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stuckinthebook 's review for:
The Familiars
by Stacey Halls
The book has a nice pace, with short chapters and each chapter revealing something new about one of the characters. In my notes I’ve asked myself whether I like Fleetwood’s husband, Richard. In some parts of the story I admire how much he evidently loves and adores his wife but in other parts, I find myself disliking him. He is often too quick to disapprove of Fleetwood’s actions, even though she is doing her best to keep her, her baby and her friends safe.
We are introduced to a character called Alice later on in the book who helps Fleetwood back to health and gives Fleetwood the strength she needs to carry on. Yet you will have to decide for yourself whether she is a witch or not.
Although The Familiars is a fictional story, the character of Alice was actually a real woman who was arrested and held in prison as a suspected witch. What I love most about this story is that it is not centered around the witch hunts themselves. We only hear about recent progress in the hunts and trials through conversations with friends that visit Fleetwood. I thought that that was a nice added touch by Stacey Halls, as it makes us understand what the general thinking was of the public when it came to witches. I loved finding out that Alice was in fact a real person, making the factual history of this local story feel closer to home than ever before.
I would highly recommend this book, it is a bit longer than I would have hoped for but Stacey Halls does a good job of keeping you interested. Her other book, The Foundling is out now and I for one cannot wait to read it. I’ve heard good things and bad. Some prefer The Foundling to The Familiars. Some people prefer The Familiars. I guess I’ll have to read it and let you know.
We are introduced to a character called Alice later on in the book who helps Fleetwood back to health and gives Fleetwood the strength she needs to carry on. Yet you will have to decide for yourself whether she is a witch or not.
Although The Familiars is a fictional story, the character of Alice was actually a real woman who was arrested and held in prison as a suspected witch. What I love most about this story is that it is not centered around the witch hunts themselves. We only hear about recent progress in the hunts and trials through conversations with friends that visit Fleetwood. I thought that that was a nice added touch by Stacey Halls, as it makes us understand what the general thinking was of the public when it came to witches. I loved finding out that Alice was in fact a real person, making the factual history of this local story feel closer to home than ever before.
I would highly recommend this book, it is a bit longer than I would have hoped for but Stacey Halls does a good job of keeping you interested. Her other book, The Foundling is out now and I for one cannot wait to read it. I’ve heard good things and bad. Some prefer The Foundling to The Familiars. Some people prefer The Familiars. I guess I’ll have to read it and let you know.