Reviews

Waking the Witch by Rachel Burge

callistafunk's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional inspiring mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

rosy_posy's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

1.75

Interesting concept but poor execution. It was very juvenile writing and thinking, branded as YA, with some horror content which was confusing. I am a staunch feminist but did not enjoy any of the feminist content and it all felt very “not like other girls” and too “chosen one who magically knows what to do” for me. I also didn’t like evil Merlin, as he was just a creep rather than a big bad it felt.

Spoiler

Tom did nothing in the book, even their telepathic connection was not explored and he didn’t even question it! Tom also abandoned all goals in life (even if they were questionably boring) and was estranged from his parents as they wouldn’t give him money for investment while Ivy didn’t interact with her foster family at all, and even forgot about her mum by the end! It felt like an attempt at “found family” but I didn’t care enough for it.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual assault

bibliophilicjester's review against another edition

I'm honestly just not interested enough to continue. Which is a shame bc I love Arthurian legend, but I don't care enough to wait for it to start. Right now it's all sexual harassment and assault, ivy asking way too much of her coworker Tom with whom she will clearly have a romance...and not much else. Weird dialogue too. Like someone who has never met a teenager but is writing teenagers. Idk, this just isn't working for me. 

lando_reads_ya's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

verinvaldez's review

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Fun concept, enjoyed the inclusion of Cormorants and the spin on Arthurian myth, but the charactersations seemed shallow to me. The first half was better than the second, brilliant atmosphere and intrigue at the beginning, I looked up the author and it turns out she has written horror before so that explains that. 

The finale felt unearnt, the way Ivy changes didn't feel believable to me in such a short amount of time and I think Burge's action scenes were very weak, there's also an out of nowhere romance. We haven't defeated the big bad by the end, so it would've been nice if this had been advertised as the start of a series.

My main problem is Tom, Ivy's friend. At one point Tom picks up this book describing a man using demon magic to make a woman fall in love with him (evil) and Tom says:

'Shame I didn't know about demon magic. I might've given it a shot.'

When Ivy is offended by this, Tom simply says he's joking and that's the end of it. I half expected Tom to be a surprise villain based on this line, I guess there's room for that in a future sequel, but I don't see that happening with the way this book ended.

That being said, I enjoyed the exploration of the connection between Ivy and Moronoe and the training sequences with the witches, I just wish there had been more depth there. If there is a sequel I'm not sure I'd read it as while I'd like to see more of Ivy, her mum and the witches, Merlin was too cartoony and I dislike Tom a lot.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Vomit and Sexism

Moderate: Death, Kidnapping, and Sexual harassment

library_kb's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

I listened to an Advanced Listening Copy via @Libro.fm for this one. I was intrigued by the Arthurian legend retelling piece of the story, but unfortunately this book didn't work for me. I didn't love the slow pacing or the character development. I had a hard time figuring out if the narrator's thoughts were accurate or if they were sarcastic or what--this might have been complicated by the narrator's choices. There was a lot of build-up. but I didn't think the execution of the ending was very satisfying. This may be a book for some people (maybe if you like slower-paced fantasy writing?) but it wasn't for me!

remyrogue019's review against another edition

The writing felt clunky and odd. I could barely hold my attention in almost every sentence. 
In theory, from what the summary stated, it was promising. 

ruaridhreads's review against another edition

2.0

This was fairly logicless, even for a YA. The relationship between Tom and Ivy was sweet but frankly that was the only saving grace of the book. 

reading_rita's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

katiealex89's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5