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3.18 AVERAGE
3.18 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
Words have power. These words would weigh the heaviest in their promise. "I will accept the cost."
The Orphan Witch follows 32 year old Persephone May on a spellbinding journey filled with love, sacrifice, family, curses, some swoon worthy moments and an atmosphere that lives and breathes magic. The writing is incredibly bewitching. Although not a page-turner, I found the witches, curses, complicated history, and the fact that magic always comes at a cost to be tricky, layered, and intriguing. If you're looking to curl up with a book about witches this fall season, look no further. This debut adult fantasy novel by Paige Crutcher made me feel like I was wrapped in a warm blanket and sipping chamomile tea by the fire.
"A lost thing is always waiting to be found."
Read if you like:
» adult standalone fantasy
» prophesied chosen one
» love & sacrifice
» lost & found family
» witchcraft, secrets, & curses
» a cursed island, think Storybrooke from Once Upon a Time
» a world within a world, think Inception
» enchanting writing & unhurried pacing
» broody, bad mannered librarian & a few passionate kisses
What I didn't like:
I don't mind lengthy chapters, but when they cause the story to lose some its momentum or cohesiveness, I notice. It has a tendency to feel drawn out or wordy, which led to my lack of enjoyment.
The Orphan Witch follows 32 year old Persephone May on a spellbinding journey filled with love, sacrifice, family, curses, some swoon worthy moments and an atmosphere that lives and breathes magic. The writing is incredibly bewitching. Although not a page-turner, I found the witches, curses, complicated history, and the fact that magic always comes at a cost to be tricky, layered, and intriguing. If you're looking to curl up with a book about witches this fall season, look no further. This debut adult fantasy novel by Paige Crutcher made me feel like I was wrapped in a warm blanket and sipping chamomile tea by the fire.
"A lost thing is always waiting to be found."
Read if you like:
» adult standalone fantasy
» prophesied chosen one
» love & sacrifice
» lost & found family
» witchcraft, secrets, & curses
» a cursed island, think Storybrooke from Once Upon a Time
» a world within a world, think Inception
» enchanting writing & unhurried pacing
» broody, bad mannered librarian & a few passionate kisses
What I didn't like:
I don't mind lengthy chapters, but when they cause the story to lose some its momentum or cohesiveness, I notice. It has a tendency to feel drawn out or wordy, which led to my lack of enjoyment.
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Read this if/when you want stories with:
-Families, sisters, bonds between women.
-LGBT representation.
-Witches.
-A soft magical system.
Don't read this if the followings are deal-breakers:
-Slower pacing.
-A lot of "Telling" writing.
-A somewhat derivative plot.
-Chosen one narrative.
My thoughts:
Honestly, I just found it utterly unremarkable.
-Families, sisters, bonds between women.
-LGBT representation.
-Witches.
-A soft magical system.
Don't read this if the followings are deal-breakers:
-Slower pacing.
-A lot of "Telling" writing.
-A somewhat derivative plot.
-Chosen one narrative.
My thoughts:
Honestly, I just found it utterly unremarkable.
The Orphan Witch focuses on a witch named Persephone who is lost in the world with no family and powers that she doesn't understand. A seemingly chance encounter with a woman named Hyacinth brings her into a world that is both confusing and magical. I have a soft spot for the wandering and add magic and I was excited to read this book. Unfortunately it did not work for me. I found the story to be confusing much of the time. The plot is a little flip floppy which made it hard to grasp what exactly the issue is that needs to be resolved. Character names sometimes get mixed up. The book could have used another read through from an editor. This was an e-arc so maybe it did in the final print.
Thank you Netgalley for an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Spoiler
At one point Hyacinth is talked about in the past tense to another character but the character is never actually told she diedThank you Netgalley for an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Confusing, and not in a good way. The plot sounded great on paper (no pun intended); in practice, it felt like a bit of a mess. Strange pacing, characterisations that never quite rang true.
Not for me.
Not for me.
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This had all the ingredients to be a book I really enjoyed but the writing failed to engage me. Nothing was quite fully fleshed, I didn’t see enough interactions between characters to believe any of the relationships. It was a slog to finish & overall disappointing.
I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
The Orphan Witch started off a bit slow for me. We enter into this magical world and get to know who Persephone is. Now she has no control over her own magic but she always say it as a bad thing. Mostly because of how people in and out of her life reacted towards her. So when things go a little crazy, she ends up taking a random trip to go meet an acquaintance.
I don't think she was necessarily going for answers right then and there but once she stepped onto this mysterious island - she felt at ease a bit. At this moment, I was very intrigued with what was going to happen on her adventure.
I lowkey adored her meeting Dorian and I had so many questions when it came to him being involved. Then there's her cousins who definitely kept me on my toes the entire time. Especially since she kind of just walked into this huge family feud and got all kinds of whiplash from it.
Other than that, the magic was actually pretty interesting throughout the book. I still have some questions about the different kinds because we didn't get that much detail for it all. Plus the family grimoire was barely mentioned after we saw it and I just wanted to see what else was in it. Honestly, I have so many unanswered questions but I've already devoured the last page.
Not sure if we will get another book due to how this one ended.. but I wouldn't mind getting a prequel about their aunt's or grandma's. This family had so many secrets and I don't think we got them all out in the open.
The Orphan Witch started off a bit slow for me. We enter into this magical world and get to know who Persephone is. Now she has no control over her own magic but she always say it as a bad thing. Mostly because of how people in and out of her life reacted towards her. So when things go a little crazy, she ends up taking a random trip to go meet an acquaintance.
I don't think she was necessarily going for answers right then and there but once she stepped onto this mysterious island - she felt at ease a bit. At this moment, I was very intrigued with what was going to happen on her adventure.
I lowkey adored her meeting Dorian and I had so many questions when it came to him being involved. Then there's her cousins who definitely kept me on my toes the entire time. Especially since she kind of just walked into this huge family feud and got all kinds of whiplash from it.
Other than that, the magic was actually pretty interesting throughout the book. I still have some questions about the different kinds because we didn't get that much detail for it all. Plus the family grimoire was barely mentioned after we saw it and I just wanted to see what else was in it. Honestly, I have so many unanswered questions but I've already devoured the last page.
Not sure if we will get another book due to how this one ended.. but I wouldn't mind getting a prequel about their aunt's or grandma's. This family had so many secrets and I don't think we got them all out in the open.
Not even Saskia Maarleveld narrating could save this story about a family of women witches, a curse and the one woman who has been on her own her whole life but finally finds a place to belong. As a huge fan of Alice Hoffman and her Practical magic books, I thought it would be a no brainer that this one would be another satisfying fall read full of modern day witches, magic and romance (hello hot librarian love interest!) but sadly this story was soooooo slow-moving and I really struggled to get invested or connect with the characters. Unfortunately this was a miss for me, great cover though for this debut author. Much thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my ALC.
I enjoy fantasy stories and ones about witches come in a close second after vampires. The synopsis of The Orphan Witch sounded intriguing. Persephone May bouncing around foster care because strange and unexpected things happen to her. Now an adult, when strange things happen, she just picks up and moves. Then she receives an email from an old acquaintance to come to Wile Isle. Once there she discovers that she is actually a witch.
This book has a few things I like about magical books – found family, a love interest and a curse to break. I did have a hard time getting through the story. I was hoping for a little more action. The pacing was slow and at times the plot was confusing. I’d recommend this for fantasy readers that enjoy a character driven story.
Thank you to NetGalley, and St. Martin’s Press for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This book has a few things I like about magical books – found family, a love interest and a curse to break. I did have a hard time getting through the story. I was hoping for a little more action. The pacing was slow and at times the plot was confusing. I’d recommend this for fantasy readers that enjoy a character driven story.
Thank you to NetGalley, and St. Martin’s Press for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.