There was much to enjoy here, but I found I couldn't connect with it. I'd read more from this author in the future though.

I tried with this book, I really did. It just didn't work for me, I couldn't work out what it was trying to be. I selected it because it was categorised in the humour genre and I decided I could use a bit of that. Half way through I still hadn't cracked a smile. I also couldn't figure out which age range the novel was aimed at. It seemed to be going for the supernatural genre that was popular a while ago but even this seemed tagged on. I didn't understand the character's motivation as we wheeled from one drama to the next. "Oh you're a bad guy? I'll murder you then!" "Oh, good looking man is flirting with me, I'll flirt back. Oh, I killed your nephew? Let me help you get investigate the crime while we drink loads." What? I actually preferred the flashbacks, which seemed completely irrelevant, but when I got to the last page I went to turn over and there was no more. I won't be searching out a sequel.

My Name is Agnes is the story of Agnes, a centuries old witch from another planet, living in a modern day world. It's told from alternating time frames between modern day and ancient Greece. If you're going to write a book that takes place in ancient Greece, it would be helpful if there was some kind of historical accuracy to those aspects of the story. The author essentially name dropped which is the only way a reader really knew things were taking place in that time period. Agnes came across as immature and naive. At times, she reminded me of a mischievous teenager looking for attention. Did not really like her at all. Similar to other readers, I had a hard time finishing this.

This was definitely a book unlike the other books on my kindle (a witch from another planet?!). From start to finish, I really wasn't sure where we were going next.

Soooo, where to start? This book kind of meanders towards its ultimate destination (which is not exactly a solid ending). We begin in current day, with Agnes telling her tale with wit and humor. She owns a coffee shop, is great with customers, and super protective of her friends. There is also a love interest in the form of a frequent customer. Throw in some employee ex-boyfriend stalking action, a talking bat shapeshifter witch friend and you've got a general idea of Agnes's current world.

This story is interspersed with a dramatic story about her friend from back in the day (a seriously long time ago). I guess the two stories kind of mirror one another in a way, but ultimately this book read like a two story anthology. I was a little shocked when the book ended and found myself wishing for a more solid story ending. Does Agnes end up with a nice HEA? I guess she does? She really grew on me.

Quick read. Too much profanity and a bit too juvenile. Actually a little all over the place for my taste.

This was an interesting book and I like the concept, but I lost interest throughout the book. I definitely know of other people who would enjoy this book.

I read approximately five pages of My Name is Agnes. Within those few pages I read enough profanity to be turned-off to the story. I might have hung in there IF the writing was good. It was not as the writing seemed juvenile.

Do not recommend.

The book was amusing. It didn’t make me laugh out loud and it did get annoying by trying so hard to be funny. A pleasant but silly read.

So, what did I like about it?
So, first of all I’d like to share with you why I requested a copy of this book to review;
1. I love supporting début authors. It’s such a tough arena and although I read a lot, I admit that I don’t have the creativity or gumption to put something out there myself so I really admire those that do.
2. The blurb just drew me in. Agnes sounded fabulous, I loved the idea of a shape-shifting bat, I really enjoy murder mysteries and the duel time-line intrigued me.
3. The front cover! Need I say more; it’s gorgeous.

Ms Brookbank’s writing style is light-hearted, humorous and although she takes quite a bit of creative license with historic facts, that's OK, it’s a fantasy story after all.

I liked the premise for this book and appreciated the uniqueness of Ms Brookbank’s version of what a witch is or what magic they can do. My Name Is Agnes is written in the first person, from our heroine, Agnes, point of view in her casual, playful, young hipster voice (although I was never really sure what human age she was supposed to be portraying).

As I’ve already mentioned, I liked the idea of a book having two time-lines, two stories for the price of one! I could tell that Ms Brookbank really did her research about the sports held at the ancient Olympics and I appreciated that she ensured that her readers never got lost by separating the plots with a page break using the very Grecian letter Omega ΩΩΩΩΩ (I liked that on both levels! lol!)

So, ummm, was there anything I disliked about it?
You can tell by the low star rating that this book did not grip me and there was a lot about it that I didn’t like. We are all different and like different things so I won’t go on and on about why this book didn’t work for me.

My main gripes were;
Agnes isn't exactly as mature (or knowledgeable or world-wise) as I would expect of a character of her considerable age.

I didn’t find the book as funny as I thought I would based on the blurb, or at least I didn’t quite get the humour that Agnes and the other characters are rolling about laughing at; could it be an age thing, a culture thing...?

Beware of the cliffhangers! I think Ms Brookbank got so caught up with the ancient Greece plot-line that she forgot about the modern day one. *sigh*

And finally, I have to say the grammar, spelling and prose throughout were in need of a great deal of editing; I felt that the words used were too simplistic and there were too many longer sentences that could have been more concise which gave the whole book a childlike quality, plus Ms Brookbank used very colloquial writing - even when the setting was ancient Greece – which all combined to grate on my nerves and something that I don’t expect from a published novel (I make more allowances for self-published work as these authors have to be creator, editor and proof-reader all in one!)

So, basically what I’m saying is...
I did not like this book. If I’m honest, the plot idea is really good but I feel it was let down by the inexperienced execution. Having said that there are plenty of higher ratings on Goodreads and Amazon which sort of confirms that I also don't think I'm the demographic audience that this book is aimed at.

This is a enjoyable read as long as you ignore all the inaccuracies and don't take the story too seriously.

I just could not stay with this story... I really liked the opening - the concept was interesting, I enjoyed Agnes going back-and-forth between times in her life to show connections and character development. I even enjoyed her jocular, casual, hipster-ish voice. But rather quickly, I found those things to feel forced and she couldn't keep my interest. There isn't anything wrong, precisely, this one just didn't resonate with me for the long-haul...

The language and style of this book was just awful. I could not get past the first chapter. The main character was just rambling in an ongoing internal monologue. It drove me nuts

I really wanted to like this book; ancient witches and a dip into history and mystery seemed to be a great idea. Sadly I didn't finish it. Agnes didn't strike me as centuries old, she felt very teenage and shallow. The humor promised on the cover wasn't really delivered, I maybe smiled once or twice but there were no chuckles, giggles or guffaws. The slide back into history, which I was looking forwards to, felt contrived and almost ridiculous with its inaccuracies and modernization. To be honest the whole thing felt like a first draft or fanfiction. Great idea but no real follow through.

I just finished reading an advance copy of "My Name is Agnes". This was an interesting book. I am not sure if I liked it or hated it. It starts off in the present with a witch named Agnes who owns a book/coffee shop and halfway through the first chapter you are thrown back into Agnes's past. Each following chapter did this starting in the present and going back to events from her past. I found this confusing and unnecessary, you do meet a character from past in the future but I feel that this could have been done differently. It felt like 2 stories forced into one. This is a mix of a cozy mystery with elements of the paranormal. I keep getting lost between all the characters from the future and past and at times the author did too with putting the wrong names for the character she was talking about. A little after halfway I felt there was a perfect stopping point for both stories and everything after that was unnecessary and even more confusing. This is not a book I would recommend, I have read better cozy mysteries with witches in them.

I love reading a book where the writing is funny but this one seemed forced and a bit to much. I didn't connect with the characters and the story did nothing for me.

This is the first book that I have read by Kelly Brookbank and she has a very unique writing style that is very fun and different. Agnes is a very ancient witch that finds herself in a small town owning a shop Steamers and Dreamers part café part bookstore. She was a fun and interesting character and the book was full of several surprises. Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read this and write an unbiased review.

The starting page is great, I go curious. Then the historical part started and there were so many historical mistakes and was so terrible to read of Aristotele Academy as a high school that it was clear that very it was very poorly research (BTW Benjamin is a Jewish Name and Polly sound a bit strange and, sorry, Greece did not exists). I hope it was just an excursus and it kept going on and on. The contemporary part of the story could have been nice but I was too irritated by the Ancient Greece parte and I gave up at 25%. There are nice ideas and some funny part but it would have been better an era at a time.

This book is kinda clunky at the beginning, and end (let's be honest the sister threw me..is she Polly or Eunice or someone else?) There is a sweet smooth bit right in the middle where the storyline is funny and (for the most part) lighthearted. Anges has seen a lot in her time, from sitting in on Aristotle's lectures to being the current day owner of Steamers and Dreamers (totally cool name for cafe/bookshop). Flicking between the two timelines Anges uses her magic (and the trustee Robin) to help out a friend in need, finding a little love for herself along the way. Hopefully there'll be a book to follow this to answer some questions and fill some holes.

The format was well, the writing was just very simple. I found little depth in the story line. Characters were not rounded well and not very interesting.