Bone Witch

Witches of Etlantium #3

by Thea Atkinson

Rescue from the bleak desert might be the death of them all.
Alaysha has managed to save those she loves from certain torture and death, but their flight from home is not a guarantee of safety. As they flee into the territory known as the burnt lands, she realizes she has put them in even greater danger. From her.

A drought-ridden land is no place for a water witch to be thirsty. In what misleadingly appears to be a stroke of luck, a band of female travelers finds them when they are on the brink of disaster. They have water. They have transportation. They also have weapons and a peculiar interest in the men that suggests their rescue isn't what it seems...

Soon, what started out as a bid for freedom turns into a fight for their lives…

Genres: Fantasy

277 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 29, 2013

About the author

Thea is a NEW YORK TIMES and USA TODAY Bestselling Author. She used to have a black lab at her feet when she wrote, warming up the calves. It can be cold in rural Nova Scotia. Now it's just a cuppa tea keeping her warm.

Her urban fantasy pulses with dark themes and action-packed intrigue. Her characters are always deeply wounded creatures struggling for redemption.

Hang out with her on Instagram or Facebook or follow her on Amazon. Grab a free book at her website.

Find her on the web:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/~/e/B0046DIT0U
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a special shout out to Brenda Levy Tate for the awesome author photo wherein I don't look too dog-lady crazy.

Reviews

[Debra Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Bone Witch" is the 3rd book in the Elementary Magic series. I absolutely love this series and flew through books 2 and 3 in only a few days. In "Bone Witch" Alaysha is on the run from the powerful fire witch, Aislin. Aislin has invaded her father Yuri's city and is on a deadly rampage to kill all those who oppose her. She desperately wants to find her son Yenic who has been kidnapped by Yuri's warrior Bodicca and will stop at nothing to find him. Alaysha loves Yenic and together with Gael, Theron, Edulph and Aedus, they travel through the burnt lands to the only place Yenic could be--the Enyalian female warrior lands. When the group is captured and brought to the village, Alaysha finds Yenic, but the Enyalian custom to kill the men once their usefulness ends, shocks her. She plans their escape, but getting them all out alive is far harder than she could ever imagine.

As with any excellent fantasy series, the more things that are explained and resolved, the more questions arise. The character of water witch Alaysha is a complex one and Ms. Atkinson continues her masterful storytelling revealing bits and pieces of the witch's heritage keeping the reader riveted to the story. With each new piece of the puzzle Alaysha understands, forces her to make even more difficult decisions. She now understands why her father had all caring beaten out of her in her youth. The more she loves, the more agonizing living becomes. No spoilers here, but suffice it to say, there are twists and turns that I didn't see coming. I can't wait for the next book to find out what the author has in store for us. Highly Recommended.

I received this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

[Cath · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is book three of the Witches of Etlantium series and sees Alaysha and her group now struggling to survive after taking the most dangerous route through the burnt lands and now having run out of water and any other supplies. There is no sign of any water and with her being able to draw water from anything close by, which includes her friends and enemies own bodies, leaving behind just their skin husks, would mean everyone’s death as she has no control over her magic. Her father trained her to be an assassin and she was like a wild cannon and not a sharpshooter, when it came to her kill radius. They were fleeing for freedom and are a mixed bunch. They see a huge figure coming towards them, just as they were giving up, and it turns out to be a female warrior, cast out from her kind and paying a huge price, on top of a beast the likes of which none of them have seen. Their shaman helps to heal her somewhat and she leads them to a secret well in the desert. A group of well-armed females comes across them before they can leave the well, and have huge creatures to help transport them on, but it is the men in their group, that these Enyalia warriors are after, as the solstice approaches.
The Enyalia are a female community, only having use of men for procreation for a few months, with only their best warriors having the chance to earn the privilege, and young boys to act as servants. There are also few older women in the community, with females split into warrior or helpers, even the young females train to fight to death, with everything they have. They have to fight for their lives, but they are all too fatiguing by their difficult journey so far, that they are soon overcome, even if Gael managed to keep his own against these impressive warriors. He is punished for his actions and fighting ability by their leader. They arrive at the Enyalian camp shortly before the solstice and the men are not even allowed to be called by their names, only the females! Alaysha has to figure out how this society works and if she can get her husband Yenic and Gael out of there, whilst waiting to see if Theron and Aedus are going to get there in time to help them, along with the warrior Bodicca. Who she can really trust amongst her group, is quite difficult after the manner in which her father raised her.
They have to worry about Aislin and her ability to see them through the flames, with her fire magic, and hope to find the bone witch within the Enyalian camp, but in truth find a weaker earth witch Thera with an elder witch Uta, who doesn’t seem ready to hand over her power and knowledge. The Enyalia use the bones of their fallen warriors to mark each warrior with a special mark, but also as part of their swords very make-up. The time for the ‘casting’ has come and the available men are examined by all interested women, as if they are animals, before warriors cast their skin into the fight. Lots more characters to get used to in the mix of this storyline, as several of them have their own reasons to be on the journey with Alaysha. Escaping from one nightmare into the hands of another, may not be quite as it seems, when various people want you dead or to use your power for their own means. Something Alaysha knows far too much about. Yenic doesn’t like the fact Gael is volunteering to become her ARM, a way of her spreading her magic with another, so she doesn’t overload or lose control of her magic, as she has in the past. She will come up with her own unique solution to that problem, but her husband still has a strong bond as the ARM to his mother Aislin, the fire witch. A run in with the wind witch and the shock of her identity and who her father is, will bring about an interesting conclusion to this book, but leaves so much more to come. Not a book you should be reading unless you have read the previous books in the series! I received an ARC copy of this book from BookSprout and I have freely given my own opinion of the book above.

[Shayay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting magical ideas; imaginative story, but I just wasn’t into the premise for this one. Alaysha and a few of her pals are traveling through a desolate land; they are trying to escape the wrath of Aislin, things are looking really dire for them all. Luckily or rather unluckily, they meet a group of people that may be helpful. Unfortunately, this group of women aren’t exactly the best; especially with their ideas regarding men. I just really wasn’t into the whole rapey women scenario; that’s pretty much the majority of this book too. I wanted more story progression; the story moves too slowly at times, and it’s scenarios I don’t enjoy reading about. I also wasn’t into the ménage, same-sex scenario going on either. I like Alaysha okay; I like that she stands up for her people, and her witch abilities are interesting. I’m going to go with a 3 rating; I do want to see how this story ends, and there’s some interesting aspects and scenarios that I’m interested to see play out.

[Douglas Williamson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Help is offered, but the hand hold a hidden knife. Guess our gang is not done with their struggle.

This is book three of the series. It works pretty well as a standalone, but there is a lot going on and you will be missing some of the back story. Keep that in mind.

This book is a sword and sorcery fantasy story. The story is well written but not necessarily easy to read. There is a lot going on and it can be difficult to keep track of what is what at times. From my perspective, our characters are finally starting to come to life and I was very happy with this book. The plot continues to be intriguing and there is clearly lots more to come. Overall, I am starting to really get into this story and I look forward to the next book.

Highly recommended.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout for review purposes.

[Marilyn Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series just keeps getting better and better! Once you start you get pulled into their adventure. The storyline up is great and the characters that are added are making this story over the top! It was a great time reading this and wanting more!

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Witch-at-Heart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just wow! I love this series Alaysha our MC is coming into her own and the character dynamics and development continues to prove fascinating and intriguing.

This fast paced book has many twist and turns that will have you turning pages late into the night.

So many questions and plots to continue to explore I can hardly wait for the next book.

I highly recommend the series.

[Christinaraven · Rating 4 out of 5]

Things seem to be getting more complicated and more characters introduced to the story as things heat up. A few twists and turns sneak in too. But it was interesting and a bit entertaining to read and figure out. Good addition to the series.

[Cali Jewel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This magical and deadly journey will have you on the edge of your seat and get your heart racing for what may happen next. Emotionally thrilling, action packed, page turning and darkly thrilling adventure filled with dangerous and engaging charters, witty banter and spine tingling intrigue.

[Adriane Alexander · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this book. The story captures you and takes you on a grand adventure. The is a wild ride that you will want to take again.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Phthon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Filled with danger and excitement. The story really starts to pick up speed in this book! I loved it! And that last line? Whooo BOY! I can’t wait to read the next book!

[Tracy Runyan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Slow but you still want to know all the missing pieces.

[Kimberly]

I have grown fond of this series, I've loved each book more as the series has progressed. Looking to more of this series

[Rachel Joi Maples · Rating 5 out of 5]

really enjoying the continuation of this series!

[Hmr28 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Started to jump the shark a bit but this is still a great series.