Mark of a Witch's Slave

by Angeline Brown

Created as a haven for all, Wiccandra was supposed to be a safe place...

When Jelani is captured as a calf in Africa his journey begins and he is taken half way across the globe. His new life is hard but he is saved from despair when he is befriended by a family of witches and warlocks.

Centuries later headstrong teenager Poppy and her young brother are trapped in a house fire. It is as death is about to claim them that Jelani jumps from an enchanted painting and rescues the siblings, taking them to a world created by magic many years before they were even born.

The small group face a mammoth journey to get home full of danger and the worst thing possible happens when they are targeted by a sinister coven and Jelani is separated from the children. The elephant is horrified to learn that Poppy has been sold into slavery while her brother is to be sacrificed in a magical ceremony.

Determined to get them back, Jelani must find allies in this dangerous world filled with witches, warlocks and fairy tale creatures but can he do so before it is too late?

Genres: Fantasy

Kindle Edition

First published September 5, 2015

About the author

Hello everyone and thanks for reading this.
I'm delighted to be a member of Goodreads and look forward to engaging with you all!
I live in Whitley Bay, a coastal town at the edge of Newcastle upon Tyne in England and get most of my ideas while walking my dog along one of the many beautiful and inspiring beaches around here.
As well as being an avid reader and loving to write, I adore dogs and my standard poodle Suki gives me lots of excuses to disappear down to the beach.
I've loved writing for a long time, fantasy being my favourite, but have more time to dedicate to my career now as my little boy has just started pre school nursery so I'm really concentrating on my fictional novels and novellas.
I'm happy to answer any questions you might have.
Thanks for reading.

Angie xx

Reviews

[Lisa Marie Gabriel · Rating 3 out of 5]

*I was given a free copy of this book for unbiased and non-reciprocal review*

I found Mark of a Witch’s Slave both strange and disturbing; an unusual novel that is penned by a writer who has great imagination and there is probably enough material here for several books in one but the fact that its main characters are very young (7 and 15 year old) gave me real contextual problems. At first I thought I was reading a children’s story and as it progressed I was enjoying the yarn and happily thinking it was a bit like Narnia. Then all of a sudden I hit something very dark indeed, human sacrifice, murder, resurrection, slavery and sex trafficking, torture, mutilation and sadism. At this point the novel was giving me significant cognitive dissonance. Who was the audience? How would it end? Could it get any darker? Yet it still progressed in the child-like style of a fairy tale. This would have given me no problem with older characters and a reclassification of horror but the spectre of what is age appropriate would not leave me. The end nearly resolves but a lot is left unsaid presumably because it is part of a series.
There were some problems with the overall presentation too; namely inconsistent indents. Size is variable as though manually spaced rather than set up in the line spacing menu and unfortunately conversation is not indented at all. A professional edit would help to clear up several spelling mistakes the spellchecker missed, eg plaque instead of plague, and also standardize formatting to improve the book. Having said that it is very readable and if you realise that it is certainly not a children’s book this dark fantasy is quite different.

[Felicite Lilly · Rating 4 out of 5]

At the beginning of the book, the story starts out a little robotic to me. However, once they reach Wiccandra the story takes off. I will say, I loved reading the story but the themes were very serious. There is NOWHERE that is safe in Wiccandra. Slavery still thrives and no one is safe from becoming a slave. As the brother and sister team, along with the elephant Jelani, begin moving through the world and collecting others, misfits/characters that are sick of the way their world is, I found myself not able to put the book down. There are many story lines, but each one touches the other. It was amazing and I commend the author on her artful way of creating the story. Usually, I hate to see other story lines but, with this book, it worked!
I will say I found a few things that bugged me a little... I didn't like that there was no place and no one who was safe from slavery. If you were poor, in an outlying area, or they just felt like it -- you could become a slave. I also wished there had been a resolution to some of the story. The cliffhanger at the end leaves you wanting more, but I wanted at least a couple more chapters. I would've like to have seen the brother/sister duo back together and ready to take on the world they were trapped in...but perhaps that is where the next book will take us.
Overall, I really enjoyed the story and would recommend the book to anyone who likes Fantasy. Although the themes within in the book were not light hearted, they did bring an element of reflection in them that I don't get with a lot of books. Nice work Ms. Brown.

[SheReads · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book ended up being wayyyy better than I thought it was going to be when I was reading the first chapter. I soon found myself so immersed in the story that I was on the edge of my seat.

The story centers around Poppy and her younger brother. When a house fire threatens to take everything from them, including their very lives, they are rescued by the most unlikely of means. They soon find themselves living amongst the impossible and unbelievable. A new world full of witches, elves, talking animals, and more adventures that they could possibly imagine.

It sounds exciting but it doesn't take long for it to turn very very bad. They will find themselves in a fight for their lives and a fight for their friends.

The only issues I had with the book were the cover and the title. It wasn't that they were bad - the cover is especially beautiful - it's just that they don't really represent what I saw as the heart of the story. They seem like they were made for a younger audience but I didn't feel like that was completely true of the book. After the first part, the story morphs into one that can be enjoyed by people of all ages. Poppy is a fantastic character that leaves you with the feeling that she can save the day, not matter the threat. Her part of the story feels very real and emotional. I really loved it and can't wait to see what she does next with the help of the colorful group of characters that surround her.

[Sarah Doebereiner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mark of a Witch's Slave

Mark of A Witch’s Slave follows the adventures of Poppy and Mike as they are thrust into a dangerous world full of supernatural creatures and elements that are well beyond their years. They meet friend and foe alike as they travel through Wiccandra in a desperate attempt to find a way home.

My favorite aspect of this story was Jelani. An elephant is an unusual companion animal to start with because of the relative size and logistical issues, so I found that aspect of the story interesting and fresh. I enjoyed his intelligence, cunning, and spirit in spite of everything he had been through. The dynamic between humanity and Jelani was for me, really special. It might have been a problem if Jelani had been allowed to overshadow Poppy, but she does grow into a tortured, strong character who can bare the horrific weight of the story.

I think the only real problem I had while reading was the transitions. They were abrupt and sometimes glossed over important details or long stretches of time that broke the flow of the narrative. It made some themes less believable. There is a general ‘and then what happened’ feeling in the opening chapters, but that lessens after chapter eight.

I would recommend this book for adults (which is difficult to reconcile because it reads like a YA) who enjoy action packed, macabre stories. It’s kind of like a twisted fairytale- deep, dark and intense.

I received this book in exchange for an honest, non reciprocal review.

[R.B.N. Bookmark · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a rule I tend not to read fantasy books…….I´m afraid the fairies in my garden moved on a longtime ago. But when I read the synopsis of Mark Of A Witches Slave it having caught my eye, well lo and behold here I am writing a synopsis.

A synopsis I might add for what is a very imaginative and well written book.
The author has written a story which I am sure has many more books left in this series.

A very dark, mysterious and not to mention violent fairy tale.
It is not a book I would read if I was feeling down in the dumps, and needed cheering up.
But it has that dark and morbid fairy tale of old feel to it, a redeeming quality which permeates the book throughout and draws the reader into the world of Wiccandra and the beings and creatures within.

Once you pick it up and the book gets up steam, it refuses to let you put it back down again.
In short I fully enjoyed reading this from beginning to end .
Personally I had no qualms about it being too dark a story for the young children, I think it pans out the further into the book one gets.

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to review your book, I won`t claim to be a fantasy book convert after reading it – but I will keep an eye out…..just in case one day the fairies in my garden return :-)

I received a free copy of this book for an impartial review
Bookmark

[Laurel McHargue · Rating 2 out of 5]

I cannot say I like a book that starts with a promise of magic and adventure and then dumps me into a sordid world of lechery, rape, and hopelessness.

Although there are some wonderfully creative ideas such as the elephant that escapes from a painting and white trees that pull “things” into an upside-down world—ideas a YA audience would love to explore--the story quickly becomes dark and confusing, leaving me wondering who is meant to be the target audience. One scene reminds me of the movie Dumbo, and the witches and warlocks are typical of YA stories, but the bulk of the last half leans toward appealing to a 50 Shades of Grey audience. So much rape.

Ms. Brown might consider writing two different stories for two very different audiences, and I would encourage her to employ an editor. In too many places throughout the slave trade narrative I felt I was being preached at, and I found no differentiation in speech patterns between any of the characters. The story ends awkwardly, and based on the more significant issues I’ve addressed, I would not read the next installment.

[Kendi Thompson · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very imaginative story with a lot of irons in the fire!

When I began the first few chapters, and after looking at the cover, I thought maybe it would be intended for a younger audience. The element of Jelani (the magic elephant) and the ages of Poppy and Mike came into play at the very beginning. However, further in, it reminded me of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe on steroids and is definitely a fantasy book for adults.

So, how did book one in this series rate? Overall, I enjoyed the various elements the author weaved throughout the story. Creatures like witches, elves, fairies, talking rats, and gnomes appear in the land of Wiccandra. There are a lot of threads (and a lot of characters) and I can only presume all will be explained and tied up in the last book of the series. That said, it's difficult to rate when you don't know how it all ends, but it's just interesting enough to continue reading. Give it a go!

[C.A. Pack · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Mark of a Witch’s Slave" by Angeline Brown is the first book in a fantasy series about two young people who are whisked into a world in another dimension to save them from a deadly fire. The protagonists in the book are a 15-year-old girl and her 7-year-old brother, which makes it seem like this a middle grade or young adult book. It also features a talking elephant and a helpful white rat, which is why it is jarring to me that the themes in this book include violence, sex slaves, abuse and murder. It’s not that the book isn’t interesting, or that it’s badly written, because neither of those things are the problem. My problem with "Mark of a Witch’s Slave" is that the audience isn’t clearly defined, and I find that disturbing. If you want to appeal to readers interested in a young woman dealing with slave traders, consider leaving out the talking animals.
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Charlie B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

When thinking about this review I was looking into my head for something to compare it too. It then came to me that it was rather like one of those rather twisted upmarket illustrated comic books, where a children's tale is turned into something far more violent and mysterious. That's not to take anything away from the book, in fact I found the concept rather refreshing and full of new idea's. It has a journey, always necessary in this kind of tale, all the characters you'd expect in a land where magic dominates. (thank goodness that's not true in real life, where would we be then)
Everything moves along nicely and although there's more to come in the second book, there's enough here to intrigue and entice the reader into the next book. If you're looking for something new and intriguing, then I'd recommends this, but not for you kids before bedtime.

[Lune Spark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jelani's journey was very engaging--specifically when witches and warlocks come to his rescue! Who'd have known that Jelani would become active several hundred years later to save two brothers from being claimed by the fire in the house!

The author Angeline Brown has done a great job in creating a breathtaking fantasy journey for Jelani and two brothers. I enjoyed the book very much.

[Kay Reed · Rating 5 out of 5]

A delightful read. Jalani the elephant is the savior of 2 children Poppy and Mike who are the descendants of the people who saved him. He leads the children in a fancy filled escapade in the land of Wiccandra. The plot was well defined and the characters were well developed.