It’s also about admitting that you may have made mistakes in the past and dealing with them. I would have loved to have seen a bit more of her grandmother and her best friend mixed in.

The town is amazing. Rattleboro was founded by a coven of witches and hosts an astounding Halloween celebration. Residents spray glitter on the sidewalks. Every shop on the main street is required to decorate, and some just decided to theme it out all year long. I love the idea of visiting or even living in a town like this. Rattleboro hosts Halloween Trail every year, with booths, scary sections and fun treats along the way. The town raises money for charity causes and tickets are sold by lottery. Halloween is absolutely huge, and basically takes over the entire life of Rattleboro. The last third of the book features the Halloween celebration.

We get “Practical Magic” and “Gilmore Girls”-esque moments, and tons of Hallmark-style romance when an ex-boyfriend comes back to town. There is humor, heartbreak, friendship and more in this novel. Tarot cards were a great element. The author weaves them into the story throughout, and the descriptions of them are wonderful.

Dell’Antonia makes you feel like you are there experiencing the magic, the bakery, and the events with the characters. It’s so much fun to read magical realism with adult characters! I also loved the Halloween scenes, the autumn feel of the bakery, and the spooky air of the story’s conclusion.

There’s a great plot twist at the end, although I started to guess part of it right before it happened. The characters come together to solve a crisis and save the day. Along the way, Flair and others realize that maybe magic isn’t as evil as they believed. Some characters are left with broken pieces of the storyline to pick up, and I suspect we’ll see a sequel set in this world!

Content warnings: child trauma, family trauma and drama, control issues, generational trauma and spouses cheating.

– Reviewed by Fallon Willoughby, assistant professor, First Year Experience, Southcentral Kentucky Community & Technical College.