This novel lacks for nothing. I habe never seen such beautiful character development. I feel for her and I'm also left feeling for her friends, all of them victims in a society that brands them as, "evil." Love grows in unlikely places, as the novel beautifully depicts. Intertwined in a fantastical world on the brink of war, is a story about a young woman finding her way in a society that does not allow individuality. 10/10

I just can't with this book.
I can't.

I had to stop at 45%. I just couldn't force myself to carry on any further.
Even getting this far was a struggle.

This book is sooo problematic.

I'm aware the author is probably setting it up so that our oh-so-special MC can grow and change and become a better person and probably change the whole bloody world along the way.
But no.

It was racist and sexist and just awful.

Was the author trying to make Lukas Grey seem attractive to the reader?
Because he really just comes across as a privileged, entitled, douche bag.

When Elloren first meets him he hurries her away to a dark corridor within the first 5 minutes because she's never been kissed and he needs to rectify this right away apparently.
No.

When Elloren asks him to show her some magic what does he do?
Make some magic flowers for her?
Put on a beautiful, impressive display?
No.
He wraps her up in dark tendrils of magic and pulls her to him forcibly.
Gross.

And then later after Elloren has just said she needs to stay away from him and is LITERALLY stepping backwards away from him, he 'binds' her with a spell to pull her closer to him and starts getting all kissy-kissy with her neck and chuckling.
No, no, no!
She just said no to you dude!
Not okay!

All of the females were bitchy and catty and hating on each other.

One of the main tensions in the book is Elloren and a nasty, bitchy girl fighting over the terrible Lukas Grey.

Certain races were slaves, sold him cages, described as 'deranged hordes' and 'half-breeds'.
Our charming Lukas threatens their families (including a 5 year old child!) because they hurt poor, precious Elloren.

What with all the racism, classism, arranged marriages, and such I couldn't give this book anymore of my time.

Not to mention it's incredibly dull and slow.
Nothing seemed to happen.
And all that nothing happened at an incredibly slow pace.
I just didn't care about any of it other than how offensive it is.

I'm totally aware that Elloren will probably realise the error of her ways at some point in the story.
But at 45% in I feel like she should already be making strides towards this?
Not still hating everyone of a different race to her and judging other girls for being 'ugly'.
Come on.

No thank you.

I found this a promising start to a new fantasy series. It's got brilliant world building and plotting, but the writing is a bit clunky. It can be difficult to get into the flow - the author's style isn't as polished as others in this genre - but it's worth persevering.

The story opens with Elloren Gardner's introduction into society under her influential aunt's patronage. Elloren has been hidden away and homeschooled by her reclusive uncle, along with her older brothers (who have already gone on to University), and she discovers she's the spitting image of her famous grandmother, The Black Witch. Gardnerian society applauds her for this likeness, if not for the fact Elloren is supposedly magic-less, and at first, Elloren enjoys the luxury and acceptance of her clan.

Then she moves to University, and its forced integration of all races. There are many in this book, and she quickly encounters hatred and revulsion for her heritage. Her people's conquest of other lands has caused deep division and racism. Elloren's first task, after her refusal to be "fasted" or engaged to a young man her aunt deems acceptable, is to confront those prejudices. Her aunt places her with two Icarals as roommates, obviously hoping that contact with those deemed demonic will make Elloren break and accept the fasting. Instead, Elloren gradually gets to know individuals from other races and, as she learns the true facts of her grandmother's conquests, joins forces to resist the Gardnerian atrocities that soon become law.

Elloren's nemesis, Fallon Bane, is widely thought to be the Black Witch of a new prophecy, destined to put down a mysterious, unnamed Icaral who threatens to destroy the Gardnerian way of life. The first half of the book has Elloren crying and whining her way thru various victimizations. It gets annoying but thankfully, she does manage to fight back occasionally. And while the author leaves many clues that Elloren isn't as powerless as everyone thinks she is, (sort of like Clark Kent's secretly obvious disguise no one else figures out), she never connects the dots. I'm guessing the revelation of her heritage and magic will be the focus of future books, as well as the love triangle surrounding her.

Elloren Gardner has been raised in seclusion with her brothers by her uncle after her parents died in the last major war. She believes that she has no magic and that her only future lies in apothecary medicines. When she is old enough, her uncle sends her off to university to study in the hopes that she will one day be able to run her own apothecary.

But best laid plans and all... Elloren's aunt steps in and tries to get Elloren to wandfast to an eligible soldier, who is also the man most sought after by Elloren's worst nightmare and most dangerous enemy. Things are worsened further when Elloren's aunt also refuses to pay Elloren's fees, forcing Elloren to work in the kitchens, and also live in the worst of the rooms with the most dangerous of students.

The prophecy is coming. Elloren may be the one named. And time is running out.

Final thoughts: Ugh. Let's just RAM ideas into the reader over and over and over again. Racism! BAM! Prejudice! BAM! Religious intolerance! BAM!!! It's relentless and unending. No one understands anyone else. No one listens to anyone else. When one person does listen, suddenly everyone becomes friends. It's basically the Christian Right (the Mages/Gardnerians) vs. the world with Fae, Kents, Urisks, Lupines, Icarals being every other race and religions on this earth. We vilify and lie about what we don't know or understand just like the Mages make up stories and deliberately misinterpret things to put the worst spin possible on the other people.
The world was pretty decently created and I liked most of the characters, but that message was just too strongly shoved up my nose again and again.

Rating: 2/5

ARC courtesy of NetGalley

Description:

A Great Winged One will soon arise and cast his fearsome shadow upon the land. And just as Night slays Day, and Day slays Night, so also shall another Black Witch rise to meet him, her powers vast beyond imagining.

So foretells the greatest prophecy of the Gardnerian mages. Carnissa Gardner, the last prophesied Black Witch, drove back the enemy forces and saved her people during the Realm War. Now a new evil is on the horizon, and her granddaughter, Elloren, is believed to be Carnissa's heir—but while she is the absolute image of her famous grandmother, Elloren is utterly devoid of power in a society that prizes magical ability above nearly all else.

When she is granted the opportunity to pursue her lifelong dream of becoming an apothecary, Elloren is eager to join her brothers at the prestigious Verpax University and finally embrace a destiny of her own, free from the shadow of her grandmother's legacy. But she soon realizes that the University, which admits all manner of people—including the fire-wielding, winged Icarals, the sworn enemies of all Gardnerians—is an even more treacherous place for the granddaughter of the Black Witch.


For fans of Sarah Maas' Throne of Glass series... I won't go into description, because I am terrible at it anyways and Amazon has a great one from the back of the book. Elloren's parents were killed in a Icaral attack and she and her brothers have lived with their uncle ever since. But the time has come for Elloren to either go to university or become handfasted to wed. Her uncle makes the decision to send her to university, which her aunt disagrees with. The aunt blackmails Elloren and makes her life at university hell until she agrees to handfest with a handpicked young man. Elloren pushes hard in school and working in the kitchens to pay her way so she doesn't have to rely on her aunt. Racial lines are crossed, because there are Icarels and elves and all sorts at the university. Elloren comes to realize that everyone is wrong about the other races and sets out to help.

This really was a fantastic book and I am so excited NetGalley gave me an advanced copy. But I am going to die waiting for book 2 sometime in a year and a half.....

Thank you, NetGalley and Harlequin Teen, for the opportunity to read and review this book. My views are entirely my own.

Though not quite what I expected, The Black Witch was a pleasant surprise. Like a chess board, the pieces of the book slowly and carefully all come into play, each which a strength and weakness all their own, and each a delight. The two queens of the chess board, Elloren (our MC) and Fallon (one of a few antagonists) lead an assembly of pieces. There are also our two kings, Vogel (another antagonist) and Yvan (a budding romantic interest), our knights (Diana, Damion, Lukas, Jarod), and an assortment of other players that all weave together and come to life under Forest's able hands to pave the way to a very epic series. Though long for a debut/first book in a series (which I LOVE! I'm a sucker for longer books), it quickly becomes evident that this is necessary to give this vivid world the space it needs to unfurl and illustrate the problems our MC faces.

Fans of High Fantasy, the likes of Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson and Green Rider by Kristen Britain, will love this world. Fans of Lady Helen in The Dark Days Club by Alison Goodman will love our MC, Elloren, for she is truly genuine and Forest does a great job making her entirely believable. I dislike books with MC's that never struggle with their identity and morals, and aren't true to their time or place. She really comes into her own, and finds her agency very realistically. Also, fans of Patrick Rothfuss's The Name of the Wind will love the university setting of this book.

Overall, The Black Witch was a truly immersive, engaging and thoroughly enjoyable read, and I can't wait to dive into the sequel! I will definitely be pre-ordering my own copy of this book!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for sending me this book. “The Black Witch” by Laurie Forest is amazing. In my opinion it is a cross between the “Harry Potter series” by J.K. Rowling and “A Court of Thorns and Roses series” by Sarah J. Maas. The landscape is gorgeous and the settings are so well described that I can easily imagine these beautiful places. The main character, Elloren, is wonderfully naïve and yet strong and intelligent. I felt immediately connected to Elloren and love her voice. The world building and background is structured, interesting, and both original and yet still familiar enough that I was not lost as can happen in fantasy worlds. I suggest anyone who enjoys fantasy and well developed plots to try this book.