Gretchen the witch is down on her luck, the roof is leaking and her money is running out. So when the mayor turns up with a job for her, to get rid of a troll, she accepts. As well as deciding how to deal with a troll her local tavern, the Salt and Bog, is in trouble. The proprietor is ill, the staff are absent, the ale has soured and the most eligible bachelor, Gavin, in the village is hiding out avoid the charms of the various girls who want to marry him. Deciding against helping out entirely because of the shape the tavern is in she decides to use her potions to carry out the mayor’s request. But when they suddenly make him remember who he is, she is left with a troll called Jurgen who is out of place. So, while dealing with making a love potion to attract Gavin for one young woman, she also has to find somewhere Jurgen can fit in. Then the roof of her cottage falls in, leaving Gretchen the only option of staying in the Salt and Bog until she can work out how to fix her life, her cottage, the tavern and a troll who doesn’t fit in anywhere.

This is a highly amusing fantasy story, which had me chuckling from the opening paragraphs to the end of the book. While it may not be laugh out loud, it certainly kept me smiling from page to page. The plot is surprisingly clever for a short story, with several threads overlapping and complimenting each other. Watching how the individual stories roll around each other and resolve is quite enjoyable. Another nice touch is that the mundane and magical co-exist, maybe not happily, although living peacefully enough alongside each other. This translates well to the characters and how there fears and concerns colour their views, regardless of what they are. By leaving out a lot of background and just letting them interact, it drives both the stories and helps paint a picture of what is happening around the town. Gretchen is not your average witch and the byplay between her and the other members of the town can switch from humorous to heartbreaking as the plot needs it.

The layout and formatting for the book is fine although the chapters do start half way down the page and leave a lot of white space. There is also some extra material from the author at the end with a chapter from the next book as well as details of others in the series. I didn’t see any spelling mistakes of grammar as I was reading through, although I was having too much fun to really notice.

Overall, this is well worth it for someone who does enjoy fantasy with a humorous twist, and if you enjoy the authors work, there are several more in a series following Gretchen’s misadventures to enjoy.