{Blog Tour: Review + Excerpt} of The Winter Witch by Paula Brackston

The Winter Witch by Paula Brackston
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

GENRE: Fantasy
THEME: Romance, Magic, Witches
RECEIVED: Publisher
Paula Brackston Website

BLURB:

Fledgling witch Morgana must defend her love, her home, and her life in this enthralling tale perfect for fans of Discovery of Witches

In her small Welsh town, there is no one quite like Morgana. She has never spoken, and her silence as well as the magic she can't quite control make her a mystery. Concerned for her safety, her mother quickly arranges a marriage with Cai Bevan, the widower from the far hills who knows nothing of the rumours that swirl around her. After their wedding, Morgana is heartbroken at leaving, but she soon falls in love with Cai’s farm and the rugged mountains that surround it, while slowly Cai himself begins to win her heart. It’s not long, however, before her strangeness begins to be remarked upon in her new village. A dark force is at work there—a person who will stop at nothing to turn the townspeople against Morgana, even at the expense of those closest to her. Forced to defend her home, her love, and herself from all comers, Morgana must learn to harness her power, or she will lose everything.

Paula Brackston's debut novel, The Witch's Daughter, was the little book that could—with a captivating story, remarkable heroine, and eye-catching package, it has now netted over 40,000 copies in all formats. Now Paula returns with The Winter Witch, another enchanting tale of love and magic, featuring her signature blend of gorgeous writing, a fabulous and intriguing historical backdrop, and a headstrong and relatable heroine readers will cheer for.

REVIEW:

The second book in Paula Brackston’s witch theme novels, The Winter Witch captures a unique POV of a young witch who is mute. Brackston creates a magical world where the protagonist is challenge with romance, magic and a villain who may have been obvious from the start but definitely portrayed a great counterpart to the lead.

The Winter Witch follows Morgana, who has been mute since her father left. In hopes of finding a place away from the whispering of the town, her mother sends her to marry a drover from another village. Cai is a widower and still stricken with the loss of his wife, but sadly needs a new one because of his job. But Morgana soon learns her new home and community may be in danger because she is considered a threat by a powerful evil. After discovering her powers, she will do what it takes to protect Cai and herself from the evil that is after them.

Morgana’s character is very unique, I was curious on how Brackston would be able to portray a mute character and I felt she did a wonderful job. She used a lot of expression descriptions to show her spirit and meanings. I do however wished we got more detail in the reason for her muteness, as well as more about her father since that incident was what caused everything to begin with. She is a spirited woman who has a temper and does have to deal with a lot of troubles. But the connection for me was hard to grasp even though I really wanted to like her character. I couldn’t sympathies like I wanted too as I felt she could of done things way differently. In the end I loved the magic bits with her; it was interesting to see her development. I felt sorry for her at many points because she does have to suffer a lot of losses and I wished for her to find some happiness.

Overall the story was definitely interesting; it had a strong start that I felt slowed down in the middle, which made it hard to hold my attention. I’m a reader that likes a quick pace with lots of action and suspense one after another. I’m also a big fan of details as long as they’re not drawn out or over the top, as some were in certain chapters. The romance was a perfect pace for me, I enjoyed the development and the on and off angst that occurred throughout. However I was hoping for more spark and a connection that would make me want them together, I felt they both made mistakes and had a lot of moments where I was shaking my head. My favorite character was the housekeeper Mrs. Jones, she is Morganas ally, she helps her try and figure out about how to deal with the evil that’s after her.

In the end this story has its ups and downs but I feel it should be given a chance because the writing is beautifully done. It’s more of my nip picks that are what I look for in a story that this one just didn’t have. I like strong characters that catch my attention and a fast paced plot; I do look forward to trying another novel by Brackston as this one had lots of potential. If you are looking for a story with magic, suspense, romance, lots of mystery and a witch who is learning about her power, than this is the story for you.

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