A bit of restraint (or stronger editing) would have served the author well
594659
"Petty Magic" is a bit of a hodgepodge that is, ultimately, quite a bit of a mess.  The novel contains, among other things, descriptions of magic that is best suited for a YA novel (most notably, traveling via the "loo flue"), fairly graphic allusions to late-middle-age female sexuality, intra-coven squabbling among "beldames," a present-day love story, and a love story between two anti-Nazi operatives.  In the end, it was all too much and it was hard really to care too much about any of the characters.  Had some of the excessive details and extraneous plot lines been eliminated, "Petty Magic" could have been either a moving love story or an entertaining story about some extraordinary beings.  (I would have prefered it if the book took the latter route, as the author does particularly well with lighter material and has quite a way with humor.)  As it is, though, reading this novel was a laborious exercise that, in fact, got more arcane, confusing and difficult as it progressed.
2233587
A good start for this author. The story rang true, but the editing needed a little more editing. Years of nothing about Mattie suddenly crashed into Lisbeth winding up in the same city in Ohio needing a midwife. The story was good, but while it almost begged for a sequel, the author more or less promised there wouldn't, or couldn't be one. I disagree!
969589
The story was very well written for the most part.  I hesitated leaving an open review on this book because I did not want to sound like Bromley or van Elkind, but with a lack of method to contact the author discretely, this is the way to do it, I suppose.  It is obvious that Mr. Frohmann has a deep understanding and relationship with language.  I also admired the way he shared homosexuality in a way that didn't seem too stereotypical (victory).  It was subtle and tastefully written.

There are two major issues I had with this book, however.

First, it was littered to the point of annoyance with typos:  misplaced or wrong punctuation, noun-verb disagreements, missing words. I could fill in the blanks, but it got tiresome to have to do so.  It look unprofessional, which is a shame because I thought he wrote far better than some of the bestselling authors today.

Second, Gilbert's narrative about the watch was all wrong.  It was beautiful, a beautiful story he told, but it was just off because... who talks like that?  And a travelling salesman at that? It was unrealistic for dialogue, but had he framed it better it would have made sense to the reader.  Too many details were injected into that side-story as well.

I enjoyed the book and I envied the talent of Mr. Frohmann, but the two issues I mentioned keep me from giving it five stars.  I will still recommend it to my friends.  I just hope that when he gets an editor, that editor doesn't go stomping through this story and ripping things to shreds.  It just needs the typos addressed.  If he doesn't want to hire an editor, divide the book into chapters and hand it out to good friends to edit for him, or us readers who were astute enough to notice them.
964672
I thought Dimensional Shift was an interesting concept, and the story was overall quite good. My only gripe is that the novel really needed the services of a good editor. I often found the pacing slowed by repetition of ideas and dialogue, and these are precisely the kinds of things editors help authors with. A good effort though.
707109
As a "PK," I was attracted by the title and intrigued from the beginning.  The characters are engaging, and the writing is good; however, there is room for additional editing.  There were several rather glaring editorial problems that distracted me.  Others may not even notice, but as a retired English teacher, I can't help myself!  Thanks for a really good story.
588863
fascinating and comprehensive, but needed a better editor
2453693
This sweet Regency is a forced marriage narrative with an appealing hero and heroine. It's a good entry into the format, but the writing suffers from the writer's misuse of words. Example: "I should have realized society would conjure up several nasty inflictions for her...." Obviously, the word the writer meant was "afflictions."  And here's one of her recurring misuses of nominative case in place of subjective: "... she had to if she was to keep both he and Reggie safe," when obviously, the word needed was "him."

These errors are forgivable in narrative but less so in spoken speech, because a duke and duchess of the era would have been schooled in proper grammar.  Each time, it pulled me out of the story and forced me to think about the grammar.

Nonetheless, I was rooting for Daniel and Eva and was pleased with their happy ending. I also really enjoyed the dowager grandmother.
1948236
I was fascinated by the theme of "Passage," but frustrated by what seemed like a lot of unnecessary running around, missed telephone calls, etc., in the story. I think a talented editor could remove about a hundred pages from the middle of this book without hurting it much. The last, say, third of the book really is riveting, but on the whole, it did take some perseverence to get through. The characters were fine, but why not flesh them out instead of just running them around and setting up little arbitrary obstacles for them to overcome?
2542605
I liked this story line. Although it dragged on a bit, the message was sweet and the push/pull between the characters kept me interested and entertained. What I didn't like, however; was the editing, or rather the lack thereof. There were far too many gramatical errors and spelling mistakes that were difficult to ignore. I would have given this book a higher rating if it had been edited.
3069056
I enjoyed the story very much.  The characters were well written and the plot was credible and intense.  Several times I almost quit reading because of the inconsistent editing.  Quotation marks were misplaced or missing,  words were misused (there instead of they're,  then instead of than, etc.), and it happened worst in the best parts. For me it was so distracting it took away from the pleasure of reading what would otherwise have been a five-star book.
617121
An entertaining read, but could have made the same impact without all of the strong language.
4520490
Since much of the dialog is put together to make the narrative flow, I would have appreciated a bit more care in crafting it, as the dialog often comes across as stilted.

I've cross checked many of the incidents, and found close matches, so Mr. Steffes has done his research well.
929148
The story was well crafted.  The author handled several strong, interwoven subplots very well.  The characters, for the most part, felt real.  The villains were almost too evil, which for me shot past fear or tension and produced a "who cares" attitude.  I almost said the villains were not believable, but given the author's credentials, they may be perfectly realistic and I just don't want to believe it.  I'll give him the benefit of the doubt on that issue.

But the grammar, spelling, consistency, and transition errors were really, really annoying.  For someone with the author's education level, you'd think he'd spot "bear" used when he means "bare."  But I realize it's hard for first time authors to find good editors.

There is a lot of solid research and good storytelling in this book.  Having a competent editor/proofreader fix the problems would turn an OK book into an exceptional one.
1132616
it would have benefited from some editing.  Errors of anachronism and homophones.  Still, it was an intriguing concept and for me, a guilty pleasure as a member of the choir to which the author was preaching.
1890653
Needs a good proof reading, otherwise an engaging tale.
4316181
I agree with the prior reviewer.  A couple of obvious editing errors were annoying.  The author made some very good points that I don't wish to be lost in the criticism, and then made them again and again.  It was a quick read so it wasn't a big time sink to finish the book - yet I would condense it some more.
4950436
I know this is a best seller, but it could have used some editing.  The story was compelling, but there was too much repetition.