Soul of a Gentleman Witch Review

by David Ferraro

Rating: 4/5

Perpetually seventeen, Callum the witch has been in the service of Lucifer, collecting souls, as his own soul is indebted to the devil until he completes 666 tasks for him.

Summoned to Hell on assignment, Lucifer tells Callum that completing his next task will wipe the remaining tasks from his ledger and he will return Callum’s soul to him upon completion. All Callum must do is ensure his latest charge, Augustus, makes it from London to America, by the next blood moon.

As they journey across the sea, Callum grows to care for Augustus “Auggie”. Auggie seems unlike any mark Callum has ever been charged with and Callum wonders why such a noble boy would sell his soul to the devil.

Upon reaching New York, Callum discovers that Auggie never sold his soul to the devil at all but is an innocent. But is Callum willing to forfeit his own freedom to save Auggie?

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This was such a cozy fantasy adventure filled with magic and talking animals that I just did not want to put down. This was lighthearted but also featured some serious and occasionally gruesome moments. A few scenes definitely caught me off guard with ghastly descriptions, but it painted a very vivid picture, which I truly loved!

We meet so many characters along the way in our adventure. I loved following Callum, who gave me vibes of Newt from Fantastic Beasts with their mannerisms. And his cloak of potions and ingredients reminded me of the briefcase. He was such a joy to follow! But my favorite character of all was Callum’s familiar, a cat named Narcissa. She was the best! With a typical cat attitude, especially when given the ability to talk. I can imagine my cat would talk to me in a similar manner.

As for the plot, this was a fun, unique take on witches and demons and the war between humans and witches. We see both sides to the conflict, with Callum not necessarily caring for humans but understanding the world needs them, and Augustus not agreeing with the witches’ ideals on requiring payments for their magic. As I mentioned, the story maintains an overall lighthearted tone, but it also explores some darker moments and themes. 

There is a slight MM romance, but it's very subtle and more surface-level. Which I appreciated! I was much more interested in the magic and fantasy aspect. I think if we had a bigger romance, we would have lost the adventure vibes. 

I truly enjoyed reading this one! It was a fun adventure! If you enjoy historical fantasies set around witches with a subtle MM romance, I’d definitely recommend picking this one up!