Being the daughter of the village Capuwa, or demon-priest, Amara is used to keeping mostly to herself. The British Colonizers have turned against them, but still need them when something supernatural happens. When something big and supernatural comes, will she and her family survive or will the whole thing implode?

⭐️⭐️⭐️

𝙎𝙚𝙩 𝙞𝙣 19𝙩𝙝 𝙘𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙮 𝙎𝙧𝙞 𝙇𝙖𝙣𝙠𝙖 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙥𝙞𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙗𝙮 𝙡𝙤𝙘𝙖𝙡 𝙛𝙤𝙡𝙠𝙡𝙤𝙧𝙚, 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙖𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙤𝙛 𝙖 𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙙𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙙𝙚𝙢𝙤𝙣-𝙥𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙨𝙩—𝙧𝙚𝙡𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙡𝙮 𝙗𝙪𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙚𝙙 𝙗𝙮 𝙥𝙚𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙖𝙘𝙘𝙪𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙘𝙝𝙘𝙧𝙖𝙛𝙩 𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙛—𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙤𝙡𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙮𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙤𝙪𝙨 𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙖𝙘𝙠𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙧𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙯𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙘𝙤𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙡 𝙫𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙖𝙜𝙚.

Let me start off by saying this book is quite disturbing and has some dark themes I wasn’t expecting. If you’re wary of triggers, I would be cautious going into this one.

I read You’re Invited by this author last year and thought it was mediocre, however, this one just sounded so good - and I’m obsessed with the cover. I liked the concept of the book and had such high hopes, unfortunately, it just felt like a middle-of-the-road book… but honestly, I think it’s the writing that threw me off so I’m sure others will love this a lot more than I did.

I enjoyed the uniqueness of this book with the culture and folklore. I wasn’t expecting it to have darker themes, it was tough to read at times. Some of these characters were awful people - not that it affected my overall thoughts.

The story is full of Sri Lankan folklore and culture, which I thought was beautifully told. I loved the gothic vibes and supernatural elements scattered throughout the book.

The book definitely starts on an engaging note with a man being attacked in the jungle by some sort of supernatural entity. It immediately pulled me in, but I lost interest as the story went on. Again, there are some dark topics addressed so keep that in mind.

Overall, I loved the idea behind this book and Amara’s character, but the story as a whole just felt mediocre. It’s definitely a darker horror with supernatural elements, but the culture in this was fantastic.

Thank you so much NetGalley and Berkley for the review copy in exchange for my honest review!

If you want a unique and exquisitely written horror novel, this is the one you've been looking for. I enjoyed the creativity of the writing and the inclusion of a culture I wasn't familiar with prior to reading.

Part way in I hit a lull and the story began to feel redundant causing my interest to wane, but it found its way back eventually and I had to see where the book would go in the end. Some portions were absolutely chilling and I know horror readers will appreciate this one. There are trigger warnings for rape and abuse and some gruesome portions. It's definitely not a happy book, but one rooted in female fury and revenge.

3.5/5 stars

Many thanks to a Netgalley for the complimentary ebook in exchange for an honest review.

I loved Amanda Jayatissa’a previous books and I was excited for this one. However, it’s more of a slow burn than I enjoy. It reminded me of Mexican Gothic, in the way it meandered through the exposition without setting up the conflict to drive the action.

I DNFd at 20% because the story felt stalled out and I didn’t feel any affinity for the main character.

This book, unfortunately, was not for me. It just moved FAR to slowly. It was right up my alley in theory, as I love a good feminist gothic tale, but this just didn't pick up until the 80% mark. I don't want to spend 80% of a book being bored out of my mind only for things to get good in the last 20%. I was desperately interested in the Mohini myth, that this seems to be a retelling of, but the majority of the book is spent watching Amara deal with internal struggles in a repetitive and predictable manner. There were NO twists that I didn't see coming (except MAYBE the identity of the woman in Heen's shack) - I knew from the very beginning who the demoness in the woods was going to end up being. I just felt like this was an utter disappointment to me. I wanted there to be more than the predictable and repetitive.

Trigger warnings: mention of rape, questionable consent, spouse abuse, abuse of a teen at the hands of her family, kidnapping, forced medical procedures (without the consent of the one being treated).

Amara’s life is hard. Her mother seems to despise her and her father, a man who drives demons out of those possessed, has grown more and more distant. She has no friends, the boy she loves has numerous excuses for why their relationship cannot be acknowledged, and, oh yes, the word around their village is that she is a witch. Her life seems to be getting worse and it was never a picnic.
When men from the village start getting attacked, the blame falls on her father. The more Amara tries to figure out what is really going on, the worse her waking and sleeping hours become. Why does she have such awful and vivid dreams and why does everyone want her to be something she’s not.
The first chapter hooked me, but then I found it rather slow going until I hit the 30% mark. At that point it grabbed me yet again, and honestly that ending was, well rather unforgettable. Being a woman, Amara is supposed to bow down to her elders, and all men. I wound up feeling so so sad for her and the dread that surrounded her and what was happening in her village was creepy and horrifying. I definitely did not anticipate how it ended.

An exhilarating gothic, supernatural horror story full of Sri Lankan folklore and culture.

Island Witch follows the protagonist, Amara, daughter of the village Capuwa (demon priest). The village and it's people are changing with the arrival of British Colonizers but Amara's family are being shunned as they hold onto their beliefs, unwilling to follow a Christian God. However, things to start to get strange when the village seer heeds warning to Amara and her dreams become prophetic when men are being found dead in the jungle. When the villagers turn on her father and accuse him of the murders, Amara takes it upon herself to clear his name all while trying to grapple with the darkness in her dreams.

This story instantly grabbed me with the opening scene of an attack on a man in the jungle by a supernatural entity. It was so much darker than I expected with some good amount of gore! I absolutely loved how much Sri Lankan culture is weaved into this story, it really adds to the depth and authenticity. Themes of colonialism, misogyny and abuse of women (both psychological and physical) take centre stage, all profound and heavy topics at times but very necessary to the story. I struggled with the pacing just a little in the middle of the book but overall I was hooked!!

Amanda Jayatissa is an absolute star, I've loved every single one of her books and already can't wait to see what she does next (no pressure Amanda 😅)!!

Thank you to Berkley and Netgalley for my e-ARC ♡

I've never read from Amanda Jayatissa but I've heard good things about her writing so I was excited to check out this new novel from her, but unfortunately it wasn't a good fit for me. Though this novel is labelled as an adult story, it read very young adult to me and I didn't enjoy that tone. I also struggled to get invested in the world building, which I think was a personal preference issue.

Thank you to the publisher for granting me access to an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to Netgalley and Berkley for the pre-release copy of this novel. Below you'll find my honest review.

I really liked the story in this one. It was an interesting setting, an interesting cast, and a really cool way to learn about another culture through a tale involving their beliefs, mythologies, and religious practices.

But it did have some downfalls. Namely, all of the twists are predictable. I knew every reveal before it happened, and it was obvious leading up to it. In addition, the use of words specific to their language is really neat, but the constant "here's a word, here's the definition" got a little distracting. And the main character's non-stop "my dad is treating me differently, what happened to make this change, etc" got very repetitive when it was in almost every chapter for over half of the book.

It did have a strong protagonist, which I liked, and while the definitions did become tedious, I did like that the author put in actual words and historical references that were really part of history. I also loved that the story was about a part of the world and a history that we don't have a lot of published novels about. I'm really happy to see more diverse stories being published to share those things with the world of readers.

All in all, I really enjoyed it, but felt like it needed some tweaking.

"Island Witch" by Amanda Jayatissa takes place in 19th century Sri Lanka, telling a story rich with folklore and shrouded in mystery, particularly surrounding Amara, the Capuwa's (demon priest) 18-year-old daughter. Living in a village where her family's once-respected practices are now shunned, and finding herself and her family ostracized by the quickly colonizing islanders, Amara finds herself in the middle of village chaos when mysterious and violent attacks start occurring, with fingers pointing at her father.

The setting and backdrop are steeped in cultural heritage, the supernatural, and tales of societal exclusion and classism. The premise is intriguing, yet, as the story unfolds, it tends to drag, making some parts feel longer than necessary. The plot, while initially engaging with its hints of dark forces and family secrets, started to feel repetitive, and the twists that should have been surprising became somewhat predictable.

I ended up rating "Island Witch" 3 out of 5 stars. There's a lot to appreciate here, especially the effort to blend Sri Lankan folklore with feminist rage. However, the slow pacing and the story’s predictability dulled the excitement I originally had for the book's potential. The story had great ideas at its core, but it doesn't quite hit the mark in execution, and it left me wishing for what might have been.

Amara is known in town as the Towson’s demon priest’s daughter. As the town begins to become colonized by British settlers, they lose respect for the priest’s ways. Amara begins having violent dreams that seem to coincide with attacks in the village.

This book is a lot different than the others I read by the author. I loved the folklore and spirituality involved in the story. It was a nice addition of culture and really made the story unique. This was a feminist tale at heart and some moments are frustrating to read. If you enjoy magical realism woven into stories with culture folklore, you’ll enjoy this one.

Island Witch comes out 2/16.

This was a decidedly mixed bag for me, which was disappointing because I had really high hopes based on the description and the cover. But ISLAND WITCH by Amanda Jayatissa had some pitfalls and stumbles that made it fall a bit flat in some ways. The things that I did like (and REALLY liked) about this book was the way that Jayatissa explores misogyny, religious zealotry and hypocrisy, and colonialism with a horror story about a girl who is trying to clear her demon priest father's name when men in their community start being attacked and murdered in incredibly violent ways. I loved Amara starting to come to terms with community hypocrisy, family secrets, and the way that women are silenced and shamed until they comply with the group. All of this was great. But the problem was that Amara's voice, when trying to convey her coming of age innocence and naivete, comes off as very simplistic and stilted, and it was jarring and took me out of the story. It also made it so that plot points were projected and made upcoming twists pretty obvious.

ISLAND WITCH was fine, but I had such a huge expectation for it that when it didn't get there it was a little bit of a let down.

This book has a lot to like: a great plot centered around a twisty mystery, a spooky forest, a strong female lead and so much emotion. It's perfect for fans of V. Castro's work. Sometimes the plot threw me too much -- especially when things went south, but once I got back on track, I enjoyed the story.

Dark and twisty, a compelling exploration of colonization and women's rage. Will recommend to fans of Isabel Canas. Also, good for you, Amara, they had it coming.

I’m not sure what I should do with my hands!!

They haven’t stopped flailing over my head in excitement since I received one of my most anticipated books….

Island Witch

Amanda Jayatissa is coming at us strong with her sophomore publication and let me tell you, this girl right here, is here for it!

It’s the last couple of days before Jersey gets walloped with another storm and I should be taking inventory on things we need to prepare BUT when you receive a surprise email from Berkley, you let NOTHING and I mean NOTHING interfere.

Looks like I’ll be on my husband’s naughty list again…

Anywho, I dropped the laundry and plunged right in. I have zero regrets . This feisty little lady over here has yet again delivered with another five star read that will just about break the internet. Yes, I am that confident.

I feel like I have been gut punched. How did I not see that one coming? Curious to know what I’m talking about? You’re going to have to pick this show stopper on up on February 20th to find out.

Big thank you to Berkley, Elisha Katz, Amanda Jayatissa and NetGalley for allowing me to be an early reader in exchange for an honest review.

In the mean time, here is a little teaser :

Set in 19th century Sri Lanka and inspired by local folklore, the daughter of a traditional demon-priest—relentlessly bullied by peers and accused of witchcraft herself—tries to solve the mysterious attacks that have been terrorizing her coastal village.

Being the daughter of the village Capuwa, or demon-priest, Amara is used to keeping mostly to herself. Influenced by the new religious practices brought in by the British Colonizers, the villagers who once respected her father’s craft have turned on the family. Yet, they all still seem to call on him whenever supernatural disturbances arise.

Now someone—or something—is viciously seizing upon men in the jungle. But instead of enlisting Amara’s father’s help, the villages have accused him of carrying out the attacks himself.

As she tries to clear her father’s name, Amara finds herself haunted by dreams that eerily predict the dark forces on her island. And she can’t shake the feeling that it’s all connected to the night she was recovering from a strange illness, and woke up, scared and confused, to hear her mother’s frantic cries: No one can find out what happened.

MY SWEET GIRL is one of my favorite stories, so I was thrilled to receive a copy of ISLAND WITCH. I was drawn into the story, a play on Sri Lankan folklore and was immersed in the spooky factor of a different type of whodunit - someone (or something!) attacking male villagers in the jungle. I felt the pace was a little slow, but appreciated the uniqueness of the plot.

Did anyone see that one coming? Cause I didn’t.

Gothic Fiction ✔️
Seth in 19th century Sri Lanka ✔️
Feminism vibes ✔️
British Coñonizers ✔️
Inspired by Local Folklore ✔️
Slow burn ✔️
Classism ✔️
Secrets✔️

Literally all the ingredients to make “Island Witch” a page turner. I found myself addictive to Amanda Jayatissa, like she put a spell on me and I couldn’t put this book down.

This story was rich and atmospheric, The jungle setting and the many tropes within the story which overwhealming at times (but in the most wonderful way)

Island Witch was able to beautifully portrayed what happens when colonizers arrive on land and the cultural clashes are at war with each other. But this story was so much more than Colonizers enforcing their Christian ways and culture. This is about how women are mistreated and used and expected to be quiet about it. This shows how the ones that are supposed to love you and protect you , fail miserably at it..

A MUST READ!

Thank you Berkley and Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange of an honest review

While frequent readers of gothic fiction are likely to anticipate some of the monstrous revelations in advance of narrator Amara, Island Witch offers a refreshing take to fans of the genre. Jayatissa's 19th Century Sri Lanka setting, and her incorporation of themes of gender, colonization, and multi-cultural evolutions and clashes, add a richness to the tale.

"Set in 19th century Sri Lanka and inspired by local folklore, the daughter of a traditional demon-priest--relentlessly bullied by peers and accused of witchcraft herself - tries to solve the mysterious attacks that have been terrorizing her coastal village.

Being the daughter of the village Capuwa, or demon-priest, Amara is used to keeping mostly to herself. Influenced by the new religious practices brought in by the British Colonizers, the villagers who once respected her father's craft have turned on the family. Yet, they all still seem to call on him whenever supernatural disturbances arise.

Now someone - or something - is viciously seizing upon men in the jungle. But instead of enlisting Amara's father's help, the villages have accused him of carrying out the attacks himself.

As she tries to clear her father's name, Amara finds herself haunted by dreams that eerily predict the dark forces on her island. And she can't shake the feeling that it's all connected to the night she was recovering from a strange illness, and woke up, scared and confused, to hear her mother's frantic cries: No one can find out what happened."

Astounding historical fantasy!

I've loved Jayatissa's twisty modern-set thrillers about angry women, so I was super excited that she set this new book in 19th century Sri Lanka amidst British/Christian colonization. The historical, jungle setting provides a beautifully spooky atmosphere, and Amara is great character. This a revenge thriller/borderline horror novel that makes perfect use of the setting and folklore - here for it!