Witches are what? Cool! Punks are what? Cool! Punk witches are simply badass plus badass and you got yourself a… well, an explosion of sorts. If I had even the tiniest amount of the courage and balls that Kit Fadulous sports, I’d be happy. What a main character… Fierce!

Anyway, you know those houses that look small on the outside and once you’re in, you’re like, holy crap, look at all the space in here. Like magic. Yeah, this book is like this. You think, hah, 255 pages, easy-peasy, some fun along the way, witches doing action magic stuff, A to B story. Couldn’t be more wrong. This story is like a whole universe in its own – you open the cover and you step into another world and there’s SO MUCH story. I kept reading and thinking, this is some magic, that. The book should be over like 2 hours ago but there’s 2 hours to go and no complaints from me! Oh, no!

But if a few more people let themselves enjoy fantasies of unicorns and fairies, then a few more people might also start imagining a world where you didn’t just accept that a self-serving society built on centuries of imperialism, patriarchy and nepotism is the best we can do.

Dyer Street Punk Witches is book #7 in the Ordshaw series but even if you haven’t read the previous books, believe me, you’ll get quite a full experience still. I would know. This is my first venture, as well. And from what I can gather, I best make some time in the future to read the preceding books, too. Phil Williams has a very steady hand when it comes to story progression and diverse set of characters. Unflinching, gritty, wholesome – story and characters alike.

She was always reacting too soon. Almost forty years old and Kit was yet to calm down. She didn’t want to calm down. Calm people didn’t get things done.

Kit has left her past of magic and witchcraft behind, as well as the punk scene, when her 2 closest friends moved on to a different life. Now, running a magazine to make a difference in society, Kit is keeping busy with a small team of, I mean 2, helpers and haggling over advertisement prices with seedy dudes. But when she notices a young man on the street needing help, and she goes to help him (because it’s the right thing to do), things are set in motion that will make the past come alive and there is no stopping, come hell through the Deep Dark or a shower of bullets, until whoever is behind stirring shit, gets put down.

The story offers plenty of twists and turns and with the abundance of street gang politics, you really don’t know who’s behind it all until the endgame arrives, and even then, I promise you, the story will surprise you.

It’s no lie when author promises you anarchy, witchcraft, gang politics and badass women. Dark past hanging over all of them to varying degree, decisions to push the story to a conclusion are both mature and immature, informed and uninformed. Like in the real world. The bonds that form and break in between gang members, work colleagues, friends and strangers zap at you in this book as if electrified. No time to dwell and worry, Kit Fadulous sets the pace and it ain’t for the slow.

The chapters start with snippets from a witches ‘handbook’ – and I have to commend the author here, very playful and imaginative with some of these ingredients! – as well as snippets from Kit’s and her friends’ past. All of this, tied in with the current events in the book, make a neat little package, and make you feel altogether very involved.

Too violent? Well, no, I wouldn’t say there’s anything overly graphic. A few scuffles here and there.

How about the witchcraft? Interestingly, even this aspect came across as something not unnatural in the book. The magical aspects belong there, even though the pages aren’t soaked in it from start to finish. Witchcraft is used but not too often and not over the top.

All in all, the book kind of feels like an ode to the punk scene with it’s rebellious nature a la Kit Fadulous.

Man, what a woman, I think I’m in love.