Quick Take
- Narration: Kat Riley handles the genre blend, urban fantasy, light comedy, action, and romance, with energy and tonal flexibility; she keeps the jokes landing without sacrificing the stakes.
- Themes: Urban fantasy world-building with comedic texture, found family dynamics, the chaos of being a slayer in a supernaturally cluttered world
- Mood: Fast, funny, and genuinely enjoyable; lighter than Dresden but with real affection for the genre
- Verdict: Shotgun Sorcery Book 2 delivers more of what made the first one work, with the understanding that this series runs on momentum and charm rather than literary ambition.
I had not listened to the first Shotgun Sorcery book before picking up Witches Be Crazy, which is probably not the intended approach, but the opening chapter did its job: I was oriented, entertained, and not particularly confused within the first few minutes. Jay Aury writes an urban fantasy world that is dense with creature-world detail, vampires running pharmacies, dwarves flipping haunted houses, gremlins with monster truck fixations, and the density works because it’s deployed with obvious enjoyment rather than as an elaborate premise being explained before the actual story can begin.
The synopsis captures the book’s register accurately. The mayor and her coven of witches are trying to recruit the protagonist’s girlfriend. A new drug is turning people into mushroom-infested monsters. The FBI is covering up a missing cornfield. “Keeps life interesting, if nothing else” is the protagonist’s summation of this situation, and that tone, cheerful competence in the face of escalating absurdity, is what the Shotgun Sorcery series is built around.
Our Take on Witches Be Crazy
The comparison reviewers reach for most naturally is Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files, and it’s an apt one with some important distinctions. Aury’s protagonist is not a wizard in the Dresden tradition, the series leans toward a slayer archetype who is “smart and prepared, stubborn and tough” rather than overwhelmingly powerful. That choice produces a different narrative tension: the protagonist wins because he thinks rather than because he outmuscles the threat, which is more satisfying over a series because it allows the villain roster to escalate without requiring constant protagonist power inflation.
Kat Riley’s narration is a significant part of why this works in audio. Urban fantasy comedy lives or dies on timing, and Riley has timing. The genre blend, action, comedy, light romance, occult world-building, requires a narrator who can shift registers without jarring transitions, and she manages this smoothly. The comedic moments land as humor rather than as narration-about-humor, which is harder to achieve than it sounds. One reviewer noted the book has “action, intrigue, laughter or good old smut” on every page, and Riley finds a consistent voice that serves all of those elements.
Why Listen to Witches Be Crazy
For listeners who enjoyed book one, this delivers more of the same with incrementally more developed character dynamics. The series is building a cast, the love interests, the supporting ensemble, the recurring antagonists, and book two advances those relationships without the setup overhead of a first novel. The conspiracy theorist kitsunes and the ancient spirit with an appreciation for mid-2000s pop music are the kinds of specific, weird details that distinguish a world actually loved by its creator from a world assembled from genre parts.
The pacing is one of the book’s primary strengths. Reviewers consistently describe it as not having a boring page, which is a function of Aury keeping something happening at all times. The seven-hour runtime never drags because the story doesn’t allow itself to pause long enough to lose momentum. This is genuinely difficult to do over a full novel length, and Aury manages it.
What to Watch For in Witches Be Crazy
One honest reviewer gave it four stars and noted it “lacked the charm of the first”, specifically critiquing the final boss and fight and wanting more character development for the main female characters. This is worth noting as a calibration point. Series sequels often trade some of the surprise of the original for more confident execution, and that exchange doesn’t always feel equal. If you found the first Shotgun Sorcery book particularly strong in its novelty, book two may feel slightly more familiar even while delivering on its promises.
The “men’s adventure” genre label in the synopsis is accurate as a descriptor of the sensibility: the protagonist’s perspective, the love interest dynamics, the action-forward structure all reflect that frame. Listeners whose preferences run toward more balanced ensemble casts or more interiority-focused urban fantasy may find the book’s register slightly narrow.
Who Should Listen to Witches Be Crazy
Fans of the Shotgun Sorcery series should listen to this with confidence, book two earns its place. Listeners who enjoy Dresden Files, the Nightside series by Simon R. Green, or urban fantasy that treats its monster-populated world with affectionate absurdism will find the series a comfortable fit. Kat Riley is a strong narrator for the material. Those who prefer slower-paced urban fantasy with more psychological depth or more literary ambition should look elsewhere, but anyone in the market for a genuinely fun seven-hour urban fantasy romp will be well served.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to listen to Shotgun Sorcery Book 1 before this one?
Book one is recommended for the full context, but Witches Be Crazy is accessible enough that new listeners can orient themselves quickly. The world-building details accumulate from book one, and character relationships have more weight if you know their history, but the core story of book two is self-contained enough to follow without the prior volume.
How does Kat Riley’s narration compare to other urban fantasy narrators?
Riley is particularly well matched to this material. She has the comedic timing the series requires, urban fantasy that leans into humor needs a narrator who can deliver a joke without breaking the fiction, and she manages this consistently. Listeners who enjoyed her in book one will find book two equally well served.
Is this series appropriate for listeners who don’t usually enjoy urban fantasy?
The book’s comedic register and light tone make it more accessible than grimmer urban fantasy, but it is firmly within the genre in terms of world-building, action structure, and supernatural content. Listeners who enjoy light fantasy comedy, think Terry Pratchett’s approach to the fantastic, may find more crossover appeal than those who simply dislike fantasy generally.
Is there a content warning for the romantic or explicit content reviewers mention?
Reviewers reference ‘smut’ as part of the genre blend, which suggests some explicit romantic content is present. The series is adult urban fantasy rather than clean fantasy, and listeners who prefer romance-free or closed-door content should be aware. The explicit elements are described as incidental to the plot rather than central to it.
