Rave Review: "The Year of the Witching" by Alexis Henderson

Quick Summary

Type: Novel, part of series

Genre: Fantasy, horror

Back Cover: "In the lands of Bethel, where the Prophet's word is law, Immanuelle Moore's very existence is blasphemy. Her mother's union with an outsider of a different race cast her once-proud family into disgrace, so Immanuelle does her best to worship the Father, follow Holy Protocol, and lead a life of submission, devotion, and absolute conformity, like all the other women in the settlement. 

 But a mishap lures her into the forbidden Darkwood surrounding Bethel, where the first prophet once chased and killed four powerful witches. Their spirits are still lurking there, and they bestow a gift on Immanuelle: the journal of her dead mother, who Immanuelle is shocked to learn once sought sanctuary in the wood. 

 Fascinated by the secrets in the diary, Immanuelle finds herself struggling to understand how her mother could have consorted with the witches. But when she begins to learn grim truths about the Church and its history, she realizes the true threat to Bethel is its own darkness. And she starts to understand that if Bethel is to change, it must begin with her."

Read Time: 5 days

Rating: 4.5 stars

Review

This novel started a little slow. I understand that it was important to introduce the setting, but it did drag the story a little. However, as soon as the witches were introduced (the ones speaking to Immanuelle), the story picked up quite a bit.

While the plot was a little predictable (oh, the old, hypocritical self-proclaimed prophet is the real bad guy, not the witches? Who would have thunk?), there was enough intrigue and tension to keep me interested to the end. I enjoyed the romantic subplot and was rooting for Immanuelle to get a happy ending beyond just surviving what the witches (and the prophet) had in store for her.

I would have liked to explore the outside world a little more, but I suppose that's being left for the sequel, which I am interested in reading as well.

Finally, while I sincerely enjoyed the setting and the characters and the overall vibes of the novel, I'm not sure I would consider this a Southern Gothic novel, which this was marketed to me as. While this novel touches on issues that are endemic to Southern Gothic literature (class, race, religion), one of the biggest markers of Southern Gothic literature is that the story is set in the American South. While Bethel seems to be based (possibly) on the colonial South (although I got more Salem vibes than I got South vibes), it is not the American South and thus not what I would consider Southern Gothic literature.