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adaxial's review against another edition
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
rebeccatc's review against another edition
3.0
The story takes place in 19th century Wales, where a widowed drover named Cai marries the young, beautiful, mute and ominiously named Morgana. It turns out Morgana has magical powers, and Cai conveniently lives on a farm with a magical well. The narrative switches between the first person as told by Morgana, and the third person from Cai's point of view, told in an awkward present tense. Many novels create tension by having the characters fail to communicate with each other about important facts. This one has the perfect device for that built right in: Morgana cannot speak and can hardly write, so she can't communicate to Cai about the evil forces that are working against them. Of course, she manages to scratch out a few letters toward the end when the plot demands it to reach its conclusion. Since Cai is constantly clueless, he comes across as being kind of weak and not very smart -- he's not much of a romantic hero, in spite of the fact that the relationship between Morgana and Cai is at the center of the story. The descriptions of Wales were interesting but I found the interjection of Welsh words with no English translation to be jarring and useless. I also felt the book really could have used some editing. For instance, she explains why a head drover has to have a wife, and then explains it again a couple of chapters later. Some of the imagery was good and the setting was interesting but the tone was so somber I just didn't enjoy it. Really torn between 2 and 3 stars but I went with 3.
abberdene's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
cassia8720's review against another edition
1.0
Did not hate the overall story but man oh man did it drag on. Awful pacing.
diannenah's review against another edition
3.0
Not bad. I like it. Love the love story between Morgana and Cai.
moody_gobling's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
This was an easy read to kick off spooky season. There are a few plot holes around communication that I feel could have easily been sorted out, and the end of the book felt a little rushed to me. Despite this, it was a fun read and I’d pick up another book in this series for a light, unchallenging read.
sabregirl's review against another edition
4.0
When I read this was going to be a retelling of Morgana, I figured one: it would be in the Arthurian times, two it would involve a different set up and three: it would have the general witchness about it. Boy was I wrong on all three parts. It's actually taking place in 1800s Wales. And she isn't an ancestor of Morgana Le Fay or anything like that she just happens to be named after her because she has witch blood within her. Not to bad for a nice swerve.
murkyreflections's review against another edition
KU subscription from Prime Day ran out 😂
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death
aomccourt's review against another edition
4.0
Another intriguing story from Paula Brackston. I can always get lost in the world of witchcraft she creates.