Thursday, January 2, 2014

Witch Finder by Ruth Warburton

WITCH FINDER
Author: Rose Warburton
Publication Date: 01/02/2014
Publisher: Hodder Children's Books
Audience: Young Adult
Genre: Historical Fiction, Paranormal
 
London. 1880. In the slums of Spitalfields apprentice blacksmith Luke is facing initiation into the Malleus Maleficorum, the fearsome brotherhood dedicated to hunting and killing witches.

Luke’s final test is to pick a name at random from the Book of Witches, a name he must track down and kill within a month, or face death himself. Luke knows that tonight will change his life forever. But when he picks out sixteen-year-old Rosa Greenwood, Luke has no idea that his task will be harder than he could ever imagine.
 
Summary and Picture from Goodreads
 
 
**I received this as an eARC through Netgalley from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.  In no way does that effect the thoughts and opinions expressed here.  I did not receive compensation in any form for this review.**
 
 
REVIEW
 
I must admit that I let other's reviews of this book sway me into putting this book off until the last moment.  I'm here to tell you that it really wasn't that bad.
 
I really liked the historical aspect of the story and with the magical aspect mixed into it the book became an interesting read.  The story is told from the POVs of Rosa and Luke.  If you know me at all you know that I do not like alternating POVs but in Witch Finder it was well done and I didn't have any trouble connecting with both characters.  The story line flowed decently and I never found my mind wandering, in fact the closer it got to the end the faster I read.
 
I do understand some of the issues others had with the book, like the insta love thing.  Though I really feel that some of that is due to the historical setting.  Back then people's stations in society prevented them from really getting to know anyone who was better off or worse off than themselves.  I really feel that the whole "love" situation is purely driven from the fact that Luke sees Rosa in a hopeless, desperate situation and wants to save her from that.  Rosa in turn suffers from "Knight in Shining Armor" syndrome due to Luke's need to help her.  Of course this contradicts the whole point of his being but who didn't see that coming?  I am interested if their love could last in the long run or if they would wake up one day and say "What did I like about you again?"
 
The main issue I had was with Rosa.  I mean, come on! You're this awesome witch!! Quit letting your mother and brother and Sebastion walk all over you!  Grow a backbone and stand up for yourself, you don't need Luke!!
 
Overall I AM glad I read Witch Finder and though it was a longer book (over 300 pages), that I feared would take forever to get through, I ended up finishing it in less than 24 hours.  It turned into an exciting read that I couldn't put down until I knew what would happen to the characters.
 
 

 
 
 
THE AUTHOR
 
Ruth Warburton
 
What can I tell you about myself... well, I love coffee, hate tea.

I prefer cheese to chocolate (but would eat either, if you're offering).

I grew up on a reading diet of my mum's classics (Wuthering Heights, Pride and Prejudice) my dad's sci-fi/fantasy (A Wizard of Earthsea, Dune) and the Jilly Cooper novels passed around school at break time. I always wanted to be a writer but I never thought it would happen.

I was born and raised in Sussex on the south coast of England, and I went to school in Lewes and Brighton, but I now live in London, and A Witch in Winter was my first book.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

2 comments:

  1. I'm getting used to multiple perspectives now, I couldn't stand them before. Glad you enjoyed it more than me though, my main issues were the characters, because I couldn't stand them, and Rosa definitely needed a spine to stand on. Another I think, was although it did flow well, the slowness of the build-up and quick ending frustrated me to no end. On top of the animal cruelty, there was nothing salvageable for me. Great review. :).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ahh the poor puppy! I was so upset in that moment!

      Delete

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