I received this book for free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Witch Wife by Lumen Reese Series: The Crocus Trilogy #1
Published by Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op on 2024 November 21
Genres: Science Fiction
Pages: 404
Format: E-Arc
Source: Netgalley
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Woman. Wife. Warrior. Witch?
Irene Shannon is taken from a battlefield in chains.
She has lost her husband and her sister, has killed a lot of people, and she is ready for it all to end. Instead, she finds herself the captive of a king. The British royals have heard tales of the two English sisters aligned with the people of the New World, and they believe her to be a witch. They wish for her to marry into their family. She refuses. What follows is a battle of wills, a plot with unlikely allies -an illegitimate daughter of the King's raised in a brothel, a one-legged Brigadier General of the British army, and a gay Earl- and a daring escape. Irene learns that her husband may still be alive, and she will do anything to get back to him, even cross an ocean back to the monster-infested New World.
When I read the Witch Wife’s synopsis as I was browsing Netgalley for new books to request, I did not think twice hitting the request button. I thought this was a historical novel with fantastical elements. You can color me surprised because halfway into the book, I got what I asked for and more. The Witch Wife is not just historical fiction which the synopsis would lead you to believe. It’s a cross between sci-fi, historical fiction, and fantasy. Heh.
The story is heavily focused on the struggles of our heroine, Irene Shannon, a courageous high ranking official of the rebel army, and a ‘witch.’ However, prior to becoming any of these things, Shannon was just surviving a life of cleaning toilets and mopping floors. How had she transformed into such a confident and fearsome warrior? Well, that is for you to find out so read this book. There was lot of interesting things that were explored in this book. One is the sisterly bond between Irene and her older sister, Fiona. They are practically inseparable and while I admire their loyalty to each other, what irked me the most is the fact that Irene’s personality depended heavily on her sister. Every decision and action that she made was because of her sister. After every thing that she has been through, I assumed that by the end of the book, she’d find herself and you know, realize that she’s already a whole woman with or without her sister. Second thing is that, there are certain elements in this book that you just have to either swallow or suspend your disbelief in order for you to enjoy the whole story. Take for example, while I like how the romance between our characters was written, I certainly frowned at Irene having too many marriage proposals from men of three different backgrounds. Like, seriously? Irene is the least likeable character in this book because as I have said, she’s just way too obsessed with her older sister it’s almost criminal. Third, the most interesting thing is that there are mystical creatures posing, on top of the war between the government and the rebels, a threat in this world created by Lumen Reese. It’s one of the reasons why I want to read the second book because I want to know if my theory is correct.
The Witch Wife’s overall storytelling was perfect…Nothing too melodramatic but was able to hit me emotionally. I liked how most of the characters were developed except for Irene. My favorite character would prolly be the Brigadier as he is just a good soul (without the despicable moral superiority) through and through. I’d like to see him in the succeeding books having a good life that he deserves.
All in all, I’d say that the Witch Wife is a winner. Go and add it to your TBR pile.