A review by not_a_violin
The Witch Hunter by Virginia Boecker

4.0

I went to Barnes and Noble the other day, looking for a few new books that I couldn't find at the library. I saw this book on Goodreads and wanted to read it. While at Barnes and Noble, I didn't see this book and almost got something else. Then, just as I was about to go pay for my books, I saw this book randomly amongst several other books that have nothing in common with this one, on a shelf I wasn't even looking at. As soon as I saw it, I picked it up and put one of the other ones back (I'll be back for it later).

I was in the middle of another book when I got this one, so I finished it up real quickly and started reading this. That was just yesterday. When I like a book, I'll finish it in a day or so. If I don't like a book, it takes weeks for me to read it. As you can probably guess, any assigned reading for school can be difficult for me.

This book started pretty fast. You jump right into a part of a witch hunt, which is pretty cool in its own right. There was no waiting for this book to warm up; it started off right in the middle of the action. It didn't take long for something to go awry and the main character, Elizabeth, to be thrown in jail and waiting there to go to execution. Alright, as you can guess, she didn't die. No, the most famously dangerous wizard in their land comes and saves her, offering help if she helps him in return. At first, she doesn't want to trust them, but she warm us and makes friends. Throughout the book, her character changes based on the experiences she has. She isn't one of those characters to whine and complain about what she once had and how bad what she has had become. In some ways, she looks back and sees that even the crap she's going through doesn't compare to some of the things that happened to her when she was younger, like what she experienced when her parents died and her friend Caleb found her.

One thing I didn't like, was Caleb. He was supposed to be her best friend, like her only family. He tells her he's coming back to get her...he never comes.

Spoiler

Later in the story, he claims he was coming back, but, by that time, Elizabeth doesn't want to hear it. She has new friends and wants to protect them as much as she wants to protect herself.

Another thing about Caleb was that Elizabeth was always looking up to him. Heck, she practically worshiped the guy in some parts of the story, but he seemed to barely notice her. After a bad day, he just left her by herself in a bar, drinking weird ale, which eventually left her so drunk that she could barely make it back to the palace. What kind of real friend does that? Yes, she can take care of herself, but still...it's nice to show a little bit of concern.

Spoiler

Later on, Caleb decides that witch hunting and making sure Blackwell is happy is more important than saving his friend's life. Again, what the heck? Of course, that's when Elizabeth has to make a life or death decision and Caleb got what (in my opinion) he really deserved

When I got through this, five minutes ago, I was like 'Yay! Finally a book I was looking forward to actually ended up being good!' It wasn't perfect (I usually only rate five stars to the books that surprised the heck out of me so much I read them again and ended up liking just as much, if not more, as the first time) This one was on the edge, but I found myself shying away from that last star at the end. Anyway, best book in a while.

:)