Thank you to Netgalley and to the Publisher for giving me an Advanced Readers Copy of this book.

This book perfectly manages the careful balance between political commentary and comedy - especially given its premise! The Witch of Tophet County follows the last surving witch, her three-legged raccoon familiar and a host of Lovecraftian horrors as they navigate the intricacies of County politics whilst trying to save the world.

This was one of my last reads of 2023 - and what a way to end the year! The Witch of Tophet County was a hilarious rollercoaster and I enjoyed every second of it.

I don't know what J. H. schiller has planned next, but I'm definitely going to read it.

Thank you to Netgalley, Podium publishing and of course J.H Schiller for providing an ARC of this book to review!

The Witch of Tophet County comes out on January 9th, 2024, to a bookstore or library near you!

What do you get when you mix the wit and humor of Douglas Adams with the disturbing imagery of Lovecraft, add in the only surviving witch in the world with a penchant for practical jokes and a 3 legged raccoon familiar? You get this gem of a book, The Witch of Tophet County!

The main character, Witch (she's hell bent on keeping her true name secret), is desperate to break her magical contract with the Archons, a many-tentacled bureaucratic race of Eldritchian creatures that had taken over the world (and wears human suits!); especially since her probationary period is almost up. Once the Winter Solstice hits, she will be magically bound to work in the misery of county government for them for a whole century! But when a practical joke goes awry and accidentally pleases her overlords, she's unwillingly promoted to lead a task force to investigate a series of attacks on the elder Archons, promising that if she solves the case, they'll knock some time off of her sentence. Begrudgingly, she accepts and faces the horrors of teamwork, cooperation with Archons and meetings; lots and lots of meetings. Little does she know that this case will end up with her having to save the world. What is happening to the elder Archons? Who is responsible? Why are there so many god damn meetings?? I'll leave that dear reader, for you to find out!

Honestly, this book really surprised me! After reading the blurb, I went into this expecting something akin to Christopher Moore: funny, crazy, wild, and a lot of fun, but ultimately forgettable. Boy was I wrong! This book is just packed with humor and wit, has an explaination to the magic system that makes sense, makes smart references to today's world and holds a relevant moral with heartwarming moments that made me shed a tear!

I normally don't like sarcastic or abrasive characters, but I warmed up to Witch pretty quickly, I have to admit I loved her humor and creative cursing (though I recognize this could be a negative for some people) and really enjoyed watching her character arc. The quirky cast of characters were endearing and so unique in their personalities (Besides Witch, I absolutely loved Magnolia and Vasquez!), and I found myself rooting for every single one of them. The tale takes so many twists and turns, I never guessed half of the reveals and was shocked when I found them out! The ending is equally phenomenal and is the perfect end to this wild ride. What can I say? This book was my first read of 2024 and it has set the bar impossibly high for anything that follows it.

If you don't mind frequent cursing or casual descriptions of horrible imagery, Love humor akin to Douglas Adams or Christopher Moore and are looking for a fun and crazy read, then you will love J.H Schiller's The Witch of Tophet County!

The Witch of Tophet County is kind of like Office Space or The Office but dressed up in Cthulhu. It's got some very raw and roughshod and hilarious characters who are just perfect for the setting, and it's got queer love stories and a support group for those in them, and it's got complicated rules around magic and archonic power use that I'm not sure I quite fully got the first time, and it's a wild ride to a solid finish. I'm impressed by how well Schiller took a very mundane, bureaucratic story and turned it into this funny and fun application of Lovecraft's mythos; and I'm always happy when someone takes H. P.'s revoltingly racist and antisemitic world and completely subverts it. Well done.

I did not expect to love this little piece of lovecraftian satire this much. In the end I even got emotionally connected to the witch and her WTF.

This was so much fun an drama and funny ideas!

The Witch of Tophet County is a comedic, supernatural, mystery kinda book. It is very much in the vein of early Christopher Moore and all-eras A. Lee Martinez.

The eponynous Witch, whose real name is well-hidden from her Archonic overlords, is trying to get out of a contract, drink a lot of booze, enjoy the escapades of her raccoon familiar, and torture an IT guy named Chad. Then there's a whole thing where she maybe has to save the world.

Talking about the plot of this book would defeat the purpose. Instead I will say that this was a fun time with lots of plots and a group of characters when ended up being very well written indeed. It took me a little while to get into this book, but I am glad I took that time because the end was a satisfying romp.

I look forward to reading more from this author in the future.

This book is like a hoarder house of clever ideas. There are smart and funny thoughts crammed in every crevice, but never quite given the time and space to be displayed to their full potential. The end result for me is a book that I can 100% say made me chuckle and that I found both intelligent and heart-warming, but that I also found confusing at times, and just all around TOO MUCH. That said, with some editing and tweaks to the pacing, this could have been a near perfect book for me. A lot of potential and will keep my eye on this author in the future.

I received an ARC from NetGalley. When reading the snippet the author gives, I thought this was going to be right up my alley. Unfortunately, the humor fell flat and ended up making the character seem insufferable. The constant sarcastic quips threw me off. Great premise, just fell flat for me with my personal tastes.

If you are looking for a not-serious comedic fantasy, this may be for you! Emphasis on the comedic part, as it leans heavily into the quippiness of the main character.

Hench meets Supernatural? This was a great time. Truly just an overall masterpiece of comedy and storytelling.

Comedy books can be so hit and miss but I absolutely loved this completely bonkers book. I think this book is marketed as a comedy horror and that’s the best way to look at it - don’t go into this expecting an elaborate plot or deeply complex political intrigues, as that’s just not what we’re here for.

Having said that, I actually really loved the cast of characters here, from the Witch, to Chad the IT guy, to Heather the business woman who’s ‘found her why’ - I really enjoyed this motley crew! There is also a really charming approach to character development and almost every character managed to have a really satisfying character arc which added something really special to this read.

Overall, this was a FUN read that was easy to follow and genuinely really enjoyable! If you’re wanting something that’s not that serious then this might be a good call!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an E-ARC

While I think everyone has had a job that they were desperate to leave at some point in their life, no one has ever been as desperate as the eponymous protagonist of The Witch of Tophet County, the delightfully chaotic and entertaining novel by J.H. Schiller. The Witch only has a few weeks left to somehow get out of her contract with the Elder Gods that have taken over the world (the story is hilarious). If she can’t find a way out, she has to work for them forever or until her untimely death. Standing in the Witch’s way are a host of whacky distractions, clients who want a quick hex, and a mystery that only she can solve.

The opening scene of The Witch of Tophet County couldn’t have been more perfect for hooking me on a book. We meet the Witch in the Tophet County Public Library, digging through arcane tomes, looking for a way out of her employment contract. The tomes are noisy on their shelves when a likely-looking volume comes to her attention just as the call comes that the library is going to close. The Witch does her best to steal the book only to get banned from the library. Again. Frustrated, the Witch returns home to her whisky and her raccoon familiar, Keyser Söze. It’s even easier to understand the Witch’s frustration with her situation when we follow her to work and she finds out that her first client of the day wants a spell to make her husband fall back in love with her.

There is never a dull moment in The Witch of Tophet County. Part of the not-dullness comes from the fact that the Witch lives in a magical world ruled by the whims of the Elder Gods. Another part of the not-dullness comes from the Witch herself. As a dedicated follower of Discordia, the Witch cultivates chaos wherever she goes as part of her religious expression. In rapid succession, we are introduced to the sinister County Clerk and Director of HR (both definitely inhuman), a long-suffering IT technician (human), the new mayor (human but involved with an MLM), and more. Every character in this book is wonderfully weird. We also learn that something mysterious is going on. The Witch is dragooned into investigating first one, then another apparent murder of an Elder God.

I don’t want to say too much more about this book because part of the joy of reading The Witch of Tophet County is looking for the joking references to H.P. Lovecraft’s mythos, laughing at the puns, cheering the Witch’s pranks, and untangling the wild plot. I had a great time reading this book. I’m going to keep an eye out for more from J.H. Schiller.

3.5 stars. I'd recommend this book for teens, but it's a bit cringe beyond that.

An engaging romp with a unique plot - definitely binge worthy for teen lovers of casual fantasy. She’s so descriptive that you can easily picture each of the creatures, and the pace is quick but leaves room for character growth, too.

The thing that kept me from giving it 4 stars was the author ceaselessly shoved in punny sayings with the intent of being cheeky but just came out cringy instead. For example, the protagonist curses differently each time, like “Holy hopping horny hell” and “Howard Phillips fucking Lovecraft” and “as fun as a punch to the cumberbatch.”

It felt so unnatural, as if the author made a list of phrases and then sprinkled them throughout the book. It kept taking me out of the plot since it sounded like ChatGPT was asked to write a comedic YA story.

If you find yourself in a bookstore in January and you need a deeply silly and irreverent book about office bureaucracy and tentacles (this is not a romance novel, by the way), keep an eye out for this book. The main character is a county employee in a world that has been taken over by Lovecraftian eldritch gods (this is also not a horror book) and all she wants is to find a way out of her 100 year contract. Also her familiar is a raccoon, which should sell you on this book immediately anyways.

I found the writing cohesive, the characters all charming in their own ways (maybe not the most fleshed-out but this book also isn't trying to be deep or thought-provoking, so it matched the mood, but there was also just enough character development to make all the characters sympathetic and keep my attention), and the humor was right up my alley.

I really enjoyed this read and would pick it up again just to have some giggles.

The Witch of Tophet County by J. H. Schiller was just too much fun!
A humorous, funny and entertaining story that I pretty much enjoyed the heck out of.
The writing sucked me in and held me captive.

Thank You NetGalley and Podium for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

I really wanted to like this book but it just wasn't for me. There wasn't a coherent plot and the humor didn't resonate.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for letting me read this ARC. Opinions are my own.

-Netgalley Arc Review-

This book is bananas. And I mean that as an absolute compliment.

Like any comedy book, not every joke hits their target but there's still a lot of solid funny moments throughout.

Some will definitely find this book a bit too steeped in comedy for their liking. If you're looking for a plot heavy take on eldrich horrors doing mundane business things, you're not gonna find it here.

This might be a good recc for fans of Netflix's Inside Job.

Personally I have a problem keeping track of all the acronyms and names used throughout this book, but that's probably just a me thing.

Overall a fun time!

This book is so much fun, it had me laughing from page one. The whole thing was delivered with great humour while also being surprisingly clever.

It's basically a mystery with magic, tentacles, a racoon and booze thrown in, which it turns out is a fantastic combination.

The world building in in-depth without being heavy, all of the characters are dynamic and the witch is the perfect anti-hero.

I hope there are more stories to come from this world as I need to know more. It's totally worth a read if you want something fairly light but absolutely excellent.

A very fun take on the Lovecraftian mythos, where someone is murdering the Archeons and a very unwilling which is appointed to investigate.
This novel is in the line of Jasper Fford with thorough world-building, and with it's crazy, seemingly chaotic universe slowly unravelling a very well crafted meaningful plot that leaves you oh-so-very-satisfied. The characters are quirky and utterly loveable, many situations are hilarious and everything has it's place - it's very cleverly done.
This is one of those books where you read every word carefully, so it's slower going, but I just couldn't put it down. I did figure out pretty early on what the twists were going to be, but I really wanted to see it all unravel because the main character is just so much chaotic fun. Would love to read more with her and all the merry band.

Pretty hard to get through this one. The writing felt messy and didn’t work for me. The story and characters were all over the place. Nothing felt cohesive.

Is it possible to have a cozy fantasy about Lovecraftian Eldritch Horrors? It is if they all work for the county government. Reminiscent of the wit ofTerry Pratchet, this hilarious novel follows the Witch as she tries to weasel out of her magical contract working in the county government for the Eldritch beings who conquered humanity 30 years before. Surprisingly funny and well worth the read!

"The Witch of Tophet County: A Comedy of Horrors" by J. H. Schiller is a fantastical and humorous tale that follows the misadventures of a witch with a penchant for Kentucky bourbon, Amish romance novels, and keeping her true identity hidden from the chthonic monsters ruling humanity.

Trapped in a century-long contract with the Archons of the Nether Realms, the witch attempts to get fired from her mundane county government job but inadvertently earns the favor of her many-armed overlords. This twist of fate results in an unwanted promotion and a series of bureaucratic challenges, including the dreaded realm of meetings.

When tasked with leading a task force to investigate attacks on senior Archons, the witch seizes an opportunity to reduce her sentence by solving the case. As she navigates the bureaucratic hellscape, the story unfolds with a blend of fantasy, comedy, and a touch of horror. The witch's journey involves unraveling a mystery, facing challenges, and, perhaps, taking on the tentaclarchy itself.

With its unique premise, witty humor, and a protagonist caught between the ordinary and the extraordinary, "The Witch of Tophet County" promises an entertaining and whimsical exploration of magic, bureaucracy, and the absurdities of the supernatural world. Readers can expect a delightful and humorous adventure as the witch strives to escape her bureaucratic predicament and confront the challenges posed by the tentacled rulers of the Nether Realms.