"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.

4.5/5
Where do I even begin with this book, it had me laughing from the first chapter. Witch is so grumpy, sarcastic and sassy, I love her. The story starts with Witch (name unknown) trying to find a way to get out of her service contract as the County Witch. But some higher ups start disappearing so she get's rope into trying to solve what’s happening. And also gets stuck working with a group of misfits characters.

And let me tell you I can’t pick a favorite from Chad the IT guy redeeming all Chads, to the Dread Lord of Human Resources, to Heather the 'business' woman. And can't forget the amazing 3 legged raccoon familiar, Keyzer Söze. Personally I like this type of cheeky and silly humor, the pop culture references made me laugh out loud.

I was glad for the character growth, specially on Witch. She started as I hate everyone and everything and ended being able to open up and let people in. The mix of sci-fi and fantasy was also great and not difficult to follow. overall I had a lot of fun reading this book.

Thank You to NetGalley for the opportunity to read the ARC.

I was not sure I was going to like this after starting it but stuck with it. I’m very glad I did. By the end of the book, I was so excited to see what was going to happen at the end I was rushing through the pages. Witch is an interesting character who doesn’t want anyone close to her, and she doesn’t like her overlords. She goes through so much growth by the end, she is almost not the same character. There were a couple of things that tripped me up in this which didn’t make it a five star for me, but I’m pretty sure others won’t have those problems. This is a fun, interesting, unique, sci-fi-ish book that is sure to please. Recommend. I was provided a complimentary copy which I voluntarily reviewed.

I received an ebook ARC through netgalley for my review.

"Besides the fact that omitting her name had weakened her contract's magical hold, giving her the leeway to attempt breaking it, the Dread Lord had a pathological obsession with maintaining accurate employee records. He'd been apoplectic when he discovered she was using a pseudonym.
'I demand to know your true name, Witch!'
'It's Connie-'
'Don't you dare,' he shrieked.
'Lingus!'"

If HP Lovecraft and Franz Kafka had a horde of children, they would be the eldritch bureaucrats that are the Archons. I absolutely adored this book. It was laugh out loud funny, absurdist, and an honestly fun romp that reminded me of a crasser, feminine Douglas Adams book. I will say I figured out a couple of major plot twists long before the reveal, but I can't really hold that against it. The character growth of the main crew was done extremely well and I would love to see a series about these characters, or even just new mischief the witch gets herself into in the future. Thoroughly enjoyable.

This book was like nothing I’ve ever read before. It was a creative masterpiece.

The HP Lovecraft tie in was brilliant.

I love a mortally grey character, and to really no fault of her own, Witch was exactly that. I love her characters development throughout the story and would love to read more.

The only critique I have, is I would have liked to see included in the book was the Witch’s true name.

But The Witch of Tophet County is now one of my favourite books b