THE WATER WITCH - Juliet Dark
Ballantine Books
ISBN: 978-0-345-52424-9
February 2013
Paranormal Romance

Fairview, New York - Present Day

Callie McFay may have banished her demon lover to the Borderlands, but she hasn't quite banished him from her heart.  A professor at Fairview College, Callie is still coming to terms with her powers. After her parents' deaths she grew up with her grandmother, a witch who believed that Callie's witch abilities were cancelled out thanks to being half-fey.  Though she knows of her abilities, she can't quite control them, and after she is sucked into Faerie while trying to help undines return, Callie knows she needs some help.

With the Grove—a group of ultra-conservative witches—planning to shut down the door in Fairview that leads to Faerie, Callie needs to get her powers under control more than ever.  As the doorkeeper, Callie has the ability to open the door, but the Grove hopes to shut it down completely.  Fairview is a pretty equal blend of humans, witches, and others, and if the door is going to be permanently closed, many of the others would return to Faerie beforehand.  Elizabeth Book, Dean of Fairview, hires Duncan Laird, a wizard of the Ninth Order, to tutor Callie in her magic before the meeting to decide about the door.  Though he's helpful, Callie is conflicted about him—something doesn't seem right.  And as Callie is still being visited in her dreams by Liam, the incubus she banished, she can't decide if it's the romantic feelings she has towards Duncan that are bothering her, or something else.

In spite of being raised by a witch, Callie is still finding her magical footing in THE WATER WITCH.  She still has feelings for Liam, whom she had been living with, but if she had truly loved him, he would have become human.  Even in the Borderlands, Liam has helped Callie, and she knows that incubi are manipulative, but she can't forget the feelings she has for him.  Is it love, or illusion?  She's trying to put Liam behind her, and Duncan may be the one to help her move on, but Callie doesn't quite trust him, either.  With the Grove witches about to descend upon Fairview to force the issue of closing the Faerie door, Callie has enough going on, but she also has to deal with Lorelei, an adult undine who followed Callie back from Faerie and seems bent on killing her.

An intriguing story that will keep readers guessing, THE WATER WITCH picks up where THE DEMON LOVER left off, with Callie coming to terms with her role as the Doorkeeper.  Without control of her powers, Callie may not be able to stop the changes coming to Fairview, but whom can she trust to help her?  Pick up THE WATER WITCH to find out.

Jennifer Bishop