The Year of the Witching

This book is similar to “The Crucible”, following an extremely religious community that sees any sins done by women as witchcraft. The leader, The Prophet, has many wives and leads this community with a religious fervor. Our heroine, Immanuelle, is the daughter of one of these witches. When a series of afflictions start affecting this community, Immanuelle is led on a path of horrors to figure out how to stop these plagues.

This book wasn't scary, but was spooky. However, for a book that is supposed to be full of horror, I was bored a few times. I think the story is a fresh take on a typical religion/witches based story. The themes throughout the book of feminism, family, sacrifice, and strength were executed well for the most part. Towards the end, the book became a little preachy for me, and I wish the ending had been a little more brutal. However, I think the story and the messages portrayed created an intense, thought-provoking novel. I would recommend this to people that are interested in spooky witch stories.