A review by matmatmatty
Rewitched by Lucy Jane Wood

lighthearted mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

This was a bit of a disappointment honestly.

This seemed to me like a story about a witch would reached her 30th birthday and has to undergo a trial to determine whether she should keep her magic or lose it forever, and in the process of that trial, she discovers herself etc etc.

There were elements of that, but the end became something completely different and I'm very confused about what actually happened.

Things I liked:
  • I think the worldbuilding was really interesting - the idea of a traditional coven being its own entity and having power was cool, and I liked the idea of a magical grimoire holding all the rules, and deciding which rules should be added.
  • I did like the depictions of Belle as a modern witch and the questions of how can she be a witch while living in a non-witch world. (although i feel like other members would have those issues and just don't seem to??)
  • Arty was a treat for sure, I loved him

Things I didn't like (will go into detail, so beware of spoilers):
  • I don't understand Belle's motivations - I get that through the trials she learns to love her magic, I get that, but at the start she seems shocked that she could lose it but also has done nothing to nurture it. Also she loves working at the bookshop but doesn't think she could own it despite running it but also hates how the new owner is running it and knows she could do better? I just couldn't quite get behind that.
  • Belle didn't quite seem to act her age - this felt like it was written for a younger audience, and that Belle was clearly an adult but maybe closer to 22 than 30. Not a massive issue honestly, but did take me out of it.
  • Ngl some of the dialogue was a little cringey - I can excuse it if it fits into the world, but I don't quite think it meshed with the witchy vibe of it.
  • I guessed that Bronwyn was the bad guy from very early on and it kinda ruined the twist for me.
  • The twist felt so cartoonishly complicated that I nearly DNFed it on reading it -
    the idea that a child had magic powerful enough to make an entire coven forget about three siblings of a powerful and ancient magic family, and then the coven just accepted two random powerful witches coming out of nowhere, just because the coven was leaderless? Like did no one ask 'where did you come from?' or 'did you have something to do with this because this is a bit coincidental?'
  • Why was Bonnie not targetted in her endarkenment? If this is because Belle is a part of the family and could take their position away, why was she just fine???
  • THE ROMANCE - excuse me if you liked it but the romance was extremely forced imo.
    I did not believe for a second that they liked each other or that there was any build up because Belle would talk about how she didn't like him but also kept talking about his handsome face. It was not believable and I think it would have been better if it was just cut out and focused on Rune as a friend contrasted with her friendship with Ariadne.
     
  • The scene with the infatuation potion got me so annoyed, I literally had to put the book down.

Overall, there are things about this book that I liked, but I think the character's motivations were confusing, the plot was strangely complicated, and the ending was a bit of a let-down for me. 

Not the cozy fantasy I was expecting for sure.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings