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A review by oneanjana
The Water Witch by Jessica Thorne
4.0
Devoured this in just two days. It’s fast-paced, utterly enchanting and unputdownable. The Water Witch is a book that has many elements inside, and the fusion is working perfectly. The book explores themes of treasure hunt to find a lost city with many spices as cursed family stories, folklore, romance, and historical mystery.
First of all, hands down, for the melancholy French coastal setting and also the folklore/mythology part! It’s beautifully described, and they have many historical landmarks with magical-sounding names. The best part about the folklore part is: most of them inspired by real folklore. Such as Ankou, the servant of death, is a Breton, Cornish, Welsh and Norman French folklore. Some place mentioned such as Ile Tristan is also real.
The story told from 2 POVs, Ariadne (Ari) and Rafael. I love Ariadne the most. She is smart, sassy, and works in details. Every scene when Ari immersed with her work and investigation was fascinating to read. Like Jason (Ari’s brother) said about her: “She follow the breadcrumbs left in place names and stories.” It's not that I didn't love Rafael, but there are times when his personality can be contradicted. Yet, I can’t lie that I enjoy their chemistry and their character development.
Although I enjoyed Ari and Rafael's chemistry, I'm not a fan of the romantic part. Ari is mostly in her sad state, grieving for the dead fiancée. Often their relationship feels stagnant, I can't see whether their romance will go well or not. But then, at some point, suddenly it escalated quickly. Another downside, at least for me, is the identity of The Witch herself can be guessed easily from the start. In other words, a less revealing surprise. Some description of Rafael’s family tree was also quite difficult to understand.
Overall, I enjoyed this book and highly recommended if you like reading folklore/mythology, treasure hunt, and French coastal waves.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
First of all, hands down, for the melancholy French coastal setting and also the folklore/mythology part! It’s beautifully described, and they have many historical landmarks with magical-sounding names. The best part about the folklore part is: most of them inspired by real folklore. Such as Ankou, the servant of death, is a Breton, Cornish, Welsh and Norman French folklore. Some place mentioned such as Ile Tristan is also real.
The story told from 2 POVs, Ariadne (Ari) and Rafael. I love Ariadne the most. She is smart, sassy, and works in details. Every scene when Ari immersed with her work and investigation was fascinating to read. Like Jason (Ari’s brother) said about her: “She follow the breadcrumbs left in place names and stories.” It's not that I didn't love Rafael, but there are times when his personality can be contradicted. Yet, I can’t lie that I enjoy their chemistry and their character development.
Although I enjoyed Ari and Rafael's chemistry, I'm not a fan of the romantic part. Ari is mostly in her sad state, grieving for the dead fiancée. Often their relationship feels stagnant, I can't see whether their romance will go well or not. But then, at some point, suddenly it escalated quickly. Another downside, at least for me, is the identity of The Witch herself can be guessed easily from the start. In other words, a less revealing surprise. Some description of Rafael’s family tree was also quite difficult to understand.
Overall, I enjoyed this book and highly recommended if you like reading folklore/mythology, treasure hunt, and French coastal waves.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.