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3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
adventurous
dark
informative
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-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:
Complicated
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It's hard to imagine a time when women were routinely accused of witchcraft because of their healing skills, but C. J. Cooke takes us there. The Book of Witching is two parallel stories, one the story of Clem, badly burned and in the burn unit of a local hospital after being found on the island of Gunn, on the beach of Fynhallow Bay, Her boyfriend, Arlo, is dead, and her good friend, Senna, is missing. The alternating chapters describe the history of Orkney, and the story of Allison, accused of witchcraft. We witness her imprisonment, her unfair trial, and eventual death. And throughout it all is the mysterious Book of Witching, which will drive anyone unauthorized to own it mad.
C. J. Cooke is an auto-buy for me, one of the few authors of historical fiction with supernatural, paranormal, or gothic vibes that I intensely enjoy!
Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK, Harper Fiction for an advance reader's copy.
C. J. Cooke is an auto-buy for me, one of the few authors of historical fiction with supernatural, paranormal, or gothic vibes that I intensely enjoy!
Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK, Harper Fiction for an advance reader's copy.
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I hate to say that I HATED the epilogue for this, but alas.
All in all I thought this book did a great job of weaving in the historical context and actual story of Alison Balfour that serves as a catalyst for this plot. However, I feel like this story didn’t know what story it wanted to tell - is it about the ironclad love of a mother, the persecution of women throughout history, or the persecution of native/tribal/pagan religions? There were strong elements of these things in the 1594 POV, but I struggle to see adequate connections drawn between it and the 2024 POV that warrant the dual timeline.
I loved learning about Alison Balfour, the first person to be executed for witchcraft on the Orkney Isles in the 1500. I had never heard her story before but I am glad it is being told now. I just wish I drew some degree of that connection with any of the characters from the 2024 storyline.
(Also, the audiobook version is abridged from the BOTM physical copy. In my opinion it includes edits - sometimes entire paragraphs - that improve the writing quite a bit.)
All in all I thought this book did a great job of weaving in the historical context and actual story of Alison Balfour that serves as a catalyst for this plot. However, I feel like this story didn’t know what story it wanted to tell - is it about the ironclad love of a mother, the persecution of women throughout history, or the persecution of native/tribal/pagan religions? There were strong elements of these things in the 1594 POV, but I struggle to see adequate connections drawn between it and the 2024 POV that warrant the dual timeline.
I loved learning about Alison Balfour, the first person to be executed for witchcraft on the Orkney Isles in the 1500. I had never heard her story before but I am glad it is being told now. I just wish I drew some degree of that connection with any of the characters from the 2024 storyline.
(Also, the audiobook version is abridged from the BOTM physical copy. In my opinion it includes edits - sometimes entire paragraphs - that improve the writing quite a bit.)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Torture, Police brutality
Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Child death, Sexual content, Suicide, Abortion, War
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes