The Year of the Witching

The Year of the Witching drew me in immediately, and I really enjoyed determined Immanuelle, her story, and that she developed as a character but still felt like the same person by the end???just one whose experiences had drawn a deeper part of herself to the surface. Although I did have some issues with the ending, it's no small feat that this book kept me turning the pages in the year 2020, and I look forward to reading more of Alexis Henderson's future work (including the sequel scheduled for next year!).

Full Review on My Website

I love witch books and overall I thought this book was okay and I can see why people would love it, but this had three issues for me. Two I think are unique to me and the other is a general criticism.

My first issue is that I felt this skewed too YA for my particular tastes. The main character is an older teen girl and I just don't care about reading the drama that comes along with that. This book didn't center on that teen drama, but is endemic to a teen girl growing up in a religious society in a household that enforces those ideals who happens to be interested in a boy from a different segment of society.

My second issue is the same issue I had with The Handmaid's Tale. I don't want to read fiction about religious societies that oppress women. It is too close to real life and I would rather read non-fiction with actionable items than have it incorporated into a fantasy book.

My general criticism is that I felt the book was kind of slow for the first 90% and then sped up and got real crazy in the last 10% and then ended. I wanted more witchcraft throughout the book and more world-building in that direction rather than reading about the Romeo and Juliet nature of her relationship with the secondary character.

Female submission by sadistic, narcissistic males. Doesn't sound very original? Well think again. This story is that, yes, but it's also so much more. I'm not sure if it's considered YA but it seems much too dark for that qualification in my opinion. What I love is that the witches in this book are real! Finally, a story about truly creepy, powerful, shaking in your shoe's witches! Lately any title with the word “witch” ends up being ok. I did Finish the second book in the A Discovery of Witches series but, that's more time travel and magical. This is more a chill you to the bones kind of read.
The Year of the Witching is set in a fictional puritanical society similar to that of Salem, where women are persecuted for witchcraft and other crimes that the men of cloth get away with scot-free. Bethel is a society based in hypocrisy and its history is riddled with untruths. I appreciated how Alexis Anderson told a feminist story in which the main character, Immanuelle, is a strong female who is dedicated to changing Bethel for the better by protecting the vulnerable and punishing those who abuse their power behind the Church.

There were some positively spooky scenes set in the Darkwood and the witches were both frightening and captivating. Yet, towards the middle of the book, the story began to slow for me a bit. For one, I wanted more interactions with the witches and more magic. I felt the story stalled a bit until we reached the climax. I also felt the relationship between Ezra and Immanuelle was more of a friendship and I could never buy their romance. Their relationship needed to be more developed and I would have loved to delve more into the relationship between Vera and Immanuelle as well. Overall, this was a good debut, there were just certain elements I wanted more of that I hope to get more of in a second book maybe?