The Black Witch by Laurie Forest

The Black Witch (Black Witch Chronicles, #1)

by Laurie Forest

Powerful magic. A deadly legacy. A world at the edge of war. Prepare to be spellbound by The Black Witch.

Elloren Gardner is the spitting image of her grandmother, who drove back the enemy forces in the last Realm War. But while her people believe she will follow in her grandmother's footsteps and become the next Black Witch of prophecy, Elloren is devoid of power in a society that prizes magical ability above all else.

When she is granted the opportunity to pursue her dream of becoming an apothecary, Elloren joins her brothers at Verpax University. But she soon realizes that the university may be the most treacherous place of all for the granddaughter of the Black Witch.

As evil looms and the pressure to live up to her heritage builds, Elloren's best hope of survival may be among a secret band of rebels…if only she can find the courage to trust those she’s been taught to fear.

Reviewed by Brittany on

5 of 5 stars

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“Holy Ancient One!” Where do I even begin with this book?? It’s long, it’s drawn out and it’s so good.

Think like Harry Potter- but better???
I think I may only relate this to HP because of the university setting, but my mind kept going back to it so I had to mention it.

The mixing and mingling of different species and magics in this book is phenomenal and the author did an excellent job of explaining each type of magic and species. How could a book possibly be boring with so much going on and explained so well?

Character development and world building is great and some characters transformations come later and are paced out over time and multiple events lead to their growth which I appreciate. Having a character just flip from being one way to another feels unauthentic sometimes, this book isn’t like that. You can feel the struggle some characters go through and understand why they are the way they are. The bonds that are built tear at your heart and you seriously feel the characters as actual people.

The prejudices in this book and how they are addressed is also something that is done amazingly, how the characters change and learn that just because they were brought up to believe something doesn’t mean it’s the truth, and that everyone has a chance to be good or evil no matter their background is a strong foundation I stand fully behind with this book.

Yes, there are parts I could have done without but I don’t think I’d want to extract them if I could? Everything adds to the story in the end in a beautiful way that has you begging for more.

This is the type of book I can sit and read for hours and be mad about having to put down. I was at 90% at 5 am and was seriously so upset that I could no longer keep my eyes open to finish reading it right then.
If you want a binge worthy series this is definitely going to be the one and I’m SO excited to see what’s coming in book 2.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 3 May, 2020: Finished reading
  • 3 May, 2020: Reviewed