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forgottengoddess's review
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
The premise of this book is really interesting, a woman who has lived her life completely alone due to her mysterious powers finally finds the family she has always longed for and trains to break a familial curse. Unfortunately, an interesting premise was not enough to save this story for me. The Orphan Witch is a bit of a scattered mess. To me, it really felt like this should have been a series, or at least, a trilogy. There was just so much going on, too many storylines to follow, and too many characters to keep up with to make this feel like anything more than a slog. Very little time is given to each of the relationships, which ultimately came off as cheap. While Persephone is crooning over the deep love and affection she feels for the other witches in this story, we are still left wondering how and where she retained these feelings since such little time was devoted to the developing relationships. Dorian, the protagonist's love interest, is interesting and different; but again, such little time was dedicated to actually building a believable relationship between the two that the romance fell flat for me. Again, I really liked the idea of this book, but it feels like it needed a lot more polishing, more time, and a tighter plot.
Add to that the numerous grammatical errors that were sprinkled throughout (for example, on page 245 when the main character's name, Persephone, is inexplicably changed to 'Penelope') and you really have a recipe for taking readers out of the story and ruining the immersion of the experience.
I did end up reading this until the end, because I was genuinely interested in the characters and what would end up happening to them. I just wish that the author had opted for a longer format story that would have allowed her to really develop the relationships and tighten up the plot more.
Add to that the numerous grammatical errors that were sprinkled throughout (for example, on page 245 when the main character's name, Persephone, is inexplicably changed to 'Penelope') and you really have a recipe for taking readers out of the story and ruining the immersion of the experience.
I did end up reading this until the end, because I was genuinely interested in the characters and what would end up happening to them. I just wish that the author had opted for a longer format story that would have allowed her to really develop the relationships and tighten up the plot more.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abandonment, Confinement, Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence
Minor: Alcohol
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