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wombat_88's review against another edition
lighthearted
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
findingmontauk1's review against another edition
4.0
Oliver Crum and the Briarwood Witch is the first in a new series from Chris Cooper. I loved The Dreadful Objects and the writing style in it so I was eager to see what I would find in Cooper's second book. I found all of the things that I loved: cozy mystery vibes, paranormal suspense, and light horror. After thinking about it for a while, I think that "cozy horror" should be a new genre (if it is not already one, that is). Because that's how I thought this book was - it had all the cozy elements: distant family, quaint historical town, local business, etc. But then it had the witch! His writing style is so clear and precise and each word matters. I fell in love with all the descriptions. 4 stars from me and I will absolutely be reading the second Oliver Crum book whenever it comes!
exorcismofemilyreed's review against another edition
3.0
Oliver Crum and the Briarwood Witch is Chris Cooper's second book (and the second I've read from him). Both books tell creative and fun stories, and both also have covers that immediately caught my attention.
Oliver Crum and the Briarwood Witch is sort of a dark fairy tale, or a "quirky supernatural mystery" as labeled by the synopsis. I loved the setup of the historical tourist town with secrets. I could see a lot of fun stories set here.
The story takes a bit to build, and I don't feel like it really got going until the second part. I can't really go into much without spoiling something, but the story ended up being different than I expected. The witch didn't play a very large role for having her name in the title. I guess the pieces I was interested in sort of became more of the background, and I was hoping the focus would go back to them.
Although this book is about adults, since it is sort of fairy tale-esque, the tone of it felt more like middle grade or YA. This is not a bad thing at all; I'm just mentioning that it felt directed at a younger audience. I wasn't wild about the ending after the build-up. It was pretty open, so I'm guessing this is going to be a series. Thank you to the author for sending me a copy to review.
Oliver Crum and the Briarwood Witch is sort of a dark fairy tale, or a "quirky supernatural mystery" as labeled by the synopsis. I loved the setup of the historical tourist town with secrets. I could see a lot of fun stories set here.
The story takes a bit to build, and I don't feel like it really got going until the second part. I can't really go into much without spoiling something, but the story ended up being different than I expected. The witch didn't play a very large role for having her name in the title. I guess the pieces I was interested in sort of became more of the background, and I was hoping the focus would go back to them.
Although this book is about adults, since it is sort of fairy tale-esque, the tone of it felt more like middle grade or YA. This is not a bad thing at all; I'm just mentioning that it felt directed at a younger audience. I wasn't wild about the ending after the build-up. It was pretty open, so I'm guessing this is going to be a series. Thank you to the author for sending me a copy to review.
beeatrice's review
3.0
This was a nice pre-fall book to get me in the mood for all things autumn. The story was a little odd and the characters were a little extreme, but I still enjoyed the story and il wanted to know the ending. I think it is a nice quick read.
katressia's review
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
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