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3.62 AVERAGE
3.62 AVERAGE
Imagine an alternative-reality sixteenth-century England with a Salem Witch Trials-type persecution and a touch of Harry Potter.
I actually found the secondary characters more interesting than Elizabeth herself, but I do look forward to reading the sequel.
I actually found the secondary characters more interesting than Elizabeth herself, but I do look forward to reading the sequel.
I really enjoyed this book, although I think it's a bit of a reach to compare it to Graceling and Game of Thrones.
I really liked the characters and and magic rules. I thought a few storylines and characters could have been explored more (Elizabeth's relationship with the King because it was hard to figure out how she felt about him, and Revenants in general). But I'm hoping there will be more books in the series, because there's a definite door left open for one.
Great Fantasy book that left me wanting more time with the characters!
I really liked the characters and and magic rules. I thought a few storylines and characters could have been explored more (Elizabeth's relationship with the King because it was hard to figure out how she felt about him, and Revenants in general). But I'm hoping there will be more books in the series, because there's a definite door left open for one.
Great Fantasy book that left me wanting more time with the characters!
This review was originally posted on Books and Ladders!
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this novel from Hachette Children's Books via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I haven't read Graceling (yet), but I have read and seen and thrive on everything A Song of Ice and Fire so I was excited that this synopsis had promise of political unrest because I thrive on that. But it wasn't there. Honestly, even the magic wasn't really there. There was mentions of magic, but there was not enough actual magic being produced for me to really enjoy it.
It also felt very rushed. I knew it was a serious, so when everything was happening all at once, I was a little confused. I liked that the beginning started with action and that Elizabeth had a secret, but then it felt plot wise slow to me after that. Even her secret wasn't that interesting or even relevant to the storyline, except that it allowed her to know where the party would take place rather than what the party invitation said.
I thought that there would be more about her relationship with Caleb since he seemed to be written as so important to the story. But he only had a limited amount of scenes in the novel. The first ten percent of the novel that included him gave us limited insight into the world and, while I understand that women were persecuted for being witches for taking herbs that would help them not conceive, I feel as though it was too easy of a solution to move the story into where the actual plot begins.
Elizabeth was honestly nothing special. She didn't know how to see when things would occur even if they were literally told to her and it made it very frustrating. I also thought it was too convenient that she said she didn't understand any part of the prophecy but then magically knew exactly where to look for the item she was seeking. Also, considering she was the "best witch hunter" why had she never done more questioning about why and what the witches had done and why the witch hunters were using magic to help themselves. It was strange that she never thought about it more, in my opinion.
I thought maybe since George and Peter were introduced so early into the story they would have more screentime, but they were lacking that. Also, if George was the king's fool, why was he barely around the king after he found Elizabeth? Wouldn't that have been cause for suspicion by both the king and Blackwell? And Peter had such good potential, so hopefully there is more about him and his dynamic with John in the next novel. John was only okay for me. I didn't understand the semi-instalove that he and Elizabeth had but maybe it will get more developed in the next novel? Fifer was only okay to me. She is still the typical "I am a nasty bitch" girl who sneaks off with someone that her friends/family don't really approve of just for attention. She had a "tragic" back story so I guess that is supposed to make me like her, but I'm not sure if I do yet.
I do feel like this plot has been semi done before. As I was reading, I thought about Half Bad, The Mortal Instruments Series, Flicker, etc. I think a lot of these young adult fantasy series follow a lot of the same patterns and don't do it quite as well as some of the other series. The Witch Hunter was somewhere in the middle for me. There wasn't a cliffhanger so I don't have to know what happens next, but I will finish off the series. Maybe there will be some actual political elements to it other than angry mobs and a plot to overthrow the king (that was literally it).
Overall: 3/5 stars for an interesting concept that I feel has been done multiple times and better by some but worse by others.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this novel from Hachette Children's Books via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I haven't read Graceling (yet), but I have read and seen and thrive on everything A Song of Ice and Fire so I was excited that this synopsis had promise of political unrest because I thrive on that. But it wasn't there. Honestly, even the magic wasn't really there. There was mentions of magic, but there was not enough actual magic being produced for me to really enjoy it.
It also felt very rushed. I knew it was a serious, so when everything was happening all at once, I was a little confused. I liked that the beginning started with action and that Elizabeth had a secret, but then it felt plot wise slow to me after that. Even her secret wasn't that interesting or even relevant to the storyline, except that it allowed her to know where the party would take place rather than what the party invitation said.
I thought that there would be more about her relationship with Caleb since he seemed to be written as so important to the story. But he only had a limited amount of scenes in the novel. The first ten percent of the novel that included him gave us limited insight into the world and, while I understand that women were persecuted for being witches for taking herbs that would help them not conceive, I feel as though it was too easy of a solution to move the story into where the actual plot begins.
Elizabeth was honestly nothing special. She didn't know how to see when things would occur even if they were literally told to her and it made it very frustrating. I also thought it was too convenient that she said she didn't understand any part of the prophecy but then magically knew exactly where to look for the item she was seeking. Also, considering she was the "best witch hunter" why had she never done more questioning about why and what the witches had done and why the witch hunters were using magic to help themselves. It was strange that she never thought about it more, in my opinion.
I thought maybe since George and Peter were introduced so early into the story they would have more screentime, but they were lacking that. Also, if George was the king's fool, why was he barely around the king after he found Elizabeth? Wouldn't that have been cause for suspicion by both the king and Blackwell? And Peter had such good potential, so hopefully there is more about him and his dynamic with John in the next novel. John was only okay for me. I didn't understand the semi-instalove that he and Elizabeth had but maybe it will get more developed in the next novel? Fifer was only okay to me. She is still the typical "I am a nasty bitch" girl who sneaks off with someone that her friends/family don't really approve of just for attention. She had a "tragic" back story so I guess that is supposed to make me like her, but I'm not sure if I do yet.
I do feel like this plot has been semi done before. As I was reading, I thought about Half Bad, The Mortal Instruments Series, Flicker, etc. I think a lot of these young adult fantasy series follow a lot of the same patterns and don't do it quite as well as some of the other series. The Witch Hunter was somewhere in the middle for me. There wasn't a cliffhanger so I don't have to know what happens next, but I will finish off the series. Maybe there will be some actual political elements to it other than angry mobs and a plot to overthrow the king (that was literally it).
Overall: 3/5 stars for an interesting concept that I feel has been done multiple times and better by some but worse by others.
Ein gutes, unterhaltsames Jugend-Fantasy-Buch, das aber an manchen Ecken noch etwas Feinschliff bedurft hätte und dem typischen Jugendbuch Schema folgt. Es war nicht wirklich etwas besonderes, aber dennoch ein gutes Buch. Ich denke ich werde die Reihe weiterlesen.
Overall I really enjoyed this book! It was such a unique world that was very interesting to read. For the most part I really loved the characters, but I do think they could be explored a bit deeper. Although, there a second one I will definitely pick up soon!
I really enjoyed "The Witch Hunter."
The story was intriguing and filled with enough twists and turns to keep me interested. I liked the characters, particularly the magic team: Nicholas, Peter, John, Fifer, Schuyler, and George. I could never quite pin down Elizabeth. There were aspects of her character that didn't feel genuine.The whole bit about her relationship with King Malcolm was a bit confusing to me. Did he rape her? Because the story alludes to that but never explicitly states it. And even though the reader is privy to Elizabeth's thoughts, she never gives any indication that what happened between her and Malcolm was traumatizing. So I wondered what actually happened. Elizabeth is supposed to be one of the best witch hunters - so her juvenile actions and thoughts sometimes surprised. Personally, I thought her difficult history would have made her a lot tougher.
But the motley crew of wizard, witch, fool, healer, pirate, and revenant was such fun to read about! I loved them all. Especially George for his goofy personality.And Elizabeth's surprising relationship (enemies to friends) with Fifer was something I especially enjoyed.
Overall, I really enjoyed it. It was simple and sweet, and a nice quick read.
The story was intriguing and filled with enough twists and turns to keep me interested. I liked the characters, particularly the magic team: Nicholas, Peter, John, Fifer, Schuyler, and George. I could never quite pin down Elizabeth. There were aspects of her character that didn't feel genuine.
But the motley crew of wizard, witch, fool, healer, pirate, and revenant was such fun to read about! I loved them all. Especially George for his goofy personality.
Overall, I really enjoyed it. It was simple and sweet, and a nice quick read.
Somehow manages to be both too short and too slow. I have no idea how that happens. MC is just rather dumb, the plot is simplistic and goofy, and I didn't care about any of the characters.
Entertaining enough, but it had some problems. Other than predictability and a quality I can only describe as tropiness (there's a prophecy! and the only one who can fill it is our MC! for Reasons!), the writing was fairly good. The characters could be somewhat annoying-- I think their cluelessness and cliquishness were meant to be charming, but preserve me from the protagonist thinking to herself for the 584th time that the love interest despises her, and preserve me extra from the girl in a 1500s England analogue who wears midriff-bearing tops and rolls her eyes about how annoying her dark scary boyfriend is. Sigh. Additionally, in what I assume to be a move toward encouraging readers to continue on in the series, the ending is very unsatisfying. I thought this book was fun, but I doubt I'll move on in the series.