Broomstick

The Hawthorne University Witch Series, Book 1

By: A.L. Hawke

Narrated by: Alexa Elmy

I used to not believe in witches.

Until I enrolled in Dr. Alondra Johansen's metaphysical history class. Bryce, Alondra's super cute teaching assistant, told me my element sign is Earth. I am, in fact, a pragmatic sort of girl. My name is Cadence Hawthorne, but you can call me Katie.

Darkness fell over me and my family during my sophomore year. I thought maybe Alondra could help me with my grief and visions of ghosts. But there was this guy working with her, with a goatee and sardonic smile, who looked more like the devil than a professor. He did terrible things to my best friend, threatening my growing love for Bryce.

Do you believe in ghosts? How 'bout witches? I do. See, it was at Hawthorne University that I learned all about them. Come take a look in my grimoire. I wrote it all down here in Broomstick.

Content warning: Broomstick is a new adult college paranormal romance containing profanity, sexual scenes, adult situations, and, of course, witchcraft.

©2020 A.L. Hawke (P)2023 A.L. Hawke

Dark and light magic

This is a coming of age story about witches, covens, dark and light magic, pentagrams, and spells. I have to admit that initially, I did not like how this audiobook was narrated. Maybe it’s because I am older now and just impatient with YA drama? Was in between rooting for naive Cadence and loathing her self righteousness and “why me” attitude. Ultimately, got “bewitched” into the story, love how the author describes the setting of the university

Riveting!

Broomstick is one of the most uniquely fascinating stories I've read in the last year. I could feel the paranormal world all around me, the atmosphere was that good. Now, days later, I still haven't stopped thinking about it. It's a story that combines the spiritual, secular and metaphysical worlds and stretches the boundaries of belief. Cadence (Katie) Hawthorne and her best friend, Maddie, are beginning freshman year at Hawthorne University, but there's a sadness surrounding Cadence because her mother is dying of multiple sclerosis. She and Maddie are enchanted with their history class and the magnetic personality of their professor. Alondra teaches a history class whose primary focus is on ancient magic, and it isn't too long before Maddie and Cadence sign on to the madness that waits for them in the coven. There are enigmatic characters who populate the campus and classrooms, and each one adds a little bit more to the overall arc of the story. I have to admit that Alondra's TA, Bryce, is a good guy and an even better boyfriend. Okay, I have to admit that he might have a small problem with bathtubs! But then there's Professor Reardon who's quite the deviant devil and, thankfully, he doesn't hang around for long. The status quo is going to be broken when Alondra becomes sick and the title and the powers are handed off to Cadence. The storytelling is spot on with a nod to Nathaniel Hawthorne and characters that are cloaked in legend. Josiah Billington, Abigail and Escoba...a lovers triangle of ghosts. This is a HFN with much more to come.
Alexa Elmy does a wonderful job with the narration. Her dynamic voice and emotional range bring each character to life with their own personality and attitude.

Wanted to love this book

Sounded neat in the description. But the main character just seemed too much the complainer. The main the second thing that made this book hard to finish was most of the book was about going to a college class. Magic was kind of maybe there - more like the effects of taking drugs. This could have been great, but everything seemed to get lost while going to class and nothing much else happening. The wrong things were put as more important in this story and that made it unappealing to me.