Thoughts on : The Year of the Witching by Alexis Henderson
The Year of the Witching by Alexis Henderson
Genre : Fantasy, Horror
Stand alone
About the Book :
In the lands of Bethel, where the Prophet’s word is law, Immanuelle Moore’s very existence is blasphemy. Her mother’s union with an outsider of a different race cast her once-proud family into disgrace, so Immanuelle does her best to worship the Father, follow Holy Protocol, and lead a life of submission, devotion, and absolute conformity, like all the other women in the settlement.
But a mishap lures her into the forbidden Darkwood surrounding Bethel, where the first prophet once chased and killed four powerful witches. Their spirits are still lurking there, and they bestow a gift on Immanuelle: the journal of her dead mother, who Immanuelle is shocked to learn once sought sanctuary in the wood.
Fascinated by the secrets in the diary, Immanuelle finds herself struggling to understand how her mother could have consorted with the witches. But when she begins to learn grim truths about the Church and its history, she realizes the true threat to Bethel is its own darkness. And she starts to understand that if Bethel is to change, it must begin with her.
Since the holidays are upon us, the first thing that came to mind as I sat to write my thoughts about this book is fruit cake : in theory, I should love it. I love all of its parts separately (fruits! cake! sugar!), but not what they create together. What can I say, we are a non-fruitcase house!
The Year of the Witching was a bit like that, too. At first, it felt so promising : gorgeous and mysterious cover, horror, witches, a strange cult and a bit of romance. All of these things were there, yet it didn’t quite work for me.
First, the positives : the setting, the atmosphere. I was instantly pulled in and intrigued. The author does a great job of introducing the reader to the characters and the world. It felt really promising and I was eager to discover more about it all.
The plot, in general, was also good. I enjoyed several aspects of it and it managed to surprise me a few times, especially towards the end. I didn’t think the story would go the way it went and that’s a huge positive.
However, I felt the pace, overall, was a bit boring for most of the first half. And I’m someone who enjoys a story with a slow pace, but something has to be happening that keeps me reading. It can be interesting characters, mesmerizing descriptions, anything, but something was missing. On top of that, I felt that Immanuelle, as a character, was a bit bland and lacked personality, and so I had a hard time being truly invested.
The romance aspect felt a bit forced to me and very YA. You guys know I love YA, so it’s not that I have anything against it, but since this book is adult fantasy, I expected something else. Maybe a bit more complexity, a more mature approach – not from the characters (who are young), but from the writing.
All in all, The Year of the Witching wasn’t bad : it was wonderfully creepy and the ending was good. Sadly, despite its strong points, it wasn’t a good match for me. I don’t think I’ll read the second book, but the author shows a lot of promise and I’d love to read more from them in the future.
