The Black Witch by Laurie Forest

The characters and the world Laurie Forest creates in The Black Witch is intriguing to the point that it took me less than a week to finish this massive book. My interest is piqued enough to want to read the sequel when it is released. The book was slow moving at first and, about a third of the way through, I was thoroughly fed up with the main character whose naivete and willingness to always see herself as the victim and everyone else as the villain got a little old. This character arc was important in the story as the main character realizes that what she had been taught her whole life about the history of her people and the treatment of other races as inferior and evil may not be the actual truth - but it just takes way too long for her to get there. It felt very repetitive, and left you, as the reader, not connecting or really liking the main character for a good portion of the book. Once the main character starts realizing these truths and interacting with the other races, the story starts moving a little faster and you are able to connect with her more. You begin to form an attachment to the rag-tag band of friends she develops but then the book ends with a ton of unanswered questions and no closure. I did appreciate though how the author was able to leave some of the characters motives and abilities somewhat ambiguous - not knowing exactly how they will act or what will happen in the next book. That, along with ending the first book with the main characters in an impossible situation and no clear cut answer on how they move forward, is what leaves me dejected about being left in the dark. I am, however, anticipating the next installment of The Black Witch Chronicles.

-Sarah Herbert

Release Date: May 2, 2017