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Book Review: The Witch Hunter

The Witch Hunter by Virginia Boecker.
The Witch Hunter by Virginia Boecker.

Book Review – The Witch Hunter by Virginia Boecker.  Released June 2, 2015 by Little, Brown and Company.

I am a sucker for Young Adult Fantasy Fiction, so when Little, Brown handed me a copy, I couldn’t wait to read it.  I don’t remember where I heard about the book before, whether it was from Book Club or a book recommendation from Amazon or Barnes & Noble, I knew I wanted to read it because it’s right up my alley.

First off, I love stories about witches.  This is what intrigued me about the book:

Elizabeth Grey is one of the king’s best witch hunters, devoted to rooting out witchcraft and doling out justice. But when she’s accused of being a witch herself, Elizabeth is arrested and sentenced to burn at the stake.

That is what captured my attention.  I didn’t read anything beyond those two sentences, but it was enough to get me to want the book and read the book from start to finish.

What is this book like?  Consider it the female version of the Spook series “The Last Apprentice” by Joseph Delaney meets Xena: Warrior Princess meets Pirates of the Caribbean meets Disney’s “Sorcerer’s Apprentice” meets Jon Snow.  I only mention Jon Snow (Kit Harington) because that’s who I would have cast as John the healer in the movie version of this book.

This book starts off with the two witch hunters, Elizabeth and her friend, Caleb’s, search for a few warlocks/necromancers who are practicing dark magic and attempting to bring an old magician back to life again.  They’re required to capture, not kill these wizards.  They bring them back to be tried before they are burned at the stake, because all forms of magic are outlawed in the land.

After accidentally killing a wizard in the book’s introductory hunt, she and Caleb head to the local pub where she discovers that Caleb is going off to party with some palace girl.  She stays behind and decides to drink her woes away with glass after glass of ale (which actually ends up being absinthe).

While at the pub, she runs across a pirate and the king’s fool.  They capture her and try to get her to talk.  But she’s so out of it, she’s no help to them.  She lies about who she is (a witch hunter), pushing it off as if she is just some kitchen maid.  They let her go.

On her way back to her room, she finds a guard outside of her door.  He’s been sent there under the King’s orders.  She knows why he’s there, but she doesn’t want to go with him.  She stumbles and out of her pocket falls some special herbs that are used in terminating pregnancies.  The King’s guard sees it and accuses her of practicing witchcraft.  He arrests her and takes her straight to the Inquisitor, Lord Blackwell, Duke of Norwich, the man she works for.

Despite being one of his witch hunters, Blackwell sentences her to death by burning at the stake.  Caleb swears he will get her out of prison.  He promises he’ll come back for her.

He never does.

As she is on the verge of dying, rotting away in a prison cell, an unlikely individual walks into the prison to save her.  The most wanted wizard in all of the land, Nicholas Perevil, springs her from her prison…and thus begins her new adventure.

Thoughts

I really enjoyed this book.  When it got to the end, I was happy it was over with (because you should see all of the books I need to review).  But as the days went by as I was preparing the review in my head, I kept thinking…you know, I’m not done with this story yet.  I want to know what happens to Elizabeth next.  The way it ended, I expect to see another book after this.  The story just doesn’t feel like it’s over yet.  It feels like we could get a few more books out of this tale and develop these characters stories more.

This is Virginia Boecker’s debut novel.  While at times, I thought it was a little crazy she added so many different elements like pirates, wizards, witches, revenants, nymphs and scary looking creatures you never want to meet in a dark alley, she actually masterfully pulled all of these vastly differing characters in and weaved an intricate tale where all of their stories worked well together…including the pirates.

Think about it…how weird would it be if J.K. Rowling threw a pirate into the Harry Potter books?  That’s what Boecker did.  You think it’s dumb at the start, but as you go along on their journey you realize just how important having a pirate is in this tale…and then you can’t imagine the story without the pirate or the revenants.  They are all instrumental in helping a witch hunter find herself.

The characters were developed so well along the way, you can’t help but fall in love with the friends Elizabeth makes along the way.  You even feel sympathy for the evil wizard himself.  After all, there’s a reason to the madness and need for power.  In a way, for Lord Blackwell, it’s the only way he believes he can save their kind.

Elizabeth’s tale is about one of growing up.  She grows up believing a certain way, but when taken out of that element and forced to see the world in a new light, she is forced to come to a reconciliation of what she was taught to believe was right, and discovering for herself what is right in her heart.

A couple of my favorite quotes from the book:

  • He’s asking me the question I’ve always asked myself.  How an unremarkable girl like me could live through unimaginable danger like that.  I didn’t know then, not really, and I’m not sure now.  I offer up my best guess anyway.“Because I was afraid to do anything else except live.”
  • “You can’t undo your past.  You know that as well as I.  But you also can’t foresee the future.  Not even Veda’s prophecy can do that.  What you want to do next, who you want to be, where you want to belong, that’s entirely up to you. As I always say, nothing is written in stone.”

For those who love YA Fantasy, I recommend reading “The Witch Hunter.”  This is the kind of series that can only get better after each book…and yes, according to Virginia Boecker’s Twitter, there’s a Book 2!  You’ll fall in love with the characters.  Imagine John (the Healer) as Kit Harington (Game of Thrones’ Jon Snow)…trust me when I say you’ll fall head over heels in love with his character.

You can find out more about the book and it’s author from her website.  You can also follow her on Twitter @virgboecker.

You can purchase the book at Amazon.com by clicking on the link: The Witch Hunter

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Disclaimers: This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive monetary compensation.  I received a free copy of this book from Little, Brown in exchange for writing a review on the blog.  All content and opinions are my own.

Book Review: Like My Father Always Said

mchughBook Review – Like My Father Always Said…: Gruff Advice, Sweet Wisdom, and Half-Baked Instructions on How to Fix Your Stuff and Your Life, by Erin McHugh

Just in time for Father’s Day, Erin McHugh’s “Like My Father Always Said…” is a collection of sayings from fathers that McHugh gathered after creating a similar book for mothers in Like My Mother Always Said…: Wise Words, Witty Warnings, and Odd Advice We Never Forget.

Fathers tend to give advice that is very unusual and quite different than the wise sage advice we get from our mothers.  Here are a few quips from the book:

“Do it right or do it again.”  – Norm, father of Erik

“Those of you who are standing around saying it can’t be done are bothering those of us who are doing it.” – Dewey, father of Jean

“If you can’t go one way, go the other.” – Henry, grandfather of Josie

“Do whatever you want to do-Figure it out and I will explain it to mom later.” – Bob, father of Robin

“Don’t ever think you are better than another person.” – Edward, father of Tina

“When you surround yourself with good people and work hard, good things happen.”  – Dick, grandfather of Tommy

“Your only responsibility in life is to be kind.” – Freddie, father of Marion

“Keep your head down and stay the course.” – Robert, father of Christina

I selected these quotes to share here because they go right along with the theme of this site.  It’s about living every single dream possible.  These little instructions above are just a few of the many items you will find throughout the book.

This book will make a great gift for fathers, or just about anybody out there.  As I was reading through this, I had wished my father had given some sort of bits of wisdom like this.  But after reading the advice from all of these different fathers, I feel much wiser than I did before.

I think the most interesting quote in this book came from Brad Meltzer.  I had just met him the day before when I read his contribution to this book.  It really made me laugh at how supportive his father was of his writing career.  He was his biggest fan, so much that when he woke up from anesthesia after his surgery, he told his son that he was selling his books in heaven.  Brad’s response had me laughing.

That was the story that touched my heart the most.

If you pick up this book for your father for Father’s Day, make sure to pick up a copy for yourself and your siblings, too.  All of the sayings in this book are great advice for everyone.  It’s a quick read that you will definitely enjoy.

I always say it takes a village in order to help each other.  McHugh managed to create a village of fathers to give sound, maybe a little crazy, but wise advice to us all.

The book is available now.

You can follow Erin McHugh on Twitter: @ErinHere

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Disclaimers: This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive monetary compensation.  I received a free copy of this book from the author and Harry N. Abrams Books in exchange for writing a review on the blog.  All content and opinions are my own.

Reading Material: Carlos Ruiz Zafon

Over the last ten years, I have come to fall in love with the writings of Carlos Ruiz Zafon.  His claim to fame is the amazing novel, “The Shadow of the Wind.”

A friend had suggested I read this book, because she heard someone else suggest it.  I read the book, absorbed it, and fell madly in love with the story.  Zafon went on to write two books connected to this bestseller: “The Angel’s Game” and “The Prisoner of Heaven.”  Each book lived up to the extraordinary storytelling of “The Shadow of the Wind.”

For those who love books, the adventure into a Zafon book creates a new-found love of books all over again.

Like Gabriel Garcia Marquez, many of Zafon’s books that pre-date “The Shadow of the Wind” were originally written in Spanish.  Now, for the English speaking bibliophiles who love Zafon’s works, we have to wait for the translations into English.  They have been slowly, but steadily coming out one by one.

Within those translations, we discover Zafon’s first love…young adult fiction.  That’s how he started out, writing young adult fiction.  Each story he’s written is so miraculous that it stays with you for life.  You never forget a Zafon tale.  He is a master storyteller.

I am currently reading his final young adult fiction book, “Marina.”  Over the past year, I’ve struggled with getting back into reading and traveling the world.  A lot changed in me after the tumor was removed.  Many things that I loved, I didn’t care for anymore, even though I knew it was important to fall back in love with those things again.

“Marina” has finally made me fall back in love with books and travel again.  Zafon is such a masterful storyteller that you can’t help but get caught up in the story.  You hate putting the book down because you feel like the story is going to continue on without you and you may miss something.  You not only connect with the characters, but you truly feel like you, yourself, are part of the story…that this is now a part of your own story.

I have never encountered a writer that can continually, work after work, do what Zafon has done.  He captivates the reader from page one, drawing them into this tale of wonder and intrigue, making us see the streets of Calcutta and Barcelona as if we are standing there with the character, looking over our shoulders as we, too, can hear the snapping of a twig behind us.  We can feel the heat of summer, or the crisp breeze of autumn, hear the rustling of the leaves, and feel the adrenaline rush through us.  It’s what makes us quickly turn the page as we become sucked into the world Zafon has created.

I have had many favorite authors in the past, but Zafon is clearly in a league of his own.

When discussing his hopes for his young adult fiction, Zafon wrote on his website, “They remind me of what the discovery of reading meant to me.”  That is exactly what “Marina” has done for me post-op.  I’ve read many books since my surgery.  From Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein,” to Alexandre Dumas’s “The Count of Monte Cristo,” to the “Divergent” series and Joseph Delaney’s “Spook’s Apprentice,” none of them have instilled in me the love of reading, adventure and travel like Zafon has done.  He raises this sense of excitement and intrigue in his work that makes you want to be a better human being, because you understand how important knowledge is through books.

If you are new to Zafon, I recommend starting with “The Shadow of the Wind” and then moving through the subsequent novels that followed.  Then after you’ve read the adult fiction, go back and read the young adult fiction.  You will begin to see his mastery in storytelling.  It is as if he has perfected the craft like no other before him could.

After I read “The Shadow of the Wind,” I only wanted to read more and more stories about the love of books, but nothing compared to that masterpiece.  He made me fall in love with books all over again.

Picking up “Marina” all these years later, he’s done it to me all over again.  I have fallen back in love with reading and wanting to travel the world.  He’s helped me rediscover the two things in life I love most.

Here are Zafon’s works (in English) [click on picture to purchase at Amazon.com]:

The Septembers of Shiraz

septembers of shirazI just finished reading “The Septembers of Shiraz” by Dalia Sofer. It really made me think a lot about religion, privileges and circumstances.

I’ve learned over the past few years that it is difficult to be friends with people that are not in the same class as you financially. The main reason has a lot to do with how money makes others feel.

For those who have abundance and can buy their own freedom, they can’t trust those who do not have these same privileges. Why? Because the green eyed monster can take its toll. In places like Iran (where the setting in this book takes place) where the mullahs rule, having abundance is looked down upon.

They will rob a man who worked hard to have the finer things in life. They will say that they have a right to those things. They take from others what they did not earn. They justify their thievery by saying that someone who worked hard for those things did not deserve them.

The thing is, we see this everywhere. People who are less fortunate blaming those who are fortunate and worked hard. That’s not to say that everyone doesn’t work hard. It’s just sometimes people think that people that are more fortunate didn’t earn it or work hard for it. We all do…but the type of labor performed is different in every circumstance.

Some people work 18 hour days and even though they have a family, they are married to their work moreso than to their own families. They miss out on that treasure because they’ve determined that providing for them was more important then nurturing them.


Others make their family their priority, and in some people’s eyes, that makes that family the richest family around. Some people can’t have a family, so seeing a couple with a few kids running around will make them a little bit jealous.

What one man’s fortune is can be different for the next man. It doesn’t always involve money. Being fortunate requires a lot of work in life (no matter how it’s performed). We oftentimes give up one thing so that we can have another thing.

I gave up the thoughts of getting married and having a family of my own because I was more fortunate in my career. I’m already well aware that if I were to have a family I would have to choose whether to give up my career or let my children be raised by nannies. With the way my life has been going, it’s better to just forego making that decision and continue doing what I’m doing…that is until God changes my circumstances.

A lot of people assume I’ve always had money. The truth is…there was a time when I had to hit rock bottom in life and try to be the starving artist in order to realize what it was I wanted out of life. I remember how my diet consisted of chicken broth (which ironically is still the case but that’s due to different circumstances).

During that time, I didn’t have a choice…I could only afford chicken broth. Now, it is a choice.

I always like to remind myself of where I came from and how I rose above those circumstances to be where I am today. I was fortunate in my path in life. But this is my path. It is not meant to be traveled upon by anyone else but me.

We make choices as we go along this path in life. We have a choice of suffering or letting go of the suffering and realizing that we don’t have to suffer in life. We are in charge of our own life and the choices we ultimately make.  Paulo Coelho’s “The Alchemist” is a great example of this.

When people allow jealousy in to dictate how they will treat the next person…it’s not right. Shakespeare did not call it the green eyed monster for nothing! Jealousy is a monster. It changes people. It makes them bitter, evil and mean. It does not serve anyone any good to be jealous. It only promotes more hate in the world.

The “Septembers of Shiraz” really made me think a lot about life and our circumstances. It’s not just a story of a Jew that is thrown in prison by mullahs in Iran. It has a lot of deep meaning to it.

It also really made me dislike religions even more. It’s just amazing how much hate is spread if you believe differently then the next person. To be ridiculed, tortured and forced to believe in something you don’t is to me…absolutely STUPID. Can’t we all just get along?

You believe how you want to believe. I’ll believe how I want to believe. The only thing we can agree on…is just being neighborly. Love your neighbor as you love yourself.