An ARC Book Review: Conjuring the Witch

I received an advanced review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

One thing I love is a good book about witches. I find these stories fascinating, so when I was offered to read this Arc I couldn't refuse.

This novel is not your usual story about witches, covens, and magic.

This novel was a pleasant surprise. It has a mixture of horror, fanaticism, mystery, and suspense. Author Jessica Leonard found a way to tell an unconventional story of witches.

At first glance, you think the novel is going to be about a small-town being tormented by these "witches in the woods" but it develops into something more. Jessica Leonard masterfully finds a different meaning to how the witch was created. Evil never resided within the witch but instead from those around her. The things that were done to her turned her into this witch who was thought to haunt and possess women in the small town.

The women who did not follow their religion closely and did not submit to their husbands were rumored to be the most vulnerable.

Throughout the novel, you encounter a recurring theme where women are meant to be submissive. Nicole the main character battles with this belief. She does not see herself as any less than her husband. Nicole is not the best cook, she doesn't enjoy cleaning and has yet to have children. This makes Nicole the most vulnerable woman in the town.

One walk into the forest and Nicole soon becomes the black sheep of the church community. The men on the counsel look down on her as a wife and believe she is not walking in God's path. This becomes a problem for Nicole, opening her eyes to a terrible story behind the townspeople...

The one thing that made me give this book less than 5 stars was the lack of clarity we were given about the dynamic between the witch and one of the women in the town. I couldn’t tell if the woman was making decisions on her own or if she was possessed or even how the witch revealed herself.

If you enjoy horror and witches this is definitely a book you should read. This was a page-turner for me.

I gave this book Rating: ★★★★☆ (4/5) on my good reads.

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