OH! This writer reminds me of Alice Hoffman and Deborah Harkness. LOVED this! The story, the atmosphere, the characters were all so rich and detailed. I found it very hard to step away to do menial things like work! I am so looking forward to reading more by Crutcher!!

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this story but didn't love it. And I really wanted to love it. But throughout most of the story I found myself always with the knowledge that I was reading and not diving into another world.

The Orphan Witch follows Persephone May as she searches to belong. Her search leads her to Wile Isle, the Ever sisters, and a curse.

I found almost all the characters likeable but also felt like they never completely developed into more than the surface that they initially portrayed. Or perhaps there were just too many characters to fully develop any one of them specifically. I also felt the same way about the different worlds or realities. It was all really fascinating but you only get a touch of it before the story moves onto a different reality without ever delving deeper.

The scenes with the Library of the Lost and Dorian were interesting and fun to read. And I especially enjoyed the love, sisterhood, and deep sense of family that transcends the bonds of time and space between the witches on Wile Isle.

Persephone May has spent her entire life looking for where she belongs. Abandoned as an infant, Persephone grew up bouncing between foster homes. Now at thirty-two, she lives as a nomad with one suitcase packed at all times. Persephone has always felt different and after a very public display of magic, she finds herself again on the road to a new life. She receives an email from the only friend she’s ever been able to keep, inviting her to come to visit her home on Wile Isle. Persephone becomes entwined in a hundred-year-old curse and a decade's long family feud between two sets of sisters. While on the island she discovers she's a part of a long line of powerful witches. With the clock ticking, Persephone must learn to control her magic while trying to find the answers about her family she's been searching her entire life for. She also encounters a ruggedly handsome, but infuriating caretaker for the Library of the Lost. I enjoyed the interactions between the Ever Sisters and the Way sisters and getting to know them all separately. This was a fantastic story told through multiple POVs, journal letters, and flashbacks. Love is a theme throughout and the sacrifices people are willing to make to protect the people they love. If you love magic, the bonds between women, and strong female protagonists you will love this novel! Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

This book carries you to a world of endless possibilities. I love variety of feelings that are present and provoked: love, betrayal, sadness, and sacrifice. The characters are multifaceted and draw the reader into their stories. Persephone has always wanted to belong and never has before. But with possibilities, there is also risk.

I was super excited to get a chance to read this book when I saw it described as a cross between Alice Hoffman and Sarah Addison Allen books.. I'm not sure where this opinion came from. I like both the above authors, especially Sarah Addison Allen. Unfortunately I found The Orphan Witch to be an unpleasant struggle to read. At one point one of the characters says "Why is everyone suddenly cryptic and frustrating" and I felt this was a perfect summation of the book. Characters spoke in contrived and unhelpful ways for seemingly no reason other than to sound "witchy and mysterious" . Often actions seemed to be taken simply because ThAt's wHat wITchEs dO and because there was no other way to logically advance the plot point. Sadly I will not be recommending this book to other readers.

I enjoyed this story. It was something a little different than the usual books about witches. This young woman really didn't understand what was going on within herself. She met another young woman who convinced her to come to a place where she lived. Upon arrival she felt like she was home. Secrets came out, and she met family she never knew she had. The more she found out, the more she realized that things had been kept from her, her whole life. Curses against her family, pitting witch against witch. You want to keep reading, to find out what the outcome will be. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this story.
I am giving it a 3.75 out of 5.

Despite this being a genre I'm not drawn to (present day witches), it was extremely well-written. Easy to read and a plot that keeps moving, good for those who do like witchy things in our world.

<i>Thank you Netgalley and Orbit Books for this arc. All opinions in this review are my own.</i>

If you read one book, read this! Great story mixing past and present, witches and curses - travelling through time with a huge mystery to solve with a bit of romance nicely thrown in. Read this in one day, had to keep turning the page and although a very satisfying ending, wanted more!

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. I really enjoyed this book it was easy for me to connect to the characters and I enjoyed the slow moving mystery. There were a few times in the book where the plot had me kind of confused but other than that I thought this book was a decent read.

Thank you Netgalley for this free ARC for an exchange for an honest review.

I thought it was an interesting read.

The Orphan Witch is a is a wonderful and incredibly rich fantasy novel, so well built and fast paced that I wasn't able to put it down till I reached the end. I was absolutely captivated by the atmosphere, and the characters.

This novel submerges the reader in a landscape so imaginative and detailed that the information of the world building/plot never feels forced, and is never difficult to understand or picture in one's mind. I had an enjoyable time reading this and it held my attention the entire way through that I finished it within the day! I enjoyed every page and thought that the plot/story was very unique. Would recommend to anyone!

I read 17% of this book before I decided to stop. I’m just not excited to read it and I don’t feel connected to Persephone. The description made me very excited for this book, but the writing just wasn’t for me.

A masterfully written story, with amazing characters and a well developed plot.
Definitely recommend it for any YA fan.

The Orphan Witch
by Paige Crutcher
St. Martin's Press
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for letting me read this interesting book!

This story is about a gal that grew up in lots of foster homes. No one wanted her long. She didn't have many friends. Bad things seemed to happen when she was around. Especially if she looked in someone's eyes too long. Even if she liked the person.

It wasn't any better now that she was grown. She had just experienced one of those horrible times where people knew she was very different. She had to move again.

She went to see a friend on an island. What she finds there will change her life. Magic, her history, rival witch clans, and more. She finally gets answers about her past but she may wish she didn't know.

Persephone May has always been alone. Raised in foster care from infancy and apparently doomed to a lonely peripatetic existence in adulthood, she's unable even to make sustained eye contact for fear of the strange power she has to unintentionally cause people to hurt or kill themselves. Everything changes, though, when she's called to Wile Isle, and finds out the truth about her ancestry ... and the curse her family is under.

Many aspects of the book were refreshing. It's very rare for a Chosen One-style narrative to have a protagonist who's a thirty-something woman! I also loved that the cast of the novel is predominantly female, with a few very minor male characters at the beginning and Persephone's love interest, Dorian, being the only men involved. Several of the characters are WLW/lesbians as well.

However, I found the book unfortunately difficult to follow. The characters all have the same voice, which ranges from oddly old-fashioned to suddenly modern and sweary, and I'm still not sure at this point exactly what happened in the second half of the book, and how the villain was defeated. Another major difficulty I had, which might be more personal to me, is that the magic aspect of the book seems to be based entirely on Wiccan rituals and practices and was described from a perspective that took it for granted as obvious. Persephone never questioned why they're talking about a Goddess, and there are a lot of unexplained spells and aspects of magic that just felt like assumed knowledge on the reader's part. If you *are* a Wiccan, though, this may feel very comfortable.

I was drawn to this book by the beautiful cover! I really wanted to love it however, I found this book was just not for me. I did not feel myself connect with the book or any of the characters. It was slow moving and there was not enough action to keep my interest.

Thank you St. Martin’s Press and Net Galley for an ARC in return for my honest review!

I’m not sure if I should call this a fantasy read, or a literary fiction. The magical qualities make me lean on the fantasy side. This isn’t my typical genre and I usually have to power through. I really liked the beginning, but then it started slowing down and I couldn’t get into it.

Persephone has lived a lonely life due to the magic she has. An invitation from her one friend brings her to Wile Isle where magic is common. She finds friends to love along with a force about to erupt, a force Persephone finds herself in the middle of.
I loved this novel for the story, the characters and the setting.
I received an advanced reader copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for an advanced copy of the book.

The Orphan Witch is a new paranormal fantasy novel by Paige Crutcher- great for fans of Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstance and Practical Magic!

The book follows Persephone May, who wants nothing more than to have a meaningful place in the world. On a journey filled with witches, magic, and curses, she finds her true place isn’t quite what she’d imagined.

The most notable achievement in the novel is the stunning exploration of relationships (familial, platonic, and romantic). The Orphan Witch reads more like literary fiction than fantasy because of the attention to detail Crutcher pays to thorough characterization and descriptions. The poetic prose with which the Isle of Wile and all of its inhabitants are constructed lifts the story from the page. At the center of the book are beautiful, nuanced conversations between characters that lead to deep, meaningful relationships.

Two areas of growth in the novel are (1) pacing and (2) clarity. (1) The book is a very slow burn, with the main action beginning at the 50% mark. Prior to that, the book consists primarily of exposition and exploration. However, once past the halfway point, the pace increases and exciting action begins. (2) Clarity is muddled towards the end of the book. In those moments where the reader would typically fit together pieces of the puzzle and solve the mystery alongside the protagonist, Persephone is the only one “in the know.” It’s not clear what her next steps should be from the reader’s perspective, so it creates a bit of a disconnect because the answers are inherently obvious to the character but not the reader.

While the pacing at the start is slow because of the dense, poetic description, it builds the foundation for deeply understanding and resonating with characters, especially Persephone. The reader’s investment in character relationships will propel them through the end of this charming and powerful story.

3.0/5.0

The Orphan Witch is a fun book about Persephone May who grew up in foster care. All she ever wanted is a family but it eludes her. When someone looks in her eyes something happens to them. She is befriended by Hyacinth, who lives on an island and after one last disastrous attempt at finding love, she decides to visit Hyacinth. She finds her family at last and learns she is a witch. I enjoyed watching Persephone develop her magical skills and interactions with her cousins. I enjoyed this book. Thanks to NetGalley and St Martin's press for my advanced reader copy.