The Wizard's Butler

With the back-of-the-book description I was expecting the main character's struggles with the old man & with magic in general to be the main focus, but those were nearly non-events.

Instead, I got a cozy with 4 main plots:

• A grasping niece trying to steal the estate by getting the old man declared incompetent

• An old man trying to find a blood relative with magical talent to take over the house when he dies

• A cursed artifact that is trying to hasten that death, or at least senility as it steals the old man's memories, and

• The main character discovering both enjoyment and satisfaction in the quiet duties and accomplishments of being a butler, much to his mother's relief given that his previous jobs had been very adrenaline-fueled and notably dangerous.

I thoroughly enjoyed it, but I'm sort of glad a sequel doesn't actually exist yet because I think a sequel would necessarily have a different feel and I don't want to move on from the comfy mental spot this one put me in.

I was intrigued just by the title of this book when I saw it. I looked at the reviews to see if people thought it was any good. The first one I read was from an incensed person. They were livid that nothing happened in the book except meals being served. Everyone else who reviewed the book absolutely loved it. This sounded like my kind of story so I took a chance on it.I adored this book!I absolutely recommend it on audio. The narration and the story are so peaceful. The first reviewer was only sort of wrong. Things do happen but it is slow and that is beautiful. I say this as a person who tends to hate stories that don't get to the point. But this was such a delight that when the plot started moving along towards the end, I was a little disappointed.Roger Mulligan is an Army veteran who did three tours in Afghanistan. He came back to the U.S. and was an EMT. Now he has been sent by an employment agency to interview to be a butler. He has no experience. His job is going to be to help out the elderly uncle of his employers until they can get him into an assisted living facility. He lives alone in a huge mansion. Roger will be the only staff. He's told the man can feed and take care of himself. Roger will prepare food, drive him to appointments, and just generally help out. He's warned that Mr. Shackleford has dementia. He even thinks he is a wizard.It isn't long until Roger realizes the Mr. Shackleford isn't as senile as he has led his niece to believe. Suddenly Roger is thrust into a world of magic that he had no idea existed. This says that it is book one and I want to read more in this world. This is a complete story but I wasn't ready to walk away from Shackleford House. Yes, a lot of the book is Roger trying to figure out what is real and what isn't while serving three meals a day. It can be repetitive. But seriously, this book is a joy and you should give it a listen. This review was originally posted on Based On A True Story