#death curses

PSA: Are actually just a wizard’s last word in any subject, and that word is usually a metaphor for ‘screw you’. 

Rating: 4.5 Death Curses Magic, political intrigue, a subtle romance, and one bad-ass heroine who isn't afraid to kill people! Need I say more? Oh, so you want more information than that? All right then! First I want to get into the two things that are keeping me from giving The Witch Hunter a full five stars because it's such an awesome fantasy and I'd really love to give it all the stars but something was nagging at me in the end during the showdown with the villain. Now the villain is a bad person but at the very end he/she seemed to act overly evil. It almost felt like they were being evil so that the story had a really heinous villain and an awesome showdown against him/her. I really hope the next book in the series shows more of his/her mentality and explains why they acted the way they acted. Specifically in regards to ***SPOILERS***  how he had no problem killing a girl who he spent years training. You'd think he'd get a little attached, at least enough to offer her the chance to come back and work for him especially considering he admitted she was one of his best hunters. Also I don't understand why he didn't kill King Malcolm as a child when he killed his father. I mean he would have become king and that was what he wanted right? Did he think it would have been suspicious if Malcolm died too? Or was he just satisfied being in control even if Malcolm was officially king? ***END OF SPOILERS*** The other thing keeping me from a full five stars was I a little disconnected from the story in the beginning even when exciting things were happening. I just wasn't feeling the strong emotions I should have had considering what was happening. This went away after a while but for the first 100-150 pages my interest was just moderate. Then I got super into it and could hardly bear to put it down. But even when I wasn't really feeling it I still enjoyed The Witch Hunter which is why I've only reduced half a star. Now for all the things I love about The Witch Hunter! There's Elizabeth who unlike most heroines will actually kill someone when it's her life of theirs. I just find it really refreshing when I've read a lot of books about girls who are amazing fighters and in some cases supposedly trained to kill but are almost never willing to kill someone even when the other person is trying to kill them. She's genuinely tough but without being overly cruel or a shirking damsel. Elizabeth was just a great main character and I really enjoyed being in her head. I loved all the secondary characters and even some of the characters who where only around for one or two scenes. Every person seemed to have a specific voice or tone or some kind of thing that made their personality feel that it was distinctly theirs. Virginia Boecker has a real talent for making characters feel like a three-dimensional person and I feel like I understand everyone's personality and motivations. One of my favorite characters is John the love interest.(although the romance in Witch Hunter is very minimal if that's not your thing) He was so adorable and sweet! I just loved him to pieces! The magic elements in The Witch Hunter are really superb especially ***SPOILERS*** the magic tree and the creatures that Elizabeth fought like those giant rat things. The death curse and the magic knots were also really interesting to me. ***END OF SPOILERS*** I can't wait for more of that magic in the sequel! The ending is fantastic, wrapping up parts of the plot but still leaving things to conquer in the next book. Exactly how I like series to start and I can tell it's going to segue nicely. Do I recommend and does it have reread potential? Definitely yes and I'll probably reread or skim before reading the sequel. I received a copy from the NOVL newsletter which in no way affected my review. PS. you can sign up for that newsletter and get GIFs of adorable puppies every month here>http://thenovl.com/

The Dresden Files (Blood Rites)