Review: The Once and Future Witches

 

Name -The Once and Future Witched

Author -Alix E. Harrow

Pages -525

Publisher -Orbit Books

Genre -Historical Fantasy, Feminism

Rating -4/5

ISBN -0356512479

Review no. -47

Synopsis -

In 1893, there's no such thing as witches. There used to be, in the wild, dark days before the burnings began, but now witching nothing but tidy charms and nursery rhymes. If the modern woman wants any measure of power, she must find it at the ballot box.

But when the Eastwood sisters -James Juniper, Agnes Amaranth, and Beatrice Belladonna -join the suffragists of New Salem, they begin to pursue the forgotten words and ways that might turn the women's movement into the witch's movement. Stalked by shadows and sickness, hunted by forces who will not suffer a witch to vote -and perhaps not even to live- the sisters will need to delve into the oldest magics, draw new alliances, and heal the bond between them if they want to survive. 

There's no such thing as witches. But there will be.

Review -

I had great expectations for this novel, as 'The Ten Thousand Doors of January' is one of my all time favorites. But this book was completely different from the previous book, so I would suggest that you read this book with an open mind. The cover is just soooo stunning (just like the previous book by the author) and sets the tone for the story. 

'The Once and Future Witches' is an empowering story following the three Eastwood sisters -Juniper, Agnes, and Beatrice as they struggle for reclaiming not only women's rights but also witches' rights. The Eastwood sisters had separated a long time ago due to some misunderstandings. They are brought together by fate to reclaim magic feared by the people and to win the struggle against misogynic forces.

The writing was amazing, as if the words were woven together with threads of magic and emotions. Each chapter began with a spell (slightly warped and darkened versions of well known nursery rhymes). I loved  the way short, twisted versions of fairytales were included. The setting of New Salem, 1890's was mystical, eerie, dark and gives off just the right vibes for the story. The character development was great too. Each of the Eastwood sisters were unique and as different as people could be. Even the side characters were of great significance. I also loved the relationship building between the Eastwood sisters. I too have an elder sister, and although I love her, she drives me crazy, so I found their relationship very relatable. 

The only flaw that I felt was that the pace was slow, and at times dead slow. The author may have done this to let the readers take in events, but it did not sit well with me. Towards the seconds part of the novel, the story turned more interesting, so after that point, the story and pace were complementing each other. And the ending was EPIC and was worth it! 

I highly recommend this novel to everyone, especially for people who love fantasy or historical fiction and those who are looking for a powerful feministic read, to make you feel inspired and empowered.

I thank NetGalley and Orbit Books for giving me this wonderful opportunity to read and review this unforgettable novel. I also thank Alix E. Harrow for again writing such a beautiful, promising story to the world! 

Review: The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue

Name -The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue

Author -V. E. Schwab

Pages -560

Publisher -Titan Books

Genre -Fantasy, Historical, Contemporary, Romance

Rating -4.5/5

ISBN -0765387565

Review no. -46

Synopsis-

When Addie La Rue makes a pact with the devil, she trades her soul for immortality. But there's always a price - the devil takes away her place in the world, cursing her to be forgotten by everyone.

Addie flees her tiny home town in 18th-Century France, beginning a journey that takes her across the world, learning to live a life where no one remembers her and everything she owns is lost and broken. Existing only as a muse for artists throughout history, she learns to fall in love anew every single day.

Her only companion on this journey is her dark devil with hypnotic green eyes, who visits her each year on the anniversary of their deal. Alone in the world, Addie has no choice but to confront him, to understand him, maybe to beat him.

Until one day, in a second hand bookshop in Manhattan, Addie meets someone who remembers her. Suddenly thrust back into a real, normal life, Addie realises she can't escape her fate forever.

Review -

This is the first V. E. Schwab book that I have ever read and honestly, it just blew me away! This book has a very unique, heart-breaking, unforgettable storyline. The writing is poetic, thought provoking and brilliant. I had to take a really long break after reading this because this book gave me a hangover kind of feeling and I was at a loss of words for describing this masterpiece (and also because I had exams upcoming as well).

The story is about a French countryside girl named Addie LaRue, who makes a deal with the devil to escape from her forced wedding. The devil grants her freedom and immortality but also gives her a curse. A curse to be forgotten by everybody the moment she is out of their eyesight. But after about 300 years of search , she finally meets Henry, an unremarkable boy working in a small second-hand bookstore, who remembers her. How and why he remembers her forms the later part of the story.

The starting part of the book was slow and a bit boring. But the story gains pace as we move on. The story takes places over two timelines: the past and the present. The past shows how and why Addie made a deal with the devil and how her relationship with him evolved over the past 300 years. The present timeline is about her encounter with Henry and his background story. I did like Henry but I still felt as if Henry and Addie's relationship was a bit forced (while I absolutely loved Addie and Luc's relationship). I wish there was more of development of their relationship.

The narration made me hooked on the characters (except the starting part). Some parts were so heartbreaking and I was able to feel strongly for the characters as they were very relatable (except Addie's immortality). The story conveys the power of art and the importance of mental health. And the ending just left me so mesmerized that I immediately gave this book five stars. Even though, there are some flaws as I had mentioned above, I was able to look past them at the masterpiece of a story (and it was totally worth it). In fact, I was able to identify the flaws only after scratching my head for almost a week (due to which I changed my rating to four).

Overall, I highly recommend this unforgettable, memorable novel. 

Thank you all!!!

It's been really long since I last posted a review, on my Blog or Goodreads. This was because I was preparing for my exams. Even though I did not post reviews, I was not able to stop myself from reading books. So, there are lots of books that I have read and need to review. Now that my exams have ended, I will continue reviewing books. I apologize for just vanishing for the past six months and I sincerely thank those who have been visiting my blog all these days and have been following me. I also thank feedspot for ignoring my terrible punctuality and giving my blog 78th rank in the Top 100 Book Review Blogs list!