The Black Witch, from Laurie Forest

I was really excited about this book. I usually love anything that has a witch as the main character. And in this case: a witch without actual power? Count me in!
However… I was pissed at Elloren during more than 3/4 of the book (and this is a 600+ page book we are talking about!). I don’t have anything against a character that is the villain; on the contrary, it’s usually refreshing to read from their point of view. But in this case, she is not a villain per se. She is “just” VERY prejudiced. The xenophobia coming from the main character and others was maybe too realistic for me; striking a personal chord I was not prepared to deal with… I am usually comfortable with characters that are not like me, or that do not share my moral values. But this bothered me too much.
Everything else is good. I like the setting, the universe that was created. And it makes me sad to say out loud how much I could not stand the main character (loved her brothers, though).
I know The Black Witch is book 1 of a series but I don’t think I will read the sequels…

About the author

Laurie Forest lives deep in the backwoods of Vermont where she sits in front of a wood stove drinking strong tea and dreaming up tales full of dryads, dragons and wands.

Amazon.com
Chapters Indigo

The Black Witch Book Cover The Black Witch
Laurie Forest
Harlequin Teen
7 August 2018
608

Evil looms on the horizon, and for Elloren Gardner, granddaughter of the last Black Witch, the pressure to live up to her magical heritage is building. Elloren's people, the Gardnerians, believe she will follow in her grandmother's footsteps. But Elloren is utterly devoid of power--in a society that prizes magical ability above all else. Granted the opportunity to study at the prestigious Verpax University, Elloren sets out to embrace a destiny of her own, free from the shadow of her grandmother's legacy. But the university may be the most treacherous place of all for the granddaughter of the Black Witch, and Elloren soon realizes that the world she knows is not what it seems. If she is to survive the coming danger, she'll have to free her mind from the assumptions she was raised with, and learn to trust the very people she's been taught to hate and fear. 

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