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3.55 AVERAGE
3.55 AVERAGE
adventurous
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:
No
The author blends fantasy, history, and mystery to create a story full of intrigue and mystery. The MFC character needs to solve a series of clues that lead to a discovery. It’s National Treasure filled with Secrets Societies and a modern day Witch Hunt.
An Intrigue of Witches has one of the most unique and original premises I have read in a book in recent years. The story is riveting; the main character is a Black historian on a treasure hunt reminiscent of National Treasure, complete with a conspiracy and a slew of secret societies. For a fantasy/sci-fi reader whose favorite movie is National Treasure, this book felt like it was made for me.
The plot was the novel's strong point, though, at times, it was predictable and completely illogical (laughably so). The dialogue felt fractured and robotic; the book, in general, could probably benefit from another beta read run-through. What bothered me about the book was that two stories were running throughout it, but they never seemed connected. The sci-fi plot was fantastic, and I would have loved to see it highlighted more. The fantasy/magic elements also could have used more explanation; remember, this is the first book in a series.
I enjoyed this book despite struggling to immerse myself in it fully. This will be a read for a select niche, but I would not recommend it to everyone.
The plot was the novel's strong point, though, at times, it was predictable and completely illogical (laughably so). The dialogue felt fractured and robotic; the book, in general, could probably benefit from another beta read run-through. What bothered me about the book was that two stories were running throughout it, but they never seemed connected. The sci-fi plot was fantastic, and I would have loved to see it highlighted more. The fantasy/magic elements also could have used more explanation; remember, this is the first book in a series.
I enjoyed this book despite struggling to immerse myself in it fully. This will be a read for a select niche, but I would not recommend it to everyone.
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Though not to my taste, this skilful melding of actual European and American colonial history, and conspiracy theories and magic makes for an interesting story.
History researcher Sidney Taylor is is let go from the Smithsonian, to her shock, and she returns to her grandmother’s home in the small town of Robbinsville in North Carolina. Sidney feels loved and at peace with her grandmother, and is immediately recruited by local museum owner Abner Robbins to find a rumoured artifact. Sidney begins following clues in an old letter preserved at the museum, solving puzzles and piecing together disparate clues which lead to stories about an ancient Egyptian queen fleeing across Europe, with her Scottish descendants escaping to America, and the persecution of women rumoured to be witches. All this is tied to a present day initiative to spread virtual reality (VR) across first the US then the world. It seems a stretch, but author Esme Addison constructs a history melding actual facts with the conflicts between two in-story, powerful dynasties, and to a global technological initiative.
The story moves along well, with an interesting, intelligent main character navigating through revelations about North Carolina’s and the US’ past, with the shock of how her own family’s past is tied to all that she learns about the technological and political developments in the US and the world.
As I already mentioned, this story wasn’t for me, but it is compelling, with interesting family dynamics, fascinating historical facts, and a terrific group of women who have been working for years to protect the world.
Thank you to Netgalley and to Severn House for this ARC in exchange for my review.
History researcher Sidney Taylor is is let go from the Smithsonian, to her shock, and she returns to her grandmother’s home in the small town of Robbinsville in North Carolina. Sidney feels loved and at peace with her grandmother, and is immediately recruited by local museum owner Abner Robbins to find a rumoured artifact. Sidney begins following clues in an old letter preserved at the museum, solving puzzles and piecing together disparate clues which lead to stories about an ancient Egyptian queen fleeing across Europe, with her Scottish descendants escaping to America, and the persecution of women rumoured to be witches. All this is tied to a present day initiative to spread virtual reality (VR) across first the US then the world. It seems a stretch, but author Esme Addison constructs a history melding actual facts with the conflicts between two in-story, powerful dynasties, and to a global technological initiative.
The story moves along well, with an interesting, intelligent main character navigating through revelations about North Carolina’s and the US’ past, with the shock of how her own family’s past is tied to all that she learns about the technological and political developments in the US and the world.
As I already mentioned, this story wasn’t for me, but it is compelling, with interesting family dynamics, fascinating historical facts, and a terrific group of women who have been working for years to protect the world.
Thank you to Netgalley and to Severn House for this ARC in exchange for my review.
adventurous
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:
No
This book was so good. It took me awhile to read it because it was so rich. If you like historical fiction, fantasy, and mystery wrapped all up into one book. Read this book!
Just the type of fun adventure read any hobby conspiracy theorist would love. Think, National Treasure but with deliberate focus on women of history, who we all know are the true heros of any story, war, or legend. Truly enjoyed this, the puzzles and secrets were unique and written so theatrically I could picture every bated-breath-puzzle-solving moment. My singular complaint was the AI plot element, it seemed completely unnecessary. And, unfortunately, since it was so jarring and out of place, affected my overall rating negatively.
I’ve read this author's work before, so I was pretty sure the writing in this series opener would be similar to that series. I was both right and wrong. This book was well-written just like her other series, but this one contained so much more. The author combined political intrigue, magic, sci-fi, suspense, and a tiny bit of other genres to turn it all into a captivating read. Now, all of this was a little bit too much and could have been two books instead of one, but even though it was almost too much, it still was an engaging read. I’m interested in continuing the story, and I look forward to what’s next. Recommend. I was provided a complimentary copy which I voluntarily reviewed.
Royal bloodlines. Sister witches. Quantum mechanics. A virtual reality takeover. A secret society connecting past US presidents. Time portals. A magic stone.. this book did A LOT. I was expecting a fantasy and got a little of that and quite a bit more of sci-fi and history.
The book opens on Sidney, a young historian and, conveniently, the past president of her college's Escape Room Club, who has just been fired, despite her status as the "Smithsonian's darling." At the same time, Sidney receives a mysterious letter offering her a million dollars if she will go to a small NC town to find some "artifact." We later find out that that this ancient artifact is supposed to help prevent a ploy to have virtual reality take over the world (I literally laughed out loud at this part- it felt so out of place). From there, the book covers a lot of ground, including all the things I mentioned above. Sidney and her band of small town friends have to solve puzzle after puzzle to find this artifact and prevent disaster. As one of the character's said "this is the wildest goose chase I've ever been on."
I admire the author's ambition with all these different elements, and individually they were very creative. They just didn't work well in tandem for me, with the biggest outlier being the threat of virtual reality. Aside from this, the writing is pretty clunky and conversations between characters are hard to follow, as they frequently take unnecessary tangents and get derailed by paragraphs of Sidney's thoughts. There were a lot of stories and characters and I got tired of trying to keep up. With that being said, the book did wrap up with a satisfying and interesting ending. It's clear that they are setting up for a series but I don't think I would read another like this.
Thank you to Severn House and NetGalley for access to this e-ARC. All opinions are my own.
The book opens on Sidney, a young historian and, conveniently, the past president of her college's Escape Room Club, who has just been fired, despite her status as the "Smithsonian's darling." At the same time, Sidney receives a mysterious letter offering her a million dollars if she will go to a small NC town to find some "artifact." We later find out that that this ancient artifact is supposed to help prevent a ploy to have virtual reality take over the world (I literally laughed out loud at this part- it felt so out of place). From there, the book covers a lot of ground, including all the things I mentioned above. Sidney and her band of small town friends have to solve puzzle after puzzle to find this artifact and prevent disaster. As one of the character's said "this is the wildest goose chase I've ever been on."
I admire the author's ambition with all these different elements, and individually they were very creative. They just didn't work well in tandem for me, with the biggest outlier being the threat of virtual reality. Aside from this, the writing is pretty clunky and conversations between characters are hard to follow, as they frequently take unnecessary tangents and get derailed by paragraphs of Sidney's thoughts. There were a lot of stories and characters and I got tired of trying to keep up. With that being said, the book did wrap up with a satisfying and interesting ending. It's clear that they are setting up for a series but I don't think I would read another like this.
Thank you to Severn House and NetGalley for access to this e-ARC. All opinions are my own.