I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Pretty, popular, and a total witch, Embry Woodcross is queen bee at Raven’s Head School for the Magically Gifted. Entering senior year as head prefect, Embry is a celebrated fashionista and unrivaled solver of problems big, small, and unattractive. (She’s quite generous with her handcrafted magical beauty products.)

When she meets Oakley Riddle, clueless transfer student and ultrarare vampire, Embry’s mission is clear: take the new girl under her wing and make sure she’s not thrown to the (were)wolves. Coven mate Rye Knighton may scoff at Embry’s aggressive benevolence, but Raven’s Head students reward her with love and appreciation…

Until one good deed too many makes Embry the lead suspect in a murder investigation.

Suddenly, the same people who begged Embry for enchanted acne potions are convinced she’s a cold-blooded killer. Apparently, everyone loves a witch until something bad happens, and then it’s all pitchforks and anecdotal evidence. As everything she’s ever done is used against her, Embry teams up with Rye to find the real murderer, clear her name, and maybe fall in love along the way.

Short and Sweet Review

Such a Witch follows Embry Woodcross, the popular head prefect at Raven’s Head School for the Magically Gifted. Known for helping her classmates with everything from magical beauty products to matchmaking, Embry’s reputation takes a dramatic turn when a new vampire student, Oakley, is found murdered and all the evidence points to her. With the entire school suddenly turning against her, Embry teams up with her longtime friend Rye to uncover the real killer, clear her name, and maybe discover that their friendship has become something more.

The magical boarding school setting was definitely my favorite part of this book. I loved all the different supernatural creatures, the magical social hierarchy, and the fun, lighthearted atmosphere. Embry was an entertaining main character, and I enjoyed her confidence, even when it occasionally got her into trouble. The friendships, found family, and slow burn romance with Rye also added a lot of charm to the story. That being said, I went into this expecting more of a mystery, and it took quite a while for the investigation to really get going. The first half spends a lot of time establishing the world and characters, which was enjoyable, but the pacing started to drag in the middle. Once the mystery finally became the main focus, I found it fairly predictable and had a strong suspicion about the culprit early on, so the final reveal didn’t have much impact. I also wish the villains had been developed more. Their motivations felt pretty surface-level, and I was left wanting a better explanation for why they were doing what they were doing. Because of that, the climax didn’t feel as satisfying as it could have been.

Overall, Such a Witch was still a fun read with an imaginative magical world, lovable characters, and plenty of paranormal charm. While the mystery and pacing didn’t completely work for me, I think readers who enjoy witchy boarding schools, found family, and light paranormal mysteries will still have a good time with it.