Witch Fall by Amber Argyle
(Witch Song #3 (Prequel))
Publication date: October 24th 2013
Genres: Paranormal, Young Adult
Synopsis:
All things fall.
Even Witches.
Supreme
in their dominion over seasons, storms, and sea, the Witches have
forgotten the unmatched destructiveness of mankind. And
among the weapons men seek are the magical songs of the Witches.
Lilette
is one of the few who see the decadence and decay weakening the
Witches. As an outsider amid her own kind, can she help them survive the
coming war?
Purchase:
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AUTHOR BIO
Amber
Argyle is the author of Witch Song and Fairy Queen trilogies. She grew
up with three brothers on a cattle ranch in the Rocky Mountains. She
spent hours riding horses, roaming the mountains, and playing in her
family’s creepy barn. This environment fueled her imagination for
writing high fantasy. She has worked as a short order cook, janitor, and
staff member in a mental institution. All of which has given her great
insight into the human condition and has made for some unique
characters. She received her bachelor’s degree in English and Physical
Education from Utah State University. She currently resides in Utah with
her husband and three small children.
Author links:
Have you read Amber's other books in the series? Try Witch Song FREE!
The Witch Hunters have
come for Brusenna, for she is the last. All the others have been
captured by the Dark Witch. And without their magical songs to control
nature, the world is dying.
Though young and untrained, Brusenna
must succeed where every other Witch has failed. Find the Dark Witch.
Fight her. Defeat her. If Brusenna fails, there will be nothing left to
save—for the Witches, for mankind, or for the young Guardian who has
committed his life to protecting hers.
My Review of Witch Song:
*I received a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review*
Senna
is an untrained witch who is the last hope for the survival of her
kind. On a quest to rescue her mother who is a captive of the Dark
Witch, Senna and her allies must uncover her powers and find a way to
defeat Espen and save the trapped witches.
This is not my usual
type of book. I don't usually read this kind of historical fiction but
the paranormal element made me decide to try it and I'm glad that I did.
In this book, witches don't have wands or shout spells at each
other-instead they sing out their spells in a magical song, which was
new and fresh to me. It is always nice when this kind of story produces a
new twist to enjoy.
The author does a good job of blending the
old historical setting with muskets, sailing ships and superstitious
people who fear or adore witches, with a believable and enjoyable
paranormal element. There is the good versus evil thread running through
the book though the story is not as simple as you first think. The
characters are well developed and likeable and when danger strikes you
are worried for the safety of your favourites! That is always important
to me in a new series because if you hate the characters it is hard to
connect with the book itself. I really liked Pogg and I hope to see more
of him in later books. Senna is a good female lead who is vulnerable
and powerful, and you are rooting for her through all her challenges.
The
plot is always moving along at pace. There is a lot of action, fantasy
elements, an innocent start to a romance, swashbuckling pirate style
ship adventures, magical creatures, duelling witches, magic and lots of
adventure. Senna and Joshen make a believable, sweet couple though you
know that there are going to be many obstacles to their romance which
they will face. The magical fights were well written and I liked the
concept of trying to silence each others voices to stop the other
casting spells. I was very keen to get straight on to book 2 to see what
happens next.
There is no graphic sex or foul language so it is suitable for most YA as well as adult readers.
Brusenna thought it was
finished. She defeated the Dark Witch, saving the Haven Witches from
imprisonment and death. She found love and a place to belong. She was
wrong. Haven is not the sanctuary it appears to be. Even love is in
danger of slipping away like water through cupped hands. Some things
can't be saved. A new threat merges with the old as the Witches' dark
history begins to catch up with them. Only Brusenna knows the extent of
the danger and how to stop it, though doing so might cost her
everything. Including her life. Will Brusenna be required to make the
ultimate sacrifice?
My review of Witch Born:
*I received a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review*
The
Witches of Haven have a crisis. Strangers are invading the island to
kidnap Senna, there is a traitor amongst them and their enemies are
gathering. Senna wants to remove the curse which is crippling Tarten
which brings her into dispute with the Heads, who know her destiny and
refuse to give her the information she needs.
We rejoin the story
with the witches all safely on Haven, planning their next move. Senna
is beginning her training which she is finding tough, especially with a
forced separation from Joshen. Balancing her love for him with her duty
is proving to be tougher than she expected. Her disputes with the Heads
include their decision to keep the curse, keep her away from Joshen,
keeping her in the dark about her future and not keeping her safe from
the traitor and those trying to kidnap her. Senna feels isolated and
alone, and is considering going against the Heads to do what she feels
is right, knowing that this might cause them to disown her.
Our
favourite characters from book one are all there again as well as a few
new and interesting additions. The same amount of action and adventure
is there though Senna's growing powers add more to the plot. There is
still plenty to enjoy in this emerging series. In this book, a bit of
the witch history was brought into the book, mixing nicely with the
present day paranormal story of Senna. It was nice that the information
is given to the reader gradually instead of in one big info dump which
is a plot device that I find frustrating. So well done to the author for
avoiding that temptation. I would have liked more Pogg though as I love
that guy.
I did feel it was obvious who the traitor on the
island was and who the traitors allies were. It didn't spoil the story
though. Joshen's stupidity and refusal to do what Senna asked of
him(please stay away from my witchy enemy Joshen!) did get on my nerves a
bit in this book but it was just a minor niggle. I would not have been
so quick to forgive the betrayals like Senna did but hey, I'm just that
unforgiving kind of person!
The big niggle for me though is that
the second half of the book felt a bit rushed. From Caldash to the witch
war, it seemed that the author just wanted to get the book finished
quickly and move on to something else. I wanted to see more of the
actual war which was over way too quick. The aftermath of the war was
not dealt with in a satisfying way for me either. We jump from the war
to the resolution of Senna and Joshen's story, leaving out what I really
wanted to see. I wanted to see the merging of the two witch clans! WE
spent so long waiting for the war and what was going to happen that it
was a dissappointment to have it over so quickly. I figure that maybe
that is being saved for the next book so we'll wait and see what happens
there.
Niggles aside I did still enjoy the book and will look at what is coming next.
A ship burns, sinking
into the dark sea. There is only one survivor—a child hunted for the
power of her song. Hidden away on an isolated island, Lilette buries her
power deep, convinced it caused the deaths of those she loves.
But
she can’t run from who she is. And when her secret is revealed, the
only thing that can save her is her song. It’s time to rise up and
become what she was always meant to be: the most powerful witch ever
born.
My review of Witch Rising:
*I received a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review*
This
was the origins story of Lilette, who featured in the historical
sections of Witch Born. It follows her and her parents fleeing for their
life from those who wish to use witch powers for their own ends.
I'm
not going to give any of the story away here as it is just a short
story novella to compliment the history element of books one and two.
When I originally wrote this review, I thought that perhaps the novellas
would gradually tell her story between further books about Senna and
her witch clans. However it seems that the next book in the series is to
be all about Lilette, picking up where the novella leaves off and I'm
not too sure that it will be my kind of book though I will give it a
try.
Lilette herself is very like Senna, a young witch who is a
bit scared of her powers and who had a difficult early life. It was easy
to like her and feel sympathy for the situation that she finds herself
in. The setting was purely historical for the later half of the book and
it was quite slow compared to what we have been used to with Senna's
story but that is probably because it is setting the scene for the
continuation of the story to come.
A decent enough read if you want to learn more about Lilette
