The Year of the Witching

The book immediately bond me in through the harsh and icy conditions of this village ... I could hardly get away from it. The protagonist tries to keep the damage low - contrary to her experience and knowledge - stands up FOR the people who actually judged and hated her (& according to the witches deserved more than suffering). Not only Immanuelles but also other characters grow and change with the story. This creates some surprises and in some cases emotional victories for the readership. Friendships, caregivers and conflicts are mutually dependent and provide exciting and sometimes frightening moments. !! Trigger points that appear here are definitely: physical violence, torture, misogyny and racism. Ezra is one of my favorite developing side-characters. A complex, magical-histric book about an albeit uninvited heroine.

I kinda expected more from this but I think this is also partially from it being heavily praised/ advertised as a horror story with a feminist twist which I do not think this is. It is neither horror (maybe for young readers it might be but anyone above the age of 17 would not consider this horror) nor includes any feminist twists, which I was so hoping for but sadly the protagonists actions mainly rely on her love interest. Also the story is rather predictable plus all the side characters are, in my opinion, not very well fleshed out, rather they, and what happens to them, are used as a means for the drive of the story only. All in all, it is an easy to read story but with little substance.