Anyone who gets too close to Persephone May winds up hurt. After yet another workplace accident, she finds herself at a crossroads, unable to stay where she is yet not knowing where she should go. It’s fortunate, then, that she receives an email from her friend Hyacinth, inviting her to the mysterious Wile Isle. While she originally accepts with ideas of insulating herself from the outside world, she soon finds a land filled questions, but also just maybe the answers she’s been looking for.

From Persephone’s first moments on the page, sparks fly—sometimes literally. This is a woman who has the unfortunate necessity to remain alone, and the result is someone who’s hardened over time. Yet it’s so obvious she wants to make genuine connections. It’s a balancing act that author Paige Crutcher navigates expertly, ultimately setting up a hardened Persephone who’s impossible not to be intrigued by as she navigates the fog surrounding her life and powers.

Once she finally settles in Wile Isle with Hyancith and her sister, Moira, along with a cadre of peculiar island denizens, the action ramps up. While Persephone begins understanding more about herself, there are darker forces at work, and Crutcher has built a unique magic system that helps push the action. Persephone has already been forced to sacrifice so many personal connections in her life, tossing in the confusion of spells and curses only seeks to complicate things further—and just when she thought she was figuring things out! And that’s before familial feuds and a complex librarian start muddying her future…

Ultimately, Crutcher has conjured up a spellbinding tale of family, magic, and love.

Persephone May has always been a loner and she is different from everyone she knows. Whenever she is around strange things happen and this keeps her from staying long in any place and from having friends. After a public display of her power she has to be on the move again but this time a friend she actually made reaches out to her and invites her to her home. When Persesphine get to Wile island she realizes this is no normal island and she will discover a family she never knew she had and she will learn about a 100 year old curse. Will the curse be broken or is it the end as they know it.

I enjoyed entering the lives of these characters. It is a well written witchy book! Do yourself a favor and pick up this book and take a trip into another realm. Where magic can take a dark turn.

The Orphan Witch by Paige Crutcher
Source: NetGalley and St. Martin’s Griffin
Rating: DNF

The Bottom Line: Oh, how I wanted to like this book! In an effort to get through this book, and hopefully thoroughly enjoy it, I tried both reading and listening to this one. Although there are some fun bits in here – the invisible library and witchcraft – the story just isn’t interesting. I normally love a story with loads of backstory/history, but I believe the author’s writing style did me in on this one. I never could find a flow or rhythm to the writing that would allow me to keep reading/listening.

There are some interesting set pieces and arresting imagery in this modern-day tale of witches on a remote southern island, tied by bonds of blood and love. You definitely get the idea that some of these scenes sprang into Paige Crutcher's head fully formed, so viscerally and lovingly are they depicted.

Alas, that's about all I can say to recommend this book. Despite the vividness of certain lovely passages, The Orphan Witch falls apart from sheer lack of craft. I spent every few pages muttering, "That's not what that word means." I'm all for poetic license, but one does not "don" silverware when setting the table nor, in a moment of fear and panic, have time to think "reverently" about an engine you're hoping will catch so you can flee, in just two of the most memorably egregious examples. In fairness, I don't know what stage of editing this book was in when it was sent to me -- hopefully, a very early one! -- but just the constant estrangement of vocabulary from meaning made me question the author's experience both with writing and with reading good fiction.

And that's even before we get into the plotting and characterization. While I did appreciate the plot twists, I felt like most of the writing that was meant to be the connecting tissue between set pieces wasn't at all well thought out, and almost hurried through as the author shepherded us from one of her preferred scenes to the next, skipping some sorely needed world-building in the process. And the characterizations were absolutely dire, with immature, borderline idiotic dialog, inexplicable motivations and, at the very bottom of the barrel, an extremely unconvincing instalove romance plot. Every single character was paper thin, and my feelings for them verged from mild irritation to deep annoyance.

The main character was especially grating, tho I suppose she had a reason for being so socially awkward. I just didn't understand how everyone was so accepting of how terrible she was. Having recently thought very much about <a href="https://dvaleris.itch.io/unrealitystrictnessonepage">power fantasies</a> and the catharsis they bring, I can appreciate the motivation behind writing this book in this way, but that doesn't at all make it enjoyable or interesting to read. For me, at least, I do sincerely hope it brings others joy and a little escape from their every day.

I hate bagging on books, especially by debut authors, but this was excruciating to read and just really poorly done. I wish Ms Crutcher the best for her future endeavors, and am hoping the quality of her writing will (can?) only improve from here on out.

The Orphan Witch by Paige Crutcher was published September 28 2021 by St Martin's Griffin and is available from all good booksellers, including <a href="https://bookshop.org/a/15382/9781250823632">Bookshop!</a>

A witch fantasy about a orphan that finds out she is a witch that can break a family curse.
A lot of magic,twists,drama,action and mysteries.
A good read.
Voluntarily reviewed.

📚 #BOOKREVIEW 📚
Orphan Witch by Paige Crutcher
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ / Pages: 340 / Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy

Persephone May grew up awkward, alone, and unlucky. She’s aware that she has a strange power that she doesn’t understand and can’t control so it’s always just a matter of time before she causes something terrible to happen and she has to run away and start over somewhere new. When she runs out of options, she reluctantly takes up an offer to see her only friend Hyacinth on Wile Isle. And that’s where it all really begins. She finally learns about where she came from, who her family is, and about her magical powers.

Overall this was a very detailed and inventive story that’s full of magic, time travel, and different worlds and dimensions. Definitely more on the fantasy spectrum than your regular witches and wizards tale. Looking back on it I feel like it kind of dragged even though there was so much going on. A solid three stars for me.

Thank you @netgalley and @stmartinspress for the advance copy of this book.

I recommend. Keep me engaged and interested, thank you for the advance chance to read this. I’ve already told family and friends about it

Persephone has always known she was different, but she didn’t know how different until she was invited to Wile Isle by a new acquaintance, Hyacinth. As soon as she steps on the island, she feels something different inside her. A tugging, a feeling.

She meets Hyacinths sister Moira and the two of them explain to Persephone that she is a witch and she is now on the island of witches. The island has been cursed and Persephone is the key to breaking the curse.

There are also two cousin witches, who seem to want Persephone not on the island. She also stumbles into a lost library and meets a very attractive librarian.

I have to admit that I was confused some of the time (it’s kind of like how I watched Game of Thrones) - enjoying the ride and not worrying about the parts I didn’t understand.

Even though it lost me a few times, I still enjoyed the story. I thought the descriptions were excellent, the characters were interesting. Lots of twists and turns, not all of the witches are as they seem!

This was an enjoyable and great read during the fall/Halloween season. The characters, setting, and atmosphere all kept me in the story. The story itself felt pretty generic and bland.

Persephone, an outcast, drifting through the foster system, finds herself strange. Invited to North Carolina, perhaps this time she will find not only herself, but friends that understand her powers.

3/5 Stars

** I received this as an E-ARC from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review, Thank you!**

I have to admit that this book was not for me. The writing just wasn't there for me. I also just wasn't the biggest fan of the general plot. I just expected more of an emotional magical read. I didn't connect with the story at all. As stated this just wasn't the book for me.

Feelings run deep in The Orphan Witch, along with intrigue, betrayal, and some romance. I was first reminded of the Sweep series by Cate Tiernan, a lifelong favorite of mine. A woman who is a witch by blood discovers that she’s a witch and finds family and friends who help her discover her magic. She is extraordinarily powerful and has the power to change the course of history. I expected a younger protagonist, given the title, but Persephone is quite a bit older, in her thirties, if I recall correctly. She sometimes acts like a child, perhaps because of her isolated life due to the fact that bad things keep happening around her, especially when she looks people in their eyes. The plot is hard to follow at times, as it references happenings from several months before the main plot. I’m still not entirely sure how Persephone and Hyacinth met. It’s also quite repetitive, with Persephone quickly reaching a plateau in her magic and never quite connecting to it or truly gaining power. She tries to understand and tries to reach her magic, but can’t for the longest, longest time.

Perhaps the whole book is that way: the idea is interesting, if obvious. Long lost relative is the subject of a prophecy that will save the whole island. And she has magical access to ether, an element that no one else can access. It’s a bit too Mary Sue and I couldn’t help myself as I kept reading and I picked apart anything that made her just a bit too different, too ‘I’m not like other girls.’ Also, the only male in the book, Dorian, the librarian, is also Persephone’s love interest. And it’s instalove. This isn’t the only relationship: Hyacinth is a lesbian, which is neat; I appreciate the queer rep.

I would have loved more about the Library of the Lost and about Dorian. Instead of Dorian being a love interest, it would have been neat to see more of his past and his role at the library. The first chapter drew me in and I would have liked more of that, Persephone’s ancestor, rather than her.

In the end, the characters had promise, outside the context of the story. The plot and the pacing had me stuck, slogging through certain moments and sending me rushing to finish reading, and not in the way where I’m so engrossed in the book that I hardly notice the pages turning.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for giving me an eARC of this title.

This was a nice story, with an unusual premise and plot. I appreciated that the characters were so fully drawn, and the storyline did work its way to a satisfying conclusion. However, there are bits of the plot were the author lost me, and I wasn't sure just what she was describing or where she was going with it. Those bits weren't enough to upset me enjoyment of the story .... but they were truthfully a little bit irritating.

The Orphan Witch by Paige Crutcher

A deeper magic.. A stronger curse. A family lost and found.

Very magical and interesting book. Imagine being 30 and still don’t know where you belong, but possess very strong powers. I enjoyed this book.

Thanks to Net Galley for sending me an advanced reader’s copy for my review.

This was an interesting read, but overall the history and magic system and worldbuilding felt a little... fuzzy and unclear. I'm sure some of that was due to wanting an air of mystery and not falling into the habit of overexplaining magic to the point of taking the magic out of it. But a bit more clarity would've been called for. As it stands, I was intrigued but ultimately left a bit unsatisfied because of that.

This book was a flop for me. I just could not get into it, I felt it dragged on and I just never felt compelled to pick it up. I would probably have DNF’d it except it was a NetGalley copy and I wanted to be able to give a full review. Many of the ideas and concepts in this book were interesting but fell flat in execution.

The book begins with Persephone an lonely young woman, every time she looks someone in the eye they quickly go mad/try to kill themselves. Seems like an interesting premise.

After causing another person to lose themselves under her gaze Persephone decides to start over and visit one of her few friends, Hyacinth, who she mainly knows via email, who has been begging her to visit her on Wile Isle where she lives. Persephone goes and we learn she is a witch, one of a family of cursed witches. She starts to learn of her powers, about breaking the curse and her part in it from Hyacinth and her older sister Moira. At this point the whole making eye contact and people going crazy element seems to be just completely abandoned. It's briefly explained as part of her being a untrained witch but after that never really comes up again. Why create that element of her "magic" to just abandon it, she just as easily could have been a lonely orphan without the curse who never really made friends and therefore moves around a lot.

In the meantime Persephone also finds out she is a walker between worlds and often ends up walking between them while on the island, mainly to the Library of the Lost, a living library, guarded by its captive Dorian. The library is probably my favorite part of the book, its a cool idea/place and has an interesting role in the story and I enjoyed the fact that it was hard to decide if the library was good or bad. In the end I'm still not quite sure on it. I found the romance between Dorian and Persephone lacking, I did not feel it, part of this is I think Dorian could have used more fleshing out, I wanted more of his story, the bits we got were interesting but not enough and not enough between the two of them of build the romance/feelings they develop IMO.

As things unfold and Persephone learns more about her power and past, she also learns more about the island and its other residents. Most importantly, their “enemy” and cousin witches, Ariel and Ellison Way. These two are also cursed witches from another branch of the family. We have a few unfriendly run ins with them and there is clearly a lot of history between all the women. As Persephone learns more about the past with the help of the Library, she learns things are not all as they appear. This leads her to the home of the Way sisters where she joins with them, at this point I had trouble following along with the why behind all of this. Eventually in the end they must all come together to end the curse that haunts their family.

I liked that the ending wasn't perfect, there was a lot in the book about magic and its cost. In many books at the end a lot of times characters get out of paying the cost of magic, Persephone does not, though she still gets a fairly happy ending.

Overall this book was just not for me, the whole time I felt I was slogging through it, I couldn't get into it or connect with it. The story had moment of interest but mainly it dragged on, didn't always make sense and left me wanting more.

If you enjoy found family, strong sense of place and witches you may enjoy this book, but I find myself unable to recommend it.

Thank you to NetGalley for the Advanced Copy

this was just a hot mess that dragged. all of the characters were very flat. Persephone was stupid throughout most of the book and then at the end she is the one who thinks and fixes everything. I also rolled my eyes every time the word SPINE was mentioned.

I feel the author wanted to put everything into her book and she did, but it just didn't mesh well. I also have questions. Why didn't Persephone have a sister? This book was about sisters who are witches. There was three main and each one had two daughters. Where is the other sister? PLOT FAIL!

also, the relationship between Dorian and Persephone was unnecessary. There were no other men involved in the story at all. Just leave him as a guardian and the love of the family would have been enough for Persephone.

I went in not really knowing much about this book and I think that is a good way to go into this. It was a fun and fast read that I really ended up enjying more than I expected. The main character was really interesting and I think the story as a whole was really well fleshed out.

This is a beautiful told story. About family, secrets and answers, love, trust, a curse one hundred years old, a family feud and what you are capable of.
Really enjoyed this book, one of the best stories I’ve read this year.

This book was a bit dry and slow for my taste. I liked a decent part of the book, the characters were fun, the plot had promise, but something ultimately fell short. That led to me putting the book down more than my want to pick up and continue. Overall, I just felt lukewarm about the whole thing.