Eh, nothing. This book is about witches and I've been spell-struck so now I swapped my language, what can I say. Side effects I can't help.
Get some popcorn, take a seat and let's have a chat about one of the most amazing novels I've read about witches.
So I found this book randomly. I wasn't looking for anything at all, but then Beverley (you should know who she is by now, and if you don't, there's a bunch of articles I wrote about her and with her here if you want to check them out) recommended this on Instagram. I think I didn't even look at the cover because she said the key word: witches. That's all I needed to know and I bought it, started it straight away and didn't even check what I was going into.
So basically, this book follows two different time lines: first one is set in 1645 and basically we follow the so-called Witchfinder in their mission. They have to find those who have been labeled as witches in order to punish them and rid the countryside of their poisonous presence. Based on a true series of events, Becky Wright (the author) is dragging the reader in this scary chain of events and is showing us a reality that sometimes gets forgotten or ignored because of how harsh and barbaric it has been.
This leads the reader further in History, then, in 2016 where Heather and Alex are traveling in the middle of the night in order to reach a manor and help one of their clients. The couple is in fact involved in paranormal activities and they're medium, people who can communicate with spirits and the other side and who help those who are haunted. Their mission for the night is to go and give some peace to a spirit that has been haunting a house and hurting those who have been living there. Unfortunately things don't always go as planned or expected and Heather will soon find out that there's more to that than what she had imagined.
This book is about fear of the unknown, mostly, because if you think about it the Inquisition was condemning and processing people mainly because those who reported them were afraid of the little behaviors they couldn't understand. If there was something they couldn't explain, then it was witchcraft, it was Satan's doing.
It's also about grief, losing someone you love and losing faith in those you thought were loving you. It's also about revenge because the love that has been taken away unfairly needs to be avenged somehow. But I guess there's more to that, maybe the pain that they felt, that has been inflicted; the betrayal; the loneliness and the rage. It goes deep.
The first storyline of the book is full of fear a bit of confusion, because what Becky does amazingly is to make you feel the main character's emotions throughout the novel. So at the beginning the reader can feel the fear belonging to the unknown, to not knowing what to expect next, the powerless feeling that hits when you don't know what to do, what's the next right thing - quoting Frozen II, here, because I'm a geek and I can't help it.
I also felt the filth, the loneliness, the resignation when the time finally comes. The relief.
The only thing that seemed to be a bit forced, in my opinion, was the writing style. It was in line with the setting in time and place, it was very realistic and accurate, but somehow I felt like it wasn't really Becky's comfort zone. I didn't read much else by her (but I'm planning to, very soon) so I can't tell you if this is because it's not her actual and usual writing style, if it was due to the fact that she chose to represent a era as faithfully as possible and found the writing style to be on a different level, maybe too hard or if it's something else, but every now and then I struggled to let myself be in the story and I had to re-read a few passages in order to find the atmosphere lost.
In the second part I felt like the author was more comfortable with the writing style. The story developed without any problems and Becky enriched it with a touch of paranormal element.
Holy crap, guys. Holy. Crap.
I got sooooo scared you can't imagine! I was totally hooked from page one despite the fact that the writing style of the first storyline wasn't my favorite, and when I got to the parts in which the mediums start to communicate with the other world and Becky lets her characters speak in order to tell us another story, well... Don't read the book when you're in the dark. Or do, if you want to get spooked and shivery and totally amazed by how easily all the puzzle pieces come together and create the most amazing chain of events I've ever read about.
It's creepy, it's witch-y, it's morally grey and the ending is spectacular. I didn't see it coming, I honestly didn't foresee anything of what happens because I was too busy following the story step by step with every single character. It was so good, so engaging I couldn't stop thinking about it even after I finished it. Sometimes I still get goosebumps when I think about the story.
So definitely, if you're into witches and you want to read something that doesn't revolve around positive elemental magic, if you want to get spooked and be teleported in a reality almost forgotten, than this is the book for you. Becky does an amazing job in describing atmospheres and places that the reader can't help but live the book and not only read it. But be aware of the fact that you might not sleep for a couple of nights and that you will always have to check behind your back when you know you've done something potentially wrong or when you're alone in the house.
Remember that nothing goes unpunished nor unnoticed, above all when a witch is involved.
All the love, dear readers.
Sam.
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