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3.47 AVERAGE
3.47 AVERAGE
Not bad as far as an engaging story line, following Elizabeth through different points in history. Nicely tied in historical events in a 'Forrest Gump' kind of way. Definitely left room for sequels and more development of characters.
I gave it 3 stars because while not bad, it didn't blow my mind either.
I gave it 3 stars because while not bad, it didn't blow my mind either.
The first half of the book was enjoyable, but by the time the 3rd memory tale showed up, I was ready for the author to move on.
I had seen this book reviewed and commented on recently, so I picked it up for my Kindle with some of my holiday gift certificates. I didn't really know much about it apart from the cover blurb, but it sounded interesting...and it turned out to more than fulfill that promise.
Elizabeth has recently moved to a small English village, and takes care to set up her small garden and business of selling herbs and oils/remedies at the local weekly markets. Of course, Elizabeth is a witch - she is nearly four hundred years old, and has spent much of that time trying to use her power for good while staying out of reach of Gideon, the warlock that made her immortal. Elizabeth ends up making friends reluctantly with a young, lonely girl named Tegan, and it is her instruction of Tegan and the events of their contemporary life that frame the three other stories in this book.
Each of the three stories Elizabeth tells are novellas themselves, with the first story of Bess standing alone, and the later two of Eliza and Elise nearly so. Bess was the young girl that was transformed into an immortal witch by Gideon after her own mother was hung for witchcraft in the 1600s, simply for having one child live when the other two and her husband had died. Eliza was a doctor in London, working for a surgeon in a hospital and providing clinic services to the same prostitutes that Jack the Ripper preyed upon. And Elise was a combat nurse in France during WWI, doing her best to save lives at the front while falling in love with a handsome corporal who knew what she was and loved her anyway. Throughout each story (as well as the framing situation), Elizabeth is always hiding, always afraid, and always watching for Gideon to come for her, and this colors everything she does throughout her long life.
The writing is lovely, the book is so engaging I couldn't put it down until I was at a chapter break. The character of Elizabeth is beautifully portrayed, showing facets of her earlier lives of Bess, Eliza, and Elise. Magic is treated perfectly for the setting of the book, with a few flashy tricks but mostly reserved for quiet needs or the battles between Elizabeth and Gideon. Tegan is a great young character who shows growth and change throughout the story.
I really enjoyed this book, and think that most people who like strong women characters and especially magic will like it as well.
Elizabeth has recently moved to a small English village, and takes care to set up her small garden and business of selling herbs and oils/remedies at the local weekly markets. Of course, Elizabeth is a witch - she is nearly four hundred years old, and has spent much of that time trying to use her power for good while staying out of reach of Gideon, the warlock that made her immortal. Elizabeth ends up making friends reluctantly with a young, lonely girl named Tegan, and it is her instruction of Tegan and the events of their contemporary life that frame the three other stories in this book.
Each of the three stories Elizabeth tells are novellas themselves, with the first story of Bess standing alone, and the later two of Eliza and Elise nearly so. Bess was the young girl that was transformed into an immortal witch by Gideon after her own mother was hung for witchcraft in the 1600s, simply for having one child live when the other two and her husband had died. Eliza was a doctor in London, working for a surgeon in a hospital and providing clinic services to the same prostitutes that Jack the Ripper preyed upon. And Elise was a combat nurse in France during WWI, doing her best to save lives at the front while falling in love with a handsome corporal who knew what she was and loved her anyway. Throughout each story (as well as the framing situation), Elizabeth is always hiding, always afraid, and always watching for Gideon to come for her, and this colors everything she does throughout her long life.
The writing is lovely, the book is so engaging I couldn't put it down until I was at a chapter break. The character of Elizabeth is beautifully portrayed, showing facets of her earlier lives of Bess, Eliza, and Elise. Magic is treated perfectly for the setting of the book, with a few flashy tricks but mostly reserved for quiet needs or the battles between Elizabeth and Gideon. Tegan is a great young character who shows growth and change throughout the story.
I really enjoyed this book, and think that most people who like strong women characters and especially magic will like it as well.
*slight spoilers so fair warning;*
I was really sucked in until Elizabeth starts to become concerned with Teagans 'mysterious' boyfriend and realizes she isn't responsible. It was a little obvious as to what was going on afterwards. I felt the third flashback wasn't as necessary at that point.
I enjoyed the read anyway. Plenty of history, and some gore within all the great imagery used in the book.
I mainly read this since it was a fall read recommendation and I didn't purchase it till winter. I'd say that I agree that this is perfect for a fall read but it can be read in any season.
I was really sucked in until Elizabeth starts to become concerned with Teagans 'mysterious' boyfriend and realizes she isn't responsible. It was a little obvious as to what was going on afterwards. I felt the third flashback wasn't as necessary at that point.
I enjoyed the read anyway. Plenty of history, and some gore within all the great imagery used in the book.
I mainly read this since it was a fall read recommendation and I didn't purchase it till winter. I'd say that I agree that this is perfect for a fall read but it can be read in any season.
A pretty good read that kind of wobbles between fantasy fiction and historical fiction. The reader is transported to different time periods: starting with the plague-ridden 1600's, progressing through London 1888, then into WWI, and ending in the present day.
I thought the book was well written and loved the details that brought the different time periods to life. But, for me, the over-arching plot was just meh. It was interesting enough to keep me reading, but not so much that I would go back and re-read the novel. But I will probably pick up the sequel when I get a chance.
I thought the book was well written and loved the details that brought the different time periods to life. But, for me, the over-arching plot was just meh. It was interesting enough to keep me reading, but not so much that I would go back and re-read the novel. But I will probably pick up the sequel when I get a chance.
Before I start, can someone explain this cover to me? What's with those shoes? I don't understand the shoes. They have nothing to do with the story and they look like 5-inch heeled booties. Well, not booties, whatever the next size up is called. Anyway in what time period did Bess/Eliza/Elise/Elizabeth wear 5-inch booties on a daily basis? Please explain to me the meaning of this cover! It's bothering me to no end!
So I started this and was madly in love by the end of the first chapter. It was exactly the witchy kind of book I eat up like Cookie Monster nomming chocolate chip cookies. I could not get enough.
The writing was enchanting, the story solid, the characters interesting, the plot fascinating, I loved it all. I even enjoyed the present day Elizabeth telling her backstory; in fact, I loved present day Elizabeth's little town and her garden and her stall in the marketplace and her unlikely friendship with a lonely girl from down the road.
But then I started to feel that maybe Elizabeth wasn't the sharpest spoon in the drawer. It was somewhere during her second story that I began to wonder how she kept getting tricked even though she'd lived, like, 200 years. By her third story, I was done with her. I mean, I've only lived 45 years and have not been chased around the globe by some demonic psychopath for the majority of my life and even I could see the ridiculous trap that was once again being laid for our dimwitted little witch. How did she just blunder into that...again? Present day Elizabeth seems to have her act a little more together, though she's still rather slow on the uptake when, really, she should have figured out what was going on way before I did.
By the end, the glamour had fallen away to reveal a solid story that had turned wobbly, like an apple that looks good but the backside it all rotten and squishy. I enjoyed a good 2/3 of it but was vastly irritated by that last 1/3. Had I read it, I would have been less inclined to give it more than 2 stars but the narrator for this is phenomenal and carried me through that last bit when I'd have faltered on my own.
I'm still going to read the rest of the series, although I can't find the next one on audio so I might skip it for now - it's about a different witch, anyhow - and go onto the 3rd or maybe straight to the 4th which looks like it picks up where this one left off.
Absolutely NOT recommended for Debbie.
So I started this and was madly in love by the end of the first chapter. It was exactly the witchy kind of book I eat up like Cookie Monster nomming chocolate chip cookies. I could not get enough.
The writing was enchanting, the story solid, the characters interesting, the plot fascinating, I loved it all. I even enjoyed the present day Elizabeth telling her backstory; in fact, I loved present day Elizabeth's little town and her garden and her stall in the marketplace and her unlikely friendship with a lonely girl from down the road.
But then I started to feel that maybe Elizabeth wasn't the sharpest spoon in the drawer. It was somewhere during her second story that I began to wonder how she kept getting tricked even though she'd lived, like, 200 years. By her third story, I was done with her. I mean, I've only lived 45 years and have not been chased around the globe by some demonic psychopath for the majority of my life and even I could see the ridiculous trap that was once again being laid for our dimwitted little witch. How did she just blunder into that...again? Present day Elizabeth seems to have her act a little more together, though she's still rather slow on the uptake when, really, she should have figured out what was going on way before I did.
By the end, the glamour had fallen away to reveal a solid story that had turned wobbly, like an apple that looks good but the backside it all rotten and squishy. I enjoyed a good 2/3 of it but was vastly irritated by that last 1/3. Had I read it, I would have been less inclined to give it more than 2 stars but the narrator for this is phenomenal and carried me through that last bit when I'd have faltered on my own.
I'm still going to read the rest of the series, although I can't find the next one on audio so I might skip it for now - it's about a different witch, anyhow - and go onto the 3rd or maybe straight to the 4th which looks like it picks up where this one left off.
Absolutely NOT recommended for Debbie.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
2.5 but I rounded up.
To say I was disappointed would be an understatement. Witchy books in the month of Spooktober makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. I was hoping for witchy goodness like Alice Hoffman's "Practical Magic", or magicky history like in "A Discovery of Witches," I was even prepared for a book that veered more towards historical than magical like in "Hour of the Witch." What I got was a mixture of the three but heavily doused in tedium. And I honestly don't know why I felt that way.
The book is broken into 4 parts: Present Day, Puritan England, the time of Jack the Ripper, and World War I. Each time period is fascinating on its own and I especially enjoyed the Jack the Ripper section.
Brackston has a beautiful way with words. There are passages and phrases in the book that are so thoughtful and well composed. For me, I struggled with the plot. The cat and mouse plot seemed feeble to me. For a man who seems so flippant and unattached, he sure has a strange obsession with our Bess. I was also not charmed my Teagan's youth and candor. It also irritated me that Teagan's written narration seemed to be in direct contradiction of how the character was portrayed, a misstep I couldn't get over.
This is the first in a series, which would usually excite me but I'm not sure I want to continue with the series. Feel free to try to change my mind!
To say I was disappointed would be an understatement. Witchy books in the month of Spooktober makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. I was hoping for witchy goodness like Alice Hoffman's "Practical Magic", or magicky history like in "A Discovery of Witches," I was even prepared for a book that veered more towards historical than magical like in "Hour of the Witch." What I got was a mixture of the three but heavily doused in tedium. And I honestly don't know why I felt that way.
The book is broken into 4 parts: Present Day, Puritan England, the time of Jack the Ripper, and World War I. Each time period is fascinating on its own and I especially enjoyed the Jack the Ripper section.
Brackston has a beautiful way with words. There are passages and phrases in the book that are so thoughtful and well composed. For me, I struggled with the plot. The cat and mouse plot seemed feeble to me. For a man who seems so flippant and unattached, he sure has a strange obsession with our Bess. I was also not charmed my Teagan's youth and candor. It also irritated me that Teagan's written narration seemed to be in direct contradiction of how the character was portrayed, a misstep I couldn't get over.
This is the first in a series, which would usually excite me but I'm not sure I want to continue with the series. Feel free to try to change my mind!
Enjoyed this book very much. I love anything about witches and super natural fantasy plus the historical fiction side. Hit all my favourite genres.