Witch'n

by Joshua Braun

Two Time Award WinnerFirst Place Winner of the 2020 Writer's Digest Self-Published E-Book Award for Fantasy2021 Readers' Favorite Honorable Mention in the Fiction - Fantasy - GeneralReader's Favorite 5-Star ReviewsDivine Zape - "Witch'n features elaborately developed characters and fascinating world-building. The dialogues are well-written and the author’s meticulous care for plot elements infuses the story with great entertainment."K. C. Finn - "Author Joshua Braun has crafted a completely enchanting work of fiction with plenty of wit to offer readers. One of the features which I found particularly impressive about this piece was its styling, voice, and attitude, which make the author just as important as the story in a way that Sir Terry Pratchett would be proud of. I adored the character development, dynamics, and tongue-in-cheek humor."Ruffina Oserio - " Witch'n is well-plotted and the pacing is fast; there are twists that I didn’t see coming and the unpredictability in plot development makes the story a page-turning read. The descriptions are vivid and strong and from the very beginning, the reader is presented with horrifying images of the aftermath of evil magic. Joshua Braun’s novel is intelligently plotted and superbly executed."Foluso Falaye - With an ingenious blend of dark humor and fantasy, Witch'n grabs the reader and holds their attention from start to finish. I couldn't put it down as I was arrested by the protagonist's energetic personality and her unbelievable evilness. It's nothing like I've seen before... prepare for a wild, dark, different, and memorable experience!"It's all very well and good destroying the world, extinguishing any spark of hope, and ruling with an iron grip of fear and black magic. But nobody told the witch that running an administration of evil would be just so… dreary.Bored with solving little people's problems and the petty squabbles of her beastly advisors, the witch quits, leaving the world in a much worse state than she found it with a new evil quest.It's time to learn how to be a good person.There's just one teensy-tiny little problem…Being good doesn't come easily – after all, it's much easier to sacrifice babies and summon hideous demons to get things done.Seeking out her old nemesis, a legendary-hero-turned-academic (who she only imprisoned and tortured a little bit), she gives him an outlandish to help her make a dazzling transformation from wicked witch to good.It's an offer he can't refuse.The odd couple have a long, perilous journey ahead of them and a lot of psychological hang-ups to work through. Can an evil witch ever truly be reformed – and what could possibly go wrong when you're relying on your nemesis to be your BFF?Witch'n is a rip-roaring high fantasy satire with razor-sharp wit and penetrating social critique that fans of Terry Pratchett will find irresistible. If you love vulnerable wicked witches, bizarre monster encounters, and debating the morality of baby sacrifice, then this novel is for you.

239 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 17, 2020

Reviews

[Andreya Lombardi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Light read

Story starts off with a witch and her prisoner caged up. The intro within itself was interesting as I'm a fan of fast pace, getting right down to it, no frills writing. It was a bunch of info in the beginning to set the mood but I felt it could have been delivered in other ways rather than an info dump. The witches backstory was interesting enough for me to finish the book, her persona really being the core strength of the novel. It was lovely to see her character development. Comical, dark and quick read.

[The Book Suite · Rating 3 out of 5]

So, as I mentioned before, I was super into the energy of the plot description–and that energy definitely carried over to the book itself, and I loved it. Part of it was due to the way the plot jumped all over the place; although there was a vague structure to the story, events happened somewhat randomly and there was a lot of skipping ahead in time.

To be honest, I think the book could’ve benefitted from a little more structure–even when the goal is a chaotic tone, that tone should be carefully created, and not just a byproduct of sloppiness–overall, it was decent and I had no real complaints.

As for the characters, I loved the witch, Honey. She was over-the-top ridiculous and evil solely because she had no sense of right or wrong, and I really enjoyed it. Obviously, I love complex villains with all the bells and whistles of a tragic backstory just as much as the next person–but, it was fun to have a villain with no complication, who was evil just for the fun of it.

I liked the other characters well enough, too, but Honey definitely stole the show. But I think that that was the author’s intention, in which case

And finally, I want to mention that the magic system of this fictional world had quite a lot of development. The rules for what magic could do were outlined; Braun even gave some detail to the history of different witch covens. So, all in all, I enjoyed all that development and complexity.

All things considered, I recommend reading this if you’re looking for something light and fun. It has the perfect vibes for this time of year, after all. And although it wasn’t the most amazing book I’ve ever read, it had its strong points, and I don’t think you’ll be disappointed if you do decide to pick it up.

[Phillip Murrell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I waffled between three and four stars for this one. I settled on the higher rating based on the quirky banter. I enjoyed the concept of the wicked witch growing bored with evil and doing good merely to shut up all the suffering of the conquered. However, I feel I may have enjoyed it more if played straight versus as a comedy.

The strengths of the book are the previously mentioned banter and Honeydrops desire to be good simply because she's bored. This isn't really a redemption story. She ends pretty much as selfish as she began, but her actions are now seen as noble instead of evil. I especially loved her "one-more-step" speech that mocked Sam's statement in Lord of the Rings. Many good comments from Honey break down absurd platitudes.

Not everything was strong. The speed of the set up chapters hand waved more than I would have liked. With such a relatively short book, I feel a few more words could have gone to show versus tell. Since it's a comedy, I gave it more of a pass here, but I hated how many conquered villagers were so openly bold with Honey. They saw her murder for any offense, yet they complained without even flinching many times. If this had been a straight story with those actions, I would have gone to two-stars for my rating. Finally, there were many noticeable typos. A species called Rodar became Rodan. Many words had extra or missing letters (Ssaid, Princ Alteem, She laughe, etc). There weren't so many to make me quit, but there were enough to make me hunt for more and note them for this review. More than a little and less than a lot is the best way to describe it.

Taken together, I recommend this book to people who like stories like The Princess Bride.

[Miranda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well......

I received this book for free in a giveaway.
With that said, I would like to borrow a quote from the author. "Annoying, but in a charming way".
The majority of the book was snarky dialog between a witch that was a detached from reality as possible and what can only be described as two plain pieces of white bread and a curiously accepting older woman.
If you like Terry Pratchet imagine all of that dialog with none of the world building.

The book also touched on being a commentary on society, dealing with all the problems that we face but stopping short of actually talking about the issues. Like, here is an issue, let's have witty banner about it, now the issue is solved!

That being said, I did enjoy it. I'm just not going to carry any of these characters with me.

[Mark Sneed · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great story but needs a better cover

Let me say that I really enjoyed reading this book. It is fun and lightweight in its handling of big issues. It’s easy reading and entertaining. The idea of a witch taking over the world and then regretting it is gold. But what is memorable of the story is the humor and dialogue. Wished that there were more quote identifiers because when the characters are talking it can get a bit confusing. Only bad point.
Really great character development. Loved the witch who is by and far the greatest thing going in the book. Loved the witch deciding to do good but in such an over the top way. So fun. Wish the cover worked with this great book. Great read.

[Tristan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I won this book in a giveaway. The plotline was charming and I was attached to most the characters. That being said I felt the sentence structure was very abrupt and short, and the plot hopped from one point to another very quickly. I felt with the underlying messages about being a good person and how to develop one's conscious, this would've been an excellent grade school book, however there were roughly six lines/paragraphs that would need to be removed first making this a bit confusing to determine the target audience.

All this being said, I still finished it in quite a hurry, eager to see where the witch ended up in her quest to change everything she'd ever been.

[Taylor Padilla · Rating 3 out of 5]

I won this book in a giveaway. Most of the both I felt like I was missing something. It felt very rushed at times and moved from plot to plot very quickly. The idea of the story was good but it left me confused and wanting more.

[Jamie Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

good book

The typos and grammatcial errors were a bit distracting. But overall, the story was deeper than I expected and I laughed out loud too many times to count. Very well done.

[Darla · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. I laughed, I cried (I mostly laughed). I did not want to leave the world where Witch'n took place.

[Alicia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Preachy but consistent.

[Denise]

I got bored about halfway through and skipped to the end, which turned pretty much as I thought it would. Also, there were a lot of typos, which was very annoying.

[Katie Kissel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I mostly, really enjoyed this book. The book took the stance that being naive, or I think innocent was the word the book used, can be a bad thing as much as it can be a good thing. The witch in the book is a perfect example of what someone raised by an evil person but living a sheltered life might look like. No opportunity for real connection, no idea how to resolve conflict, and majorly overachieving just to get some kind of approval or recognition. There were parts of the book that were frustrating, funny, and sad. It took us through all the emotions while taking us on an adventure.