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3.62 AVERAGE
3.62 AVERAGE
I read this book as an eARC. I didn't expect to like it all that much; the plot sounded like something that's been done many times before, and didn't sound like something I would enjoy. I was wrong. I really enjoyed it. the strongest thing about it was the world building. it was very subtle, but at the same time, I was sucked in. more so than things about the characters, I need to know how the plot is going to resolve itself in coming books!
The Witch Hunter definitely ended up as a top favorite of mine in the fantasy genre. I really thought it was great!
One of the things I thought was great was the fact that this book is about a witch hunter. I've read a few books with a witch in the lead, so it's nice to have a change in that.
I thought Elizabeth was a good character. She had some flaws and that was great because I didn't want to read about another perfect heroine yet again. But even though she had flaws, she could still kick serious ass!
The story was really good and I loved the plot. My only negative point is John. Ugh. Yeah, I think I'm in the minority here but I thought he was so dull and I just didn't like him and Elizabeth together. I was more of a Caleb fan, to be honest.
The side characters were all awesome to read about. I loved Nicholas, Fifer, Schuyler (especially him!), George and of course Caleb. And Blackwell definitely was a topnotch villain.
Adventure, danger, romance and magic, The Witch Hunter has it all. Not to mention the friendships, which were awesome. I'm definitely a fan and can't wait for the second book!
One of the things I thought was great was the fact that this book is about a witch hunter. I've read a few books with a witch in the lead, so it's nice to have a change in that.
I thought Elizabeth was a good character. She had some flaws and that was great because I didn't want to read about another perfect heroine yet again. But even though she had flaws, she could still kick serious ass!
The story was really good and I loved the plot. My only negative point is John. Ugh. Yeah, I think I'm in the minority here but I thought he was so dull and I just didn't like him and Elizabeth together. I was more of a Caleb fan, to be honest.
The side characters were all awesome to read about. I loved Nicholas, Fifer, Schuyler (especially him!), George and of course Caleb. And Blackwell definitely was a topnotch villain.
Adventure, danger, romance and magic, The Witch Hunter has it all. Not to mention the friendships, which were awesome. I'm definitely a fan and can't wait for the second book!
*I received an advanced reader copy of this book from Indigo Books & Music Inc. in exchange for an honest review* #indigoemployee
Perfect for fans of witchcraft and strong female leads, The Witch Hunter takes place in an alternate 16th century England. It is filled with witch hunts, magic, and mystical creatures.
This novel helps to teach readers that people are not bad simply because of their beliefs or religion. It also displays how easily people in positions of power can abuse their influence.
*SPOILER* Early into the novel we discover that our main character, Elizabeth, has been coerced into having sex with the king. She feels that she has no choice, and goes in search of a natural form of birth control. She is so desperate for this birth control that she defies her training and the king’s law, and is consequently arrested and jailed. I had issues with this aspect of the plot line, as a form of rape was used to advance the story-line and then was brushed aside completely.
Caution: writing style is suitable for a young audience but contains underage drinking and coerced sex, which some parents may frown upon.
Perfect for fans of witchcraft and strong female leads, The Witch Hunter takes place in an alternate 16th century England. It is filled with witch hunts, magic, and mystical creatures.
This novel helps to teach readers that people are not bad simply because of their beliefs or religion. It also displays how easily people in positions of power can abuse their influence.
*SPOILER* Early into the novel we discover that our main character, Elizabeth, has been coerced into having sex with the king. She feels that she has no choice, and goes in search of a natural form of birth control. She is so desperate for this birth control that she defies her training and the king’s law, and is consequently arrested and jailed. I had issues with this aspect of the plot line, as a form of rape was used to advance the story-line and then was brushed aside completely.
Caution: writing style is suitable for a young audience but contains underage drinking and coerced sex, which some parents may frown upon.
I really enjoyed this book. It was interesting to read and had a good plot and characters that you fell in love with. However its only downfall was that it was rather predictable and I worked out the twist with the villains rather early as well as a few other things but that didn't put me off. Even though I knew what was about to happen I was still interested to see exactly how those things panned out.
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-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
6-17-16: I adore this book! I enjoyed being back in this world with the characters I loved. Now on to The King Slayer!
Original review: LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS. Be so excited about this book, guys. It's everything I wanted it to be and more.
Review with more words closer to release, but PUT IN YOUR PRE-ORDER NOW.
Original review: LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS. Be so excited about this book, guys. It's everything I wanted it to be and more.
Review with more words closer to release, but PUT IN YOUR PRE-ORDER NOW.
“Then and only then will you realize that your greatest enemy isn't what you fight but what you fear.”
CW's: Mentions of past rape, Violence
I was SO down to finally read another witchy book, but The Witch Hunter was incredibly mediocre and had some issues that made it hard to get through. There was potential, but sadly it wasn't used. I definitely won't be reading the sequel/conclusion, which is sad because I hoped to find more books focusing on witches to enjoy. Let's get into why I couldn't really enjoy the book and therefore couldn't give it a higher rating!
➽ All the characters are only half-developed. I liked the idea and background stories behind the cast of characters, but I feel like they didn't have any more depth. That's why I didn't connect to any of them and subsequently was not invested in the story, which affected my overall enjoyment, as I would say that the book is character-driven.
- Elizabeth is our main character and still doesn't feel properly developed. We're constantly TOLD that she's the best witch hunter in the whole country, but never shown her skill. The book opens with her admitting she hasn't been feeling well (a reason we later uncover, but still) and therefore has been making lots of mistakes for the past months. That means that we only get to know her when she isn't as good as she used to be. Personally, I think that was a bad choice, because it makes Elizabeth's supposed abilities questionable and at worst unrealistic. Apart from that I felt like we only got to know her surface level, the internal conflict was there but could have been stronger and overall, I found Elizabeth to be an unmemorable protagonist.
- The supporting characters are mostly likable, but they felt hollow too. My favorite was John the healer, as he was so kind and had the best-developed background story. However, he could have been a stronger character. Fifer and Nicholas were interesting at first but didn't grip me either, as I don't know nearly enough about them to get invested.
➽ I also could NOT get behind Elizabeth's loyalty to Caleb. He's her supposed best friend since childhood that she is of COURSE in love with (I hate that trope, it's so overused), but I never saw why. Caleb does the bare minimum, but I never truly thought he was a good friend and rather felt like he didn't care that much about Elizabeth. Therefore, I quickly got bored of her thinking off him and reliving old memories.
➽ I also thought that plot and some of the settings were weak. I didn't give this book a better rating, because I couldn't have cared less about what was happening. The characters didn't grip me, and the plot wasn't that fast-paced, so I felt it was slower and mostly driven by the characters. The search took up the biggest part of the story and for the most part, it felt like Elizabeth had no agency or strong goals of her own, the plot felt very scripted and thought out rather than coming organically. I also felt like the magic system wasn't as thought out as it could have been, I wanted to learn a lot more, but that potential wasn't used.
➽ I was also generally confused by rape being used as a plot tool in the beginning.
➽ The romance with John and the idea behind the worldbuilding were the only good points of the novel. I thought that John and Elizabeth were cute together and I liked their banter, it was nice to read about, even though I wouldn't consider them my favorite pair. The idea behind the witch hunters and the war against the witches was interesting. I liked that we had a more medieval historical setting, that didn't feel too heavy and managed to be imaginative.
Read for ...
The blurb for Witch Hunter makes it out to be a thrilling fantasy book, filled with magic and witches, suitable ‘for fans of Sarah J. Maas and Holly Black’. In reality, it’s a mishmash of historical fiction based around witch trials, fantasy but with a ban on magic, and – of course – a traditional young adult romance with plenty of butterflies and longing.
Our main character, Elizabeth Grey, is supposedly the best witch hunter in Anglia. I say supposedly because within the first few pages she makes a mistake in arresting a group of necromancers, and it’s revealed that she’s made several more before. Nobody is perfect, but if you’re going to call yourself the best then at least be the best. To me, she felt like a Celaena Sardothien wannabe. And not a good quality one, either.
After her mistake she’s soon found with some witch’s herbs and arrested, her punishment being death. Ironic, huh, that the girl who hates magic so much would turn to it in her time of need. It seemed very convenient to me, as it resulted in her being rescued by – yeah, you guessed it – witches in order to get the plot rolling. The aftermath of her arrest also seemed far too contrived, and much too over the top for what she was convicted of, making things hard to take seriously.
However, even though the plot was reached fairly quickly (which in itself was an issue for me, I wanted more background into Anglia and its laws and how magic worked) it didn’t really seem to do anything. I wasn’t gripped. Elizabeth was annoying – constantly whining about Caleb and how magic is such a terrible thing. Which I can sort of see, seeing as magic was responsible for a plague throughout the kingdom. What I find hard to see, though, is why so many people were keen for the bans on it to be lifted.
All the way through Witch Hunter I was left wanting to know more backstory, get more character development, and just be immersed fully into the world. It all fell very flat, focusing more on the love triangle and Elizabeth’s thoughts. The writing wasn’t thrilling enough to pull this off successfully, so reading felt like more of a chore to me.
I didn’t hate this, but I also didn’t like it.
Our main character, Elizabeth Grey, is supposedly the best witch hunter in Anglia. I say supposedly because within the first few pages she makes a mistake in arresting a group of necromancers, and it’s revealed that she’s made several more before. Nobody is perfect, but if you’re going to call yourself the best then at least be the best. To me, she felt like a Celaena Sardothien wannabe. And not a good quality one, either.
After her mistake she’s soon found with some witch’s herbs and arrested, her punishment being death. Ironic, huh, that the girl who hates magic so much would turn to it in her time of need. It seemed very convenient to me, as it resulted in her being rescued by – yeah, you guessed it – witches in order to get the plot rolling. The aftermath of her arrest also seemed far too contrived, and much too over the top for what she was convicted of, making things hard to take seriously.
However, even though the plot was reached fairly quickly (which in itself was an issue for me, I wanted more background into Anglia and its laws and how magic worked) it didn’t really seem to do anything. I wasn’t gripped. Elizabeth was annoying – constantly whining about Caleb and how magic is such a terrible thing. Which I can sort of see, seeing as magic was responsible for a plague throughout the kingdom. What I find hard to see, though, is why so many people were keen for the bans on it to be lifted.
All the way through Witch Hunter I was left wanting to know more backstory, get more character development, and just be immersed fully into the world. It all fell very flat, focusing more on the love triangle and Elizabeth’s thoughts. The writing wasn’t thrilling enough to pull this off successfully, so reading felt like more of a chore to me.
I didn’t hate this, but I also didn’t like it.
