Bait and Witch is a brand new cozy series about Josie Way a librarian who has to leave her dream DC job behind for small town Oregon after she stumbles upon a political scandal. She has to hide out in Wilfred, Oregon taking over the running of the local beloved library to run from people trying to silence her before the crooked politicians can be brought to justice. Travelling across country Josie experiences a strange sensation which turns out to be her magical powers awakening!

She's a witch who can do magic through books and she uses that power to connect the local townspeople to the books of their dreams, creating an instant connection to her new home. Unfortunately, everything get complicated when she finds out the library is headed to be demolished, there's a mysterious man living next door and a dead body in the bushes.

Josie must come to terms with her new powers and help save the library and herself!

A fun start to what's sure to be a delightful series. I was kept guessing until the very end!

5 stars = Outstanding!
As a fantasy reader and mystery reader, I was excited to pick up this series launch for a paranormal mystery. This exceeded my expectations. The author does a fantastic job teasing out various hooks for the story - what is Josie running from? What was that strange experience she had on her flight? Why do all of her senses seem heightened in her new home? From the first page, I was frantically flipping pages to find out more.

The characters here are a treat. It can be tricky to launch a new series and establish the whole crop of characters, but I enjoyed all of the core group in this book. (The cat is especially fun.) The library setting is fantastic. The blend of fantasy elements (magic, spells, powers, changing consciousness with the cat) with the cozy mystery is perfect. I can't wait to read more in this series! (Occult elements: Tarot cards are used as a prop by a secondary, non-magical character)

Josie is hiding out in a small town, working as a librarian. She discovers she can do magic....and that the books respond to her magic and help her. Which comes in handy when she's dodging a killer after finding a body.

Fun first book in a new Paranormal Cozy Mystery series. I enjoyed it very much.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. My thoughts and opinions are my own and without bias or favor.

This was such a cute read. It was interesting take on a witchy librarian character. I love the powers that Josie possesses. It would be so cool to be able to hear books! I would've liked a bit more about her powers although I know the main story is about the murder. This looks like it's only the first in the series though so I'm really looking forward to learning so much more about her!

4.5 stars

This is the first book in the Witch Way Librarian mystery series by Angela M. Sanders.

I thought this was a great book. Right up my alley with the whole “coming into your witchy powers” storyline running alongside the murder mystery. Josie is a librarian working in Washington DC at the Library of Congress where she overhears a conversation that she reports to the authorities. Suddenly, she finds herself in hot water and high tales it out of town accepting a job at a small town library with a lot of issues.

I found this plot point a little odd. If you are fleeing for safety, how do you suddenly have a job waiting for you at your new destination? I know it is explained in the text but I am not completely buying it. I am overlooking it since I like this story so much. Buffy meets Charmed in a way.

Josie is at this new location a very short time when a dead body is discovered nearby and things progress from there.

This is the first book in a series and I can see all kinds of possibilities with this in the future. I loved how it ended so I am not completely certain if Sam has a place in book two, but I sure hope he does!

This is a new series I will definitely follow!

If you like cozy mysteries, definitely check this one out. You won’t be disappointed.

I received this as an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) in return for an honest review. I thank NetGalley, the publisher and the author for allowing me to read this title.

This was my first cozy mystery and I really enjoyed it. The paranormal aspect is what drew me in and I liked that our main character was a librarian. This is perfect if you're looking for something that's not too heavy.

Josie Way, left her job at the Library of Congress to hide out in Wilfred, Oregon. She's the small town's new librarian, which is housed in a Victorian mansion. She's only just found out that the position is short-term. Shorter than she planned to stay because the library is on the verge of being torn down and than she finds a body out in the woods.

Other odd things are happening as well. She and the library cat share the same star-shaped birthmark, When patrons ask for a book she recommends just what they need. The books seem to be whispering to her too. She wonders if it's all just coincidence or could she has magic abilities?

I loved almost everything about this book. It has all of my favorite things: books, a cat, an intelligent female main character, a library with style, secrets, romance, murder, intrigue, and a whole host of suspects. In fact the only complaint I had was knowing the main character was a witch before she did.

That said, I still find the title of the book and the series extremely clever, and wouldn’t change a thing. I’ve already pre-ordered my own copy of the book and eagerly await the sequel, Seven-Year Witch, scheduled for publication in September of 2021.

I found myself just a few pages into the book regretting that I didn't have the next book in the series. It wasn't what I was expecting from the title. With the word witch in the title, I expected there to be more paranormal, less normal in the book. Josie realizes something isn't right when she starts recommending books that she didn't know existed because she instinctively knows that's the book for the patron. Nice power to have. She finds out that the library property is going to sold and the old Victorian house torn down. Not everyone in the town likes that idea even if it will bring in much needed jobs. She does everything she can to keep the library open while keeping herself safe. I'm looking forward to the next book in the series.

I was kindly provided an e-copy of this book by the publisher or author via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I received this book from NetGalley as an eARC in exchange for a review.

Bait and Witch follows Josie, who is forced to flee her old life to find comfort and safety in small town Wilfred, Oregon. She takes a job as a librarian, only to find out her job is not safe there as part of the town is trying to close down the library to replace it with a retreat center. Drama ensure.

I really enjoyed this story. It was a cute little cozy mystery and was a nice pace. I found myself FLYING through the story and look forward to continuing on with the series.

This was such a delightful start to a new cozy mystery series! I love books featuring librarians and add a little magic in, I am totally sold! Looking forward to the next entry!

An excellent start for a new cozy series, this is one the best debut for a cozy series I've read this year.
It's an excellent mix of paranormal, cozy mystery with something more.
Josie, the MC, is a librarian with an unusual background (a whistleblower that denounced a tentative of corruption), the small town is lovely but it's got a tragic history and some wounds that need to be healed.
The mystery is solid full of twists and turns, and the solution came as a surprise.
I can't wait to read the next instalment because I want to know what will be the next step in Josie's life.
It's strongly recommended.
Many thanks to Kensington Books and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

3.75 stars

I requested this because of the cat on the cover but stayed because this was such a good mystery fun read. I really hope this series continues because it was an amazing start!

Note: suspension of disbelief on this one is hard! So if you don't like magical realism you might not enjoy this.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review

What an amazing start to a very promising series! I loved the main character and fell in love with her life and the town itself. I can’t wait to read more in this series.

I have never read a book by this author, but I was definitely intrigued by the blurb on this one. I love cozy paranormal mysteries, and I dived in. This did have a rocky start by being a little bit slow. However, once it got going, I was hooked. I enjoyed Josie and Josie’s journey to her discovery of her abilities, and I enjoyed the action to finding out who was behind it all. I was a little let down again with the reveal and the motivations, but not enough to not to like this one. It is a series-starter, and those can be a little rocky. I am really looking forward to the next one to find out more. Recommend. I was provided a complimentary copy which I voluntarily reviewed.

Bait and Witch is the first book in a new paranormal cozy mystery series set in a library in Wilfred, a rural Oregon town. The new librarian, Josie, has accepted the job under false pretenses. She is a federal witness in a high-profile bribery case. Josie only plans to stay a few months in Wilfred and then return to her job at the Library of Congress.

Meanwhile, Josie’s new boss Darla, a library trustee, has some secrets of her own. The Board of Trustees has voted to sell the library. It will be closed within a month if Darla’s lawsuit can’t stop the sale.

On her first night in town, Josie meets a black cat, Rodney. For just a moment, Josie sees through Rodney’s eyes. Her first working day is also weird as Josie feels the books whispering to her alone. It just gets more intense from there.

Bait and Witch requires an immense suspension of disbelief. Anyone, but Josie, would have been looking on Craig’s List for a new job the minute the books started whispering. That’s either possession or schizophrenia. While I believe books are magical, I don’t think they will ever come to my rescue by physically attacking a villain. Even though I do occasionally hear them whispering to me, “don’t get up—finish reading me instead.”

Even though I thought this book went way over the top, it is written well and could appeal to other readers. 2.5 stars rounded up to 3 stars.

Thanks to Kensington Books and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

Bait and Witch by Angela M. Sanders 4 stars

This is the first book in a new series and I hope that there will be many more. Josephine Way is a librarian on the lam. A witness to a bribery scandal she is on the run and hiding in Wilfred, Oregon - a little town that is a long distance from Washington D.C and her job at the Library of Congress. She has been hired to be the head librarian for the public library in Wilfred, but all is not as it seems. There is a effort to sell the library building, which is an old Victorian to a couple who want to build a spa retreat. For Josie, this means that her hiding place may not be as safe as she thinks. In addition, strange things have been happening to Josie. She can make accurate book recommendations to patrons even though it wasn't what they asked for. She hears the "books" talking to her and there is black cat, Rodney that has attached himself to her. After discovering a body in the woods, Josie is worried that she may be involved in the death. As more supernatural things happen to her, she finds out that she is descended from a long line of witches and that she is very powerful. Can her powers keep her safe and solve the mystery. You have to read this one to find out.

I found this cozy mystery a wonderful read. As with other first in a series, the author spends a lot of time creating the setting and the supporting characters. The evolution of Josie's powers and her relationship with a certain FBI agent will have me looking forward to the next book.

Thank you Netgalley and Kensington Books for this ARC.

This is the first in the Witch Way Librarian Mystery Series. This is a paranormal cozy mystery. Josie Way has moved to Wilfred Oregon as she is on the run from a situation from her job at the Library of Congress. Josie and her co-worker Anton decided to take lunch down in the one of the lower levels and overhear a Senator’s aide take a bribe and they both report it to the authorities. Anton disappears and Josie is now afraid for her life so she tells her family and friends she is taking time off to go on a vacation but she has accepted a head librarian position in Wilfred Oregon at a library that is an old Victorian home. The first day she is in town she learns that the library is slotted to be bulldozed for a retreat center and she finds a dead body who she is convinced was sent after her. As the trustees are in two camps on the sale Josie agrees to help the ones who want to save the library and she is in her element offering suggestions for reading on books she was not even aware of as she feels the books are talking to her. During this she begins to have dreams of her Grandmother and talks to her sister asking about special powers etc and they both believe their Grandmother was a witch. Is Josie also a witch. Seems like everyone in the town has some secret to hide but are they related to the dead body in the woods or is this a hired assassin after Josie. This was a good mystery although it did feel rushed at the end and the culprit was a total surprise. The ending leaves you wondering what will come next. Looking forward to see what Josie learns about her gift in the next installment.

Bait and Witch by Angela M. Sanders is currently scheduled for release on December 29 2020. Librarian Josie Way moved to small-town Oregon to lay low. Instead, thanks to newfound magic abilities—and a killer on the loose. She’s leapt out of the frying pan and into a cauldron of trouble. Josie Way loved working among the Library of Congress’s leather-scented stacks—until she uncovered corruption and made herself a target. As Wilfred, Oregon’s new librarian, Josie can stay undercover until the case goes to court. But life in this little town isn’t as subdued as she expected. The library, housed in a a Victorian mansion, is slated to be bulldozed. Still digesting the news that her safe haven is about to become scrap lumber, Josie discovers a body in the woods. Almost as shocking, Josie learns that she’s descended from a long line of witches—and her powers have suddenly sprung to life. With help from a spoiled alley cat who just may be her familiar, Josie’s thumbing through a catalog of suspects, hoping she can conjure a way to save her library—and her life.

Bait and Witch is a mystery with a good balance of character building and showing the relationship and history of the small town it all happens in. Josie is on the run after doing the right thing and acting as a whistleblower, but when she arrives in town she discovers things are far from as simple in this little town as she had hoped. A murder and the possible destruction of her new library are in play, along with a tight lipped circle of co-workers and locals. I liked the way the complicated history of the town ad some of its inhabitants is revealed, and the way Josie comes to better understand herself. I like that her friendships were just as important as the mystery, and that while there are hints towards future romantic aspects they did not become the focus of the story at all. The mystery aspect was well done, with plenty of twists and turns. While I was rather expecting one of the twists the journey and the way it was revealed was engaging and kept me turning pages well past my bed time. I enjoyed the ride and look forward to the series continuing and fully plan on following it as it does.

Bait and Witch is a good cozy mystery and I hope the series continues on.

I am a sucker for books that have library settings or librarians as main characters, and this series debut has both. I requested it from Netgalley after reading a positive review. While I agree that it is well written and the setting and main character check the "library" boxes, I won't be continuing with future entries in the series.

Magical realism is not my cup of tea and the premise of the series rests on the main character, former Library of Congress librarian Josie Way, discovering her powers as the new librarian in a small Oregon town where an unsolved murder mars her first day on the job. Again, the author is talented and, as these types of books go, this one is well done, but the fantastical elements must be unquestionably accepted by the reader. If this is your cozy sub-genre, you're in luck.

Full Disclosure--NetGalley and the publisher provided me with a digital ARC of this book. This is my honest review.

Totally enjoyed debut of this new series. Josie Way, a librarian at the Library of Congress, accidentally overhears evidence of corruption in a defense contract. After reporting it, her life is immediately in danger. So she takes a job in rural Oregon and goes into hiding. Once there strange things happen and she reluctantly comes to the conclusion that must be a witch. I loved her story of self-discovery. The new characters really grew on me and I can't wait for the next one.