I liked this book! There are some problematic parts but overall the story was interesting and not predictable. The world is fascinating and I can't wait to continue with the second book!

I have had this arc for some time now. I was intrigued by the description and sold on the cover. I should learn by now to stop doing that. I tried really hard to enjoy this book, but it just wasn’t my cup of tea. I wanted a good witchy read, but I just couldn’t become captivated in the story. Maybe I’ll try again in the future, but it just isn’t working for me right now. The characters seem likeable and there is a steady build, but it just never took off for me.

This book was so good!! It's been a while since a fantasy novel drew me in like this. My only problem: I can't wait for the next one!

It's fun, it's mysterious, it has all the good makings of a book: a hard-working woman must fight prejudice at a school in order to show that she's not the prophesied evil witch everyone expects. After all, she's never even done magic, and all she really wants to do is make musical instruments in peace!

<b>TRIGGER WARNINGS: Homophobia, racism, Self Harm, sexual assault, sexism, abuse, animal slaughter, arranged marriages, religious intolerance</b>

I would not have read this book had a I known about its mishandling of the content.

I do not know how to properly convey thoughts on this book. I have linked a review down below that I believe grasps the issues with this novel the best. The worst part of this book is that it had a chance to make a statement against these horrible things but instead continues to justify and glorify it throughout the book. The failed attempt at character growth was upsetting and left me feeling hopeless. I wanted there to be a real change in the manic hatcters thoughts and actions toward the people of different species. But even when she began seeing how disgusting the behavior was her actions do not change. Turning a blind eye is no better than performing the action oneself. She could have changed she should have but the author waited till the very end to even hint at her growing as a person. The world and the story could have been five stars but the potential it had was ruined.

<b>I DO NOT recommend this book to anyone. </b>


http://b00kstorebabe.blogspot.com/2017/03/review-black-witch-by-laurie-forest.html?m=1

The Black Witch by Laurie Frost
1st I would like everyone to know that I had not realized this book was so controversial before I read it.
2nd I would like to formally apologize, here in writing, to Laurie Frost and Harlequin Teen for all the backlash and mudslinging that occurred. I do this on behalf of any of the people who never read the book and rated it poorly, or slammed it.
3rd I LOVED this book! I mean to say that YES YES YES- I loved this book!
Now I will tell you why.
You can read the blurb to get the premise of the story. You can read blogs and reviews with spoilers to know the exact plot, characters, etc. So I’ll let you do that.
The reason I loved this book is because I WAS Elloren. Laurie, (may I call you Laurie?)- do you know me somehow?
Did we ever meet and I told you about my life and you turned it into a fantasy YA novel? Seriously. This book blew me away with its accuracy.
I grew up in the rural South. I am sure you can imagine what I was indoctrinated into believing about other races, cultures, religions, and belief systems. Then my mom married my step dad and I became what’s known as a “military brat.” We lived on base. Not just on base but a base that had other bases on it. From OTHER countries even! Oh my heck- was my mother infuriated. I was being exposed to Latinos, African Americans, Asians, Israelites, Indians… not to mention Catholics, Jews, Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and any other religious sect you can think of. I was being tainted you know. I mean, I had to go to SCHOOL with those people!
Then started the “teenage rebellion.” I was acclimating to this new life. I WAS being exposed and I WAS realizing we are ALL human. Real people with real feelings and real lives. And their lives were not really too different from my own. They mattered. Then came the worst. I actually started having crushes on some of those boys who weren’t good enough for me. I was literally put into a behavioral health center for “acting out.” No, really. This is not fiction. This was my real life, I swear.
Fast forward to now, where I have a completely opposing belief system than my mother. She is slowly coming around to these modern times of awareness, acceptance, and support of people who are different than her. I am SO glad my Dad joined the Army. I cringe to think of who I might be now and how I would think. But I digress. You get the point by now I am certain.
So…on to the “review.”
As you can imagine, this book resonated with me. I loved the plotline, character development, the writing style…just all of it. The author wrote with such vivid detail, I got lost in her magical world. The characters were engaging and came to life for me BECAUSE of their flaws. I cheered for their growth and resistance to perpetuate the dogma that had been ingrained into them since their birth.
This book was symbolic to me. It brims with hope for a future that is free of the prejudice and fascism that permeate not only this fictional world, but our society as well. It speaks to the capacity of our nature to develop and form new ideas based on our life experiences. It opens up for discussion all of the things people found disturbing about it. The first thing one must do to eradicate such offensive opinions, behaviors, and beliefs- is to ACKNOWLEDGE that they do exist!
Sorry for the rant…
To make a long story short, as they say, I found this to be a brilliant work of fiction and I give it 10/5 stars!!!

This book was given to me by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This review or portions thereof, will be posted ( when able)) on Amazon, Goodreads, Kobo, Litsy, IG, B&N, Pinterest, Facebook, BAM, and my own blog. Unfortunately, I am unable to provide all links at this time, as I am using my phone.

I want to start off by saying, that I did not know that this was such a controversial read when I requested it on Netgalley. However, after delving into some reviews for this story, I want to make it clear that did not find this to be a “racist book.” While we definitely read from the perspective of a racist character, the shocking inner dialogue of prejudice did a highly successful job of highlighting the absurdity and “wrongness” of blind hate. Aside from that disclaimer, nothing else in this review will be based on the “racist” claims, and will more-so focus on the overall quality of the story. In short, my view is that the character is flawed, but that does not necessitate that the author shares the same flaws.
The magic system is creative and the fantasy world, thoughtfully well built. I especially loved the diversity of magical creatures. This was Laurie Forest’s debut, and it would have been hard to tell from reading! She writes in such a whimsically creative way that the fantasy world really pops off the page. I really enjoyed reading the character growth, of our protagonist Elloren. She goes from blindly believing hateful lessons that she was taught growing up, to questioning those beliefs, to choosing what to believe for herself. While the book ends with Elloren still concretely a flawed character, she is a long way from where she started. I will certainly be continuing with the series, as I am curious as to how Elloren will further grow as a character as well as the fate of our multiple side characters.

A very good read I thought it was an enjoyable magical adventure. While it's not without its flaws, if you keep an open mind, the dialogue and world-building really pull you in. I look forward to reading the author's next work.

I really tried to give this book a chance, but I think the reality is that it is a nearly insurmountable task to write a novel from inside the head of an explicitly racist character and have sophisticated readers want to read from that perspective - especially when we are reading for enjoyment. Most of my peers and colleagues are struggling to critically reflect on our implicit biases, and we are interested in hearing the voices of authors and narrators who have been marginalized. I am not sure there is anything to be learned from the viewpoint of a narrator who is clearly and explicitly prejudiced. Perhaps younger readers would learn more from this perspective and find it less artificial, or perhaps another author could create a richer world so that the biases don't feel so forced.

The Black Witch may be the most important young adult novel of this decade.

I know I heap praise on the novels and authors I love, but this is something different. This is not just a great novel or an exciting read. The Black Witch is a crucible through we which we discover our own desires, resentments, prejudices, and assumptions- during a decade in which we have so thoroughly lost sight of ourselves.

Ms Forest achieves this by immersing us in the heart and mind of a young woman who is discovering the darkness of her own assumptions and the cruelty of her society's past. There are no easy one-to-one analogies in the societies on display in this novel, no characters who are are absolutely based on real world people. But the thoughts- the racist zealotry, the fearmongering, the cruel and cowardly manipulations of the truth- are all too familiar. I found myself confronting several of my own assumptions about power and friendship.

I will be using this in classes and recommending it to students, friends, and family members. It is a terrifying, harrowing, deeply affirming adventure that teaches the power of self-definition and the edifying nature of ALL types of love. I cannot thank Ms Forest enough for writing this novel...this one will stick with me for a long time.

The Black Witch follows Elloren Gardner attending a university to fulfill a dream she never thought possible rather than being married off to an unknown suitor as is the custom of the Gardnerians. Starting out, Elloren has firm beliefs on what is righteous and what is evil based on all the stories she has been taught growing up, but as the story ventures on and Elloren finds herself rooming with some of the supposed evil, she soon learns that everyone has their own side of the story and everything that has been drilled into her mind is very much biased as it is the side of the Gardnerians she has only heard.

.Like many typical fantasy worlds, you have the usual characters( wolf shifters, witches, dragons) but we are also introduced to other characters(yikes, snake faerie sounds crazy!). Set in an intricately built world, most of the story takes place at the University Elloran is attending with all sorts of characters and sub-plots introduced. I am eager to read the next in the series in hopes of wrapping up some of these said sub-plots. Elloran starts out as a naive sheltered young woman but as the story progresses her arc really takes off with her realizing how naive and sheltered she is (albeit, a biiiiit slooooowly) and attempting to fix the wrongs she committed. This is a dark fantasy with plenty of action, magic, a grand prophecy, and a bit of a slow-burning romance as well.

Okay you guys listen I've heard/read a bunch of opinions that people have regarding this book and so with that I just want to say that I enjoyed reading this(well, as much as one can enjoy reading about prejudice and the narrow-mindedness of people) and I am looking forward to reading The Iron Flower. It is no easy feat to write a novel revolving around so much hatred and injustice, but I felt Laurie Forest delivered it well. If you took this writing as the author promoting racism, then, um did we read the same book?

“People see what they expect to see,” he says sharply. “Through a filter of their own hatred and prejudice.”

I've rated this 4 out of 5 stars because as much I enjoyed this, I felt it was a bit longer than it needed to be(600 pages) however, when I was reading it I was unaware it was 600 until I finished. So it was a very long book that felt long but I don't think it felt like 600  pages long if that makes sense.

This cover blew me away, but the book inside didn’t really do much for me. I thought that despite the negative reviews I could push through this (long) book and really give it my all. I felt as if it were controversial for the sake of controversy. It was too political, I felt as if the entire book was filled with prose that simply click-baited readers into getting triggered. Not my cup of tea.

Talk about a strong female character! Elloren just refused to give up, no matter what her aunt or classmates threw at her. I wasn't aware that this was a series until I got to the end, which was partially wrapped up but definitely left room for the story to be continued. I can't wait to see how the relationship between Yvan and Elloren plays out. They've been giving off vibes throughout most of the book. The Lipine twins relationships also have potential... Then there is the homosexual character (and no, I'm not going to tell you who they are) and another character who wants to become a different species so he/she (again trying to keep it spoiler free) can be with their lover. This diversity was really cool to read about and I applaud the author for creativity weaving it into the story. Overall, a fantastic book and one I highly recommend.

This wasn't my idea of what I would read but it had such a good premise. I really didn't enjoy this book that much but have an idea that this book could have been improved upon and in future she could grow more into a tremendous author.

I was really blown away by Laurie Frost's The Black Witch. She is able to craft a thoughtful exploration of the criticisms and prejudices that many people experience.If you don't want to read ANY on-page prejudice, I respect that, and this book isn't for you. It shows misogyny, homophobia, xenophobia and racism (even if the races are pink-skinned elves or werewolves) in order to offer social criticism on it but throughout the novel, it is always about the journey and the protagonist coming to realize that her beliefs were wrong. An excellent read.

The Black WitCh was AMAZING! An Epic Fantasy that you can’t pull away from.

It was even more amazing because i received the review copy this week thinking that I would have to wait for the next novel and SURPRISE! It is almost here!

This novel was fantastic, from he world building to the characters development it WOWs from the very first page. I was completely enthralled with the ideas of the world and the more I found out the more I wanted.

If you have read Roar by Cora Carmack or and of the Maas reads or anything fo the like, YOU WILL LOVE THIS!

I mean Witches and Elves and Shifters and ALL THE EPICNESS.

Elloren was Fantastic and her friends became my absolute favorite of all groups ever. I know. They might even top my crows! I KNOW. But there is something about YA fantasy reads that just DO IT for me!

But really, this world was amazing and the story grips you page after page. Forest takes the things people don’t talk about in society and puts just enough in there to make you want to scream at the characters.

I can’t wait for the next book. DAYS. That is all I have to wait.

Despite the backlash that this books has gotten, it really was a good book. It's got a good plot and good characters...don't judge a book before you've read it...

The Black Witch by Laurie Forest is a YA fantasy novel that delves deep into racism, sexism, homophobia, and so, so much more. We read from Mage Elloren Gardner’s point-of-view. She is a young woman navigating a new world outside her very sheltered life. She is the quintessential embodiment of a young person brought up in a social/racial class that teaches their children that they are superior because their religion, government, and "pure blood" promotes this problematic idea.

Our journey unfolds as our young narrator, Mage Elloren Gardner, is taken out of her very sheltered, small town life and put into the middle of a very mixed world full of the people she has been brought up to fear, hate, and hold herself above. Even surrounded by her "kind" spewing racist, sexist, homophobic, and elitist propaganda our narrator's understanding of the world quickly begins to fall apart and from those pieces she chooses to educate herself, learning the history of her people from the point-of-view of all those races they have conquered. She begins to fit the pieces of her shattered reality back together, but as she does it becomes clear that everything she was taught, everything that she had believed was wrong.

“Real education doesn't make your life easy. It complicates things and makes everything messy and disturbing. But the alternative, Elloren Gardner, is to live your life based on injustice and lies.” ― Laurie Forest, The Black Witch

This book has gotten a lot of hate from people who have not even cracked the cover to peer at what is inside. This book is about discovering that everything you have been taught and brought up to believe, about anyone different than you, were complete and utter lies. That the enemy, the bad people, those that must be feared are often the people who have painted the worse, unsubstantiated pictures of the world outside of their "pure blood". This book is about a young girl coming to terms with the fact that the real monsters are her own people, who have taught her to hate based on complete lies meant to segregate, euthanize, and rule over anyone not of "pure blood".

The Black Witch by Laurie Forest is a poignant look at society, governments, religions, and races promoting hate through lies and unfounded rhetoric. We see young Mage Elloren Gardner react, at first, to others based on those things that she has been taught, those things that are racist and hateful to anyone different, but the rub comes when she quickly begins to realize she and her own people are the monsters that everyone fears and hates. She uncovers her people's history is that of horrible atrocities that have been sweetly colored or white washed and promoted to her own people as the truth, just as much of our own real history has been edited to make us look superior and victorious (example of our real world take away - the internment of Japanese Americans in the United States during World War II, which was never taught in school when I was a kid and is still absent from so much of our US history books).

“People see what they expect to see,” he says sharply. “Through a filter of their own hatred and prejudice.” ― Laurie Forest, The Black Witch

Why is this book important? It is important because we are a society whose connection to people like Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks and the like fade with every passing year. I know people who truly believe racism is a thing of the past when it is alive and well throughout the world. This book is important because it tells our young people to look past the narrow lens of what has been deemed appropriate for the classroom and educate themselves about the real world that rages around them, The Black Witch and books like it remove our blindfolds and ask us to look upon the truth even if it is painful, even if it puts us at odds with everything we have been taught. Real education, real understanding comes from accepting even the most uncomfortable of truths rather than dismissing those truths because they are uncomfortable.

Why did I only give this book four-stars? First, I liked this book for how it shows that “the most beautiful people” can be the ugliest. The Black Witch is well written because we see how history, how behavior, how a specific group of people can come to believe that they are pure, righteous, and worthy of ruling, conquering, and eradicating anyone who is different or stands in their way. This happens every day in our world and is not something we should shelter our children from but educate them about. I also like how we really get to know about our main cast of characters and while this book was most definitely the set-up for the impending implosion of Mage Elloren Gardner’s world as she knows it, I appreciate the fact that her character truly tries to get to know the other races around her not only befriending them but also sincerely wanting to know about who they and who their races are at their core. At one point she asks one of the Lycans (werewolves) about stereotypes that have been ingrained into her own culture, only to find out that they were all lies.

“Often you have to fall into the blackness of utter confusion before you can emerge to see even the smallest glimmer of the truth.” ― Laurie Forest, The Black Witch

The reason I did not give this five-stars is because while Mage Elloren Gardner and her motley crew were fleshed out, so we could get to know them, the villains like her aunt, the new ruler, and her arch enemy Fallon are kind of two dimensional. As well as this book was written, readers would have read another hundred pages to really understand why we hate the bad guys. Yes, we get that they are racist, sexist, homophobic, liars, but we need to know them on a deeper level. Would we have hated Dolores Umbridge, from Harry Potter if we just got a glimpse of her snarky, elitist ways and moved on? No, we hated her because we got to see her torture Harry, we got to see her evil as it spread like a disease infecting Hogwarts. Would we have despised Gollum from Lord of the Rings if we hadn’t seen his twisted, darkness? Beyond the obvious racist, elitist, sexists, homophobic currents, readers need to understand the villains just as much as the heroes.

Personally, I recommend The Black Witch for all the reasons that made it a four-star read. It touches on a subject matter that even though set in a fantasy world is such a reflection of our own reality and for that reason alone it is worth hyping.

Elloren Gardner is the granddaughter of the Black Witch, Carnissa Gardner. Many years ago the Black Witch helped to liberate the Gardnerian people from their oppressors, and since Elloren looks just like her, she is expected to follow in her footsteps. Unfortunately, Elloren doesn't have any magic, so she jumps at the opportunity to go to the university to study as an apothecary apprentice. Once she gets there, she is forced to face her prejudice head on as she mingles with many different races. As she faces prejudice aimed at her, Elloren learns that her people have been wrong about so many things, and she must decide what side she is on in an increasingly dangerous political situation.
I loved this book! The writing is fantastic, and the lessons about assumptions, prejudice, and hatred are much needed in this difficult and complex world. The atrocities committed by the Gardnerian council are abominable, but the author also shows that the blame spreads to other races as well. I couldn't put this book down because I became invested in the story. It did drag a little in the middle and I didn't care for the profanity, but other than that I highly recommend this book and I'm definitely reading the sequel next!
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. A positive review was not required, and all opinions expressed are entirely my own.

Sigh. I had high hopes for this book before I heard about all the controversy around it. I still tried to give it a chance because I felt I should, but to be honest sometimes you need to listen to criticism to protect yourself. I didn’t like this one and I found it was indeed problematic.

The Black Witch was a bit of a slow starter, but never dull by any means. It slowly sunk its claws into me and wouldn't relent until I finished every book I could get my hands on in The Black Witch Chronicles.

Elloren could be hard to like and listen to sometimes, but I found her journey through the world and discovering beliefs and opinions for her herself to be a long, rocky, but ultimately real feeling one that allowed her to grow over time.

I was truly impressed with the world building in this book. I easily found myself totally enchanted with this land full of magic and mystery.

I do think that this story requires some amount of patience to really get into, but I found that after while I couldn't put the book down and any story that makes me instantly purchase every other book in series is a pretty impressive one, imo.