1.52k reviews for:

Hour of the Witch

Chris Bohjalian

3.7 AVERAGE

the_cajun_librarian's review

5.0

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“Sometimes the most powerful magic is found within ourselves.”

Amazing book!

theafterdarkbookcase's review against another edition

4.0

dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

rachel_752's review against another edition

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Horrible audio book narrator. Read some reviews to decide if the story would make up for the monotonous narration and found enough poor reviews about the writing to encourage me to move onto other books. 

beccabookdragon's review against another edition

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I just couldn't empathize with the main character's choices and there are so many other books I would rather be reading. 

brynners89's review

5.0

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: N/A

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

flagmachado's review

5.0

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With a pretty slow start it picks up and the story is unfolding really nicely! Well written and thought provoking.

bondwithbooks's review

4.0

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While the story had a slower pace at the beginning, I found myself unable to put the book down halfway through. I thought the author depicted the plight of a Puritan woman perfectly. The topics seemed well researched.

nami_namiko's review

3.0

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Grief, Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Alcohol

Minor: Animal cruelty, Incest

jerigayle's review

3.0

dark slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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This historical fiction book failed to meet my expectations. The intriguing premise was overshadowed by a drawn-out plot and shallow characters. Furthermore, I’m concerned that the author’s portrayal of women lacks depth, especially considering the story is narrated from a female protagonist’s perspective. The language used also seemed to hinder the reading experience, making the already convoluted plot even more challenging. Despite finishing the book, I wish I had given up earlier. The rushed conclusion, after all the hints about the plot’s resolution, felt unsatisfying.

Additionally, Mary’s decision to not poison Thomas but instead stab him through the heart with a dagger contradicted other plot points. Lastly, Peregrine’s involvement, which was supposed to be a twist, was executed poorly.

Perhaps I was overly optimistic due to the hype surrounding this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Violence

Minor: Child abuse

Spoiler

key86's review

4.25

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: N/A