It begins with a bad dream, and a sick child. Mikaela, a witch just shy of 18, and her magically powerful grandfather save the girl's life from the dark force that possesses her, but the girl loses her innate magic -- something widely believed to be impossible.

Death Card, the debut novel by Jasmine Smith, digs deep into a New Orleans where the culture of witches is very real. Mikaela, with her twin brother Orion, is still grappling with grief one year since the death of the grandmother who raised them. Orion attempts to cope through heavy drinking and other social excesses, while their grandfather attempts to hold the family and their local coven together without their beloved Witch Queen.

The early chapters of the book establish several threads in her life, from her grandfather's campaign for City Council to her twin brother's self-destructive behavior and the recent revelation that she, as heir to the family legacy, is expected to assume her grandmother's role as Witch Queen -- a position for which she feels woefully underpowered and ill-prepared, and which the coven at large seems unwilling to accept. Oh, and there's a lot of family pressure for her to pick a college, something she also doesn't feel ready for.

Mikaela's safe space was the tarot reading room in her grandfather Zeke's magic shop, a place where she excelled and her powers thrived. That is until a young woman -- to whom she is instantly attracted, by the way -- asks for a reading, and Mikaela sees her own murder at this woman's hands. It doesn't help that her grandfather has hired this would-be slayer to work in the shop beside her.

Mikaela is torn between avoiding Joelle at all costs or keeping her close and under a careful watch. A more immediate concern is the recurring attacks on members of the coven, a dark power that steals the victims' magic and, in most cases, their lives. People are dying, and Mikaela is powerless to prevent it.

I worried at first that the book would be another young-adult novel that is primarily a romance, with only the trappings of paranormal fantasy to lure niche readers. But Smith doesn't fall into that trap; the romantic pull between Mikaela and Joelle is secondary to the plot, and it never dominates the story.

Instead, Mikaela is faced with a sinister coven of displaced Salem witches who dabble in demonology and sacrifice far more deliberately than the New Orleans coven would dare. There's also the less magical, but more insidious threat of a wealthy white family who contend with Mikaela academically and socially, and with her grandfather politically, and who aren't afraid to reveal their deeply rooted disdain for their non-white brethren.

Accordingly, Smith is not afraid to take a few shots, through Mikaela's eyes, at the growing wave of racism and MAGA ideals in this country. While the book is not overtly political, it certainly doesn't shy from some uncomfortable truths about this new reality.

Death Card is a thoroughly enjoyable novel that kept me turning pages as fast as I could. Mikaela is a likable protagonist, with strong family ties and a host of supporting characters that give her a solid foundation for growth into her new role as queen. The story is solid, and there's ample room for sequels if the author is so inspired.

Jasmine Smith does a good job of devising her own slant on New Orleans lore. Keep an eye open for what she does next.