Even though this book was published on September 25, 2018, I read the advanced reader's copy. Undoubtedly there will be some changes between the version I read and the published version.
Another gorgeous cover. Yessssssssssss.
An amazon summary, "Alyce's mother has just been burnt at the stake for practicing witchcraft. With only a thin set of instructions and a witch’s mommet for guidance, Alyce must face the world that she’s been sealed off from -- a world of fear and superstition. With a witch hunter fast on her trail, she’ll need the help of an innkeeper and a boy looking to discover the truth behind his own mother's past.
But as her journey continues, another war rages: a hidden war of the supernatural, of the living and the dead. Good and evil are blurred, and nobody’s motives can be trusted. And Alyce finds herself thrown unwillingly into the conflict. Struggling to understand her own powers, she is quickly drawn into a web of secret, lies, and dark magic that could change the fate of the world she is just coming to know.
This dark, twisty, and thrillingly original debut will leave readers entranced in its suspenseful plot and rich prose." AMAZON LINK OF JUSTICE
The opening scene is literally Alyce's mother being accused of witchcraft and burned at the stake. Alyce has hidden in a cellar below the house, and as the accuser opens the door, Alyce stabs him and tries to run. She makes her way to London with a letter from her mother to find a gentleman who will help her. However, she winds up half starved and homeless on the streets. Alyce is muttering to herself in the streets and well, disgusting from living on the streets for a while. People from the insane asylum find her, and pick her up before locking her up.
While Alyce is locked up, a couple strangers try to pick her up from the asylum, Alyce doesn't know who they are, but she makes an escape. She winds up back on the streets, starving, tries to steal but fails miserably, and a young gentleman comes to her rescue. He takes her to an inn where the innkeeper takes care of her and nurses her back to her.
The story really begins is when she starts trying to figure out who is trying to capture her and why. The witch hunters and the two randoms from the insane asylum who tried to pick her up. What are they after and why? The letter? Alyce herself?
TO SPOILER LAND.
The story evolves into a rivalry between Queen Elizabeth of England and Queen Mary of the Scotts. So Queen Elizabeth is secretly a witch and works with the coven. Queen Mary has lost her way from the coven and dabbles in necromancy. Andddd Alyce turns out to be the child of Queen Elizabeth, the "virgin queen". So the world knowing about Alyce being Queen Elizabeth's child would be pretttttty dang bad. But, there's also a mystery of why Queen Mary would want Alyce at all. To prove to the world of Queen Elizabeth's lie? Or, is there some hidden power about Alyce? Dun dun dunnnn
In summary, I didn't find this story to be particularly compelling. There were some interesting points made throughout, but I wish the magic in the world made more sense. There were a lot of kind of mystery moments of magic happening, but it just wasn't well explained. I also found Alyce's strongest personality trait to just be...confusion. She wasn't the greatest at solving the mysteries, she kind of followed her nose directly into danger constantly, and in understanding to how she was brought up, she found the world quite strange... which only made the confusion intensify. I finished reading the book, but I'm not sure I got a whole lot from the story.
Happy reading!
No comments:
Post a Comment