Genre: YA Fantasy
Release Date: October 3rd, 2023
Pages: 416
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
Publisher’s Synopsis:
“A witch and a hunter. Vengeance is their mission. Love is their destiny.
Fritzi is a witch. A survivor of a brutal attack on her coven, she’s determined to find her only surviving family member and bring the hexenjägers—zealot witch hunters—to justice for the lives they ended. To do this, she will need to take down their leader—Kommandant Dieter Kirch.
Otto is a hexenjäger and a captain, the second in command to Dieter Kirch—but that’s just his cover. Years ago, the hexenjagers burned his innocent mother alive and since then, he has been planning a move against the witch hunters that tore his family apart. And now the time has come for them to pay for what they’ve done.
When Fritzi and Otto are unexpectedly thrown together, neither is sure they can trust the other, despite their common enemy. But all they have is one another, and they both crave revenge. As truths come to light and trust shifts, Fritzi and Otto uncover a far more horrifying plot at the center of the hexenjäger attacks . . . but their own growing feelings for each other may be the most powerful magic of all.”
My Review:
I think this might be a case of “it’s me not you”. I really wanted to love this. It sounded so good! And it was good but just not as spectacular as I was hoping for. I did really like how well-researched it was. The story world and themes of persecution against women who were believed to be witches is such a fascinatingly horrible part of history that I thought was well-crafted in this book. And it was the perfect setting for this story.
I liked the characters well enough but failed to really connect with them on a deeper level. I didn’t really feel the relationship between Fritzi and Otto either. It wasn’t developed enough in a way that made me feel it or made it believable. The baseline for the tension it needed was totally there, and I could tell that the spark for something to develop was there. But the reality of how it happened was bland and not nuanced enough for my preferences. Calling it enemies to lovers and forced proximity would be misleading.
The plot itself also felt very predictable. Although there were definitely moments of action that kept me engaged, it lacked the mysterious drive to hold my interest for the outcome. There just wasn’t any one thing that wowed me or stood out to me. I hate saying something is generic, but at times it kind of felt that way.
It was just an okay read for me. I liked it enough though to continue with the series. I am definitely willing to give it another go and see how things develop further. I still definitely recommend it to YA fantasy readers. I don’t think it is bad by any means – it’s a solid 3 stars for me. But as someone who has read a LOT of YA fantasy, this isn’t anything mind-blowingly memorable. I just needed a little more of that special something from it.
Disclaimers:
Huge thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for gifting me an early copy of this amazing story! I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Have you read this book? Planning to add it to your TBR?
Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
I love a good book discussion. 🙂
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