The Witch Who Courted Death book review

I received this book for free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

The Witch Who Courted Death by Maria Lewis
Published by Piatkus on October 31, 2018
Pages: 420
Source: Netgalley
Goodreads

For some, death is a way of life . . .

Considering her status as the world's most powerful medium, Corvossier 'Casper' von Klitzing and her twin brother Barastin had a pretty normal life. Her unrivalled ability to speak with and control the dead had made her a living, made her notorious ... and made her a target.

After a horrific incident in her home city of Berlin, Casper's life is forever changed. The sole survivor, she is consumed with vengeance towards an enemy she doesn't understand. The only other person ever to escape the legendary Oct was a witch - so Casper is soon on her trail.

But this witch does not want to be found.

Diving headfirst into the supernaturally secretive world of spells, charms and covens, it's not long before Casper is crossing much more than just the line between the living and the dead . . .

This time reinventing witches and ghosts with a much-needed feminist twist, The Witch Who Courted Death is a brand new title from the bestselling author of Who's Afraid?

The Witch Who Courted Death was a book that I received from Netgalley and it was completely different than what I was expecting and not in an all round bad way. There were a lot of levels within this story and they added something unique to the story, and made the characters a little more rounded especially with having separate back stories which all end up entwining. I do think that there was a lot of untapped potential in this book and sometimes it felt that the “magic” system was a little vague. It just felt a little half-hearted at times and I wanted for it to be a well developed part of the world.

There is a really traumatic event in The Witch Who Courted Death and the whole story was hinged around that happening and that trauma is what drives not only the plot forward but motivates the characters. The way that the incident was described helped bring the trauma and the implications to the forefront. It really shaped the way the characters interacted with everything within the story and their future. I thought that the fact the trauma lived on through the entire story and never really leaves them was a more realistic view of the world than them getting over it as soon as possible.

One thing I wasn’t particularly keen on in The Witch Who Courted Death was the romantic side of things. I think there could have been more developed. I thought that it was rushed and a little forced, I wanted there to be more hidden glances and more of a buildup. I thought that the actual relationship was an afterthought, I wanted it to be more of a given. Something we could have seen happening all the way through. There was a definite lack of chemistry and build up to everything and the way it all came about didn’t seem to make a lot of sense. I just wanted there to be something more.

I think the resolution was really underdeveloped and I’m still not completely convinced that I know what the hell was going on. Everything happened really quickly and it was tied up really neatly, like maybe a little bit too easily. I wanted more of an explanation and I wanted a complex climax rather than the lack of detail that we ended up with. I think that was why I was reluctant to give it any more than a 3-star.

I actually would recommend The Witch Who Courted Death. I think the premise was actually really interesting but the execution was a little sloppy. I think it would probably be a book that would benefit from a sequel to maybe develop some of the points that weren’t in this book.

What do you think? Do you like your ending to be well developed? Let me know in the comments!