Josefine or Fin as her friends and family call her faces some insane changes overnight when her world is thrown into turmoil and the life she thought she knew is turned on it’s head.
If you enjoy super natural sorts of books this one will definitely fit the bill. I truly enjoyed it and believe you will too!

Oh, wow! What an awesome way to start to a series! This book is loaded with adventure, mystery, witchcraft, secrets,vampires, with a sprinkle of romance and feminism via a strong main character.

Josefine comes from a family of witches going way back in the family tree. Oddly, her witchy powers have yet to manifest, if they ever do. She has made peace with her dormant powers and is living happily with her grandmother, a wise witch herself. But when tragedy strikes, she is forced to leave that cozy home and embark on an adventure of a lifetime with an usual companion and a deadly vampire following her!

I cannot wait for the next installment in this series!

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.
Expected Publication Date November 9, 2021

Thank you Timeless Papers for the ARC! I love a good witchy read, but the whole falling in love with a male vampire plot line is so overdone, and still to this day, completely unoriginal. It's 2021, not 2007. However, the description of this book hinted at giving this unoriginal plot idea a new twist, which is why I decided to take the bait.

I can't necessarily say I was disappointed, the romance portion of the book was intriguing. It was the more of the writing style that was a bit too choppy for me. Dialogue scenes need to flow, but right off the bat, we'd have one character say one sentence, only to be followed by 1-2 paragraphs of exposition explaining in great detail the setting or backstory of something until the another line of dialogue is said again. From a reader's perspective, that can get pretty confusing real quick and possibly make some readers give up way too early.

But overall, it was a fairly decent read in a very unique setting that kept the story fresh. If you are a sucker for gorgeous vampires as the love interest, then this book is definitely for you.

The synopsis of this book got me so excited to read it, but by the end it was a massive let down. Josefine’s grandmother, one of the oldest and most powerful witches, is murdered by the First Vampire and a vampire-witch hybrid. Now, they’re after Josefine. She must first go to visit the home of the First Vampire’s brother because… well actually I’m not really sure why. Then she needs to traverse through an ancient forest to go to the Order because… well I also don’t know why. And this is the biggest problem with this novel.

The entire time Josefine is in the dark about why she needs to go to the Order. It isn’t until about 70% into the book (yes… 70%!!!) that we’re told she’s being used as bait to get the First Vampire to the Order so they can attack him. Okay… but still doesn’t answer why the First Vampire is so gung-ho about killing Josefine in the first place.

See, Josefine is what they call a “dormant witch,” a person born of witches but without powers. They’re viewed as a disgrace and a doormat in the witch world. Essentially, she’s nothing special. Now, there are hints that Josefine actually harbors a very intense ancient power. We even get a battle scene where we see a glimpse of it. Do we ever find out if she truly harbors this power and see more than a glimpse of it? No!

A vampire named Lucius joins Josefine in her trek through the forest (along with a couple other side characters). It’s never really explained why Lucius shows up in the story at all, but I digress. Josefine finds Lucius incredibly attractive, almost to an unbelievable extent. Josefine made clear at the beginning of the novel that she has never felt any sexual attraction to anyone before, but she just so much as lays eyes on Lucius and is literally obsessed with him?

“But for some reason, the thought of killing Lucius was unimaginable to me. I’d rather do something crazy like this. But why?”

Yes… but why?! Too many questions are raised and none are answered. There’s a brief moment where Lucius says something along the lines of “You don’t remember me?” Woah! Back up! Josefine and Lucius have met before but Josefine has no memory?! Wow, this seems interesting and could easily explain why Josefine is unnaturally attracted to Lucius. Do we ever find out more about this? No!

Also, Josefine interacted with a handful of vampires throughout the book. Each time she would think of a question the vampire would answer it out loud. Josefine would then wonder “It’s almost like they can hear my thoughts” or “Wow, did they just hear my thoughts?” Do we ever find out if vampires harbor this ability or not? No!

Wayyyy too many questions were raised and not one was answered. I understand this is set to be a series and you want to leave some lingering questions to draw readers into book two, but when no questions are answered in a 500 page novel it turns me off from reading book two.

All that happened in this book is that Josefine's grandma died and her plus three others traveled through a forest to get to the Order. The end. The book ends where it should’ve started in my opinion. The whole novel is a lead up to the Order where finally we’ll get some answers, and it ends as soon as they arrive? The entire journey in the forest could’ve been summed up in 3-5 chapters max, not half the book. I nearly DNF this but decided to continue since some fight scenes happened and it made the reading a little more interesting. Otherwise it was just them wondering, walking, and waiting the entire time.

The only reason I’m not giving this 1 star is because the writing itself is really good. The characters have interesting and unique personalities, the world is captivating and I want to see more. Everything about this novel should’ve worked. The plot was just so boring and essentially nothing really happened in this book. I may give book two a chance to see if the story really gets going, because I think when it does that it’ll be quite the ride. Regardless, I think this one can just be skipped.

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

Witches, vampires, magic. What more could I ask for?

Josefine is a young, "dormant" witch who is forced on the run after an ancient Vampire kills her grandmother and sets his sights on eliminating her. She is forced to trust people, and vampires, she's never met before, including one who makes her blood boil, both in good and bad ways.

I was attracted to this book by the description but I do think the story lost me a bit. It's mostly Josefine running away. There is a brief description of life with her grandmother and then it jumps right into Josefine running from evil, a brief stay in a mansion, and we're on the run again. Then, the book just kind of ends. Not a cliffhanger in a good way, the story just somewhat ... ENDS.

There is a hint of a romance between Josefine and another character and because of that and Bertram, Josefine's bonded animal, I am going to read the second book. If for no other reason than I need to find out why Josefine is so important and what powers she truly has.

Casual witches, vampires, and a side of mythology in modern Germany. When danger comes to her grandmother's apothecary shop, young witch Josefine flees with her raven familiar and a friend with secrets to find answers and safety with the mysterious Order sworn to protect humanity from vampires and other evils. This story is 80% mad scrambling to the secret hideaway (think Eragon or Shadowfell), 10% I-have-no-idea-where-these-monsters-came-from-but-they're-intense, and 10% chilling in a fancy mansion. The last chapters felt like they came to a stopping point more than an ending, and I'm totally with Josefine - can someone please just spill the secrets already! Oh well. Guess I'll let it tease me into the sequel.

**Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC**

MOOOORE! I NEED MORE NOW! this book was so good. Waiting for book two is going to feel like forever. I couldn't put this book down. It's just so fascinating, and it's an old story format told in a completely new way. I love it. It's just so good. Thank you Netgalley for letting me read this. I devoured it. I highly recommend this book.

(I will be posting to my goodreads as well)

Thank you so much Timeless Papers for this new eARC!

Wowza! This was freaking marvelous!
Josefine.by Denise Daye was a fabulous read.
And I honestly couldn't have enjoyed this more if I tired!

This is unputdownable, creative, original reading experience and the mythological world the author reimagined and vivid characterization, modern, smart dialogues she crafted were extraordinary!
Josefine is an epic story, stunningly written, engaging, consuming, original, and awe-inspiring.
The depth and marvel to the story, as well as the skilled writing,
This book utterly consumed me. When I wasn’t reading it, I couldn’t stop thinking about it!

I had so much fun reading this! I can't thank the publisher, NetGalley and Author for this ebook!
And I'm looking forward too book two.... Hopefully!

A young witch is thrust into the unknown world of magic and vampires when her grandmother is killed in a terrible attack.

The book centers on Josefine (Fin), a normal 19 year old, living in small town Germany. Her grandmother is a very powerful witch and runs a store selling healing herbs and remedies, until an old vampire attacks her and kills her. Josefine then must travel with Frank (an orphan raised by nuns) to figure out what her grandmother was a part of and how own powers fit into the world of vampires, the old gods and the last witches left on the planet.

I would definitely categorize this as a younger YA read.

Just finished reading Josefine and am already anxiously awaiting the next book in the series. It is a well written and engaging book about witches, vampires and old gods in a great action story that I'm sure will make those who read it include Denise Daye in their list of favorite authors. Once I started reading, I just could not put it down and finished the book in one day,

If you're looking for a great adventure with a relatable main character, LOOK NO FURTHER!

Josefine comes from a long line of witches; however, her own powers have yet to manifest, if ever. Regardless, she has found peace and a good life living under the roof of her grandmother, one of the oldest and wisest of witches.
However, tragedy strikes and "Fin" is forced to flee her home and on a journey she could have never expected with the least likely of companions with a deadly vampire hot on her trail!

whew, this book is a good one!

I was immediately sucked into Josefine's world. The imagery is vivid. The lore and way of life is detailed but simple enough for even us mere mortals can understand.

Fin is a great main character. She is relatable and the love she has for her close knit family can be felt in each page. She is fierce and a little naïve but someone everyone can root for from start to finish.
All of the characters are fleshed out. Those supportive of Fin are easy to like and nuanced in their own way, even the Raven. The villains are ruthless and complicated, which makes for an even better read.

The plot is fascinating and easily digestible. There is a level of mystery of in the story that makes it easy to keep going because who the heck is Fin really!? The adventure she embarks on is dangerous and it could lead one way or the other but it hooks the reader in! The pacing is wonderful in that just when you think everything is calm, something happens! Also there is a HINT of a possible romance and I'M READY FOR IT. Just really great story telling.

There's nothing I didn't like about this one! Can't wait for book 2!