Reviews with content warning for Misogyny - Косиног. История о колдовстве

Abitha, a young woman, is sold by her father to live her life in the New World. She marries Edward, a kind man who has a small, unprofitable farm. When Edward’s selfish and arrogant brother bargains away the farm, Abitha must help to save it. Against Puritan rules, Abitha makes a deal with someone who the village fears: Slewfoot.

I could not get enough of this book!!! From the prose to the plot, Brom had penned an absolute gem. I love historical fiction, especially in relation to the witch trials, but I think many will enjoy the story even if that is not your niche. However, the book is quite gory and dark, so beware 👀

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spooky_snoopy's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.0

The author is able to invoke the emotions of the characters really well. I liked having the characters so well defined that the actions they took ( despite being the worst action(*cough* Wallace*cough*)) made sense. The spiral of the main character and the town are mirrors to each other

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vixenreader's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

A dark, bewitching novel, it is a tale of reclaiming your identity, listening to your intuition, and the empowerment of creation and connection (Abitha and Samson make a beautiful couple) with well-rounded characters, rich folklore, and phenomenal storytelling. Seriously, this book is a work of magic.

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kayjoy92's review against another edition

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dark reflective fast-paced

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

4.75

Amazing story, Brom did a fantastic job writing a story from a women’s point of view during the time of puritans and witch hunts. It really shed to light how awful and misogynistic the behavior was and how truth was warped by fear and hatred. I was literally cheering at the end.

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i_am_a_goblin_riding_a_unicorn's review against another edition

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challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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caitlinnw's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.25

It’s a little slow go for the first half, and sooo frustrating reading ab how much Abitha and Sarah had to do and endure to survive. But, I thoroughly enjoyed the ending and thought the pace pickup was fantastic. I loved the allusions to how maybe the stereotypes of witches we have originated.

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kate_mull's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

I loved the first half. I felt mixed about the second half. I liked the images in the physical book, cool art. I liked feeling empathic towards the “devil” and the idea that

we sort of made the devil ourselves, that he was a beautiful nature god and we ruined it and now he thirsts for revenge

. And a similar idea for women

that “bad” women are created by their circumstances in life specifically sexism misogyny abuse controlling men etc

. Giving very feminine rage. If you need some feminine rage in your life (ahem 11/6) this is a good one.

Cons: Ifound the protagonist a little bit “manic pixie girl” but for the 17th(?) century, I feel like I could tell she was written by a man creating his idea of a “fiesty” woman. It was believable and I liked the character but certain traits were like … really? Then, I found it way too convenient that

her mother turns out to be an old magic witch. I wouldn’t have minded this realization actually except that it came around like “well when I think about it a guess my mom WAS a witch”. I’d have preferred it to be a secret she kept (she does in a way, the notebook) or a slower realization over the whole book. It was just a fast reveal that left me like … oh well I guess that explains everything neatly. I think it was necessary it was just a bit … too easy?

It started creepy which I loved and once we met Samson it got decidedly less creepy. Almost more whimsical at times which was a bit shift in tone. I finished it though! I just missed the atmosphere of the first half.

Good book for folks who just dabble in horror, not scary, probably won’t keep you up at night, a little gore, a little murder, but also a beautiful release for the main character, well deserved revenge, interesting plot.

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