3.77 AVERAGE

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

I enjoy dual timeline books and this was no exception. Ursula's storyline was compelling and well told. Adrianna's portion of things needed to be fleshed out more. It felt too obvious but at the same time portions were underdeveloped. I wish there was a bit more connection between the two other than place and a couple of questionable magical things. I am happy with the way the book ended with some well deserved justice.
adventurous dark mysterious reflective
emotional tense
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

I like reading about witches, though my fictional witches have to be believable and based on historical facts, and this book absolutely fulfilled my wishes. It is set in two timelines - present day and 1646 - and both are equally interesting.. There's a creepy old house next to a graveyard and a hidden diary. The two women in the story are interesting characters, though I wanted to scream at Addie and tell her to open her eyes!!  Clare Merchant is a new author to me but I'll definitely be perusing her back catalogue. The storyline is gripping and I shed a tear or two at the injustice suffered by women during history.

I enjoyed the narration by Antonia Beamish, who brought it all to life.
dark mysterious tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

3.5 ⭐️

Something about this just fell flat for me, which is a shame because I really wanted to rate it higher.

Firstly I thought the dual-timeline concept worked really well for this story, which ultimately I thought resulted in a wonderful story of feminism, courage and triumph.

I did feel like Addie’s side of the story was a bit too rushed??? I didn’t really feel like I had time to form a connection with her character. Especially at the end, I would’ve liked to see a bit more about Addie’s ending. I felt much more drawn to Ursula who by all accounts was a badass and I would be her personal hype woman any day.

Anyway, Oliver and Rick can go fuck themselves ✌️
mysterious medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

A time slip witchy story that falls short in the modern-day portions. I enjoyed Ursula's story in the 1600s; however, the present-day character, Adrianna, was incredibly unlikeable. The character development for her was lacking, as all you're told is that she possibly made a mistake at work that led to a nervous breakdown and her inability to function. She didn't lose her job...just couldn't face the world anymore. So she runs away to the cottage for a lengthy sabbatical.

The dialog in the present is poorly written (almost robotic), and there are huge leaps and assumptions made without the effort put into other parts of the book. The ending is very rushed, as well.

I honestly wanted to stop reading this one, but stuck with it in hopes of it getting better...but it just never did.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
emotional hopeful sad medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

Ok I'm bored! It's obvious what is going to happen. I have other more interesting books on the go that I need to get on with.
dark emotional tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated