Clare Marchant
BelEdit Book Reviews
I usually avoid dual-timeline novels because I rarely find them successful. The House of the Witch is the exception that proves me wrong. It works! With two main stories, about Adrianna in the present and Ursula in the 17th century, the two timelines flow together very smoothly and balance each other. I was equally immersed in both timelines and, in short, I loved it!
As the blurb describes it:
“…like Adrianna herself – the cottage holds secrets […] 1646: Between her work as the village midwife and the medicines she sells from her cottage, Ursula has no need for a man. But this ideal leaves her unprotected in a world where just one accusation of witchcraft can mean certain death….”
One thing I liked is that the historical timeline is not filled with anachronisms (as often happens in dual timelines). The two main characters, and their lives, are each different and feel unique to their time, despite any “connections” they may share.
The supernatural elements are well embedded in the story. That, and the vivid descriptions making you really feel you are in the house and side by side with Adrianna/Ursula, made for a satisfying suspension of disbelief.
I very much enjoyed the writing style too. There’s a down-to-earth, practical tone that adds to the sense of the quotidian, helping to immerse the reader in the scenes and making the magical aspects seem ordinary, not fantastical.
The House of the Witch is interesting in the parallels it implies between the lives of women in the past — threatened with ostracism or death if they dare to live independently, outside of the control of men — and of women today, who so often still suffer under the threat of men who want to control and constrain them. Plus ça change…
Highly recommended.
Thanks to the author, publisher @BoldWoodBooks and Netgalley for the ARC. All my reviews are 100% honest and unbiased, regardless of how I acquire the book.
#NetGalley #bookreview #ClareMarchant #BoldwoodBooks
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