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Other Magic Series #1
Winter Harvester
Verna Harvester has disappeared, and everyone is suffering because of her absence even though practically no one—aside from her three sisters—knows who she is. Winnie, the oldest of the four siblings, fears the worst, and knowing her sisters’ true natures means she knows how important it is not just for them but for the whole world to get Verna back. When a message Winnie suspects is from Verna appears on her sidewalk, she endeavors to find her, but she’ll need help from reluctant beings with extraordinary powers, and she’ll have to leverage her own abilities—and confront her own weaknesses—to hunt for her sister. A search to the ends of the earth may not be enough to find Verna, but it just might be a good place to start.
260 pages, Paperback
First published April 28, 2020
About the author
Nik DeKasha
2 books6 followersNik DeKasha is a teacher and writer from the Midwest who enjoys reading and spending time with family.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
May 2, 2020
Winnie( Winter) Harvester has a job to do and with help from her neighbor friend Nina they set out to do the impossible!
Such a fun story and there’s definitely room for more than one sequel.
Hint Hint Nik Dekasha
Such a fun story and there’s definitely room for more than one sequel.
Hint Hint Nik Dekasha
May 3, 2020
I enjoyed this book from start to finish. While I really liked Winter and her determination to do what’s right, Nina was my favorite character because of the way she was with others and how she made them feel. I’m really looking forward to the next book and seeing what happens next.
December 2, 2021
I’m a bit torn about this one - to put it bluntly, I can think of many more things I didn’t like about it than things I did.
On the other hand, I’d like to reward the effort here, and I do think the writing and story construction are promising in terms of possible future writing by DeKasha. There are plenty of people who clearly liked this book, so I’ll direct potential readers to their glowing reviews to see if it sounds like something you’d like. For my part, I’d like to be honest and point out what I saw as shortcomings, so take what you will from that.
The setting and concept are interesting, but incomplete. I mean, of course a writer can’t tell us everything about the world they’ve built, but it’s possible to convey a feeling of depth - for example, using throwaway lines that hint at a larger structure behind what’s explicitly stated. I didn’t get that impression here - what’s on the surface is all there is.
Worse than that, even the characters who must have had deep knowledge of their own backgrounds and environment had that same superficial feeling. Winnie’s thoughts, words, and actions were pretty much exactly those of a normal 20- or 30-something woman in the real world, as if being an elemental demigoddess of some kind is just a minor aspect of her character that she doesn’t really place much importance on.
To me, the obvious approach, if that’s the kind of character DeKasha wanted to work with, would have been to make Nina the protagonist and stick strictly to her POV. That way, she would naturally lack the deeper knowledge, and if Winnie and her family were less than forthcoming about things, it would make them seem mysterious rather than just shallow.
The story itself is likewise unsophisticated, or at least unsubtle. The key conflict involving the disappearance of Verna is treated in such a straightforward way that I didn’t feel the emotion that surely should have accompanied such an occurrence. To be clear, the writing itself is certainly accomplished, and not messy or amateurish. But the events are stated matter-of-factly to the reader, and to me the delivery was lacking a certain artistry.
The final thing I’ll mention is the resolution. I found the motivation of the antagonist - in fact the reason driving the whole story - to be rather unsatisfying. Not saying it might not have been realistic, given the character, but an author has to do more than convey realism - it has to be convincing to the reader. And in this case it was a bit of a letdown. Likewise Verna’s change in attitude struck me as less than believable. I have to admit I did like the twist at the end involving Nina, and I’ll say again that this whole story might have worked better with her as the main character.
I’ll stop there, since I think that gets my point across: there are enough issues here that made this less than impressive for me. But it was not entirely unenjoyable, and as I said, the writing does show some promise.
Note, I received a free copy of the Kindle edition of this book as part of a Goodreads giveaway. Thanks to the author and to Goodreads for the opportunity to read and review this book.
On the other hand, I’d like to reward the effort here, and I do think the writing and story construction are promising in terms of possible future writing by DeKasha. There are plenty of people who clearly liked this book, so I’ll direct potential readers to their glowing reviews to see if it sounds like something you’d like. For my part, I’d like to be honest and point out what I saw as shortcomings, so take what you will from that.
The setting and concept are interesting, but incomplete. I mean, of course a writer can’t tell us everything about the world they’ve built, but it’s possible to convey a feeling of depth - for example, using throwaway lines that hint at a larger structure behind what’s explicitly stated. I didn’t get that impression here - what’s on the surface is all there is.
Worse than that, even the characters who must have had deep knowledge of their own backgrounds and environment had that same superficial feeling. Winnie’s thoughts, words, and actions were pretty much exactly those of a normal 20- or 30-something woman in the real world, as if being an elemental demigoddess of some kind is just a minor aspect of her character that she doesn’t really place much importance on.
To me, the obvious approach, if that’s the kind of character DeKasha wanted to work with, would have been to make Nina the protagonist and stick strictly to her POV. That way, she would naturally lack the deeper knowledge, and if Winnie and her family were less than forthcoming about things, it would make them seem mysterious rather than just shallow.
The story itself is likewise unsophisticated, or at least unsubtle. The key conflict involving the disappearance of Verna is treated in such a straightforward way that I didn’t feel the emotion that surely should have accompanied such an occurrence. To be clear, the writing itself is certainly accomplished, and not messy or amateurish. But the events are stated matter-of-factly to the reader, and to me the delivery was lacking a certain artistry.
The final thing I’ll mention is the resolution. I found the motivation of the antagonist - in fact the reason driving the whole story - to be rather unsatisfying. Not saying it might not have been realistic, given the character, but an author has to do more than convey realism - it has to be convincing to the reader. And in this case it was a bit of a letdown. Likewise Verna’s change in attitude struck me as less than believable. I have to admit I did like the twist at the end involving Nina, and I’ll say again that this whole story might have worked better with her as the main character.
I’ll stop there, since I think that gets my point across: there are enough issues here that made this less than impressive for me. But it was not entirely unenjoyable, and as I said, the writing does show some promise.
Note, I received a free copy of the Kindle edition of this book as part of a Goodreads giveaway. Thanks to the author and to Goodreads for the opportunity to read and review this book.
June 20, 2024
I read the description of this book but didn’t put too much thought into some of the words or phrases… powers, ends of the earth, etc. however, several times I caught myself wondering “what” or “wow, didn’t see that coming.” However, the book was entertaining and I enjoyed it. It might not be what you would normally read, but I suggest to give it a try. I won this book in a goodreads giveaway.
May 17, 2020
This was as an entertaining read, and for all ages. I loved all the characters, and the story line. When Winnie and her friend, Nina, go underground to save Verna, Winnie’s sister, I felt I was there with them with all visual descriptions. I love the imagination that went into this story, and look forward to the next book by Nik DeKasha.
March 15, 2022
This was a very interesting story explaining how the seasons come to be. In this story, however, the person in charge of spring goes missing. It is up to her sister to find her and return the seasons to their normal order.
I won this book through a goodreads.com giveaway.
I won this book through a goodreads.com giveaway.
July 1, 2021
Held my attention from the first page to the last
September 23, 2021
Winter knows her sister is missing.. but trying to explain that to her family is another matter.
No one seems to believe Verna has been taken. They assume she must have wandered off, after all, it's just like her to do so. But Verna's absence is effecting more than just her family. The natural balance of the seasons has been thrown into chaos and the villagers also suffer from her absence.
Three and a half stars!
Overall:
There's nothing inherently wrong with the book, excluding the fact that it feels like very little happens.. enough so that it kept me from really getting absorbed in the story. There's not a lot of forward motion in the storyline at all.
Liked:
The magic was interesting, the writing good, and the potential for a fantastic story was there. I liked what the author was going for but.. I wanted more. The afterlife created here was also pretty intriguing but, again, I wanted more of it.
Disliked:
There was an almost complete lack of forward momentum. I found myself waiting for something to happen.. and I kept waiting.. and waiting. So much could have been done to give this story more substance.
Would I recommend this book? Yes. As the first book in a series, I think it has the potential to develop into something great. Was I blown away? No. Do I plan to read the other books in the series? Eh.. maybe.
Check out my blog @ ReadBetwixtWords.com for more reviews and recommendations!
No one seems to believe Verna has been taken. They assume she must have wandered off, after all, it's just like her to do so. But Verna's absence is effecting more than just her family. The natural balance of the seasons has been thrown into chaos and the villagers also suffer from her absence.
Three and a half stars!
Overall:
There's nothing inherently wrong with the book, excluding the fact that it feels like very little happens.. enough so that it kept me from really getting absorbed in the story. There's not a lot of forward motion in the storyline at all.
Liked:
The magic was interesting, the writing good, and the potential for a fantastic story was there. I liked what the author was going for but.. I wanted more. The afterlife created here was also pretty intriguing but, again, I wanted more of it.
Disliked:
There was an almost complete lack of forward momentum. I found myself waiting for something to happen.. and I kept waiting.. and waiting. So much could have been done to give this story more substance.
Would I recommend this book? Yes. As the first book in a series, I think it has the potential to develop into something great. Was I blown away? No. Do I plan to read the other books in the series? Eh.. maybe.
Check out my blog @ ReadBetwixtWords.com for more reviews and recommendations!
November 28, 2021
Received this book as part of a Goodreads giveaway. I DNF at 25%. The book did not hold my attention.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews