The Witch's Daughter by Paula Brackston
Genre: Fantasy/Historical Fiction
My rating: ★★★☆
I downloaded this book on Audible this past January. I believe I was taking a break from another series at the time and decided this looked like a really good book based off of the cover and description. The audiobook is a 13 hour 26 minute listen and the narrator is alright, not the worst I've listened to. I HATED her voice for the antagonist and she succeeded in sending shivers up my spine every time I heard him say "Bessss".
About the book: Elizabeth Anne Hawksmith, a 384 year old witch, is essentially being stalked and harassed by a warlock who expects her to pay him for saving her life. The book is a series of stories that are all based off of Anne's past lives as she is telling her life story to a teenage girl, Tegan. Anne is continuously on the run from Gideon, the warlock, and kind of reinventing herself in different locations and periods in time because she has become immortal.
Like: I did like some aspects of this book so I'll start with the positive. The first thing I did enjoy is the backstory about Anne and her family. Many people have commented, on Goodreads, on how long the intro is but I always love world building and backstory so I didn't mind. Learning about what their life was like during the plague was dark and sad as you could imagine. Although this was just like your typical witch story, the background of how Anne grew up can leave you with an idea of why she is such a strong, but guarded woman in present day. Second, the story is partly told in a series of journal, or Book of Shadows, entries versus that of her conversations with Tegan. I enjoyed how the journal entries were written and being able to see into Anne's unguarded thoughts. These journal entries were much more interesting to me than Anne's relationship with Tegan. Third, I like historical fiction so I did enjoy that I got to listen to the different periods of Anne's life. From dark ages, to a war, to modern day. I'm a sucker for a past and present novel.
Dislike: What I disliked about the book very much outweighed what I did enjoy. First, During the introduction I do feel like you meet some unnecessary characters and the only one, besides Anne, that will remain a constant through the book is Gideon. Gideon is the warlock who saves Anne's life after Anne's mother basically begs him to. You know how I mentioned the book is very stereotypical witch story? Well, that weird demon sex scene happens that you often see in witch stories. *cringe* Second, the book began to be way too repetitive and predictable so I started to lose interest about 9 hours in. There is a song that is a constant throughout the book and it basically warns you Gideon is nearby. It was highly annoying and overused. Third, and last of all, I really disliked the character Tegan. Tegan is a teenager who pretty much butts her way into Anne's life, present day. Anne ends up liking her for some reason and going against her instincts she begins to teach Tegan to be a witch. Tegan's character felt like it was the only way to bridge a gap in the story and to provide Anne with an ally. I feel like this book could have been much better had Tegan's character been different.
Final thoughts: After listening to about 9 hours of the audiobook I was done with the book. I really wanted it to just finish but I held onto hope during the last 4 hours. I'm not one to dnf a book very often so I struggled through the end hoping for a turn around. In all honesty, I cannot recall the ending of this book because I did have a hard time maintaining interest.
If you've read this book, were you on the side of people who enjoyed the book or did you dislike it? I'd love to know your thoughts so leave a comment below or find me on Goodreads and Instagram.
xx, Julia
Genre: Fantasy/Historical Fiction
My rating: ★★★☆
I downloaded this book on Audible this past January. I believe I was taking a break from another series at the time and decided this looked like a really good book based off of the cover and description. The audiobook is a 13 hour 26 minute listen and the narrator is alright, not the worst I've listened to. I HATED her voice for the antagonist and she succeeded in sending shivers up my spine every time I heard him say "Bessss".
Like: I did like some aspects of this book so I'll start with the positive. The first thing I did enjoy is the backstory about Anne and her family. Many people have commented, on Goodreads, on how long the intro is but I always love world building and backstory so I didn't mind. Learning about what their life was like during the plague was dark and sad as you could imagine. Although this was just like your typical witch story, the background of how Anne grew up can leave you with an idea of why she is such a strong, but guarded woman in present day. Second, the story is partly told in a series of journal, or Book of Shadows, entries versus that of her conversations with Tegan. I enjoyed how the journal entries were written and being able to see into Anne's unguarded thoughts. These journal entries were much more interesting to me than Anne's relationship with Tegan. Third, I like historical fiction so I did enjoy that I got to listen to the different periods of Anne's life. From dark ages, to a war, to modern day. I'm a sucker for a past and present novel.
Final thoughts: After listening to about 9 hours of the audiobook I was done with the book. I really wanted it to just finish but I held onto hope during the last 4 hours. I'm not one to dnf a book very often so I struggled through the end hoping for a turn around. In all honesty, I cannot recall the ending of this book because I did have a hard time maintaining interest.
If you've read this book, were you on the side of people who enjoyed the book or did you dislike it? I'd love to know your thoughts so leave a comment below or find me on Goodreads and Instagram.
xx, Julia
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