The Water Witch by Jessica Thorne - Book Review

The Water Witch by Jessica Thorne

Publication Date: 05th August 2022

Genre: Contemporary Fantasy 

4 Stars 

One Liner: Engaging read with some great description 

*****

Ari Walker’s fiancé drowned in the stormy Atlantic Ocean two years ago. His words about the water witch, the lost city of Ys, and the curse continue to hound her. Ari wants nothing more than to bury herself in her university work. But when Jason asks her to visit him in Simon’s town, she has no choice but to go.

As a non-believer in fantasy tales, Ari is confused and unsure when she finds a mask during her archeological dive into the sea. Her interaction with Rafael gets complicated as she is torn between accepting the strange happenings in the town and dismissing them. 

But Rafael has everything at stake. After all, every man in his family got killed before their thirty-fifth birthday. With less than a month away from his own thirty-fifth birthday, Rafael is desperate and determined to get Ari’s help. 

Can they break the curse by finding the lost city of Ys before it is too late? Will Ari and Rafael acknowledge their feelings for each other? 

The story comes from the limited third-person POV of Ari and Rafael. 

What I Like: 

The book starts slow but picks up pace once the basics are established. I love the seamless blending of reality and fantasy. 

The descriptions are beautiful and vivid. I could visualize the settings with ease. It adds to the atmosphere and elevates the storyline. 

I remember how the FMC in The Book Binder’s Daughter didn’t feel capable of carrying the story. Here, Ari does a great job of taking the story forward. 

Ari and Rafael are well-etched. They are confident yet vulnerable. Capable but doubtful. They work well together in the book, even if the love track didn’t get enough depth to double the impact. 

While it is a mystery at its core, I could guess most of it. Luckily, I didn’t read it as a mystery book but more as a fantasy read. 

The storyline is based on local folklore in the region (in Brittany, France). I love the way the author wove her plotline around it. 

What Didn’t Work for Me: 

My only grouse with the book is that some aspects were left without explanation. A certain character seemed to be created for the sake of it. There just isn’t enough backstory. I wanted more about Ari and Rafael’s past. 

It’s not common for me to wish a book to have more pages (I prefer smaller books), but this one needed another 15-20 pages to provide more depth to the main characters and use the side characters to their full potential. 

To sum up, The Water Witch is an engaging and entertaining read if you like contemporary fantasy with some mystery and romance thrown in. 

Thank you, NetGalley and Bookouture, for the eARC. 

#NetGalley #TheWaterWitch