#jacque aye

Title: I Live To Serve the Witch

Story by: Jacque Aye

Format: Novel

Age Range: New Adult

Date Released: 2025

Publisher: JacqueAye.com

From the back:

I only know of true love because of the witch.

Ceciline lives to serve her Mistress -- the wise, warm, and mysterious witch who raised her. Together, they live a peaceful life tucked away in their cottage in the woods. The witch works her magic, and Ceciline follows closely behind, sweeping floors, gathering ingredients, and staying alert should her Mistress need her for anything. The witch refuses to teach her any spells or incantations. But Ceciline doesn't mind. She's perfectly happy with the way things are. She only wishes to be useful.

But things change when a mysterious traveler lands on her doorstep with a thump. And the closer the two become, the more Ceciline questions whether the witch is protecting her... or imprisoning her.

Thoughts:

Full disclosure, my wifey and I have been supporting and following Jacque Aye for a while and we have a couple of her books, but this is the first one I’ve had a chance to pick up and read. What can I say, our TBR piles are literal bookshelves and I'm working through them slowly. I’m usually the one into magic and witchy things, so when I was headed off on vacation, I thought this would be a great book to throw into my suitcase for a early morning balcony read, and I was right!

I Live to Serve the Witch is a twisty tale that hops between two stories and two timelines, as things slowly connect together. We follow the story of Ceciline, who studies as a witch’s apprentice and is mostly busy keeping up the house of the kindly but mysterious witch she lives with. Ceciline cleans and tends to the herbs and is quick to grab whatever ingredients her mistress needs. She’s curious and naïve, but she also knows when to keep her mouth shut -- mostly. It’s all she can do to wait at the little home for her mistress to return… but when a young woman shows up bleeding instead, she quickly tucks her away in her bedroom to heal and doesn’t say a word. From there the lie only grows bigger, as does the danger she’s in.

Out this week: Monster High: World’s Scare #1 (IDW, $5.99): 

Jacque Aye and Caroline Shuda bring us a double-sized first issue for the latest Monster High series, as Frankie Stein, Draculaura, Clawdeen Wolf, and the gang start a new scaremester. The World’s Scare exhibition is coming to New Salem, and Frankie’s dreaming up something monstrous to honor her late father, Headmaster Frankenstein.

The Magical Girl's Guide to Life: Find Your Inner Power, Fight Everyday Evil & Save the Day With Self-Care is a 192 page book by Jacque Aye and published by Ulysses Press.

The author is a first generation Nigerian-American who is, among other things, the founder of the Adorned by Chi lifestyle brand, a therapist-in-training, and manga writer. She is a vocal supporter of mental health awareness and self-care among Black women, an advocate for those suffering from social anxiety, and strives to show the world that Black women can be just as feminine and beautiful as anyone else. (All of this has been derived from the author's own words throughout the book and in the About the Author section.)

Despite being categorized as a manga on Amazon, it's more accurate to describe this as a creative guide to early adult life. Despite the aesthetics, the book is very much written for its target demographic: Young people from the age of 16 to...I'd say probably around 24 who struggle with connecting to other people and struggle with their mental health or self-worth. It's a very easy read.

Sprinkled in around the author's advice on topics are related stories from her own life. These stories add to the overall advice (even the intermission sections) and help to explain more of who our author is and why she's writing this book.

Different magical girl or magical girl-like series are used as comparison points throughout the book, either to compare to the author's advice or to starkly contrast it. Miraculous Ladybug, Seven Universe, and Winx Club are some of the non-anime magical girl series mentioned, and come up a few times each throughout the book. Even if you don't know anything about the series the author is using, she contextualizes it enough for you to be able to follow along easily.

It's also queer-inclusive. The author uses the term "magical being" and the emphasis on embracing femininity is never some creepy "vagina period power" message, but rather one about being more comfortable just being yourself and playing around with feminine expressions. Any indication of potential romantic partners or friends is completely ungendered or uses they/them pronouns. It's fantastic and doing so much better than most witchcraft books.

There were very few sections that made me raise a brow (only two thus far based on phrasing) and I find this book to be a fascinating look into a potential pop culture paradigm based on the concept of magical girls. It's obviously not meant to be such a thing, but it's very easy to adapt it.

Official Jasper Review: 8/10, for the right demographic

"Adorned by Chi, tells the tale of Adaeze, "a painfully shy college student who discovers she has Goddess-like powers and must, reluctantly, lead a team of young warriors to defeat an apocalyptic monster that threatens to destroy humanity and save the world." It is inspired by series like Revolutionary Girl Utena, Puella Magi Madoka Magica and Sailor Moon, while also drawing inspiration from elements of Igbo culture & lore, including Goddesses like Ala, Uhamiri and more.

Out this week: Monster High: New Scaremester #1 (IDW, $4.99): 

Jacque Aye and Caroline Shuda kick off a new Monster High series featuring Draculaura, Clawdeen Wolf, Cleo de Nile and Frankie Stein who must deal with the trials and drama that come from a new “scaremester” at school.