A review by ravensandlace
Hour of the Witch by Chris Bohjalian

4.5

Title: Hour of the Witch

Author: Chris Bohjalian

Genre: Historical Thriller

Format: hardback library book

Series: NA

Star Rating: 4.5 stars

tw: abusive relationship, child death, sickness, animal death, use of word Indian, corporal punishment, death, blood, misogyny (a lot of it), vomit, assault, infidelity, use of word savage, poisoning

A special thank you goes to Doubleday and Netgalley for providing me with an early copy of this book. Please know that this does not influence my rating or thoughts on the book itself.

I’m just going to come right out and say it. This was a fantastic book! I was hooked from the first couple of pages. Everything about this book was so good from the main character, to the plot, to the dialogue, which honestly was my favorite part of the book. I found I took my time with this book because I was so enthralled with the book and had no idea where it was going to go. I would say I wanted to live in this book but I was not made for living in 1600s America. I would have not survived at all. 

One of my favorite things about this book was the dialogue, as I mentioned above. It truly felt like I was reading a diary from the 1600s and surprisingly, I was able to understand everything. I was worried when I first read the dialogue that I wasn’t going to be able to understand anyone. But that wasn’t a problem at all. Even when Mary was thinking or describing things, she still kept in the dialogue of her time. It shows me that the author spent time researching to make sure things were as historically accurate as possible. 

Mary was a fantastic main character. I was rooting for her through it all. Even when she made poor decisions for herself, I found myself still cheering her on and forgiving her for what she did. It pains me so much to read about what she was going through. The society she lived in truly was made to constantly oppress women and it made me sick. She was just a poor woman trying to escape an abusive husband. I was so awed by her courage, to try and fight the system. Mary will be up there as one of my favorite historical fiction main characters. 

Overall, this was a fantastic book. I never knew where the book was going to go. Every single page stressed me out. There was always an underlying tension and dread that permeated through the book and I was living for it. But there was also a feeling of hope, a small glimmer of hope for Mary. I wished for her happy ending so badly. As you can tell, I highly recommend this book!