Scan barcode
A review by thegrimhobbyist
Night of the Witch by Beth Revis, Sara Raasch
3.5
I almost rounded up to a 4, but I think I'll settle with 3.5 for my rating. It was a 3 up until a certain point in the book, where the story picks up and ramps up and held my interest until the very end, but I have too many nitpicks to let it go up to a 4.
Let's start with the good! I love the historical fiction in this. The authors took actual history, from the European Witch Trials, and used it for their story, with a sprinkling of real magic to it. Abnoba is used in this book too, which is an actual Celtic deity. The pure grittiness in this story is all thanks to real horrid history, how the women were treated, how many innocents burned during the witch trials, the torture that was inflicted on them to force their confession. It's all here in this book that turned it dark, and I loved that.
I also enjoyed the story overall, the magic, forest folk, the side characters especially captured my interest. They weren't just cardboard cut outs in the background of the two main characters (the romance part of this story) and the villain. And the villain was brilliantly horrendous. The authors did really good writing a villain I absolutely despised (that's a good thing, you're supposed to hate the villain).
Now let's move on to what I didn't love. Fritzi. The FMC. She endured a lot, and I feel sorry for her for that. Especially for someone who just turned 18, getting thrust into a terrible world outside the coven who sheltered her to this point. But I really don't like the fact she was basically handheld all the way through, yet was still seen as a hero. She wasn't. The people around her was. Yes, I know a hero is only as good as the people that helped them along the way, but heroes themselves show their own bravery and strategic skills. Fritzi on the other hand was basically dragged, forced, "woe-is-me" ing the whole time, and figured things out by the skin of her teeth the whole way through, and I just could not connect with her.
You flip back and forth between Fritzi's PoV and Otto's PoV, and I wanted to skim through Fritzi's PoV just to get back to Otto. Otto is the MMC and much better, in my opinion. He had his own flaws, but figured out ways to persevere, even if he got love blinded in the end and only focused his heroism in rescuing fake-hero but actually damsel-in-distress Fritzi.
That's another thing, the romance. Yes, the love-blinded romance junkie deep inside my cold black heart did start to swoon and root for the pair in the end, but reality is...the romance wasn't necessary. Insta-love, for one. For two, the story didn't need it. This could have been just as good, perhaps even more heart warming, if this was a found family moment or platonic friendship.
Speaking of unnecessary things. That pet death scene, with the details given, wasn't needed. That scene could have been just as shocking and impactful without throwing in a random cat death. It was there to shock us, and nothing more.
There's apparently a second book to this series coming soon, but I'm on the fence on if I'll read it. I won't be in any hurry to, if I do end up reading it. Maybe I'll wait for the reviews first. I think this was a satisfying ending - especially if you don't read the epilogue - to not need to read the second. Unless you want to continue the story.
Let's start with the good! I love the historical fiction in this. The authors took actual history, from the European Witch Trials, and used it for their story, with a sprinkling of real magic to it. Abnoba is used in this book too, which is an actual Celtic deity. The pure grittiness in this story is all thanks to real horrid history, how the women were treated, how many innocents burned during the witch trials, the torture that was inflicted on them to force their confession. It's all here in this book that turned it dark, and I loved that.
I also enjoyed the story overall, the magic, forest folk, the side characters especially captured my interest. They weren't just cardboard cut outs in the background of the two main characters (the romance part of this story) and the villain. And the villain was brilliantly horrendous. The authors did really good writing a villain I absolutely despised (that's a good thing, you're supposed to hate the villain).
Now let's move on to what I didn't love. Fritzi. The FMC. She endured a lot, and I feel sorry for her for that. Especially for someone who just turned 18, getting thrust into a terrible world outside the coven who sheltered her to this point. But I really don't like the fact she was basically handheld all the way through, yet was still seen as a hero. She wasn't. The people around her was. Yes, I know a hero is only as good as the people that helped them along the way, but heroes themselves show their own bravery and strategic skills. Fritzi on the other hand was basically dragged, forced, "woe-is-me" ing the whole time, and figured things out by the skin of her teeth the whole way through, and I just could not connect with her.
You flip back and forth between Fritzi's PoV and Otto's PoV, and I wanted to skim through Fritzi's PoV just to get back to Otto. Otto is the MMC and much better, in my opinion. He had his own flaws, but figured out ways to persevere, even if he got love blinded in the end and only focused his heroism in rescuing fake-hero but actually damsel-in-distress Fritzi.
That's another thing, the romance. Yes, the love-blinded romance junkie deep inside my cold black heart did start to swoon and root for the pair in the end, but reality is...the romance wasn't necessary. Insta-love, for one. For two, the story didn't need it. This could have been just as good, perhaps even more heart warming, if this was a found family moment or platonic friendship.
Speaking of unnecessary things. That pet death scene, with the details given, wasn't needed. That scene could have been just as shocking and impactful without throwing in a random cat death. It was there to shock us, and nothing more.
There's apparently a second book to this series coming soon, but I'm on the fence on if I'll read it. I won't be in any hurry to, if I do end up reading it. Maybe I'll wait for the reviews first. I think this was a satisfying ending - especially if you don't read the epilogue - to not need to read the second. Unless you want to continue the story.