The Witch Hunter by Virginia Boecker
Release Date: June 2, 2015
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
368 Pages
Received: Netgalley, bought from B&N
Format: E-ARC, Hardcover
Rating:
4 Nuts
Description: The magic and suspense of Graceling meet the political intrigue and unrest of Game of Thrones in this riveting fantasy debut.
Your greatest enemy isn’t what you fight, but what you fear.
Elizabeth Grey is one of the king’s best witch hunters, devoted to rooting out witchcraft and doling out justice. But when she’s accused of being a witch herself, Elizabeth is arrested and sentenced to burn at the stake.
Salvation comes from a man she thought was her enemy. Nicholas Perevil, the most powerful and dangerous wizard in the kingdom, offers her a deal: he will save her from execution if she can break the deadly curse that’s been laid upon him.
But Nicholas and his followers know nothing of Elizabeth’s witch hunting past–if they find out, the stake will be the least of her worries. And as she’s thrust into the magical world of witches, ghosts, pirates, and one all-too-handsome healer, Elizabeth is forced to redefine her ideas of right and wrong, of friends and enemies, and of love and hate.
Virginia Boecker weaves a riveting tale of magic, betrayal, and sacrifice in this unforgettable fantasy debut.
Review: Let me just say before I get started: Dear people who write the descriptions for these books, just because you say a book is like this or that does not mean it is. The politics of both Graceling and Game of Thrones are far more complex than what is happening here. On reason is that you’re actually inside the court when the intrigue goes down, not finding out after the effect. You experience the political scrambling and the schemes from all of the parties involved, that does not happen here. Can we please stop making these comparisons now?
*sigh*
Now that that’s out of the way, let’s get down to it. I really enjoyed this book but for some reason it took me a REALLY long time to get through it. I can usually finish a book in 2 days or less, this one took me a week and a half. What even? But I don’t think it’s the book’s fault, or at least not entirely. I’ve been in a weird slump. I don’t feel like reading or when I do it takes me longer. I just couldn’t get hooked, couldn’t get to the point where I wanted to devour every sentence.
Eventually I did start to immerse myself in the story and by the end I was flipping through like an addict (which I sort of am, don’t judge). Now that I’m done I want more. Why the change? Who knows, maybe I’m just pulling out of the slump.
Let’s do a short character run down here. Elizabeth is a sort of reluctant witch hunter. She’s a fine character, has an interesting backstory and a decent personality. Did I love her? Eh, not at the beginning. She can be a little generic but at least she’s not obnoxious. Caleb, her best friend, I couldn’t give two shits about. He’s just kind of there. Other than in the first bit he doesn’t serve much of a purpose other than to make Elizabeth feel “betrayed” and lonely. John was a bit unexpected. I honestly thought things were going to go a different way with him but I didn’t mind the way it did go. Same for George, really I thought their places would have been reversed. But I like it Virginia’s way better. The rest of the characters I liked but I think I would need to spend some more time with them to get a proper feel for them, I’m looking at you Book 2!
The world feels part historical England part high fantasy world. The lines are sort of blurred between the two. First there are places called Gaul which actually existed in our world. However there are others with names I don’t recognize so I’m not really sure what to make of that. Still the world is there, though maybe it could use a bit more development. The author doesn’t spend a lot of time developing the world outside of what she needs in this book. She mentions other places but we no nothing about them other than their names. Why are they unaffected by what’s happening here? I need to know!
Certainly there are plenty of things left unexplained, so I hope a continuation will cover all of those bases. I really liked this book, it was a fun fantasy and not quite as deep and dark as I originally thought it would be. Sure it has plenty of dark moments but there are also many light and magical ones. A good balance. If you like fantasy definitely give it a read!
Side note: whenever I see the name Schuyler I will always think of Blue Bloods.
What did you think of The Witch Hunter? Share your thoughts in the comments.
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-Erin
This sounds really cool! I've been getting more into witches lately, so this sounds like it could be up my alley. Thanks for sharing!
Esty @ Boarding with Books
Give it a shot! 🙂 I'm really into witches and Jinn right now.
I didn't request it on Netgally because I thought the cover was cheesy. I am now kicking myself.
I requested it and only read the first chapter before the book came out so I ended up just buying it.
I have seen this book and have been debating about reading it. I really appreciate it when someone takes the time out to give his/her opinion about a book. When in doubt, read other's take on a book and it helps me decide. Makes the TBR list now. So thanks for your opinion.
If you're really into fantasy I think you'd like it. It's worth giving it a shot.