The Witch Hunter by Virginia Boecker [ARC]

Elizabeth Grey is one of the king’s best witch hunters. But when she’s accused of being a witch herself, she finds no mercy. She’s forced to escape with Nicholas Perevil, one of the most powerful wizards in the kingdom. It’s only a matter of time before he and his friends find out that she’s a witch hunter and when they do, she’s sure that they’ll kill her. She can’t stay with Nicholas, but there’s also a bounty on her head if she tries to return home. As she bides her time to form a plan, Elizabeth finds she isn’t so sure that magic users are as evil as she’s been told they are.

It’s been a little while since I’ve read this book so I’m trying to remember everything that I thought about it…I know a lot of people have really liked this book and there’s been a lot of hype surrounding it. First of all, I thought the main character was actually a convincingly strong female. She cries (don’t they all?) but it actually makes sense when she does. She doesn’t cry too much–she’s tough–but enough that the reader knows she’s human and actually does have normal emotions. Also, I really liked all of the secondary characters. They were well fleshed out and felt like individuals as opposed to the stereotypes that some authors rely on.

I didn’t really like the pacing of the plot though. It takes a while to find out why Nicholas saved her from the dungeon and then once we do find out, Elizabeth figures out the prophecy really fast. A little too fast for my taste. I kind of wanted it to be a little more scavenger hunty. I think the author could have drawn out the solving of the prophecy a little longer than she did and cut out or sped up some other plot points. Half of the time I just felt like I wasn’t sure what was going on. Nobody was telling Elizabeth anything and as a result, the reader was being kept in the dark as well. I think if the main character is going to be kept in the dark for a while, then the book should maybe be written in third person or from more than one perspective. Just so the reader knows what’s going on even if the main character doesn’t (an acceptable exception to this would be with mysteries/thrillers, which this was not.)

Overall, I thought the books was pretty good, but nothing too special. It didn’t make me want to review it right away like some books have. I wish that this wasn’t going to turn into a series. I didn’t like how this book so obviously set up the second book. Gee…wonder what the next book’s going to be about? You know? But overall, it was pretty good and I might end up reading the next one.

Overall Rating: 3
Language: None
Violence: Heavy
Sexual Content: Mild
Smoking/Drinking: Moderate

Note: I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.