Title: First Rain (The Witch’s Bestiary Prequel)
Publisher/Author: Evangeline Hunter
Pages: 42pp

Alicia Stormwell is a witch. Not a very powerful one, but that’s fine by her. She’s happy as long as she gets to work with magical animals. Unfortunately, her conscience will not allow her to stand by when she sees an animal being abused, and she reports a very powerful, very well-connected vampire after he brings a gravely injured wyvern into her veterinarian clinic. Bye-bye job. When the authorities drag their feet, Alicia decides to take matters into her own hands to stop the smuggling ring and rescue the abused animals.* Good thing she has some wicked martial arts skills to make up for her mediocre magic ….

I subscribe to quite a few author newsletters. A recent newsletter from Rebecca Chastain (you should totally check out her Gargoyle Guardian and Terra Haven series) led me to a brand new series by a new-to-me author: The Witch’s Bestiary by Evangeline Hunter. The first book is set to release near the end of August, but readers who sign up for her newsletter get a free digital copy of the prequel, First Rain.

This is such a fun story. And right now, I need fun. And I need heroines who stand up and do the right thing, even when there is a price to pay. Alicia is one such heroine. I love the fact that she knows who she is and is sure of herself, and isn’t lying around moping about her mediocre magic. She loves her life and her job, and when the latter is taken away, she finds another way to do what she loves.

Even if that means having to deal with manticore vomit.

Also, her Aunt Lydia is a hoot. When young Alicia landed on her doorstep, suddenly orphaned by the deaths of her parents, Lydia — ever pragmatic, but also deliciously sassy — set about raising Alicia to be a strong woman who could take care of herself. She never lied to Alicia, never sugarcoated the ugly realities of the world. And she made sure the kid got martial arts lessons to compensate for her lesser magic. I really hope there is more of Aunt Lydia in the regular series.

If you’re looking for a fun new urban fantasy series that deals with some serious subjects in a heartfelt and humorous manner, check out Evangeline Hunter’s First Rain.

Recommended to fans of WE Singh’s The Khartoum Caper, Karinza Grant’s Folkloric Fae, Her Majesty’s Unicorn by Layla Lawlor, The Single Witch’s Guide to Online Dating by Celia Roman, the Merlin’s Magical Mysteries series by Molly Fitz, and Sigils and Sushi by Nia Quinn.

*Note: while no abuse is shown on the page, the effects of the abuse are clear. And in one scene the animals are in filthy, too-small cages. Don’t worry, they aren’t there for long.

[Reviewed by Rebecca Buchanan.]