Joni Reads
Written on Nov 19, 2022
"Mystical, magical, and wildly original...If Alice Hoffman and Sara Addison Allen had a witchy love child, she would be Paige Crutcher. Do not miss this beautifully realized debut!"--- JT Ellison, New York Times bestselling author of Her Dark Lies on The Orphan Witch.
A deeper magic. A stronger curse. A family lost...and found.
Persephone May has been alone her entire life. Abandoned as an infant and dragged through the foster care system, she wants nothing more than to belong somewhere. To someone. However, Persephone is as strange as she is lonely. Unexplainable things happen when she's around-changes in weather, inanimate objects taking flight-and those who seek to bring her into their family quickly cast her out. To cope, she never gets attached, never makes friends. And she certainly never dates. Working odd jobs and always keeping her suitcases half-packed, Persephone is used to moving around, leaving one town for another when curiosity over her eccentric behavior inevitably draws unwanted attention.
After an accidental and very public display of power, Persephone knows it's time to move on once again. It's lucky, then, when she receives an email from the one friend she's managed to keep, inviting her to the elusive Wile Isle. The timing couldn't be more perfect. However, upon arrival, Persephone quickly discovers that Wile is no ordinary island. In fact, it just might hold the very things she's been searching for her entire life.
Answers. Family. Home.
And some things she did not want. Like 100-year-old curses and an even older family feud. With the clock running out, love might be the magic that saves them all.
- ISBN10 1250797373
- ISBN13 9781250797377
- Publish Date 28 September 2021
- Publish Status Active
- Out of Print 11 July 2023
- Publish Country US
- Imprint Saint Martin's Griffin,U.S.
- Format Paperback (US Trade)
- Pages 352
- Language English
Reviews
annieb123
Written on Sep 26, 2021
The Orphan Witch is a well written and engaging paranormal YA/NA story by Paige Crutcher. Due out 28th Sept 2021 from Macmillan on their Griffin imprint, it's 352 pages and will be available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.
The world building and characterization are the highlights of this creative novel. It's a character driven crossworlds fantasy with a chosen-one trope and a strong element of romance and a bonus drizzle of time travel. The writing is competent, but skates very near the ledge with regard to overwrought tortured simile and light purple prose. I found myself rolling my eyes fairly often and at a couple of points, skimming a bit to get past particularly egregious descriptions. If the characters had rolled their shoulders or necks one more time (so help me), I was calling the chiropractor. The cursing is average, a smattering of lesser rugged cursing and a few "f-bombs". There are somewhat positive depictions of LGBTQIA+ attraction in the book (one main character, Hyacinth, is gay, or possibly bi).
The audiobook version has a run time of 14 hours, 7 minutes and is beautifully narrated by Saskia Maarleveld. She reads clearly and well and imbues the characters with distinct voices and personality. I was impressed with her facility with dialogue especially; scenes with different characters in conflict, and she managed to imbue them with distinctly different tone and expression. The sound and production quality is very high throughout. Despite the scenes which made me roll my eyes a bit, her voice remained pleasant to listen to.
Three and a half stars. It's a diverting read/listen and would be a good choice for library acquisition, and for fans of NA fantasy romance.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.