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3.18 AVERAGE
3.18 AVERAGE
I had high hopes for this one but it let me down.
I felt like there was too much going on most of the time, I always felt like I didn't fully understand what was happening and nothing was fully ever explained.
I felt like there was too much going on most of the time, I always felt like I didn't fully understand what was happening and nothing was fully ever explained.
Story (4/5) ⭐⭐️⭐️⭐️
Characters (4/5) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Enjoyability (3/5) ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice (0.5/5)
Characters (4/5) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Enjoyability (3/5) ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice (0.5/5)
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
***ARC received from St Martins Press and NetGalley in exchange for honest review, opinions are all my own. Thank you!***
I wanted to love this book so much, it has a gorgeous cover, witches and families found it all sounds so interesting. While I did like parts of the book, as a whole it just wasn’t a well balanced book for me.
Persephone is an interesting character. We are introduced to her as she is struggling with her abilities, many of them that she has no or little to no control over. Its a pretty standard trope for an untrained witch and while it keeps Persephone from getting close to people she is still out there living her life. She isn’t constantly running but learning to adapt to what she has little control over. What little is learned about her abilities and how they effect her is done through backstory and I wish that the book had dealt with Persephone dealing with her magic a little more in depth. Allowing us as the reader to go along with her as she struggled with not wanting to hurt people.
The book both picks up and slows down considerably once Persephone arrives at Wile Island. Once Persephone arrives at the island the conflict of the story is introduced and it mostly just lingers in the background. The book spends more time with Persephone learning to use and control her many (almost too many) abilities and exploring the magical properties of the island. I loved the concept of the island and Persephone shifting between different worlds within the island. The book has multiple third person points of view so we as the reader are given clues as to what is happening but like Persephone, mostly in the darker as she learns her own abilities and what the magic of the island is capable of. The magic of the island, the mysteries of the library were so beautiful, I loved watching it help and fight back against Persephone but they were up against clunky scenes that broke up the flow of the story.
There is a small secondary plot with Hyacinth and Ariel that just did not work for me. I think it was trying to give more backstory to Hyacinth’s actions but it distracted from the main plot and I just wasn’t invested in them since there was already so much going on with Persephone, the prophecy, the library, witches that just magically appear for almost no reason and dumps of backstory. It also doesn’t help that outside of Persephone, the cousins weren’t very fleshed out. Their parts slowed down the book for me and felt unnecessary. Maybe if it had dropped one or two of the characters or just dropped the feud subplot completely it wouldn’t have gotten so confusing at time. The story tried to have too many angles that resulted in me getting lost until it returns back to the plot. And for a book thats only 350 pages it felt excessively long at points.
In the end The Orphan Witch has some great concepts and interesting world building that gets lost in its own story.
I wanted to love this book so much, it has a gorgeous cover, witches and families found it all sounds so interesting. While I did like parts of the book, as a whole it just wasn’t a well balanced book for me.
Persephone is an interesting character. We are introduced to her as she is struggling with her abilities, many of them that she has no or little to no control over. Its a pretty standard trope for an untrained witch and while it keeps Persephone from getting close to people she is still out there living her life. She isn’t constantly running but learning to adapt to what she has little control over. What little is learned about her abilities and how they effect her is done through backstory and I wish that the book had dealt with Persephone dealing with her magic a little more in depth. Allowing us as the reader to go along with her as she struggled with not wanting to hurt people.
The book both picks up and slows down considerably once Persephone arrives at Wile Island. Once Persephone arrives at the island the conflict of the story is introduced and it mostly just lingers in the background. The book spends more time with Persephone learning to use and control her many (almost too many) abilities and exploring the magical properties of the island. I loved the concept of the island and Persephone shifting between different worlds within the island. The book has multiple third person points of view so we as the reader are given clues as to what is happening but like Persephone, mostly in the darker as she learns her own abilities and what the magic of the island is capable of. The magic of the island, the mysteries of the library were so beautiful, I loved watching it help and fight back against Persephone but they were up against clunky scenes that broke up the flow of the story.
There is a small secondary plot with Hyacinth and Ariel that just did not work for me. I think it was trying to give more backstory to Hyacinth’s actions but it distracted from the main plot and I just wasn’t invested in them since there was already so much going on with Persephone, the prophecy, the library, witches that just magically appear for almost no reason and dumps of backstory. It also doesn’t help that outside of Persephone, the cousins weren’t very fleshed out. Their parts slowed down the book for me and felt unnecessary. Maybe if it had dropped one or two of the characters or just dropped the feud subplot completely it wouldn’t have gotten so confusing at time. The story tried to have too many angles that resulted in me getting lost until it returns back to the plot. And for a book thats only 350 pages it felt excessively long at points.
In the end The Orphan Witch has some great concepts and interesting world building that gets lost in its own story.
I really wanted to like it but it was so dialogue heavy and not in a good way and really unclear at times!
Originally posted on my blog: Nonstop Reader.
The Orphan Witch is a well written and engaging paranormal YA/NA story by Paige Crutcher. Due out 28th Sept 2021 from Macmillan on their Griffin imprint, it's 352 pages and will be available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.
The world building and characterization are the highlights of this creative novel. It's a character driven crossworlds fantasy with a chosen-one trope and a strong element of romance and a bonus drizzle of time travel. The writing is competent, but skates very near the ledge with regard to overwrought tortured simile and light purple prose. I found myself rolling my eyes fairly often and at a couple of points, skimming a bit to get past particularly egregious descriptions. If the characters had rolled their shoulders or necks one more time (so help me), I was calling the chiropractor. The cursing is average, a smattering of lesser rugged cursing and a few "f-bombs". There are somewhat positive depictions of LGBTQIA+ attraction in the book (one main character, Hyacinth, is gay, or possibly bi).
The audiobook version has a run time of 14 hours, 7 minutes and is beautifully narrated by Saskia Maarleveld. She reads clearly and well and imbues the characters with distinct voices and personality. I was impressed with her facility with dialogue especially; scenes with different characters in conflict, and she managed to imbue them with distinctly different tone and expression. The sound and production quality is very high throughout. Despite the scenes which made me roll my eyes a bit, her voice remained pleasant to listen to.
Three and a half stars. It's a diverting read/listen and would be a good choice for library acquisition, and for fans of NA fantasy romance.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
The Orphan Witch is a well written and engaging paranormal YA/NA story by Paige Crutcher. Due out 28th Sept 2021 from Macmillan on their Griffin imprint, it's 352 pages and will be available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.
The world building and characterization are the highlights of this creative novel. It's a character driven crossworlds fantasy with a chosen-one trope and a strong element of romance and a bonus drizzle of time travel. The writing is competent, but skates very near the ledge with regard to overwrought tortured simile and light purple prose. I found myself rolling my eyes fairly often and at a couple of points, skimming a bit to get past particularly egregious descriptions. If the characters had rolled their shoulders or necks one more time (so help me), I was calling the chiropractor. The cursing is average, a smattering of lesser rugged cursing and a few "f-bombs". There are somewhat positive depictions of LGBTQIA+ attraction in the book (one main character, Hyacinth, is gay, or possibly bi).
The audiobook version has a run time of 14 hours, 7 minutes and is beautifully narrated by Saskia Maarleveld. She reads clearly and well and imbues the characters with distinct voices and personality. I was impressed with her facility with dialogue especially; scenes with different characters in conflict, and she managed to imbue them with distinctly different tone and expression. The sound and production quality is very high throughout. Despite the scenes which made me roll my eyes a bit, her voice remained pleasant to listen to.
Three and a half stars. It's a diverting read/listen and would be a good choice for library acquisition, and for fans of NA fantasy romance.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
I always know when I set an audiobook to an increased speed, it's usually not a good sign. This one wasn't quite a DNF, but it was just lacking something, or many things. It felt predictable, and not in a good way. Was it flat? maybe? Having a hard time pinning it down. I just wanted it to end.
Saving graces were Dorian and Moira.
Saving graces were Dorian and Moira.
slow-paced
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes