The world building of this book was overall just beautiful, the writing style was in my opinion very good and I definitely formed a connection with the characters. Overall just a very good book !

3/5 stars
The Witchfinder by J Todd kingrea is a solid read weighed down only by the amount of character exposition necessary at its start .


This book exploring identity and Loyalty through the story of a witchfinder forced to reckon with his beliefs is a solid series start sure to delight fans of dark fantasy.

Trigger warnings: graphic violence including torture, religious overtones.

A really good fantasy novel that delivers something new! Thorne's journey keeps you wanting to read more.
I 100% recommend for any fantasy lover.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

This was a good book! It started out slow and I'm not sure if it was the story or just my own personal mood but it took me a few chapters to get into it. But once I did get into it I didn't want to stop!

It's a very interesting storyline and one that I haven't come across before. Set hundreds of years in the future, society hasn't advanced as we would expect it but has instead almost regressed back into a bit of a medieval state. This state is due in part to natural events and also partly civilization's own advanced inventions. The current society is now almost entirely controlled by the Church, that is viewed as God. The Church employs men such as the Witchfinder Imperator, Malachi Thorne, to uphold it's laws and enact punishments to those that go against those laws. They condemn those that would be considered witches, freethinkers, heretics, and rebels.

Malachi Thorne, holds an exalted position, one that he has advanced to because of his commitment to the Church and what he believes is right. As he chases down a prominent heretic he finds himself on a journey that questions all that he has believed in his whole life.

This was a very interesting story. I liked the characters though I didn't completely believe the connection that happened between Malachi and Teska, it seemed to come out of nowhere. But maybe it's one of those things that occurs more off scene?

Overall, I enjoyed reading The Witchfinder and I'm interested in seeing how the series ends!

My rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars.

I enjoyed The Witch Finder, a fantasy novel. The book started off somewhat slow for me and it was because of learning all the character names. I did get confused somewhat throughout the book. At certain times the characters would be called by first name and at other times by last name. I felt like it kept the pace slower than it should have been for me.

Let's talk plot. I really enjoyed the plot and some may find it a difficult subject. In this book The Church is the governing body, so there are religious views and faith. The main character is on a hunt to find the man who is teaching a new way of freedom from The Church and his own faith is tested.

There are some graphic violence in this book. I'm not one who likes graphic scenes, especially torture scenes and most graphic scenes makes my insides cringe, but I do understand the medieval time period so I appreciate how this fits into the storyline.

A gripping and original story, well written and fascinating. Great world building and storytelling, loved it.
Can't wait to read another book by this author.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I kindly received an ARC of this book from NetGalley. This has not influenced my review.

The Witchfinder is a Dystopian book set in the future after the world as we know it has been destroyed. The church reigns supreme and people are captured for being witches. It's an interesting concept of Witch Hunts that happened hundreds of years ago also happening in the future.

The book is full of magic and mystery and definitely has a few unexpected twists. The characters are pretty good although at times the Churchmen can be unbearable with their 'logic'. The character arc's are satisfying.

I did find bits of the book slow and I found it hard to get into the book initially. The final 1/3 however is really good, fast paced and has made me want to read the sequel.

3.5*

Thanks, Netgalley and Publisher for letting me read! The action and the epicness in this one are on a really high level. I also think the world-building, the progress of the plot, and the character development progressed simultaneously. All characters introduced serve a purpose and the story moves forward pretty fast. Basically, you can't put the book down, because it's always getting to an interesting part. A lot of interesting themes and tropes are combined - the true meaning of justice, how following blind believes actually leads to suffering and disaster, that enemies-to-lovers that is just classic, the path each of us needs to take in order to find what they truly believe in and fight for.. We have also that lovely fantasy mix of magic, demons, witches, sorcerers, dark secrets being revealed. And the ending is also something else entirely! Definitely a must-read!

I enjoyed reading this book and I loved the premise of it. The characters and plot were well development and I liked the writing. I love this genre and this book is a great addition to it.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I found this novel to be relatively middle of the road, not bad but not rad. The thing that stuck with me the most was the clumsy exposition that took the place of what could've been strong world building.

I found this book to be poorly written with terrible similes such as “Night settled upon Talnat like a lover slipping into bed.”

I wasn’t able to finish this book because the writing was stodgy, the characters are bland, and the plot moves slower than molasses in January.

If you're looking for a novel that has a melange of politics, romance, gruesome fight scenes, friendship and in toto, a series that could capture you, then this does it for you.

Set in a post-apocalyptic world, the story revolves around Malachi Thorne, the Witchfinder Imperator (a highest-ranking officer) who serves for the Church, an order which rules with a tight fist and tyranny. In this medieval reign, witch practices are abandoned and those who pursue this are subjected to death. When a heretic escapes from Malachi's grip, he's hell-bent on finding and putting him to "justice". In the pursuit of this traitor, Malachi confronts demons, witches, sorcery and a dangerous dark truth of the Church which makes him question his loyalty, his ideals and importantly his belief. Thorne must decide who and what he believes in—and what he will do about it before his friends get killed in the cross-fire.

Despite being set in a post-apocalyptic world, The book has themes that reflect some of the current hot topics such as the importance of free will, opinions and importantly dangers of blind belief. I loved how the author has introduced the settings and set the premise for the saga. The characters are dynamic and I was happy to see a hero who is flawed and normal instead of having an inhuman power in the cliched fantasy/dystopian novels. The novel has the perfect pace, suspense, surprise elements and some unforgettable characters.

Although, I was able to guess the upcoming twist and ending, I was hooked by the instability of the story flow and was eager to see the pieces fit together. But I found it hard to pinpoint the exact location of the world. In the beginning, Malachi visits a town Rimlingham which was once called Birmingham (it is mentioned) and later on the narration describes places and objects that point to the United States. How did they manage to cross an ocean without a ship is a big question mark. It was quite difficult to remember who is who as there was a contradiction of names between narration and when spoken in dialogue. Not leave out the perplexity when the characters say "hells" instead of "hell" in the book.

A sound novel with a firm foot for a series that would satisfy the fans of the Witcher and Divergent series.

It's remarkable what would happen if an apocalypse would end all technology. Left are only the buildings, and after a few centuries, the Church rules with an iron fist, disguised as law and order. We meet The Witchfinder Imperator Malachi Thorne at the height of its post, hunting and judging accordingly. But things don't always go according to plan...

A more or less fast-paced book, easy to read and understand, that leaves you wanting more. The book is purposefully left in a cliffhanger, and I'm certainly waiting for the follow-up.

I dislike giving out spoilers over things I enjoyed, but here are some:

**Spoilers bellow**

**Yes, spoilers**

**You have been warned**

Regardless of all the good things, Malachi is seen with a different light after just a few chapters, which left me wondering if it was on purpose (Not because of what happened, but because of the camaraderie not shown in the first chapter or so).

Also, the thing with him and Vaun is just a bit too fast to happen and not very well explained, even when given a titbit of info of another character that looked like Vaun.

Something's are almost expected to happen when going with a medieval feeling with a church rule, and they did.

But I did enjoy that the Church doesn't only judge witches... and I'll leave at that.

Thanks to NetGalley and BHC Press for sending me an Arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book has a medieval vibe to it that is consistent with European witchhunts throughout history. That said, there is a heavy focus on the Church as well. And the story centers on Malachi Thorne who is discovering that the Church may not be what it seems. I enjoyed watching his development and morals tested within the story. There's this constant inner conflict he has with himself to do what he believes is right, but also question what others - like the Church - think is "right". If that is something that will bother you or you may not agree with, the book may not be for you. If you do, however, appreciate a book that cross-examines The Church and religion, read this! It is a little slow in the beginning but do stick with it! The writing is top tier and the pacing does pick up with a crescendo of events and reveals about a quarter of the way through. From then on, it's mostly action and suspense and some humor!I also found the world building, political details very interesting too. He had me hooked once he began explaining how things work within the city and its rules and regulations. I wasn't expecting some of them. Also, I should mention for any romance lovers that there is some in the story! Thorne has a love interest named Teska. I'm not quite sold on it just yet because of the enemies-to-lovers thing happening between them, but I'm very curious to see how or if their relationship develops further in the next story. It gives me Yennefer/Geralt vibes but not in a copycat way. I just see people liking this book if you also enjoyed the Witcher or even if you like a Witchhunt book with the book being from the perspective of a Witchhunter!

I DNF this book so have not left a rating. It is set in a dystopian future with a witch finder as the main character. I love dystopian books and I thought I would enjoy the witch hunting. It was well written and I liked the concept but it was too heavy on religion. I realise this is an important part of the story and it might lessen as the book goes on but I was struggling to get into it. As I wasn’t invested I didn’t really know who any of the characters were aside from Thorne so started struggling to follow what was going on. I’m sure others will enjoy this book, if you like books focussed on witch hunting or the church with a medieval feel to it then give this one a go

Thank you NatGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this book.

If I want to be honest, I picked this book up on a whim and partly because I'm trying to get myself back to read heavy fantasy and it seemed like the perfect starting point to do that. It has witches and a man clashing with his religious ideas which is just on brand for me.

And this book did deliver that.

It is a really well written book if a little slow paced. My only criticism could be that (if it really can be considered criticism at all) I wouldn't have minded a little more witches and actual witch hunting and less aimlessly wandering around as I often found myself in a need of reminder we are supposed to be chasing witches.

Regardless, in my opinion, the quality of the writing itself, the pacing and the build up is really exceptional and I'm glad I got the chance to read it.

4/5

I have no words at all for how this book ended. This book is everything I have been looking for this month. It has action, enemies to lovers, romance, witches, fighting scenes, and many more scenes that will for sure make your heart beat radically!
I could not put this book down, and I am so happy to have had the opportunity to read this ARC and to review it. The Witchfinder is such an iconic book, with such an imaginative plot. I really hope that there will be a second book, otherwise, if it is only a standalone, then this is surely my favorite standalone of 2021.

There were many great aspects of this book. The writing was really good. Personally I love reading stories from the 3rd perspective, and this book was in the 3rd perspectives. This really helped the plot as we could get more depth of the scenes, and we also get the opportunity to get different character POVS.
The writing also helped improve the characters throughout the book. I learned that I actually got attached to Thorne, and I saw some real potential in Teska’s character. I just love them so much!!
Lets not forget that the way the plot was layered out was really good, and it just pulls you into the story till you forgot about time and food and water and all of that. Basically, the plot was told out in a great way during the story.

The only thing that really irritated me was the fact that the characters where linked way too fast. It’s like the relationship between the characters, especially Thorne and Teska was rushed because there was not enough time to write them out through the plot. I just wish that all the characters liked each other in a moments wait.

That’s it! Thanks

Thank you to the publisher for the ARC, this one was like a baby of The Witcher and A Conjuring of Shadows. I know, you are thinking “hmmm”, but yes if you like either of those you will enjoy this one.

I think this was a great book. World building was on point, character development, action! It was everything that I was hoping it would be and yet I feel unfulfilled at the same time. I want more of this book because I ATE it up. Can’t wait for more from this series!

I have always love the concept of witch finders and this book does great justice to it. Very original story and worldbuilding. The characters are great but more than everything the plot just hook me hard!! Great discovery and I highly recommend it!