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legs_n_chins's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
I really, really wanted to like this book, but unfortunately it failed to engage me and the things I found lacking ended up far outweighing the things I really enjoyed. I came very close to DNF-ing multiple times. But I wanted to see it through to the end and the horror elements were solid enough that I wanted more of that.
Tl;dr: Main character suffers too much from Main Character Syndrome and too much of the story felt spoon-fed. Messaging was muddled. But horror elements held up through the end and atmosphere was appropriately dark.
The writing was technically solid. Henderson can set a scene well and creates a solid atmosphere. I felt the pacing was steady, quick to get from one part to the next without falling stagnant. However, the author also fell very heavily into the trap of telling, not showing. Many things that we were told occurred or things we were told the mc was thinking would’ve been more impactful if we had any basis of textual evidence for these statements. I also felt that information was spoon fed to the audience far too often, almost to the point that I felt condescended to. Some of the revelations, for example, that come toward the end that seem shocking to the mc shouldn’t have been shocking at all, as we seemed to have dwelled on this information for a long time prior.
I did really enjoy some parts of this book. The tension of the climax was excellent and the elements of nature and darkness were utilized well. I like the horror aspect, the constant haunting that seemed to dog our steps as the story progressed. The plagues were creative and helped continually raise the stakes through the narrative. And the way Henderson envisioned the witches, Lilith especially, was really incredible. I loved the image of the witches and the sinister otherworldliness of them.
Unfortunately, the rest of the book fell short of my expectations. Maybe I’m judging to harshly because of that, but I felt that the characters were shallow and relationships hollow. Some scenes between characters I felt were undeserved, the relationship not built enough for me to grasp the emotion the author was trying to convey. The mc never convinced me of her motivation or strength of character, and far too often it felt like she was in a bad quest epic where the most significant steps she took in her own narrative were to decide who to ask for help and when. And then in those cases she seemed to receive answers or aid without any significant obstacle. I could really overdo the word count on some examples, but this is already getting long and my main gripe is more significant.
I was confused by the commentary or message this book was attempting to impart. I’ll admit I can be dense about these things, and maybe I was told to expect something different that what this was intended to be, but this was billed to me as a dark fantasy wrapped around an intersectional feminist narrative. As a female-presenting poc myself, I was eager to see how Henderson would dig into this, but like everything else it felt rather shallow. The message I believe I could see here was that the patriarchal system seeks to make monsters of us all and turn women against each other to keep the structure in place. Which is all well and good, but I was hoping the narrative would allow for a breaking of that and give the women a chance to be allies with each other. Minor end spoilers:I suppose it did at the end, but like everything else it felt undeserved as up until that moment everyone had turned their back on the mc . More significant end spoiler: And, in the end, one of the final decisions made by the mc is in service to the saving of a man. A love interest I felt was unnecessary, eschewing the previously established motivation of saving the whole town.
There was also a part toward the middle of the book where the mc, a biracial woman, seeks to connect with her Black heritage and the time spent on that subplot was unfortunately brief. I’m biracial myself, I recognized some of what the author was saying here, but it still felt too surface-level because I didn’t feel the mc had a clear enough through-line of deep desire to make these connections. Though she expressed feelings of being an outsider in her own family, I wasn’t convinced of her consistent motivation to find the piece that was missing.
All in all, I was hoping for more depth and found it lacking. I may have been blinded by my own expectations and, unable to shake them, let my disappointment color my potential enjoyment of the book. But, I stand by my own critiques.
Tl;dr: Main character suffers too much from Main Character Syndrome and too much of the story felt spoon-fed. Messaging was muddled. But horror elements held up through the end and atmosphere was appropriately dark.
The writing was technically solid. Henderson can set a scene well and creates a solid atmosphere. I felt the pacing was steady, quick to get from one part to the next without falling stagnant. However, the author also fell very heavily into the trap of telling, not showing. Many things that we were told occurred or things we were told the mc was thinking would’ve been more impactful if we had any basis of textual evidence for these statements. I also felt that information was spoon fed to the audience far too often, almost to the point that I felt condescended to. Some of the revelations, for example, that come toward the end that seem shocking to the mc shouldn’t have been shocking at all, as we seemed to have dwelled on this information for a long time prior.
I did really enjoy some parts of this book. The tension of the climax was excellent and the elements of nature and darkness were utilized well. I like the horror aspect, the constant haunting that seemed to dog our steps as the story progressed. The plagues were creative and helped continually raise the stakes through the narrative. And the way Henderson envisioned the witches, Lilith especially, was really incredible. I loved the image of the witches and the sinister otherworldliness of them.
Unfortunately, the rest of the book fell short of my expectations. Maybe I’m judging to harshly because of that, but I felt that the characters were shallow and relationships hollow. Some scenes between characters I felt were undeserved, the relationship not built enough for me to grasp the emotion the author was trying to convey. The mc never convinced me of her motivation or strength of character, and far too often it felt like she was in a bad quest epic where the most significant steps she took in her own narrative were to decide who to ask for help and when. And then in those cases she seemed to receive answers or aid without any significant obstacle. I could really overdo the word count on some examples, but this is already getting long and my main gripe is more significant.
I was confused by the commentary or message this book was attempting to impart. I’ll admit I can be dense about these things, and maybe I was told to expect something different that what this was intended to be, but this was billed to me as a dark fantasy wrapped around an intersectional feminist narrative. As a female-presenting poc myself, I was eager to see how Henderson would dig into this, but like everything else it felt rather shallow. The message I believe I could see here was that the patriarchal system seeks to make monsters of us all and turn women against each other to keep the structure in place. Which is all well and good, but I was hoping the narrative would allow for a breaking of that and give the women a chance to be allies with each other. Minor end spoilers:
There was also a part toward the middle of the book where the mc, a biracial woman, seeks to connect with her Black heritage and the time spent on that subplot was unfortunately brief. I’m biracial myself, I recognized some of what the author was saying here, but it still felt too surface-level because I didn’t feel the mc had a clear enough through-line of deep desire to make these connections. Though she expressed feelings of being an outsider in her own family, I wasn’t convinced of her consistent motivation to find the piece that was missing.
All in all, I was hoping for more depth and found it lacking. I may have been blinded by my own expectations and, unable to shake them, let my disappointment color my potential enjoyment of the book. But, I stand by my own critiques.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pregnancy, Gore, Blood, Religious bigotry, and Animal cruelty
Moderate: Domestic abuse and Sexual assault
Minor: Pedophilia and Incest
niamhyjay's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Animal death, Blood, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, and Gore
Moderate: Sexual violence, Rape, Pedophilia, and Child abuse
erkietheturkey's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Child abuse, Death, Pedophilia, Violence, Body horror, Child death, Classism, Death of parent, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Sexism, and Adult/minor relationship
Moderate: Animal death, Gore, Gun violence, Sexual violence, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Homophobia, Pregnancy, Racism, Sexual assault, and Confinement
Minor: Medical content
leanne_miron's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Blood, Death, Religious bigotry, and Adult/minor relationship
Moderate: Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Misogyny, and Pedophilia
Minor: Rape
moodreadererin's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Blood, Child death, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Grief, Gore, Misogyny, Racism, Pregnancy, Violence, Death of parent, Bullying, Hate crime, Murder, and Pedophilia
Moderate: Rape, Vomit, and Sexual assault
goldguardie's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
This felt very slow to me and a little like there were too many ideas all going on at once with no real reason why or like...origin of the society or the powers.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, Classism, Blood, and Religious bigotry
hngisreading's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Blood, Animal death, Pregnancy, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Racism, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Pedophilia and Sexual assault
mondovertigo's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Death, Death of parent, and Misogyny
Moderate: Pregnancy, Racism, and Pedophilia
thebakersbooks's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
In The Year of the Witching, author Alexis Henderson takes the ‘dark bad, light good,’ trope often seen in speculative fiction to its logical conclusion in order to dissect it. The story comes down heavily on themes of corruption and misogyny in (Christian) religious settings—I can’t say if it’s a discussion of a particular sect or denomination, since I’m not Christian. This was a tough, emotional read, but it was very skillfully written and the fantasy elements made the hard-hitting parts more bearable.
I’m going to let this book speak for itself on a few of the topics I thought it addressed really well.
- Misogyny in Christianity: “Bethel has placed its burdens on the shoulders of little girls for far too long.”
- Inaction in the face of injustice: “Good people don’t bow their heads and bite their tongues while other good people suffer. Good people are not complicit.”
- Anti-Blackness in western Christianity: “In all her sixteen years, Immanuelle had never seen any saints or effigies in her own likeness. None of the statues and paintings housed in the Prophet’s Cathedral bore any resemblance to her.”
- The church allowing men to take sexual advantage of children: “It was the sickness that placed the pride of men before the innocents they were sworn to protect. It was a structure that exploited the weakest among them for the benefit of those born to power.”
- White people not coming through for their mixed-race family: Main character Immanuelle’s white grandmother betrays her to the religious authority and Immanuelle later says, “She’s no kin to me.”
- Religious rhetoric being used to justify atrocities: “The Holy Scriptures had always made those conflicts seem like battle sands wars, but in actuality, it was just a massacre.”
This was an excellent book. I wouldn’t necessarily call it an enjoyable read at all times, but it contained lots of great social commentary built on a foundation of rich worldbuilding. I recommend The Year of the Witching to anyone who enjoys intense fantasy and won’t be disturbed by the religious commentary (or will be disturbed in a good way; western Christianity needs to be shaken up this way now and then, in my opinion.)
Content notes: mention of rape in a religious context; spousal abuse; religion-base misogyny; racism/colorism; blood/gore; ritual self-harm; ritual sacrifice of animals; religion-sanctioned child rape; on-page traumatic childbirth; death of birthing parent
I’m going to let this book speak for itself on a few of the topics I thought it addressed really well.
- Misogyny in Christianity: “Bethel has placed its burdens on the shoulders of little girls for far too long.”
- Inaction in the face of injustice: “Good people don’t bow their heads and bite their tongues while other good people suffer. Good people are not complicit.”
- Anti-Blackness in western Christianity: “In all her sixteen years, Immanuelle had never seen any saints or effigies in her own likeness. None of the statues and paintings housed in the Prophet’s Cathedral bore any resemblance to her.”
- The church allowing men to take sexual advantage of children: “It was the sickness that placed the pride of men before the innocents they were sworn to protect. It was a structure that exploited the weakest among them for the benefit of those born to power.”
- White people not coming through for their mixed-race family: Main character Immanuelle’s white grandmother betrays her to the religious authority and Immanuelle later says, “She’s no kin to me.”
- Religious rhetoric being used to justify atrocities: “The Holy Scriptures had always made those conflicts seem like battle sands wars, but in actuality, it was just a massacre.”
This was an excellent book. I wouldn’t necessarily call it an enjoyable read at all times, but it contained lots of great social commentary built on a foundation of rich worldbuilding. I recommend The Year of the Witching to anyone who enjoys intense fantasy and won’t be disturbed by the religious commentary (or will be disturbed in a good way; western Christianity needs to be shaken up this way now and then, in my opinion.)
Content notes: mention of rape in a religious context; spousal abuse; religion-base misogyny; racism/colorism; blood/gore; ritual self-harm; ritual sacrifice of animals; religion-sanctioned child rape; on-page traumatic childbirth; death of birthing parent
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse
Moderate: Blood, Domestic abuse, Racism, and Sexism
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Misogyny, Rape, Self harm, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, and Sexual assault
marisnini's review against another edition
challenging
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship and Misogyny
Moderate: Pedophilia
Minor: Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence