The romance between the two main characters is quite compelling. She remains an ancillary character as Forest explores romance in her world and how relationships between couples function within a culture that thrusts young people together, often against their will.īy re-orienting myself to the fact that this is fantasy romance, rather than the standard and wide-reaching fantasy fare you see in the first book, I was able to sort of relax and enjoy it a bit more. There was less focus on the Black Witch herself than I expected there would be, and because of this I kept wondering when the plot was going to circle back around to her. It is through these two characters and their dynamic with each other that the historical events mentioned in the first book are given context. Instead, the story focuses on another young woman thrust into events unfolding well outside of her control and the connection she develops with another member of the Gardner family. I beg of you, if you're like me and do this too, adjust your expectations accordingly because this isn't a story directly about the fabled Black Witch herself, (Elloren's deceased Grandmother that she is constantly compared to in the first book) like the summary would lead you to believe. With this particular novella, I only chose to read the summary listed here on Goodreads, which is quite short. When I go into a novel or the supplemental material in a series, I try and remain as unspoiled as I can for personal enjoyment's sake.
That being said, I do wish that I had gone into this with a better idea of what this story was actually about, because I think not knowing exactly what I was getting into sort of impacted my enjoyment of it until I figured out exactly what I was reading, and what sort of story this novella was trying to tell. Fans of the complex world-building and layered politics and relationships between the various cultures in this world are sure to love this simply for what it adds to the reader's understanding of the world and certain characters in it. Laurie Forest returns in this prequel novella to her stunning debut YA Fantasy novel, The Black Witch.
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