Witch's Sacrifice

Obtained through NetGalley for an honest review.

This was a fabulous read. I spent a lot of it on the edge of my seat. The characters are full and absorbing and the story itself is enthralling and involving. I loved the fact that the author has taken what we see happening time and again in our society and made a fantasy plot around it. Chasing and capturing witches, sacrificing them to a creature that needs magic to survive and thrive. Men against women. Age old beliefs against common sense. The story encompasses it all.

The book itself was very easy to read and flowed well. The language used made sure to involve the reader throughly into the world created and the characters and their lives and environments.

Can't wait to read the next part of the trilogy!

Reviewed on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1795642732?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1
Reviewed on Amazon UK as KaiR: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1511724072/ref=pdp_new_dp_review

I really did enjoy this book a lot. The world building is amazing, akmost as amazing as its lore: there are the acolytes, which kind of control people by fear and by the fact that there is a kraken which is held at bay by human sacrifices. Witches sacrifices, to be exact. Magical creatures are hunted down and feed to the monster in exchange for safety. But sometimes "normal" people get to be sacrificed, too when their coloring (hair and eyes) make them a match of sorts.
The characters are truly fleshed out. I have some favorites, as Brother Raven, but all of them are amazingly crafted.
Also, for me it was surprising the fact that the story of Marizza is not the one that we will be following, just the beginning, a means to and end as Okira will take the lead (phrased like this to be spoilery).
If the following one is as good as this one it is gonna be ana amazing read!

Witch's Sacrifice , is both dark and light, it makes you feel sad, happy, excited, thrilled, aching for more. I couldn't put it down. You can tell that Crissy loves what she does. The passion is shown through her writing. The time taken on describing the characters, giving you just enough about them but not too much at any given time. The way she switches which character she is following just kept me reading. Even though she switches between the characters the story flows as effortlessly as a river flowing down a hill. Wonderful book

There once was a time, if you wanted safe travels by sea, you needed to make a sacrifice. There is a Kraken at the bottom of the ocean who feeds off of magical powers and a power hungry priest who lives to instill fear into the villagers. To keep the villagers in fear, not everyone sacrificed is a magical being. While this is the story of a witch coming into her own and finding love, it’s also a story of what happens when the priest, Alistar, has two enemies and he gives them a common enemy, himself.

Witch’s Sacrifice will leave you wondering what will happen next. There are twists and turns, and people who should be enemies are allies. Ms. Moss creates such a world that you feel like you’re standing by the ocean with the merman, Artiro, listening to the waves crash against the shore as the witch, Marizza silently pleads for him not to go. While it might seem like a lot of pages, there is so much going on that you don’t realize you’ve finished at least 4 chapters in a matter of minutes. I will admit the ending wasn’t what I hoped for, but now I have something to look forward to. I must confess, that has me excited.

This was an amazing start to a series and I was completely absorbed in the world while I was reading. It is definitely one of the most unique stories that I have read in a long time and my first introduction to mermen and I definitely support them!
Marizza begins the story as a meek girl who has her world turned upside down when she has a magical outburst where magic is forbidden and her growth throughout the story is amazing. She is definitely not one of your stereotypical YA young female leads. She makes smart decisions and doesn’t think only of herself.
The whole essence of the book was interesting and engaging, incorporating witchery, love, mermen and politics without being too much. The acolytes and the kraken were perfect villains in the book bringing a dark atmosphere and political intrigue into the story.
The relationships between the 3 main characters were realistic and the romance was at the perfect level, sweet loving and not the main focus of the book. My favourite quote of the book however would be ‘she managed to work herself into his heart like some sort of barnacle he could not dislodge.’ I just find it so funny yet cute.
I loved this introduction to the series and will definitely read the next book in the series!