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3.8 AVERAGE
3.8 AVERAGE
4.5 -in most ways, it's so /so/ good. I've loved Anne's writing for a long time, though- she gives florid descriptions that lend personality to the places she brings the reader to inhabit, with so much rich and nuanced detail, and characters with vivid and reflective inner lives. There really is no comparison to the craft she makes of writing. I've always liked this trilogy the best, followed by the stand alone book, violin (haunting portrayal of grief), followed lastly by the seemingly more popular Vampire Chronicles.
My only critiques are that the dialogue can feel unrealistic, Michael's character in particular is a bit unlikeable towards the beginning, and there are a few details that are cringey (only a few in 1000+pages of beautiful writing, but notable when they make their appearance.) I would thus change minor details to be a bit more sensitive to identity and trauma (though this would probably take less than half a page if compiled.) It is also one of those books that I see differently with age, and think I perhaps read too young as a teen, but my first love and I bonded over our shared love of her writing, so her books hold an extra special place in my life for that, too.
Spoilers below:
I watched the series and it was well worth the reread to recall the differences more clearly - both have merits but the TV show definitely lost some things that feel vital to the story, particularly in removing the plot where Rowan saved Micheal from drowning and that was how he got his powers - I'm okay with them merging Aaron and Michael into Ciprien, but they could have had Rowan save Ciprien and maybe it enhances his powers, or something of the sort, to keep that great storyline in. I also wish they'd stayed closer to the book with the funeral for her biological mother, the wedding and engagement (completely left out), and took their time a bit more with the family connections--though again, both had their merits and are separately enjoyable.
My only critiques are that the dialogue can feel unrealistic, Michael's character in particular is a bit unlikeable towards the beginning, and there are a few details that are cringey (only a few in 1000+pages of beautiful writing, but notable when they make their appearance.) I would thus change minor details to be a bit more sensitive to identity and trauma (though this would probably take less than half a page if compiled.) It is also one of those books that I see differently with age, and think I perhaps read too young as a teen, but my first love and I bonded over our shared love of her writing, so her books hold an extra special place in my life for that, too.
Spoilers below:
I watched the series and it was well worth the reread to recall the differences more clearly - both have merits but the TV show definitely lost some things that feel vital to the story, particularly in removing the plot where Rowan saved Micheal from drowning and that was how he got his powers - I'm okay with them merging Aaron and Michael into Ciprien, but they could have had Rowan save Ciprien and maybe it enhances his powers, or something of the sort, to keep that great storyline in. I also wish they'd stayed closer to the book with the funeral for her biological mother, the wedding and engagement (completely left out), and took their time a bit more with the family connections--though again, both had their merits and are separately enjoyable.
So... The Witching Hour is a mix of two types of novels. Gothic fantasy/horror, which is awesome, and rapey romance, which was very.... interesting.
I'll start with the complaints, just so this review doesn't come across as too harsh, since there were some great stuff in here. But Rowan sucks (quite literally and aggressively). Pretty much all of the myriad of sex in this novel was either direct rape or extremely aggressive sex that 'felt like rape.' Now, what makes this a problem is the characters are super into this. Rowan literally says, 'Yes! Rape me! Yes! Do it! Rape me!" in most of her sex scenes, which has all kinds of problems. So, while not directly erotica, there was some pretty graphic and uncomfortable stuff in here that shouldn't be glamorized. Also some of the adolescent girls are described in a very sexual manor. Yikes.
I also wasn't a fan of the secular humanism paired with positive religious imagery. Which is it? Are you atheist or catholic? Are humans the best because of our inherent goodness or is there something good driving us to fulfil a grander purpose in life? I just found it hilarious that the characters were all against backwards and dogmatic religion in one breath, but then verify some truth of it in the next. A member of the Talamasca, a secretive order that observes supernatural phenomenon, literally talks about not knowing how to deal with evil spirits, but then says Catholic exorcisms have been known to work. Hey, occult boy. If the religion is able to deal with this problem, maybe take it a little bit more seriously.
That being said, the Talamasca were actually very enjoyable. There is something about secretive occult orders who defend humanity from supernatural threats that I love. I particularly loved the build up to Aaron's identity. This mysterious Britt with manors and far more knowledge than everyone else randomly appears to our characters. Coincidence or contrivance?
Additionally, the best part of the novel was easily when Aaron shares the history of the Mayfair witches, bringing us into an epistolary novel very reminiscent of gothic fiction. Very enjoyable prose and this section had some great stakes. I honestly felt more attached to these characters than all of our present-day characters. The highlight is easily Arthur Langtry, who seems to be the only character to not loose his cool when faced with Lasher or the witches. While everyone else is terrified of these dark powers and ghosts, he cocks his head, says "interesting," and continues working on a solution to the problem. Aaron is the same way, but not nearly as cool about it.
In regard to the actual witches, I like how Rice doesn't make the witches pure evil or purely feminist warriors. This was done best with Charlotte. She uses her magic to take over her family and carve out a new life for them (yay, female power!), but then kidnaps her dad and forces him to "know" her so she can sire a child that has their combined powers, making the legacy more powerful. Yikes. When baby-daddy escapes, she sicks her spirit Lasher on him to keep her plans secret. Loved committing to having an evil witch! They are way more interesting.
Additionally, Lasher, the demon they originally got their power from, is the central antagonist of the book with a pretty interesting and disturbing plan. He comes across as ignorant and merely a force of nature, but as the novel progress, we learn Lasher is very intelligent and has a long-term malignant plan. That's right. He's not the 'benign goddess', but an actual demon. Also a threat the characters had no idea on how to deal with. The more the novel progresses, the more terrifying Lasher grows, crafting a nice sense of dread. Plus that ending scene with him! What a thrill!
In short, The Witching Hour has far too much romanticized rape for me to continue the series, but otherwise a good and complete novel about a legacy of witches handled well and with nuance. I was happy I read it and will certainly talk about the awesome stuff with people.
I'll start with the complaints, just so this review doesn't come across as too harsh, since there were some great stuff in here. But Rowan sucks (quite literally and aggressively). Pretty much all of the myriad of sex in this novel was either direct rape or extremely aggressive sex that 'felt like rape.' Now, what makes this a problem is the characters are super into this. Rowan literally says, 'Yes! Rape me! Yes! Do it! Rape me!" in most of her sex scenes, which has all kinds of problems. So, while not directly erotica, there was some pretty graphic and uncomfortable stuff in here that shouldn't be glamorized. Also some of the adolescent girls are described in a very sexual manor. Yikes.
I also wasn't a fan of the secular humanism paired with positive religious imagery. Which is it? Are you atheist or catholic? Are humans the best because of our inherent goodness or is there something good driving us to fulfil a grander purpose in life? I just found it hilarious that the characters were all against backwards and dogmatic religion in one breath, but then verify some truth of it in the next. A member of the Talamasca, a secretive order that observes supernatural phenomenon, literally talks about not knowing how to deal with evil spirits, but then says Catholic exorcisms have been known to work. Hey, occult boy. If the religion is able to deal with this problem, maybe take it a little bit more seriously.
That being said, the Talamasca were actually very enjoyable. There is something about secretive occult orders who defend humanity from supernatural threats that I love. I particularly loved the build up to Aaron's identity. This mysterious Britt with manors and far more knowledge than everyone else randomly appears to our characters. Coincidence or contrivance?
Additionally, the best part of the novel was easily when Aaron shares the history of the Mayfair witches, bringing us into an epistolary novel very reminiscent of gothic fiction. Very enjoyable prose and this section had some great stakes. I honestly felt more attached to these characters than all of our present-day characters. The highlight is easily Arthur Langtry, who seems to be the only character to not loose his cool when faced with Lasher or the witches. While everyone else is terrified of these dark powers and ghosts, he cocks his head, says "interesting," and continues working on a solution to the problem. Aaron is the same way, but not nearly as cool about it.
In regard to the actual witches, I like how Rice doesn't make the witches pure evil or purely feminist warriors. This was done best with Charlotte. She uses her magic to take over her family and carve out a new life for them (yay, female power!), but then kidnaps her dad and forces him to "know" her so she can sire a child that has their combined powers, making the legacy more powerful. Yikes. When baby-daddy escapes, she sicks her spirit Lasher on him to keep her plans secret. Loved committing to having an evil witch! They are way more interesting.
Additionally, Lasher, the demon they originally got their power from, is the central antagonist of the book with a pretty interesting and disturbing plan. He comes across as ignorant and merely a force of nature, but as the novel progress, we learn Lasher is very intelligent and has a long-term malignant plan. That's right. He's not the 'benign goddess', but an actual demon. Also a threat the characters had no idea on how to deal with. The more the novel progresses, the more terrifying Lasher grows, crafting a nice sense of dread. Plus that ending scene with him! What a thrill!
In short, The Witching Hour has far too much romanticized rape for me to continue the series, but otherwise a good and complete novel about a legacy of witches handled well and with nuance. I was happy I read it and will certainly talk about the awesome stuff with people.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
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:
Complicated
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I have never been so excited to be done a book. This took me so long to get through and would be a DNF if it wasn't a physical book I owned. How do I even start? This book always 750 pages longer than it needed to be. Barely anything happens and the entire section of the history of the witches did absolutely nothing for the plot and Michael literally gives you the cliff notes version a few pages later. Without all of the flourishes about the history of the family and architecture and New Orleans, the plot gives a B-rates horror movie feel: Two people who happen to have weird powers meet in weird circumstances, move to New Orleans, have a shotgun wedding and things go south dealing with a ghost in their inherited house. That's it. That kind of plot is absolutely not worth slogging through the pedophilia, rape, grooming, incest, racism, and weird anti-abortion sentiment that's throughout the whole book. I'm still so flabbergasted as to how it all turned so quickly? There was absolutely no build up to Rowan's decision in the end and it just felt so hollow and against her character. I did not like any character, they were all awful people with no reasonable drive (at least to me) and that it made it even harder to slog through (okay, Aaron gets a pass now that I think about it but just barely). The only positive thing I can give it is that it's a nice love letter to New Orleans, that's literally all I got.
Another review from natashavand really sums up more of my thoughts better than I can, if you feel like scrolling for it.
Another review from natashavand really sums up more of my thoughts better than I can, if you feel like scrolling for it.
Me gustó bastante.
La autora plantea un universo reinado por lo oculto, lo perverso y lo sensual. Ambos protas son entrañables, y personajes como Aaron le da el toque.
Soy incapaz de darle 5 estrellas ya que tengo 2 problemas: el ritmo y el final.
El libro al inicio es bastante lento y denso de leer, si bien no lo concidero relleno, los capitulos de Rita Mae o del padre Mattingly se pudieron resumir bastante. Sin embargo a partir del final de los informes de Talamasca, toma un ritmo bastante más acelerado, dónde yo considero que concluye con un final algo apresurado. Esto se conecta con mi segundo problema: Rowan. En las ultimas 200 páginas, su moral da un giro de 180°, lo que no me parece ilógico en su personaje. Sin embargo debido a este acelerado final, no sentí que se trabajara demasiado el fundamento de sus decisiones, lo que me dejó algo insatisfecha.
Por lo demás, una obra muy disfrutable de la cuál no tardaré en adquirir la segunda parte.
La autora plantea un universo reinado por lo oculto, lo perverso y lo sensual. Ambos protas son entrañables, y personajes como Aaron le da el toque.
Soy incapaz de darle 5 estrellas ya que tengo 2 problemas: el ritmo y el final.
El libro al inicio es bastante lento y denso de leer, si bien no lo concidero relleno, los capitulos de Rita Mae o del padre Mattingly se pudieron resumir bastante. Sin embargo a partir del final de los informes de Talamasca, toma un ritmo bastante más acelerado, dónde yo considero que concluye con un final algo apresurado. Esto se conecta con mi segundo problema: Rowan. En las ultimas 200 páginas, su moral da un giro de 180°, lo que no me parece ilógico en su personaje. Sin embargo debido a este acelerado final, no sentí que se trabajara demasiado el fundamento de sus decisiones, lo que me dejó algo insatisfecha.
Por lo demás, una obra muy disfrutable de la cuál no tardaré en adquirir la segunda parte.
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Se ti piacciono le atmosfere del gotico sudista, il paranormale, e le saghe familiari devi leggere assolutamente la Saga delle streghe Mayfair.
Dal medioevo fino ai giorni nostri, dall’Europa fino a New Orleans, questi libri seguono una famiglia di stampo matriarcale piuttosto particolare: non solo i membri di sangue di questa famiglia sono streghe, ma l’erede di tutti i beni e di tutte le proprietà si sceglie in modo peculiare. Solo chi vede
Dal medioevo fino ai giorni nostri, dall’Europa fino a New Orleans, questi libri seguono una famiglia di stampo matriarcale piuttosto particolare: non solo i membri di sangue di questa famiglia sono streghe, ma l’erede di tutti i beni e di tutte le proprietà si sceglie in modo peculiare. Solo chi vede