Sunday, October 20, 2013

Book Review: The Winter Witch by Paula Brackston

Publication Date: January 29th 2013 
Format: Hardcover, 340pp

Synopsis (From the Publisher):
"New York Times bestselling author Paula Brackston transports readers to the windswept mountains of Wales in this spellbinding tale of love and magic. 
In her small Welsh town, there is no one quite like Morgana. She has never spoken, and her silence as well as the magic she can't quite control make her a mystery. Concerned for her safety, her mother quickly arranges a marriage with Cai Bevan, the widower from the far hills who knows nothing of the rumours that swirl around her. After their wedding, Morgana is heartbroken at leaving, but she soon falls in love with Cai’s farm and the rugged mountains that surround it, while slowly Cai himself begins to win her heart. It’s not long, however, before her strangeness begins to be remarked upon in her new village. A dark force is at work there—a person who will stop at nothing to turn the townspeople against Morgana, even at the expense of those closest to her. Forced to defend her home, her love, and herself from all comers, Morgana must learn to harness her power, or she will lose everything."

My Review:

When you have a main character that is mute, it would seem rather difficult to have him/her as the narrator, but Paula Brackston manages to pull it off in a most extraordinary manner. The main character, Morgana, tells her story with great emotion and clarity. There was never a moment of confusion, or any type of disconnect from the narration of the story.

Although the difficult style of narration was flawless, the overall story did have a few issues. First, halfway through the book the momentum of the plot took a steep decline and never recovered. In the beginning the mystery and intrigue surrounding Moragana's past were enough to compel further reading, but it was not enough to sustain a 340 page novel. Also, there were numerous questions that were left unanswered, which was unfortunate because the expectation of having them answered was the reason to continue reading the second half of the novel. 

Even though the second half of this book brought the overall rating down, the first half showed enough of Paula Brackston's talent to pursue reading another one of her novels. 

Also by Paula Brackston:
The Witch's Daughter (Review Coming Soon)
The Midnight Witch (Pub Date: March 2014)

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