'Set in the 17th century, a breathtaking debut, and a potential prize-winner, about the power of women, witchcraft, fury, revenge and the ties that bind us.
'After witnessing the brutal murder of her mother by witch-hunters, Evey vows to avenge her and track down the killers. Fury burns in her bright and strong. But she has promised her mother that she will keep Dill, her little sister, safe. As the lust for blood and retribution rises to fever pitch, will Evey keep true to the bonds of sisterhood and to the magick that is her destiny?'
Witch follows Evey, a young woman used to living in the woods with her mother and little sister Dill. The three of them enjoy a quiet existence, occasionally coming to town to use their skills as witches to help those suffering sickness, or to help delivery babies. The three of them a good people, and haven't been hurtful to anyone, yet can't escape the brutal prejudices of their time.
When their mother is dragged from her home, beaten and killed by a group of witch hunters Evey and Dill are forced to flee the only home they've ever known. Setting out to find their aunt, Evey is consumed by only one thought, the thirst for revenge.
I was initially intrigued by the description for Witch, and have enjoyed similar books to this in the past. I was hoping for a book that would put Evey through a journey that would help her to learn about herself and her life as a witch, and whilst the book does give us this I never really connected with her as a character the way I wanted to.
The book is told from Evey's point of view, and as such we spend a lot of time getting to hear her thoughts and how she feels about everything that's happening. However, one of the downsides to this is that the majority of the book is written in some strange ways, using slang and language that's not quite familiar. Whilst this does help to make the book feel like it's happening in a different era, it sometimes made it hard to connect with Evey as a character as I wasn't completely sure what she was trying to say.
This happened a lot whilst Evey was talking with her sister Dill, mainly due to the two of them having this strange kind of shorthand, but did ease a little as the book went on and Evey was able to set out on her own as her mission for revenge begins for real.
Once Evey sets out to make her mothers killers pay the story actually moves quite quickly, and has a good pace as events unfold over what is only a day or two in the narrative. The benefit of this is that you never get a moment to really slow down and get bored. New characters are introduced pretty quickly, and weave in and out of the narrative at a pace that sometimes feels a little convenient at times though.
Despite the pace of the story, and the relatively short length of the book, it took me longer than I thought to actually get through the book. This was in part because once I put it down I was a little reluctant to go back to it. It took me a while to realise that this was despite how appealing the story sounded I never really felt gripped by it, and didn't really care how Evey's story went. Her quest for revenge never grabbed me because I never felt invested in her as a person. Yes, it was awful what happened to her family, but Evey just came across as jealous and self-centred, putting herself before anyone else, even her sister.
She's also incredibly reckless, and instead of plotting or planning how she can kill the man who murdered her mother she simply announces herself to them when she comes across them, which results in her having to run away, or be rescued by others. Once would have been bad enough, but the fact that she does it again really boggles the mind. Evey is a reckless and self centred protagonist that I found hard to like, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing, and speaks well to someone who might be going through trauma and still trying to find themselves in the world.
Witch was a book that I found difficult to get my head round at times, but was glad that I took the time to read. It was never what I was expecting, and managed to do some new and interesting things that definitely make it stand out. I can't guarantee that you'll enjoy reading this one, but it's one that will definitely stick in your mind for a good while.
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