Author: Victoria Lamb
Genre: Young Adult, Historical, Paranormal
Source: HarlequinTeen via NetGalley
Goodreads
Her darkest dreams are coming true.Review by Nara
In Tudor England, 1555, Meg Lytton has learned how powerful her magick gift can be. But danger surrounds her and her mistress, the outcast Princess Elizabeth. Nowhere is safe in the court of Elizabeth's fanatical sister, Queen Mary. And as the Spanish Inquisition's merciless priests slowly tighten their grip on the court, Meg's very dreams are disturbed by the ever-vengeful witchfinder Marcus Dent.
Even as Meg tries to use her powers to find guidance, something evil arises, impervious to Meg's spells and hungry to control England's fate. As Meg desperately tries to keep her secret betrothed, the Spanish priest Alejandro de Castillo, out of harm's way, caution wars with their forbidden desire. And with her most powerful enemy poised to strike, Meg's only chance is a heartbreaking sacrifice.
It's not often that I put books aside in the middle of reading them, but unfortunately, that's what happened with Witchfall. No, it wasn't a DNF. But I definitely did lose interest within the first 30% and put it aside for a few days. After I picked it back up, again, it took a while for me to really be able to get into the book- I just felt that, overall, nothing really seemed to engage me. I think the main problem with the book was that the pacing was completely off. The first half of the book had nothing and the rest of the book was crammed with action and sudden development of the romance.
There were a few annoying tropes which I'll list here:
- Breaking up with the love interest to "protect" him. FREAKING HATE THIS ONE.
- Protagonist was in a major dilemma and managed to get out of it way too easily. JUST LIKE IN BOOK ONE *nerdrage*
- Sort of love triangle as a love interest comes OUT OF NOWHERE and there is NO relationship development before that character professes his love for the protagonist.
- I'd kind of like some sort of explanation about the whole witch/mage/whatever the other magical people are called system. There was this one character who kept insisting he wasn't a witch, but there I was thinking why is he not a witch...? So yes. Explanations would be nice.
Of course, there were also some things that were done well:
- Integration of British history into the story. I feel like things were researched pretty well in terms of this aspect of the book- although I don't actually know too much about history, so I could be wrong.
- The romance was better than in the first book. Still not great, but better.
- I actually quite like the writing style. Suits the historical genre rather well.
Overall, I'd say this book was a bit disappointing compared to the first in the series. I think I will continue on with the books just to see what happens, but not with the burning passion I might have for other series. Would I recommend it? Maybe...
It was okay
Ratings
Overall: 7/10
Plot: 3/5
Writing: 4/5
Romance: 3/5
Characters: 2.5/5
Cover: 4/5
