I felt like I earned this one. So far in 2010 I've only read one other paranormal fiction book, and I didn't even like it very much. I'd put a hold on Dime Store Magic, from Armstrong's Women of the Otherworld series at NYPL 100 years ago, and so was pleasantly surprised when I finally got notice that my turn had arrived.
Young witch Paige Winterbourne's story picks up when she is challenged for custody of the powerful and uncontrollable 13-year-old witch she helped rescue with werewolf Elena Michaels's help in Stolen. I don't love Paige's voice, but I do like that this book examines gender roles. Sorcerers--witches' male counterparts developed in one way, and witches another. The boys exploit their gifts and form powerful mafia like families--cabals, while the girls do anything they can to escape detection, sacrificing their power if necessary. Paige, who sees herself as the leader of a new generation of witches, doesn't like either option and presumably in the next book will figure out how to modernize her coven without compromising its values.
And romance readers, fear not, there is some nookie in this book.