Review by james1star - The Book of Witching

james1star 's review for:

The Book of Witching by C.J. Cooke

3.0

dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

This was quite an underwhelming read having enjoyed lots of ‘witch’ books this year, I’d still recommend it but was a bit confusing at times.

The plot is dual timeline with one set in the modern day where 19-year old Erin is found on an island in the Orkneys burned, her boyfriend dead and friend missing. Erin’s mother Clem learns of this in Edinburgh and we follow her trying to work out what happened, she’s separated from the father and we do get some exploration of their relationship, there’s also backstory from Erin regarding what happened before in the lead-up to being on Orkney via her diary and other people too. When Erin awakes she doesn’t recognise Clem and claims to be someone else. The other timeframe is set four centuries prior following a women, the daughter of a powerful clan family who holds ‘the book of witching’ but she doesn’t want her family to be part of them, who’s approached to create a potion to kill the local Earl (I think??) but refuses. When he’s found dead/assassination attempt (maybe? I’ve kinda forgotten this book), it is her who’s accused of witchcraft and we follow the trail and what’s done to her via torture and her family too.

It’s enjoyable for the most part, fast paced and I was intrigued to find out what went on. Cooke also addressed some of the discourse on ‘othering’, pointing out and accusing the ‘odd’ or powerful women, and her reframing by those in power at the time. I also liked some of the links between the storylines. I would say it was a bit forgettable to be honest, I listened audibly and it was fine - I also wasn’t in the best headspace which may have impacted by reading experience. The notes at the end were decent learning about the real woman, folklore and book that inspired the story, how she declared she was a healer and Christian and the importance of this being written down but I think after reading better books dealing with a similar topic it fell a little flat.

Content Warnings