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A review by ekbperez
The King's Witch by Tracy Borman
2.0
The author got greedy in writing this book. Almost every historical fiction cliche applies to the protagonist. She's accused of witchcraft because the evil king and his evil minister hate her for some reason. Her only crime is being a smart woman in a patriarchal society (well, until her crime is plotting to kill a couple of children and dozens of innocent members of parliament just to get at the two people who wronged her, but somehow this supposedly moral woman never considers that.) And of course, the first time she has sex she gets pregnant. It's too much to believe, and the author works so hard to make her character good and innocent, that she fails to make her realistically flawed or relatable.
All of that would have been more forgivable if this book had been more enjoyable. I love a historical fiction book full of cliches, but those cliches need an enjoyable story to justify the lazy writing. If an author is going to make her story as tense and uncomfortable as this one was, then she needs to work harder to add nuance to her story and characters.
All of that would have been more forgivable if this book had been more enjoyable. I love a historical fiction book full of cliches, but those cliches need an enjoyable story to justify the lazy writing. If an author is going to make her story as tense and uncomfortable as this one was, then she needs to work harder to add nuance to her story and characters.