ceraphimfalls's review against another edition
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
0.5
Awful. Truly truly awful. I feel bad about this review because the author clearly has love for her characters, but the best praise I can give it is it reads like a rough draft. This is like a fifth grader wrote King Arthur fanfiction, and it is not even nearly half as good as most of the stuff on AO3 written by other fifth graders.
staypuff357's review
2.0
The Christmas Witch was part of a preorder for Once Upon a Bookclub Box. There were 4 gifts to open at various parts of the book, along with the special edition book that is autographed.
The Christmas Witch is a story about two young girls and their journey to discover magic. The work together to learn to use their powers and to save their town from an ancient evil. During their adventure they learn more about the history of the town and their ancestors that lived their before them. The reader gets to see both girls develop and grow throughout the adventures they have together.
I struggled with rating this book, and I think I was expecting too much from it. I ended up going for a two star rating, mostly because I was undecided. The book is definitely a young adult novel, middle school age I would say. I was disappointed that this hyped up pre order was geared more towards teenagers than adults. For what this book was, it was a cute story. There were so many things that could have been done better unfortunately. I really enjoyed the Scottish theme that was present, and it is one of the reasons that I kept reading. This book was supposed to be a magical adventure, but it definitely fell flat. I did enjoy the characters and the world that the author built, I just think the story could have been executed differently. The book cover says that this is book one in a series, but I don't think I will continue with another.
The only thing that made me finish this book was the gifts that came with it. I read the first 3/4 of the book so quickly, and then once the last gift was open, it took me so long to finish the last 40 pages or so. As usual, the boxes from this company are always fantastic. The first gift was so beautiful, it is definitely my favorite! The book is a beautiful special edition and it is very unique.
The Christmas Witch is a story about two young girls and their journey to discover magic. The work together to learn to use their powers and to save their town from an ancient evil. During their adventure they learn more about the history of the town and their ancestors that lived their before them. The reader gets to see both girls develop and grow throughout the adventures they have together.
I struggled with rating this book, and I think I was expecting too much from it. I ended up going for a two star rating, mostly because I was undecided. The book is definitely a young adult novel, middle school age I would say. I was disappointed that this hyped up pre order was geared more towards teenagers than adults. For what this book was, it was a cute story. There were so many things that could have been done better unfortunately. I really enjoyed the Scottish theme that was present, and it is one of the reasons that I kept reading. This book was supposed to be a magical adventure, but it definitely fell flat. I did enjoy the characters and the world that the author built, I just think the story could have been executed differently. The book cover says that this is book one in a series, but I don't think I will continue with another.
The only thing that made me finish this book was the gifts that came with it. I read the first 3/4 of the book so quickly, and then once the last gift was open, it took me so long to finish the last 40 pages or so. As usual, the boxes from this company are always fantastic. The first gift was so beautiful, it is definitely my favorite! The book is a beautiful special edition and it is very unique.
sohma4uesugi's review against another edition
Easily the most poorly written book I have ever tried to read. I can’t even remember the last time I didn’t finish a book, but not even I could muscle my way through this one. Not one part of this book made sense. Every single paragraph contradicted the one before it, and it was like the author shook up a snow globe of tropes and ideas and tried to sprinkle them ALL in the book at intervals that made no sense, at all, to the rest of the story.
blondeeishere's review
2.0
I did not care for this book. I received it in the Christmas box from once upon a bookclub. The editing was rough. I did like the gifts though
hlford22's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
allisongiovanetti's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
"The snow began to fall again, softly and more delicately than it ever had before. It carried with it, the next secret, blowing in the wind."
I am very clearly not the target audience for The Christmas Witch. Or if I was, there needs to be some massive rebranding because this book reads like a middle-grade read that my 10-year-old cousin would find better than I did. It's all just a bit immature and childish with too much 'ABC Family' for me.
This book also left so many loose ends, including the meaning behind the title! That seems like a pretty massive plot point to throw away. Unless more books come back to this, but still.
Choose love, kindness, goodness, and friendship.
I am very clearly not the target audience for The Christmas Witch. Or if I was, there needs to be some massive rebranding because this book reads like a middle-grade read that my 10-year-old cousin would find better than I did. It's all just a bit immature and childish with too much 'ABC Family' for me.
This book also left so many loose ends, including the meaning behind the title! That seems like a pretty massive plot point to throw away. Unless more books come back to this, but still.
Choose love, kindness, goodness, and friendship.
debinva's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
morellomel's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Concept was interesting but the story itself needed so much development (for the plot and the characters). Read like a children’s book which I didn’t realize before starting.
valeriabee's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
fast-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
2.0