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A review by lauren_miller
Rewitched by Lucy Jane Wood
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
As a longtime follower of the author, I was hoping to enjoy this more than I did.
Fair warning, she writes just the way she speaks in her youtube videos—in platitudes, axioms, and generally flowery language. If you're British, even better from the North, you probably will drink it up, but for me, as an American reader, there were many little things (one off comments, descriptions) that felt strange or whose meaning was unclear. Sometimes, these issues are cleaned up between the UK and US versions, but unfortunately, what you see is what you get with this one. I could get past most of this, but I also struggled with the voice; that first 20-30% felt a little try hard?? Like it desperately wanted to be cozy and pretty.
Speaking of which... The first 20% irritated me to no end; simply put, Belle is a bit pathetic. There's lacking confidence and self-worth, and then there's Belle's level of insecure. Often, when you're driven by that much fear, it's more of an unconscious guide, causing you to hesitate and/or ruminate constantly; with her, it was very much a self-aware fear and yet she does NOTHING about it. And even when she starts trying to advocate for herself and gain more autonomy, she refuses to accept help from those around her, for some reason hellbent on being a martyr. What Belle's thoughts just before the scrying scene told me is that the girl needs THERAPY—no amount of support and love and positive affirmations is going to heal what has been hurt and constantly reaffirmed within her mind over the past 15 years.
The middle bits were fun. As I predicted, Arty was a sweetheart and the teaching scenes were some of my favorites. I actually really enjoyed the grimoire rhymes and catching all the foreshadowing. And I was pleased with Rune's development, although he's basically Dimitri Belikov with magic instead of martial arts skills. I would have loved to learn even more about Bonnie's specialty in herbal magic, and the potential paths for each element. I really liked the descriptions of Hecate House, although I wish it were a more sentient force in the story; it's implied that the house has a say in letting people in and such, but all we see is booby traps. I'm curious about the layout and wings too. That stint in the library was too short!!!
The ending was alright for me. I saw the conflict coming (not the sibling thing, but the who done it), so I was more curious about how Belle and the gang were going to handle it. I liked that Belle and Bonnie worked together (so ok, she's not a complete martyr), and that Ariadne was pulled into it. I liked that Belle came out injured (too often the protagonist magically wakes up and everything is peachy) but stronger, and I loved that Lunar Books got the owner it deserved.
All in all, my reading experience was kind of all over the place. 1-40% me would have absolutely said no to a second installment, but the 41-100% me is feeling warily open. I'm still curious about the worldbuilding and intrigued by how exactly the coven will move forward from this.
So, 3.5 I think. Satisfactory, with room for improvement.
Fair warning, she writes just the way she speaks in her youtube videos—in platitudes, axioms, and generally flowery language. If you're British, even better from the North, you probably will drink it up, but for me, as an American reader, there were many little things (one off comments, descriptions) that felt strange or whose meaning was unclear. Sometimes, these issues are cleaned up between the UK and US versions, but unfortunately, what you see is what you get with this one. I could get past most of this, but I also struggled with the voice; that first 20-30% felt a little try hard?? Like it desperately wanted to be cozy and pretty.
Speaking of which... The first 20% irritated me to no end; simply put, Belle is a bit pathetic. There's lacking confidence and self-worth, and then there's Belle's level of insecure. Often, when you're driven by that much fear, it's more of an unconscious guide, causing you to hesitate and/or ruminate constantly; with her, it was very much a self-aware fear and yet she does NOTHING about it. And even when she starts trying to advocate for herself and gain more autonomy, she refuses to accept help from those around her, for some reason hellbent on being a martyr. What Belle's thoughts just before the scrying scene told me is that the girl needs THERAPY—no amount of support and love and positive affirmations is going to heal what has been hurt and constantly reaffirmed within her mind over the past 15 years.
The middle bits were fun. As I predicted, Arty was a sweetheart and the teaching scenes were some of my favorites. I actually really enjoyed the grimoire rhymes and catching all the foreshadowing. And I was pleased with Rune's development, although he's basically Dimitri Belikov with magic instead of martial arts skills. I would have loved to learn even more about Bonnie's specialty in herbal magic, and the potential paths for each element. I really liked the descriptions of Hecate House, although I wish it were a more sentient force in the story; it's implied that the house has a say in letting people in and such, but all we see is booby traps. I'm curious about the layout and wings too. That stint in the library was too short!!!
The ending was alright for me. I saw the conflict coming (not the sibling thing, but the who done it), so I was more curious about how Belle and the gang were going to handle it. I liked that Belle and Bonnie worked together (so ok, she's not a complete martyr), and that Ariadne was pulled into it. I liked that Belle came out injured (too often the protagonist magically wakes up and everything is peachy) but stronger, and I loved that Lunar Books got the owner it deserved.
All in all, my reading experience was kind of all over the place. 1-40% me would have absolutely said no to a second installment, but the 41-100% me is feeling warily open. I'm still curious about the worldbuilding and intrigued by how exactly the coven will move forward from this.
So, 3.5 I think. Satisfactory, with room for improvement.