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A review by robotnik
The Witch Hunter by Virginia Boecker
adventurous
2.5
The Witch Hunter was kind of a flip-floppy book to me. There were moments were I was super into it but there was probably more moments where I was either bored out of my mind or side-eying the absolutely boring protagonist.
Elizabeth is a shitty protagonist. Let's just get that out of the way. We're supposed to believe she's this badass witch hunter, but the majority of her thoughts consist of "oh noes, Blackwell might catch me", "oh noes, does Caleb still care about me?" and "oh noes, am I falling in love with John?" The first one is the only one with any plot relevance or urgency, but Elizabeth is really just concerned about the boys in her life. This in and of itself is a curiosity because Caleb is douchey and John, bless his heart, is as interesting a person as dirt. Elizabeth's personality isn't much to write home about either seeing as she doesn't really have one beyond being scared and pining for hot boys.
The supporting cast is more interesting than her, but just barely. I actually liked George and Fifer. I was here for them. Everyone else is kind of cookie cutter. Hell, even George and Fifer are cookie cutter, but they're at least more interesting than the others.
There is a plot in this book somewhere, and it's an interesting plot. I just don't think it was explored or done well to the extent it could have been. It isn't helped by the world building, which feels only partially done and thus leaving holes everywhere that makes you ask questions that aren't answered probably because they don't have actual answers to it.This is particularly prevalent at the beginning after Nicholas breaks Elizabeth out of prison, where it feels like it takes over half the book for them to get to anything that really moves the plot along again. It's still interesting, though, and if it hadn't been, this book would have gone straight into a shitshow rather than showing some promise.
Overall, The Witch Hunter is an one time sort of book, though I'll be looking into sequel because I did get intrigued enough that I want to see where this goes.
Elizabeth is a shitty protagonist. Let's just get that out of the way. We're supposed to believe she's this badass witch hunter, but the majority of her thoughts consist of "oh noes, Blackwell might catch me", "oh noes, does Caleb still care about me?" and "oh noes, am I falling in love with John?" The first one is the only one with any plot relevance or urgency, but Elizabeth is really just concerned about the boys in her life. This in and of itself is a curiosity because Caleb is douchey and John, bless his heart, is as interesting a person as dirt. Elizabeth's personality isn't much to write home about either seeing as she doesn't really have one beyond being scared and pining for hot boys.
The supporting cast is more interesting than her, but just barely. I actually liked George and Fifer. I was here for them. Everyone else is kind of cookie cutter. Hell, even George and Fifer are cookie cutter, but they're at least more interesting than the others.
There is a plot in this book somewhere, and it's an interesting plot. I just don't think it was explored or done well to the extent it could have been. It isn't helped by the world building, which feels only partially done and thus leaving holes everywhere that makes you ask questions that aren't answered probably because they don't have actual answers to it.
Overall, The Witch Hunter is an one time sort of book, though I'll be looking into sequel because I did get intrigued enough that I want to see where this goes.
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexual assault