Written Revelry Review: “The Witch Hunter” by Virginia Boecker

Alternate History – check
Magicians – check
Young Adult shenanigans – check
Fascinating new world – check

Yes, this novel hits about every check box.

In an alternate England magic has been outlawed due to the fact that it caused the Black Death – otherwise known as The Plague. Amidst the burnings of magic folk, there is a rise of Reformists but they are not looking to hang Ninety-Nine Theses on the door of a church, these Reformists want to have the Twelve Laws outlawing magic done away with so the persecution of magic wielding people will stop. At least the good ones.

Enter our heroine, Elizabeth Grey. She’s a witch hunter and a very good one, if a bit unruly at times. However, she’s having some problems…due to some extenuating circumstances she is in the possession of some herbs that are used for magic and once caught with them, she is imprisoned as a witch and a traitor to her profession. The evening before her execution a man breaks into her cell and rescues her. He’s none other than the most notorious magician and Reformist – Nicholas Perevil – and he wants Elizabeth to help him end the persecutions and find the spell that is killing him and break it. Needless to say that as time goes on, lies are revealed, truths are learned and now Elizabeth must decide which side to really be on.

You can see more of my thoughts in the video:

Can I just say I love the thumbnails YouTube chooses…I mean that’s just class right there ;P

Quick points WARNING SPOILERS AHEAD:

1. I like Elizabeth but at times she can be a bit dense, which is shocking for all the times she’s really on top of things. It’s becoming a syndrome of YA and Adult novels that strong-willed women = stupid risk takers. There’s a fine line between bravery and taking unnecessary/stupid risks and Elizabeth is definitely the latter.
2. The crew of magicians Elizabeth finds herself thrown together with are a very interesting group and at times quite a bit more fascinating than she is. I want to know more about them.
3. The author does a great job of building this world and showing us glimpses into things while not over explaining. We learn at the same time/speed as Elizabeth and all the back story is given to us in bits, rather than dumped on us all at once.
4. NO LOVE TRIANGLE THANK YOU BABY ZEUS! At least so far. I mean she thinks she’s in love with Caleb (her best friend and the one who got her into the hunter core) but she quickly realizes it was just a deep friendship and that her feelings for John (a healer) are more in line with the real deal.
5. What pushed this from a 3 to 4 star for me is that…the villain gets away with it! VILLAIN FTW!

All in all, it’s a fun read and if you really like YA then I think you’ll enjoy this one.

You can find out more about the author: http://www.virginiaboecker.com/books
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Until next time!

*I received an e-ARC of this title for review from Little, Brown Books for Young Readers through Netgalley. Thanks to both for the opportunity to read/review 😀