This was nothing like what I was expecting…after seeing the cover and reading the blurb! I really liked Ari, I felt her character built up well and I do love a strong female setting the tone! I felt the scene setting was well done and the storyline kept going at a strong and interesting pace which kept me hooked! Not sure I’d call it a romance, unless a couple of kisses count? Overall a good book to finish July on! Thank you NetGalley for this arc!

Would give this closer to a 3.75/5.

It was enjoyable and I thought the prose were more mature and well written then some other fantasy/romance I've requested on NetGalley. I thought the lore was interesting and the jobs that the characters had were equally as interesting to read about and experience. The setting of Brittany was such a lovely choice. Thorne's descriptions of the landscape and wild weather were very well done. My only qualm with the book is that I felt like the romance was a bit under developed. I almost had more of an investment in the romance with deceased Simon and Ariadne than Rafael and Aridane.

Overall, a nice read.

Thank you Net Galley and Bookouture for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I thought this book was brilliantly written, it certainly was a thrilling fantasy novel. A lot of people said that the excitement drops after about halfway in the book, but I didn’t find that to be the case. The characters were easily lovable and any book about Atlantis is definitely a book I will enjoy.

This novel follows the grief of Ariadne after the death of her fiancé Simon when she has to return to the place where he died and carry on with what he failed to do. Here she unexpectedly finds Rafael who helps her move on and find what she came out to do.

Parts are heartbreaking, exciting and sad, whilst others are you wanting to scream at the characters who seem to go towards danger even though that is clearly not a good idea. This book was so easy to read and Jessica Thorne’s writing style makes me want to read more by this author.

I would recommend this to anyone who loves underwater fantasy, magical realism, thrillers and mysteries - it is such a great book.

The Water Witch by Jessica Thorne

Overall 4
Spice 1
• Similar to Susanna Kearsley
• Magical Realism
• Archeology
• Fate, Destiny, & Ancestral Curses
• Atlantis Retelling
• Mystery/Romance
• Dual POV
• Slight Insta Love Vibes
• 3rd Act Twist
• Rafael POV (Swoon)

Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for an ARC of The Water Witch by Jessica Thorne

This book is very similar in style to Susanna Kearsley, it’s a blend of magical realism/supernatural mystery founded on historical content. I loved the Atlantis retelling aspect and although some points could be considered predictable I found it enchanting and enthralling. I was happily under the Water Witches’ spell.

The premise of this story is an interesting one and there were little things I really enjoyed but even with a good idea the writing just didn’t pull me in. The obsession with Simon got irritating quickly. For a book called The Water Witch the focus was mostly on Simon and Ys.
I liked Rafael, Meme, Jason and Nico. There were some good characters but overall I had to really push myself to finish this one.

The Water Witch is a gripping and mysterious adventure about mythical lost cities, love and loss. If you have any interest in French culture, particularly folklore - I think you will enjoy this book - or if you have any interest in treasure hunts, or underwater archeology.

I really have no connection to French culture, and I really enjoyed reading about the Celtic folklore and myths of Brittany that make up the basis of this story. They were fascinating to read about and the way they are weaved into this book was well done. I did think, with the title being "The Water Witch", there would be more 'witchy-ness' to the book, but it was really more mythical folklore. There are other paranormal/kind of magical realism elements that are central to the storyline.

Spoiler:
I did not enjoy the romance aspect of the book, and felt it was lacking, very insta-lovey. There wasn't enough build up of tension, or believability as to why Ari and Rafael are into each other (beyond a physical attraction). I would've gladly read another 50 pages to build up their connection and intimacy with each other to make the romance more realistic.

Overall this is a fun, relatively quick read! I would classify it more as an adventure/mystery than romance.
3.5/5 stars

Proof provided by publisher via NetGalley.

This is a story with love at the heart and all it’s multifaceted qualities.

‘The Water Witch’ unravelled itself as a story that I was least expecting and the fantasy elements are more supernatural rather than witches, demons, goblins and dragons. At the centre is Ari, an archaeologist, who is swept back into the world of Brittany folklore, a place that has haunted her since the death of her fiancé. She meets the dashing Rafael, a character who is charming and mysterious, and she quickly learns how closely he is tied into the troubles and curse surrounding Ys. The mysterious are gradually revealed through Ari’s point of view.

While there are elements that some may feel are unrealistic, they suit the fairy-tale qualities of this story. It is a compelling read, with interesting twists and turns and an underlying darkness which, at times, can feel sinister. I thoroughly enjoyed this, in particular the folklore elements,, and will be recommending it!

This book was AMAZING. I absolutely adored it! It has everything I want in a vengeful witch. I love the blending of fantasy and reality together. Now 3rd person POV is not my favorite……but it was okay!

I think I just needed more. I know fantasy books can sometimes seem long, but I think we need that to help build the world, state, and characters. While this wasn’t my favorite read, I am also a huge seasonal/mood reader.

This gave me more fall vibes, so I can’t wait to reread it this fall after its release this August’

This book is such a rollercoaster of emotions and I absolutely loved it. I read it straight through and only stopped because people kept asking if they should make supper because they were so hungry....oops

Thank you to NetGalley and Jessica Thorne for this eArc.

The Water Witch by Jessica Throne is a very interesting read. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, but, I disagree with the “fantasy romance” tagline. To me, this book leans more towards adventure treasure hunting than fantasy with some supernatural aspects. Additionally, I did not find this book to be romantic. There are undeniably some romantic moments that occur, but the relationships that leaned more towards romance were used to explore grief and trust issues. Once I let the “fantasy romance” description of this book go, I was very pleasantly surprised.

The start of the book is somewhat confusing, especially for me as someone who knows nothing about Brittany, but the author does a fantastic job of worldbuilding and using location as a deeper theme of the story. The way Thorne describes the weather, atmosphere, and location added so much and made this book very unique – a true highlight. I also enjoyed all of the characters as they all had very real issues that they were working through and you could experience them grow throughout the book. I appreciated the “fantasy” part of the book, but I do not think that it was necessary to the storyline. Given how realistic everything else felt about the book, I did not feel that the curse added a necessary layer. I think that the same book could be written as just a treasure hunting mystery and the message, feelings, and outcome could be the same. However, this is simply a personal preference.

Overall, if you are into well-researched, visual, worldbuilding-focused books then this is for you. I believe that if you start this book without thinking it will be a “fantasy romance”, you have an enjoyable read awaiting you.

Full of suspense, folklore and magic, The Water Witch is not a book you'll want to miss. I absolutely adored this story from page one. It is beautifully written and gripping in a way that made it impossible to put down. I read the entire thing in one evening.

Ariadne begrudgingly returns to Brittany, France to assist her brother with his quest to uncover the lost underwater city of Ys. Ari swore she'd never return after she lost her fiancé to the sea as part of the very same expedition but when her brother called and begged, she couldn't resist.

Rafael has found himself back home to care for his aunt, who holds onto the stories about Ys with a passion. He does not know how to handle his aunt's insistence that Ys be found because the stories cannot possibly be real - or can they?

Ari was a well written character with whom I really connected. I found her to be relatable and felt each and every one of her emotions right along with her as she confronted her part and tried to figure out how to move forward. Her brother and his best friend, Jason and Nico were great supporting characters who truly added to the story. Rafael, too, was well-written and full of unexpected depth. I found myself loving him a bit more with each and every layer that was peeled back to reveal his deepest desires and character.

Check out the Water Witch if you are a fan of any of the following:

- Vengeful witches
- Magical realism
- Love after loss
- Found family
- Costal French towns
- Lyrical prose full of lore
- Treasure hunting
- Light academia
- Lost cities
- Family drama
- Suspense-filled stories

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

An orginal read that kept me up till the early hours of the morning engrossed in its magic. I loved this story, it kept me guessing right till the end and the storey was so wonderfully woven with magic, mystery and romance.

I just want to thank Netgallery for the chance to read and rate this book and thank Bookouture for the opportunity as well. The Water Witch was a bit hard to get into and took longer to read. Although I do usually enjoy slow burn adventure novels I feel that maybe this wasn't for me. Without giving any spoilers there were a few tropes I did not care for in this novel. The "twist" in this book also felt unsatisfying as I would have liked to have a better reason for this particular character becoming completely unhinged? I just wasn't convinced why it would lead to this particular plot point. I was left with more questions than answers.

𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡, 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐜’𝐡𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐫𝐧, 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫, 𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞, 𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐭𝐨𝐮𝐜𝐡. 𝐂𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐢𝐦.
‘𝐈 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮,’ 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐚 𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫. ‘𝐈 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬. 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐈 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞, 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐟 𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫. 𝐈’𝐥𝐥 𝐰𝐚𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐬. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐚 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨𝐨. 𝐈𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐤, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐔𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐦𝐲 𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐲, 𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐥 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐘𝐬, 𝐈 𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐧.’
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐡𝐞𝐫, 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐝, 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐝, 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬. 𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐀𝐧𝐤𝐨𝐮, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡, 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐞𝐟𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫, 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐝𝐨 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐫. 𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐲, 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞, 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐫, 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐞𝐫.
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐞.

“𝐈 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐞𝐫 𝐝’𝐈𝐫𝐨𝐢𝐬𝐞. 𝐈 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞 𝐒𝐢𝐫è𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫. 𝐍𝐨 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝.”

_________________________

This book was nothing like what I expected and yet extremely good!! A treasure hunting thriller romance based off the coast of France, it is full of ancient curses, a lost city, the right hand of Death haunting people, suspense, and one deadly mask.

Dr. Ariadne Walker is NOT happy with her brother. Still grieving the sudden death of her fiancé mere hours after receiving a letter from him that changed her life forever, she has lost her dream job and is still trying to find a future without the love of her life when her brother unceremoniously lures her back to the coast where her lover died…and to the expedition that cost him his life. Searching for the lost city of Ys, Ari’s brother Jason coaxes her into staying for a short while in an effort to help them pick up where her fiancé’s trail left off. While she is there more deaths begin to plague the town and after a chance encounter with Rafael du Lac and his great aunt whose ancestors died defending Ys, the dark history, legend, and lore begin to come to the surface. After recovering a strange mask from the sea events take a dark turn and soon Ari and Rafael find themselves in a race against time to break the curse before it claims it’s next victim…Rafael himself.

Reading this book felt like taking a haunted European holiday during the dying days of summer. The history and visuals in this book were absolutely perfect and just beautiful and I’ve never wanted to visit the coast of France more than I do now!!

The story itself was a bit difficult to follow at times, but the structure of it was fantastic. Being given the true events straight away in the prologue and then slowly peeling back the layers of the tragedies that have befallen the du Lac family since then hooked you in and kept you in place until the very end. There were more than one instance of hair raising, creepy, edge of your seat afraid to turn the next page, suspenseful vibes, and juxtaposed against something so beautiful as the location and something so “innocent”, fun, and carefree as treasure hunting overall gave the book an absolutely perfect aesthetic.

The characters were wonderful, and I won’t go into TOO much about them so as to avoid spoilers, but I can say that where some will steal your heart and some will immediately turn you off, you will find that slowly begin to morph over time and I ended the book with some of the most unlikely characters being my absolute favorite.

All in all I enjoyed this book SO MUCH. Thank you very much to NetGalley, Bookouture, and the author for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!!

Being someone who lives two hours away from Brittany, you would think that I would have known about the legendary city of Y! Well, I didn’t. And it was really interesting to discover it through this book!

The whole folklore and magical part of the story was, without a doubt, my favourite part of the book. But I will talk more about it later, as I usually prefer to talk about the things that didn’t work for me first, to end on a better note.

So let start with the thing that bothered me the most, the pacing. This book is very slow paced. The plot was dragged by unnecessary ‘daily life’ scenes that took me off the story. Nothing happens for most of the book to the point where the climax completely missed the mark because of a next to non-existent building. The fact that I saw the plot twist coming a mile away didn’t help either, unfortunately.

The romance was very present, a lot more than the ‘fantastic’ aspect of the story. I think this book was wrongly described as an adult fantasy to attract a bigger audience. An audience that would in the end realize that it’s more, in my opinion, a treasure hunting with a heavy romance subplot than anything else.

As I said earlier, I adored the way the author rewrote this folklore tale and how she introduced it. I have no doubt that incalculable number of hours of search were necessary to bring as much accuracy and I greatly thanks her for it because I had a really good time discovering this myth. She also did a fantastic job at describing the atmosphere of Brittany!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Bookouture for providing me an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Many thanks to NetGalley & publisher for an e-ARC in exchange for a honest review. All comments and observations are my own

My gripes with this book without giving out spoilers: motivations are stale, relationships & connections feel shallow, and the plot was so uncomplicated/predictable that it's borderline boring. The ingredients were there but the execution really leaves much to be desired.

The Water Witch by Jessica Thorne is a modern-day romantic fantasy centered around a family curse and the race against time to break it before it takes another life. We're introduced to Ariadne Walker (Ari), a doctor of archeology, whose world was turned upside down when the curse claimed the life of her fiancée Simon. While Simon wasn't a part of the family this curse is said to plague, his ancestors were closely tied to them. Ari reluctantly returns to the seaside village in Brittany, France, to help her thoughtless brother in an archeological dive for the lost city of Ys.

Rafael du Lac is a member of aforementioned cursed family and is next in line to become un-alived. He comes to Brittany to check on his great-aunt who he believes is being taken advantage of by a group of charlatans searching for Ys but they're really just Ari's brother & crew. Rafael is your typical paragon of a romantic lead: millionaire playboy with the heart of gold and patience for days. As far as Ari is concerned, she really doesn't deserve to have someone like him. You see, Ari has been nursing her loss for two years now and she can't seem to move on. I understand that people grieve in different ways, I do, but in terms of this character it just seems excessive and really irritating because Jessica Thorne doesn't expound on why she or any of these other characters really are worth caring about. I don't understand why Ari can't get over Simon when you don't feel their connection. The author doesn't go in-depth with her characters; everything is all very surface-level here (pun intended.)

I liked the idea of this story but it either suffered from having too many pieces or it didn't have enough steam to be a longer story; give us a little and make it count or give us a lot and make sure it's worthwhile. I just kept thinking that I wanted/needed more but not in the kind of way that you never want the story to end but end it did and rather abruptly at that.

The water witch by Jess Thorne
Publication date 5th August 2022

Brittany, France. Ariadne Walker’s fiancé Simon drowned in the stormy Atlantic Ocean doing what he loved: searching for the lost underwater city of Ys. Local legend says it was destroyed centuries ago when the princess of Ys became a water witch, cursing the name of the man who betrayed her.


What would you do if love of your life dies when looking for city that is actually underwater? What if your brother is still looking for it? And there is this man, who believes that he is cursed and you are his only chance to live?

Book started as a slow read, but as soon as I got more into it I couldn’t stop reading it and put it away. All story is so perfectly written that when you read you see it all visually in your mind, thinking “did I just watched it or read it” I could definitely see it as a movie or series !!!

The Water Witch is mystery combined with fantasy, slow burn romance between Ari and Rafael even though their love interest isn’t fully open and explored.

Jessica Thorne wrote this book as retelling of one of The Brittany, France folklore stories and I loved how it turned out.

The only thing that turned my 5 starts to 4 - loads of French words and names that I had no clue what they meant.

Over all, good and enjoyable read, would definitely recommend to those who loves fantasy, mystery and maybe a little bit of detective type of books !

Thank you NetGalley for this arc and opportunity to read this beautiful work!!

I voluntarily read and reviewed copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

***Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for providing me with an electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.***

Yes. Absolutely, 100% yes.

This book is a well-balanced blend of fantasy, romance, and archaeology that just felt so organic and effortless.

Ari lost her fiancé, Simon, to a diving accident. The two of them, plus her brother and a family friend, are all marine archaeologists. After Ari returned to England a few years prior to teach, Simon began looking for the lost French city of Ys. Now, Ari’s brother has asked her to come back because he thinks they’ve finally found it. Rafael du Lac’s family has lived in this part of France for generations, and his great-aunt believes the family is cursed for failing to protect Ys. Ari and Rafael begin to unravel the mystery to break the curse and maybe fall in love at the same time.

This book really hit a perfect note. The plot was heavily folklore inspired without being cliched or heavy handed. All of the characters had personality and their chemistry as a group was wonderful. The plot stayed mysterious until the perfect moment. The prose was poetic but not pretentious. Overall, it was just a really lovely and compelling read.

Thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

The Water Witch by Jessica Thorne is an adult fantasy that takes the mermaid of lore and transforms her into a water witch. The story revolves around Adriadne, or Ari for short, whose fiance Simon drowned while searching for a lost underwater city. When Ari arrives in France, she encounters Rafael, a local who claimed the legends are true. Can the pair find the lost city of Ys and break the curse plaguing Rafael's family?

Here is an enchanting excerpt from the Prologue:

"The waves crashed against the walls, their rage beyond control. The skies darkened, black clouds blotting out the sun. Servants lit lanterns and frantically secured the shutters and the doors. They pushed sandbags against the cracks and the entrances. The water still found its way inside, as water will, until damp permeated everything.
In the ballroom, the dancers whirled and laughed, without a care in the world. The musicians played furious reels, drowning out the sound of the storm. The king drank the fine wine from the south, rich and red, in endless supply, ignoring them all, even the priest who whispered urgent warnings, muttered prayers and tried to raise the alarm.
But the king did not listen.
No one listened."

Overall, The Water Witch is an adult fantasy that mixes fairy tale elements with realistic elements. One highlight of this book is the twist at the end, which I wasn't expecting. I did take off 1 star, because the fantasy elements seemed very fake to me. I felt that they didn't blend very well with the realistic elements of the story. If you're intrigued by the excerpt above, or if you're a fan of adult fantasy, I recommend that you check out this book when it comes out in August!