I dont actively hate this book but at the same time i dont understand how it has gotten rave reviews from a select few authors. My only conclusion is that they are blind as there is infinitely better work out there. The Black Witch is a poorly edited, exhausting book which i simply do not have time for.
A full review, complete with blow-by-blow commentary is available on my blog.

I began this book and started to think it was interesting. But the more I read the more I didn't care. I gave up on it.

I am so pleased to have ignored the unwarranted "backlash" surrounding this novel. It is actually a fantastic, thought-provoking novel regarding prejudice and how one is raised can impact our views throughout life. Yes, prejudice and racism can be a very controversial topic. Everyone has opinions. The thing is: this book doesn't display it's very helpful message in a negative or harmful way. I think people could learn a very important lesson through this story. Prejudice isn't a black and white kind of thing. Some are raised a certain way, but can learn acceptance and tolerance. We are ignorant until we are in the know. Prejudice can be horrific, but isn't it doing the very issue an injustice if we sugarcoat that? We know it's been an issue throughout all of history, so displaying the horrors while showing we can learn and change is ultimately a very important thing. All in all, I urge you to ignore those who haven't even read the book and give it a read yourself. Who knows? You might learn something. Highly recommend!!

Didn't get a chance to finish it before it expired. But from the half I read I was loving it. I can't wait to grab it at the library and finish it.

A horrible read. I wouldn't recommend it at all. The character development was nonexistent, and the amount of racism in this book is uncalled for.

I had a different take on this book than many of the reviewers of this book. I also noticed that many of the reviewers on Goodreads in particular did not read the entire book, so....

Sounds like the book has stirred up some strong feelings so it may get a lot of attention.

I loved the writing and felt like I was really "in" this world the entire time I was reading it.

Maybe since I grew up reading books where Elves hated Dwarves simply because of what they were and vice versa I was able to accept a lot of this as a fantasy tale rather than a mirror of our society. If I were to see this as a mirror - I would say it raises the idea of what can happen in a biased and corrupt society when a truly evil person is put in charge. I would use that to fuel my fire to fight some of the corruption and hypocrisy and possible and actual loss of human rights I see occurring RIGHT NOW in the US. If this book is a mirror, I see this more as a WARNING and wakening call to our society than anything else.

I also saw Elloren as a character who was raised in a very sheltered environment - and grew up with one world view. She was not exposed to people outside of her family and immediate neighbors. If she had been raised by her Aunt - she may have been another Fallon Bane but she was raised with a different type of values because of her Uncle Edwin. As she is exposed to the horrible treatment of her society, she gradually becomes more tolerant and ends up joining the resistance. I see more great things coming from Elloren in future books - perhaps even an overturning of the way her world is run. I look forward to reading more!

This book is incredibly harmful: racist, homophobic, and violently bigoted. All other aspects of the book fall by the wayside in the face of such blatant hate.

The Black Witch by Laurie Forest is a coming of age story about a girl named Elloren Gardner. I saw this on Netgalley and the cover and blurb pulled me in.

The story begins with Elloren, the granddaughter of a Black Witch, Carnissa Gardner. After spending her life in a village, she's now being sent to the Verpax University to finish her education.

I think the author is good at writing and I enjoyed her writing style. The story had a good amount of action and romance. Certain parts of the book were thrilling to me and there were also some slower boring times as well. There are many characters and I liked the world the author creates because it's very magical, creative, and detailed, but for the most part, this was just ok for me. The book is a little different than I expected.

I was really surprised to see so many 1 star reviews on this book and many from people who didn't read the book. I certainly think it deserves more than 1 star. I do believe the university is a very hateful place and the story contains racist and prejudiced characters, but you have to get past it. It takes awhile and you must read the entire book to get there, which takes forever because the book is so long, like 600 pages. If you can get past two-thirds of the book and witness how Elloren's character starts changing, you'll understand why the author wrote it this way. Eventually, she starts to view things differently and starts realizing that everything she's been taught may not be correct. I definitely don't think the author wrote the story this way to celebrate these types of behaviors and feel like by the end of the story everything comes together.

I still liked the book, but didn't love it. I'll probably still read the next book.

3***

This is the type of book that you read while brushing your teeth and knocking yourself on walls since you can't put it down. Well recommended by the Dewey Divas and Dudes, the story brings the reader into à well plotted fantasy with just enough romance to keep a young audience interested. The main character is quite naive which makes it sometimes annoying but she grows on us. Only negative point is that we have to wait for the second volume.

I would actually give the book 3.5 stars. I liked the beginning. In the middle, Elloren began to really annoy me. I get that the author had to show her growth and progression. But she was weak, then a flair of strength and then back to weak. Then toward the end I began to really like it again. I have to say that I felt like it was a female Harry Potter meets the breakfast club. The obligatory mean girl, the new girl who catches said mean girl's guy. Hints of a love triangle, but maybe not too much. A banding of the misfits. My absolute favorite character is Rafe, Elloren's brother. I could fall for him. He has charm, strength, wit, and skills. I enjoyed reading this book and wanted to stay with the story. Of course, it ends with a cliffhanger. I will look forward to the next book. I saw some nasty comments about the book being racist. I don't agree. I think it is showing the consequences of racism and making a statement about societies who won't accept differences well. Let's face it people. This book is a fantasy. A made up world. There is no reality here. You can take from it what you want and just enjoy a good storyteller's way of telling a story. I recommend this to someone who enjoys fantasy with some romance thrown in.

I give the book 5 stars. I really enjoyed the world that was created and the characters. I can not wait to read the next book. I would definitely recommend this book.

There's been a lot of chatter about this book so I started reading THE BLACK WITCH knowing that some readers were distressed by the content. The main character grows up priviledged and sheltered in a fascist society so she's in for a big awakening when she heads off to magic university where she meets all the peoples she taught were evil. It takes a while, but she begins to understand that her upbringing was wrong and she begins to rebel.

I can certainly understand where that came from since the first 2/3 of the book contain a lot of triggers about racism, sexism, interracial marriages, racial purity, elitism, homophobia and more, Such difficult material is not a great match for YA readers who need more sensitivity or who may not be critically reading a fantasy book to put the hateful comments in the right context.

It's an ambitious first book and clearly not everything could fit into its 600 pages. In addition to these social issues, the world building is big with lots of nuggets seeded here and there, but not explained or resolved. There's an abrupt ending with lots of story left on the table which is frustrating.

This book is filled with racism, ableism, and even had moments of self-harm and sexual assault. I don't know what the author was thinking. The world building was spotty at best and wasn't consistent. It was difficult to get through to the ending, honestly. I know this was supposed to be a redemption arc, but I didn't see it. I didn't feel it. I get that fantasy can have different races that are pitted against each other, but this is YA and it should be called out as problematic. I'm not okay with this title. At all.

This novel lacks for nothing. I habe never seen such beautiful character development. I feel for her and I'm also left feeling for her friends, all of them victims in a society that brands them as, "evil." Love grows in unlikely places, as the novel beautifully depicts. Intertwined in a fantastical world on the brink of war, is a story about a young woman finding her way in a society that does not allow individuality. 10/10

I just can't with this book.
I can't.

I had to stop at 45%. I just couldn't force myself to carry on any further.
Even getting this far was a struggle.

This book is sooo problematic.

I'm aware the author is probably setting it up so that our oh-so-special MC can grow and change and become a better person and probably change the whole bloody world along the way.
But no.

It was racist and sexist and just awful.

Was the author trying to make Lukas Grey seem attractive to the reader?
Because he really just comes across as a privileged, entitled, douche bag.

When Elloren first meets him he hurries her away to a dark corridor within the first 5 minutes because she's never been kissed and he needs to rectify this right away apparently.
No.

When Elloren asks him to show her some magic what does he do?
Make some magic flowers for her?
Put on a beautiful, impressive display?
No.
He wraps her up in dark tendrils of magic and pulls her to him forcibly.
Gross.

And then later after Elloren has just said she needs to stay away from him and is LITERALLY stepping backwards away from him, he 'binds' her with a spell to pull her closer to him and starts getting all kissy-kissy with her neck and chuckling.
No, no, no!
She just said no to you dude!
Not okay!

All of the females were bitchy and catty and hating on each other.

One of the main tensions in the book is Elloren and a nasty, bitchy girl fighting over the terrible Lukas Grey.

Certain races were slaves, sold him cages, described as 'deranged hordes' and 'half-breeds'.
Our charming Lukas threatens their families (including a 5 year old child!) because they hurt poor, precious Elloren.

What with all the racism, classism, arranged marriages, and such I couldn't give this book anymore of my time.

Not to mention it's incredibly dull and slow.
Nothing seemed to happen.
And all that nothing happened at an incredibly slow pace.
I just didn't care about any of it other than how offensive it is.

I'm totally aware that Elloren will probably realise the error of her ways at some point in the story.
But at 45% in I feel like she should already be making strides towards this?
Not still hating everyone of a different race to her and judging other girls for being 'ugly'.
Come on.

No thank you.

I found this a promising start to a new fantasy series. It's got brilliant world building and plotting, but the writing is a bit clunky. It can be difficult to get into the flow - the author's style isn't as polished as others in this genre - but it's worth persevering.

The story opens with Elloren Gardner's introduction into society under her influential aunt's patronage. Elloren has been hidden away and homeschooled by her reclusive uncle, along with her older brothers (who have already gone on to University), and she discovers she's the spitting image of her famous grandmother, The Black Witch. Gardnerian society applauds her for this likeness, if not for the fact Elloren is supposedly magic-less, and at first, Elloren enjoys the luxury and acceptance of her clan.

Then she moves to University, and its forced integration of all races. There are many in this book, and she quickly encounters hatred and revulsion for her heritage. Her people's conquest of other lands has caused deep division and racism. Elloren's first task, after her refusal to be "fasted" or engaged to a young man her aunt deems acceptable, is to confront those prejudices. Her aunt places her with two Icarals as roommates, obviously hoping that contact with those deemed demonic will make Elloren break and accept the fasting. Instead, Elloren gradually gets to know individuals from other races and, as she learns the true facts of her grandmother's conquests, joins forces to resist the Gardnerian atrocities that soon become law.

Elloren's nemesis, Fallon Bane, is widely thought to be the Black Witch of a new prophecy, destined to put down a mysterious, unnamed Icaral who threatens to destroy the Gardnerian way of life. The first half of the book has Elloren crying and whining her way thru various victimizations. It gets annoying but thankfully, she does manage to fight back occasionally. And while the author leaves many clues that Elloren isn't as powerless as everyone thinks she is, (sort of like Clark Kent's secretly obvious disguise no one else figures out), she never connects the dots. I'm guessing the revelation of her heritage and magic will be the focus of future books, as well as the love triangle surrounding her.

Elloren Gardner has been raised in seclusion with her brothers by her uncle after her parents died in the last major war. She believes that she has no magic and that her only future lies in apothecary medicines. When she is old enough, her uncle sends her off to university to study in the hopes that she will one day be able to run her own apothecary.

But best laid plans and all... Elloren's aunt steps in and tries to get Elloren to wandfast to an eligible soldier, who is also the man most sought after by Elloren's worst nightmare and most dangerous enemy. Things are worsened further when Elloren's aunt also refuses to pay Elloren's fees, forcing Elloren to work in the kitchens, and also live in the worst of the rooms with the most dangerous of students.

The prophecy is coming. Elloren may be the one named. And time is running out.

Final thoughts: Ugh. Let's just RAM ideas into the reader over and over and over again. Racism! BAM! Prejudice! BAM! Religious intolerance! BAM!!! It's relentless and unending. No one understands anyone else. No one listens to anyone else. When one person does listen, suddenly everyone becomes friends. It's basically the Christian Right (the Mages/Gardnerians) vs. the world with Fae, Kents, Urisks, Lupines, Icarals being every other race and religions on this earth. We vilify and lie about what we don't know or understand just like the Mages make up stories and deliberately misinterpret things to put the worst spin possible on the other people.
The world was pretty decently created and I liked most of the characters, but that message was just too strongly shoved up my nose again and again.

Rating: 2/5

ARC courtesy of NetGalley

Description:

A Great Winged One will soon arise and cast his fearsome shadow upon the land. And just as Night slays Day, and Day slays Night, so also shall another Black Witch rise to meet him, her powers vast beyond imagining.

So foretells the greatest prophecy of the Gardnerian mages. Carnissa Gardner, the last prophesied Black Witch, drove back the enemy forces and saved her people during the Realm War. Now a new evil is on the horizon, and her granddaughter, Elloren, is believed to be Carnissa's heir—but while she is the absolute image of her famous grandmother, Elloren is utterly devoid of power in a society that prizes magical ability above nearly all else.

When she is granted the opportunity to pursue her lifelong dream of becoming an apothecary, Elloren is eager to join her brothers at the prestigious Verpax University and finally embrace a destiny of her own, free from the shadow of her grandmother's legacy. But she soon realizes that the University, which admits all manner of people—including the fire-wielding, winged Icarals, the sworn enemies of all Gardnerians—is an even more treacherous place for the granddaughter of the Black Witch.


For fans of Sarah Maas' Throne of Glass series... I won't go into description, because I am terrible at it anyways and Amazon has a great one from the back of the book. Elloren's parents were killed in a Icaral attack and she and her brothers have lived with their uncle ever since. But the time has come for Elloren to either go to university or become handfasted to wed. Her uncle makes the decision to send her to university, which her aunt disagrees with. The aunt blackmails Elloren and makes her life at university hell until she agrees to handfest with a handpicked young man. Elloren pushes hard in school and working in the kitchens to pay her way so she doesn't have to rely on her aunt. Racial lines are crossed, because there are Icarels and elves and all sorts at the university. Elloren comes to realize that everyone is wrong about the other races and sets out to help.

This really was a fantastic book and I am so excited NetGalley gave me an advanced copy. But I am going to die waiting for book 2 sometime in a year and a half.....

Thank you, NetGalley and Harlequin Teen, for the opportunity to read and review this book. My views are entirely my own.

Though not quite what I expected, The Black Witch was a pleasant surprise. Like a chess board, the pieces of the book slowly and carefully all come into play, each which a strength and weakness all their own, and each a delight. The two queens of the chess board, Elloren (our MC) and Fallon (one of a few antagonists) lead an assembly of pieces. There are also our two kings, Vogel (another antagonist) and Yvan (a budding romantic interest), our knights (Diana, Damion, Lukas, Jarod), and an assortment of other players that all weave together and come to life under Forest's able hands to pave the way to a very epic series. Though long for a debut/first book in a series (which I LOVE! I'm a sucker for longer books), it quickly becomes evident that this is necessary to give this vivid world the space it needs to unfurl and illustrate the problems our MC faces.

Fans of High Fantasy, the likes of Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson and Green Rider by Kristen Britain, will love this world. Fans of Lady Helen in The Dark Days Club by Alison Goodman will love our MC, Elloren, for she is truly genuine and Forest does a great job making her entirely believable. I dislike books with MC's that never struggle with their identity and morals, and aren't true to their time or place. She really comes into her own, and finds her agency very realistically. Also, fans of Patrick Rothfuss's The Name of the Wind will love the university setting of this book.

Overall, The Black Witch was a truly immersive, engaging and thoroughly enjoyable read, and I can't wait to dive into the sequel! I will definitely be pre-ordering my own copy of this book!