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A review by amandakatherine
The Useless Witch by Savannah Lee
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I was provided with an advanced review copy in exchange for an honest review :)
The Useless Witch follows Saoirse, an ex-princess who now lives and works as a baker after it is discovered she has no magic. She is comfortable in her life, happy to stay away from her abusive parents, the King and Queen of Lanthus. Until she meets the dark and mysterious Vane and gets magnetically drawn into his schemes.
As a fellow girl with uncontrollable anxiety, it was refreshing to follow Saoirse's journey.
I can't say I loved this book, I feel like the editing could have used a lot of work. I came across a number of spelling mistakes and words being used incorrectly. One such example was the use of the word "donned" about 55% through the book. I also noticed that the city name, Lanthus, was misspelled as "Lantus" at least three times. I found mistakes like this immersion breaking.
The romantasy market is saturated, and books wanting to succeed in this genre need to stand out. I don't feel like this book stood out for me. Saoirse was a great character, but the rest of the cast were shallow. Characters were too amenable to Vane's plans, no one questioned his motivations at all and it just felt convenient.
I feel like character development and complexity was sacrificed to keep the book short. I would have been happy to read more if the characters were given the opportunity to question and think critically about their situations a bit more. The main letdown of this book for me was the editing though. I love a good romantasy and this ticks all the right boxes. Not mind-blowing or genre-defining, but fun and interesting. I would happily follow Saoirse's story further, and would love to see other characters given the same level of complexity that Saoirse possessed.
The Useless Witch follows Saoirse, an ex-princess who now lives and works as a baker after it is discovered she has no magic. She is comfortable in her life, happy to stay away from her abusive parents, the King and Queen of Lanthus. Until she meets the dark and mysterious Vane and gets magnetically drawn into his schemes.
As a fellow girl with uncontrollable anxiety, it was refreshing to follow Saoirse's journey.
I can't say I loved this book, I feel like the editing could have used a lot of work. I came across a number of spelling mistakes and words being used incorrectly. One such example was the use of the word "donned" about 55% through the book. I also noticed that the city name, Lanthus, was misspelled as "Lantus" at least three times. I found mistakes like this immersion breaking.
The romantasy market is saturated, and books wanting to succeed in this genre need to stand out. I don't feel like this book stood out for me. Saoirse was a great character, but the rest of the cast were shallow. Characters were too amenable to Vane's plans, no one questioned his motivations at all and it just felt convenient.
I feel like character development and complexity was sacrificed to keep the book short. I would have been happy to read more if the characters were given the opportunity to question and think critically about their situations a bit more. The main letdown of this book for me was the editing though. I love a good romantasy and this ticks all the right boxes. Not mind-blowing or genre-defining, but fun and interesting. I would happily follow Saoirse's story further, and would love to see other characters given the same level of complexity that Saoirse possessed.