Reviews

The King's Witch by Tracy Borman

lreay89's review against another edition

4.0

I was pleasantly surprised by this book. It is rich in historical detail and immerses the reader in the action. I particularly liked the fact that the main character is a real historical figure - albeit one that’s not very familiar so I could discover the 17th century through her eyes.
As the Tudor’s get so much attention often the very interesting period of the early Stuart reign gets forgotten. I’m glad that this book and the series are going some way to redress the balance.
For a first time novel written by a historian used to writing non-fiction I was very impressed and devoured the book in a few days. I’m looking forward to being able to read the rest of the series.

leilaghanbar's review against another edition

3.0

A very slow read. Making the base of the story takes too long and even though considering the date and time of the storyline, it is predictable which events are included in the story, it takes a very long time to get to the main point. However, the descriptions are nice and just enough not too much and not too little.

kittykornerlibrarian's review against another edition

3.0

This is certainly an intriguing story, and I kind of regret that I can't finish it. I managed to get through the scene with the hanging, but when the main character, Frances, undergoes torture to determine whether she is a witch or not, well, I just didn't see the story getting any brighter from there. Watching innocent women be subjected to dishonest trials, tortured, and killed as witches wasn't something that made me want to keep reading. I found the writing to be occasionally overwrought and cliched; including such sentences as "Her blood ran cold." The overall story was creepy and atmospheric, but I just couldn't keep going. Less squeamish people may enjoy it more.

jmatkinson1's review against another edition

3.0

Lady Frances Gorges has been encouraged by her parents to learn the art of healing and she is present at the death of Queen Elizabeth. however when King James ascends to the throne Frances' skills could see her accused of witchcraft and so her family decides to keep her at their country house. Unfortunately her Uncle is in a position of power and sees Frances as a pawn in his ambitions so she is brought to court to serve young Princess Elizabeth. This brings her into contact with a young lawyer, Thomas, whom she falls for but also into conflict with Cecil who is keen to find witches and treason at every corner.
Tracy Borman is an excellent historian and a writer of engaging yet learned non-fiction so I eagerly picked up this novel. On the positive side I liked the setting around the early days of James' rule and the Gunpowder Plot, this is a period of history which has not often been fictionalised. Borman wears her learning lightly and therefore although the research is clear the writing does not over emphasise historical details unlike many. On the negative side I found the heroine a little insipid and certain plot twists (the witch pricking) somewhat gratuitous. It's a solid historical romance without being memorable.

katewutz's review against another edition

2.0

Not a huge fan, sorry. The romance was the best part, but even that had some major flaws (namely, the characters themselves didn’t seem to be so much in love as “drawn” to each other). Princess Elizabet

cook_memorial_public_library's review against another edition

4.0

A 2018 staff favorite recommended by Susie. Check our catalog: https://encore.cooklib.org/iii/encore/search/C__Sking%27s%20witch%20borman__Orightresult__U?lang=eng&suite=gold

hsomerfield92's review

adventurous challenging dark tense slow-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

4.5

I quite liked the short chapters. Made the read easier for me. Based on true with added fiction. 

hvtardiswltrvl's review against another edition

4.0

Well researched and fleshed out with fiction enough to make the characters seem alive. If you know anything about the Gunpowder Plot or Guy Fawkes Day, then you’ll spend the last half of the book with a feeling of impending dread. Didn’t stop me from devouring the last 150+ pages in one sitting.

drubinstein's review against another edition

dark informative tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

This book was just meh.  It's not that it was bad, but it wasn't great. It's historical fiction based on the gunpowder plot in England, and it was far less about "witchery" than about life as a royal in England. It's also about ridiculous rules and unspeakable cruelties that England hierarchy imposed at the time, and just made me shake my head in disgust at our treatment of each other because of power and "religion"

yourfavavery's review against another edition

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? No

3.0