Witches

by Dan Foley

Jesse Prentiss was the last of her coven and the dead were coming. She was too old, too tired and too sick to deal with them alone. In an act of desperation, she sent a drop of her blood into the world in hopes of summoning someone to stand by her in the coming battle with the dead. Can Eileen Ray, a twenty-two-year-old novice, be the one she needs? Together, they will need to contend with a black witch, summoned hell spawn and Eileen’s doubts about her own abilities to defeat the coming of the dead.

234 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 25, 2020

Reviews

[Madelon · Rating 5 out of 5]

WITCHES is a tale of good and evil and the battle between them. This is a time-honored theme in speculative fiction as seen in everything from "Sleeping Beauty" to "Star Wars." The female witches epitomize the strong woman protagonist gleaning strength from adversity while showing kindness and compassion. The male witches only want to prove their might through control of other worldly creatures, conniving, and braggadocio.

Dan Foley is a storyteller who is both enchanting and terrifying, and always down to earth. He gives each character a distinct voice then uses it to tell the tale. This technique allows multiple points of view that move the story forward to a satisfying conclusion.

I've read a number of Foley's books; this one is a favorite.

[Brooke Clark · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Witches” is a book all about 5 different Witches, both Dark and Light. This book is told from 3 different POV. The first being from Eileen when she is on her way to meet Jesse, (this pov also included Eleanor since she was traveling with her), then we have Jesse’s pov, as well as Aiden’s & Mark’s which is intertwined. In the beginning of the book, I was loving it. I am a huge fan of books with Witches so I really had high hopes for it but sadly it fell flat for me. 50% of the book is about Eileen and Eleanor traveling and it just took up too much time for me. I wanted to see more witchy things. As for Marcus / Mark and Aiden I felt their characters were absolutely useless. I have no idea what the point of those two characters were. I was bored while reading their part of the story and then they end up being killed in like 2 minutes and not even by our main characters, and we don’t even get a good explanation. I was disappointed with the end because the fight scene didn’t last long enough in my opinion or have enough build up in my opinion. It was like 2 pages and it was over with. I will be giving the book a 2.5/5 stars.

[Brandi Costello · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved reading this book! There was a lot of detail put into the world building and various settings that kept me engaged throughout the entirety of the novel. I did find the conflict a little tedious to read at times but I liked how the witches where facing problems from multiple antagonists which eventually caused the ending to surprise me when the main plot of resolved. The idea that the main character doesn't always have to be the hero also intrigued me about this book and made me wish more authors thought this way. I do wish there was a little more character building for the supporting characters as well as the main ones because I did find myself wondering how Jesse's coven was wiped out and how Marcus had become so vindictive and careless with his powers. I would recommend this book to those who can read about cruelty and gore but enjoy immersing themselves in a world full of magic both good and evil. I did receive an advanced review copy for free, and am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Nikki · Rating 2 out of 5]

Witches by Dan Foley
Publisher: Crossroad Press, Macabre Ink
Genre: Horror | Sci Fi & Fantasy
Release Date: August 25, 2020

I wanted to like this book. The description sounded like it would have potential, but overall I thought it fell flat.

There was minimal character development. Most of the book felt like we were trying to 'get to the point' and then when the book finally reached the peak of the story you could blink and miss it.

There were so great parts, that were written with great detail and I felt like I was transported to the scene. Most of the book was not like that though.

There was a lot of redundancy. Since the story was told from multiple perspectives, the author retold portions from multiple perspectives and it made the book feel like I was stuck in a time loop.

I'm very grateful to Dan Foley, Crossroad Press, and NetGalley for providing me with a free copy of this ARC ebook in exchange for my honest review.

[Eve Hallows · Rating 5 out of 5]

I finished this book in less than a weekend. The description was good, and the attention to detail of herbalism and learning about magic were spot on. The world was believable, and the characters were engaging. I thought the switch between POVs was seamless. I’ve read other books with only two POVs and have been confused at times. I enjoyed the how Jesse and Eleanor worked with Eileen to make her feel comfortable with her place in this new world. There was some violence, but it was to depict the evil of the black witches. This was the first book I read by Dan Foley and I’m interested to see what else he has written.

I received an advance review copy for free from NetGalley and am leaving my honest review voluntarily.

I will be adding this review to my website, EveHallows.com.

#Witches #NetGalley

[Melissa Izquierdo · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this book to be very one dimensional. The plot was simplistic and the characters fell flat. The ending was predictable and not very satisfying.

I received a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.