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booknerd7820's review
5.0
Read this cover to cover in one sitting. I don't EVER do that. Loved this book!!!
tartbarbie's review
4.0
Jessie has just graduated from high school this weekend is going to be her classes all night party just happening in Vegas. What could possibly go wrong? Well before leaving town she’s stuck riding three hours with her ex-boyfriend who she still has feelings for. After getting settled in Vegas and dinner the girls head to a blackjack table but Jessie is quickly running out of money but a handsome stranger draws her attention and when Alex wants to leave she stays behind to get to know him. Not only does Jessie make a bunch of money she also finds a new friend with a secret that will change her life forever.
It’s the next day when things start to get weird and she’s forced to call Russ who instructs her to get in a taxi and come right over but instead of heading to his hotel Jessie finds herself kidnapped by the taxi driver. When she thinks she’s free she finds herself locked in a meat freezer slowly dying to later wake in a morgue. Strange things are adding up quickly but little did Jessie know what by dying in the meat locker she is now connected to Witch World. Learning that she’s a rare witch with the most genes and that she now has to live each day twice between the human world and witch world. She learns that there is more going on than she expected including she has a daughter.
I like Jessie she has her frustrating moments but overall she’s a great character. I like the idea that she’s a witch who has lived two lives and now that she is connected she’s had two different relationships with the same guy. I wasn’t sure how I felt about Jimmy at first the way he tossed Jessie aside but as the book progressed I started to like him more as a potential love interest for Jessie.
I’ve been craving a Christopher Pike book for ages but I wasn’t sure if I wanted to re-read all his old books or jump into his new series. Witch World is written with an updated style, longer book, and enhanced character development to fit with the modern Young Adult genre. I think the author has a done a great job creating an exciting new series playing off the witch concept. I found the whole good vs evil witches interesting they each have their own way of thing some of them have lived for a long time which reminded me of the “Last Vampire Series” which is one of my favorites from Christopher Pike. The characters are easy to connect with you can’t help caring about Jessie and her friends. I honestly enjoyed Witch World it’s not a fast read like his novels from the 90’s but it’s an awesome start to a new series. I’m impatiently waiting for the next book. I can’t wait to see what happens next. After reading Witch World I feel the need to read all his old books I loved as a kid.
It’s the next day when things start to get weird and she’s forced to call Russ who instructs her to get in a taxi and come right over but instead of heading to his hotel Jessie finds herself kidnapped by the taxi driver. When she thinks she’s free she finds herself locked in a meat freezer slowly dying to later wake in a morgue. Strange things are adding up quickly but little did Jessie know what by dying in the meat locker she is now connected to Witch World. Learning that she’s a rare witch with the most genes and that she now has to live each day twice between the human world and witch world. She learns that there is more going on than she expected including she has a daughter.
I like Jessie she has her frustrating moments but overall she’s a great character. I like the idea that she’s a witch who has lived two lives and now that she is connected she’s had two different relationships with the same guy. I wasn’t sure how I felt about Jimmy at first the way he tossed Jessie aside but as the book progressed I started to like him more as a potential love interest for Jessie.
I’ve been craving a Christopher Pike book for ages but I wasn’t sure if I wanted to re-read all his old books or jump into his new series. Witch World is written with an updated style, longer book, and enhanced character development to fit with the modern Young Adult genre. I think the author has a done a great job creating an exciting new series playing off the witch concept. I found the whole good vs evil witches interesting they each have their own way of thing some of them have lived for a long time which reminded me of the “Last Vampire Series” which is one of my favorites from Christopher Pike. The characters are easy to connect with you can’t help caring about Jessie and her friends. I honestly enjoyed Witch World it’s not a fast read like his novels from the 90’s but it’s an awesome start to a new series. I’m impatiently waiting for the next book. I can’t wait to see what happens next. After reading Witch World I feel the need to read all his old books I loved as a kid.
meggy_alaska's review
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
raeanne's review
1.0
I won this in a First Reads Giveaway.
I didn't like this book at all. Somehow despite it's drawbacks and flaws, I was hooked in from like page 10 to around 250. Then it quickly waned and it was a struggle to finish. I don't even know why I was hooked. It was mostly before the complete WTF started setting in but I had problems believing the story throughout. There's potential but ultimately I felt it failed. I'm definitely not pleased with it and am not going to continue the series. I might check out the author's other books because of the praise received but I'm wary. The writing was fine but this story, this world, this plot didn't work. It was convoluted, twisted in upon itself, gave no answers and there's logic problems all over the place. I liked some of the background characters but that's it. There's some inconsistencies and things that didn't make sense with the character as well. Also, I'd call it more sci-fi than fantasy with the scanner, parallel worlds and the reliance on genes giving super powers.
I think the whole parallel universe could have been better done. I think it would have helped if we'd gotten the perspective of Jessica. Maybe lead into the book with Jessica for a chapter then switch to Jessie completely, or go back and forth until they merge. Something, anything to make the witch world to make more sense. If it began like witch world was normal, it might have helped. I really honestly still don't completely get it, even after finishing the book. Especially after finishing the book, since it raised more questions than it answered.
Characters:
I didn't like Jessie, the main character. Her confidence felt more like bragging, self-involved, self-absorbed bravado. Then there was the sudden switch to killer kidnapper with Kari. I mean the kidnapping didn't fit with her personality at all and then she kills Kari in self-defense but what did she expect? That Kari wouldn't fight or flee? How stupid is she? I mean clearly Susan was gone, why not try to get back her child right then and there? It doesn't make sense. They didn't know about her face changing powers then and if she was smart she could have pulled it off. Then she'd have her daughter. And where the hell was Huck when the kidnapping of Kari went on? They said they gave Huck back to Kari so Jessie kidnapped a mother from her child... Yeah, she's totally a good girl. I mean if that was the case, Jessie could have taken all three and been done with it then and there. WTF?
Jessie and the gang didn't come off like 18 year olds. While I liked how grown they appeared, when they talked about college it made me do a double take. I kept assuming they were older based on their actions and had to be reminded they were only 18. Of course, I was in college at 17, so it's entirely possible and might just be bias against teenagers that's the problem. I don't know they just really didn't...feel like an 18 year-old today would act. While the scanner was sci-fi, there's some technology lacking in the day to day lives. Like texting, TV, the internet, books, music, things like that. The only interest that was mentioned was a passing comment about ComicCon. Maybe it was just assumed it was all the same as this world but not really knowing much about the characters interests and taste left me wondering.
Jessie's instance her daughter was perfect because of her 10 witch genes creeped me out. She even said on page 264,
Yeah, I'm not even going to bother going in depth with the other characters at this point, Jessie was enough.
More Inconsistencies and Things That Didn't Make Sense:
On pg 319,
Well, that's fucking great. What about the unwanted pregnancies and the child abuse? Kids gets screwed because their parent's weren't madly perfectly in love? There's no chance of a good kid coming from a bad home/family? What a crock of shit. The kind of love required to make a good witch doesn't happen hardly at all in real life yet we are suppose to believe it happens every time for witches or they are evil? Um, yeah don't buy it. Not with them being human and running around with hundreds of regular people and how love usually goes. BIG failure there and I quite honestly hate how this "you must be conceived in perfect love or you're evil" works. No choice at all? Then explain Jessie. Explain Jimmy and Kari making Huck. Are you saying Huck is going to grow up evil since his parents weren't in love? Explain Whip, he certainly wasn't conceived with love in this world yet he's nice in this world and evil in witch world. Clearly, environment plays a role. The logic doesn't even stay consistent in this book's universe.
At the end Jessie delivers the speech about not worrying about Whip being evil since it was his nice personality in the real world that was activated and whatever personality is activated is the one that dominates.
She then goes on to worry since she identifies more Jessica than Jessie yet it was Jessie that activated.
Uh-huh.
So either the theory is wrong, it doesn't really matter or the author is going to pull some bullshit to try make it so that it Jessica that activated, not Jessie. Of course, that last part was pure speculation but either the logic doesn't work or the story is going to get more convoluted and harder believe. This story already pushes the limit of parallel dimensions where everybody lives in both places and witches are aware of living everyday twice. Then there's the scanner, the witch genes, the mysterious other world that isn't parallel to either witch world or the real world but some how remembers and feeds off the suffering of people. Oh but love, perfect magical powerful love will save you. Then there's the people that can change their appearance and go invisible. Yet that doesn't appear to work on technology like cameras. Wouldn't that make it abundantly clear to the authorities? Oh, wait the Lapras are in control of everything like a conspiracy theory. Then there's the mysterious seemingly all knowing all powerful evil Alchemist who we know nothing about or understand. Oh, maybe he's the evil witch will all ten genes, like how Lara is the good witch with all 10 genes. Ugh. I don't care to speculate or think about it further. There's too much involved, too much that doesn't make sense and quite frankly, it pushes past my willingness to suspend disbelief. I don't see how any of this could come together coherently. I'm a fantasy fan and this book I just don't buy into at all. I don't think it was put well together or thought out completely. Or the next books are going to have it all make sense, but I don't see how that's possible; I have no reason to give the next book the benefit of a doubt to try reading it to see how far down the rabbit hole it goes.
I didn't like this book at all. Somehow despite it's drawbacks and flaws, I was hooked in from like page 10 to around 250. Then it quickly waned and it was a struggle to finish. I don't even know why I was hooked. It was mostly before the complete WTF started setting in but I had problems believing the story throughout. There's potential but ultimately I felt it failed. I'm definitely not pleased with it and am not going to continue the series. I might check out the author's other books because of the praise received but I'm wary. The writing was fine but this story, this world, this plot didn't work. It was convoluted, twisted in upon itself, gave no answers and there's logic problems all over the place. I liked some of the background characters but that's it. There's some inconsistencies and things that didn't make sense with the character as well. Also, I'd call it more sci-fi than fantasy with the scanner, parallel worlds and the reliance on genes giving super powers.
I think the whole parallel universe could have been better done. I think it would have helped if we'd gotten the perspective of Jessica. Maybe lead into the book with Jessica for a chapter then switch to Jessie completely, or go back and forth until they merge. Something, anything to make the witch world to make more sense. If it began like witch world was normal, it might have helped. I really honestly still don't completely get it, even after finishing the book. Especially after finishing the book, since it raised more questions than it answered.
Characters:
I didn't like Jessie, the main character. Her confidence felt more like bragging, self-involved, self-absorbed bravado. Then there was the sudden switch to killer kidnapper with Kari. I mean the kidnapping didn't fit with her personality at all and then she kills Kari in self-defense but what did she expect? That Kari wouldn't fight or flee? How stupid is she? I mean clearly Susan was gone, why not try to get back her child right then and there? It doesn't make sense. They didn't know about her face changing powers then and if she was smart she could have pulled it off. Then she'd have her daughter. And where the hell was Huck when the kidnapping of Kari went on? They said they gave Huck back to Kari so Jessie kidnapped a mother from her child... Yeah, she's totally a good girl. I mean if that was the case, Jessie could have taken all three and been done with it then and there. WTF?
Jessie and the gang didn't come off like 18 year olds. While I liked how grown they appeared, when they talked about college it made me do a double take. I kept assuming they were older based on their actions and had to be reminded they were only 18. Of course, I was in college at 17, so it's entirely possible and might just be bias against teenagers that's the problem. I don't know they just really didn't...feel like an 18 year-old today would act. While the scanner was sci-fi, there's some technology lacking in the day to day lives. Like texting, TV, the internet, books, music, things like that. The only interest that was mentioned was a passing comment about ComicCon. Maybe it was just assumed it was all the same as this world but not really knowing much about the characters interests and taste left me wondering.
Jessie's instance her daughter was perfect because of her 10 witch genes creeped me out. She even said on page 264,
"My daughter was superior to others because her genes were better but she wasn't some kind of goddess."Then went on and on about it through the book, eventually calling her a saint. Yet at the same time she says she wants her daughter to grow up normal. Yeah, keep telling her she's perfect because of her powers. That's really going to help Lara grow up to be helpful non-selfish power hungry asshole. *eyeroll* The use of perfect was overdone and annoying. With her attitude of 'superior genes, superior person' made me wonder if the Larpas had gotten to her first, if she would have believed everything they stand for from the get go. She kept asking every single person how many genes they had. I don't buy how Jessie was sold as good, nice girl. Letting her friend storm off alone, her drunken rudeness at the diner, her killing Kari because she made things complicated. It's like the whole story revolved around making Jessie the good girl but given her a ton of excuses for her terrible behavior. This coupled with her stance on her daughter being better because of genes doesn't make her look good at all. I'm a parent, and I know plenty of parents. Yeah, we brag about our kids and think they are perfect because they are our children, we love them. However, every time I've run into a parent talking about heritage and genes making their kid better, they are usually douches at least and racists at worst. It rubs me the wrong way and I really don't buy it. This book just pushes, and pushes, and pushes at my willingness to suspense disbelief at every turn and it's just too much. Couldn't the author at least toned it down and brought some sense into this book?
Yeah, I'm not even going to bother going in depth with the other characters at this point, Jessie was enough.
More Inconsistencies and Things That Didn't Make Sense:
On pg 319,
[ Cleo ]"A powerful witch, if not conceived and raised in love, cannot know love. All it can know is power. Balance is impossible for such a soul."
"They had to be destroyed," Kendor said.
"While they were kids?" I gasped.
"Younger," Kendor said.,
Well, that's fucking great. What about the unwanted pregnancies and the child abuse? Kids gets screwed because their parent's weren't madly perfectly in love? There's no chance of a good kid coming from a bad home/family? What a crock of shit. The kind of love required to make a good witch doesn't happen hardly at all in real life yet we are suppose to believe it happens every time for witches or they are evil? Um, yeah don't buy it. Not with them being human and running around with hundreds of regular people and how love usually goes. BIG failure there and I quite honestly hate how this "you must be conceived in perfect love or you're evil" works. No choice at all? Then explain Jessie. Explain Jimmy and Kari making Huck. Are you saying Huck is going to grow up evil since his parents weren't in love? Explain Whip, he certainly wasn't conceived with love in this world yet he's nice in this world and evil in witch world. Clearly, environment plays a role. The logic doesn't even stay consistent in this book's universe.
At the end Jessie delivers the speech about not worrying about Whip being evil since it was his nice personality in the real world that was activated and whatever personality is activated is the one that dominates.
She then goes on to worry since she identifies more Jessica than Jessie yet it was Jessie that activated.
Uh-huh.
So either the theory is wrong, it doesn't really matter or the author is going to pull some bullshit to try make it so that it Jessica that activated, not Jessie. Of course, that last part was pure speculation but either the logic doesn't work or the story is going to get more convoluted and harder believe. This story already pushes the limit of parallel dimensions where everybody lives in both places and witches are aware of living everyday twice. Then there's the scanner, the witch genes, the mysterious other world that isn't parallel to either witch world or the real world but some how remembers and feeds off the suffering of people. Oh but love, perfect magical powerful love will save you. Then there's the people that can change their appearance and go invisible. Yet that doesn't appear to work on technology like cameras. Wouldn't that make it abundantly clear to the authorities? Oh, wait the Lapras are in control of everything like a conspiracy theory. Then there's the mysterious seemingly all knowing all powerful evil Alchemist who we know nothing about or understand. Oh, maybe he's the evil witch will all ten genes, like how Lara is the good witch with all 10 genes. Ugh. I don't care to speculate or think about it further. There's too much involved, too much that doesn't make sense and quite frankly, it pushes past my willingness to suspend disbelief. I don't see how any of this could come together coherently. I'm a fantasy fan and this book I just don't buy into at all. I don't think it was put well together or thought out completely. Or the next books are going to have it all make sense, but I don't see how that's possible; I have no reason to give the next book the benefit of a doubt to try reading it to see how far down the rabbit hole it goes.
thatdamnhoney's review
2.0
I'm a HUGE Christopher Pike fan. Given that, this book was a huge disappointment for me. Granted, I'm only 40% through but I honestly hate the characters.
Yes, the story centers around teens - as most of his YA novels do (being YA) - but Jimmy is ridiculously irritating and his priorities and belief bounce around with no grounding whatsoever. His toxic masculinity here is so present and enabled by Jess that it just gets to be an endless cycle. Yes, this sounds like teenagers, but no it doesn't sound like the usual teen characters in a CP book.
Someone mentioned that this was possibly ghost written as it is one of the worst CP books they read and I'm leaning towards agreement here. Aside from the base plot, nothing feels like his style. The writing, the dialogue, the characters... something just feels OFF. Either that or he's just lost the passion for it and just phoned this one in. IDK.
I haven't finished it. I'm really going to try to because I have a deep love of his writing, but it's a struggle and I'm really doubting I'll make it through to the end. I also doubt it'll be worth the fight to finish. I'm not invested in any of these characters succeeding. I just dislike them.
Yes, the story centers around teens - as most of his YA novels do (being YA) - but Jimmy is ridiculously irritating and his priorities and belief bounce around with no grounding whatsoever. His toxic masculinity here is so present and enabled by Jess that it just gets to be an endless cycle. Yes, this sounds like teenagers, but no it doesn't sound like the usual teen characters in a CP book.
Someone mentioned that this was possibly ghost written as it is one of the worst CP books they read and I'm leaning towards agreement here. Aside from the base plot, nothing feels like his style. The writing, the dialogue, the characters... something just feels OFF. Either that or he's just lost the passion for it and just phoned this one in. IDK.
I haven't finished it. I'm really going to try to because I have a deep love of his writing, but it's a struggle and I'm really doubting I'll make it through to the end. I also doubt it'll be worth the fight to finish. I'm not invested in any of these characters succeeding. I just dislike them.
raloveridge's review
2.0
This book is a total mess, and I regretfully must say that I will most certainly be tracking down the sequel.
midnightcharcuterie's review
2.0
Well... I don't know what to say about this. I thought the premise was really interesting, but the characters weren't believable and the writing was kind of clunky. I think I'll still check out the sequel, but it's not a book that I would highly suggest people read either. If you want something easy to pass the time, this is a good one to pick up but it's otherwise pretty forgettable.
evangeline_miller's review
1.0
I enjoyed the Las Vegas setting, but as the book progressed, the sense of place became less prominent, overshadowed by a convoluted plot. Many important details which should have had more impact, were glossed over towards the end. Perhaps things become clearer in book 2, but I won’t be continuing the series.
meimpink's review
1.0
*CAUTION: read at your own risk, many spoilers, too many run-on-sentences to count, and lots of rambling/ranting/confusing stuff*
This book is so messed up in so many ways that I don't know where to start. The first few chapters were boring. The next four or so chapters were confusing, but interesting, the entire last half of the book would be best described in three letters: WTF? So many things went wrong at the end, that I sounded like I was going to cry when I was describing it to my sister.
*SPOILERS*
Moral of the story? Don't have sex until you're married and out of high school because otherwise you'll have a kidnapped daughter in another dimension, and your boyfriend's ex girlfriend will have a kid, also kidnapped. And you'll find out that you're a witch with a large number of witch genes, and your father still loves you even though he divorced your mother when you were six and left you all with nothing while he's freaking rich. And you'll realize that some people are very gifted at card games like blackjack that don't exist in other dimensions because people only play red queen. You'll also find out that everyone is called by their real first name in this other dimension, Witch World, rather than their nickname in Real World. And you'll also figure out that gunpowder and the modern-day 52-card deck of cards were introduced to the Romans much earlier than historians have gathered, and it's all because a crazy person called "The Alchemist" saved the life of one of the only two cool characters, showed him how to play cards and use gunpowder, and then stole money from card dealers who won this game of cards that he taught people how to play.
*SERIOUS SPOILERS*
And the only two cool characters in the entire book will die, leaving the reader extremely upset, and then you're boyfriend will accidentally kill himself in Real World to try to become a witch in Witch World (because, as all witches know, the only way to be conscious of what happens in both Witch World and Real World is to kill yourself, but bring yourself back to life by possessing the witch gene that will give you healing powers, otherwise you'll just die in Real World and be conscious in Witch World, but with all your memories from Real World.) And then the two-hundred year old man that is dating you're best friend, Alex/Alexis (depending on what world you're in), will reveal that he is actually the son of the villain and one of the only two cool characters. And then the sadistic villain will try to make you as evil and psycho as she is by introducing you to a third world (in which red is everybody's favorite color), but the joy of love and family will save you, so don't sweat it!
Still want to read Witch World?
This book is so messed up in so many ways that I don't know where to start. The first few chapters were boring. The next four or so chapters were confusing, but interesting, the entire last half of the book would be best described in three letters: WTF? So many things went wrong at the end, that I sounded like I was going to cry when I was describing it to my sister.
*SPOILERS*
Moral of the story? Don't have sex until you're married and out of high school because otherwise you'll have a kidnapped daughter in another dimension, and your boyfriend's ex girlfriend will have a kid, also kidnapped. And you'll find out that you're a witch with a large number of witch genes, and your father still loves you even though he divorced your mother when you were six and left you all with nothing while he's freaking rich. And you'll realize that some people are very gifted at card games like blackjack that don't exist in other dimensions because people only play red queen. You'll also find out that everyone is called by their real first name in this other dimension, Witch World, rather than their nickname in Real World. And you'll also figure out that gunpowder and the modern-day 52-card deck of cards were introduced to the Romans much earlier than historians have gathered, and it's all because a crazy person called "The Alchemist" saved the life of one of the only two cool characters, showed him how to play cards and use gunpowder, and then stole money from card dealers who won this game of cards that he taught people how to play.
*SERIOUS SPOILERS*
And the only two cool characters in the entire book will die, leaving the reader extremely upset, and then you're boyfriend will accidentally kill himself in Real World to try to become a witch in Witch World (because, as all witches know, the only way to be conscious of what happens in both Witch World and Real World is to kill yourself, but bring yourself back to life by possessing the witch gene that will give you healing powers, otherwise you'll just die in Real World and be conscious in Witch World, but with all your memories from Real World.) And then the two-hundred year old man that is dating you're best friend, Alex/Alexis (depending on what world you're in), will reveal that he is actually the son of the villain and one of the only two cool characters. And then the sadistic villain will try to make you as evil and psycho as she is by introducing you to a third world (in which red is everybody's favorite color), but the joy of love and family will save you, so don't sweat it!
Still want to read Witch World?
leesuh's review
4.0
I picked up Witch World on whim. I had seen it more than a couple times on my library’s “new” shelf and decided one day to give it a go. I actually didn’t even read the jacket description until I was far enough into the book to already know what was going on. I was hooked on it from the very beginning. It was interesting from page one (good for me; I don’t do well with slow starters) and continued the trend page after page. I read almost the entire first half of the book in one evening.
The story isn’t like anything I’ve read before, but it did feel like it could have been done before. It’s somewhat of the typical alternate world/parallel realm where things are the same as “real life” but different, and people are "special". Nevertheless, I never felt like things were too easy or predictable. In fact, there were many things in Witch world that I didn’t foresee in the slightest. I predicted the future of one character hundreds of pages before anything happened, but the way everything unfolded was a total shocker to me, so I’m totally okay with it. In the whole story there were just a couple plot points I didn’t dig at all. They were necessary, sure, but I feel like they should have been written better. I should have felt more than I did while I was reading the scenes, and that left me thoroughly unsatisfied.
As a whole I thought the characters were pretty so-so. I loved two guys named Russ and Kendor who were, unfortunately, not super apparent in the book. They were there, but they weren't more than support. I would have loved some more of both of them. The main character, Jessie, was all right. I didn’t love her and I didn’t hate her. As a main character she was decent. She was strong and smart (usually) but still had that sense of naivety that made her realistic. She was pretty stubborn too, which was annoying but totally helpful in making her character seem genuine.
There are a few things in the world that I’m still confused about. More importantly though... there are a few events that were sort of explained but not really explained that left me sitting here like "Okay, how does that work again?" I don’t know if it was bad writing or me not paying attention at an earlier point in the book. Perhaps it was a mixture of the two. I don’t want to get in depth with what I’m talking about, but come shine some light on the mechanics of Witch World for me if you can, because I really need some clarity.
In general I really liked this book. It took me just a couple days to read it because I always felt like I was being thrust further and further into the story. There’s going to be a second book, but honestly I don’t feel excited or really anything to read it. I can’t help feeling like I’m done with the story. Sure, I want to know what happens next, but I feel like I might be bored reading the next book. We’ll see. Like I said: sometimes the writing was hot and cold--which is why this book doesn’t get a perfect rating--and with the lackluster ending there was something to be desired, but knowing what I know now I would definitely read this book again. If you’re into paranormal or fantasy I would definitely recommend Witch World.
The story isn’t like anything I’ve read before, but it did feel like it could have been done before. It’s somewhat of the typical alternate world/parallel realm where things are the same as “real life” but different, and people are "special". Nevertheless, I never felt like things were too easy or predictable. In fact, there were many things in Witch world that I didn’t foresee in the slightest. I predicted the future of one character hundreds of pages before anything happened, but the way everything unfolded was a total shocker to me, so I’m totally okay with it. In the whole story there were just a couple plot points I didn’t dig at all. They were necessary, sure, but I feel like they should have been written better. I should have felt more than I did while I was reading the scenes, and that left me thoroughly unsatisfied.
As a whole I thought the characters were pretty so-so. I loved two guys named Russ and Kendor who were, unfortunately, not super apparent in the book. They were there, but they weren't more than support. I would have loved some more of both of them. The main character, Jessie, was all right. I didn’t love her and I didn’t hate her. As a main character she was decent. She was strong and smart (usually) but still had that sense of naivety that made her realistic. She was pretty stubborn too, which was annoying but totally helpful in making her character seem genuine.
There are a few things in the world that I’m still confused about. More importantly though... there are a few events that were sort of explained but not really explained that left me sitting here like "Okay, how does that work again?" I don’t know if it was bad writing or me not paying attention at an earlier point in the book. Perhaps it was a mixture of the two. I don’t want to get in depth with what I’m talking about, but come shine some light on the mechanics of Witch World for me if you can, because I really need some clarity.
In general I really liked this book. It took me just a couple days to read it because I always felt like I was being thrust further and further into the story. There’s going to be a second book, but honestly I don’t feel excited or really anything to read it. I can’t help feeling like I’m done with the story. Sure, I want to know what happens next, but I feel like I might be bored reading the next book. We’ll see. Like I said: sometimes the writing was hot and cold--which is why this book doesn’t get a perfect rating--and with the lackluster ending there was something to be desired, but knowing what I know now I would definitely read this book again. If you’re into paranormal or fantasy I would definitely recommend Witch World.