Witch Finder

by Sheri Lewis Wohl

Hereditary witch Tamsin Chaney didn’t ask to be the Keeper. But you don’t mess with centuries of tradition. Even though she’ll do everything in her power to keep the Witch Finders of the Dark Faction from gaining possession of the Book of Darkness, she’s just fine tucked away on her farm dispensing white magic to keep her community safe and

Morrigan James, a Witch Finder of the White Faction, will stop at nothing to guard the Keeper and the sacred grimoire that holds the secrets to unleashing unstoppable evil into the world. The Dark Faction grows stronger and bolder, and time is growing short. Tamsin is in terrible danger, and Morrigan must protect her and the secrets she guards even if it costs Morrigan her life.

As they grow ever closer, only Tamsin and Morrigan can stop the Dark Faction and fulfill the prophesy that will keep the world safe forever.

Genres: Paranormal, Magic

312 pages, Paperback

Published August 15, 2023

About the author

From the author's website: A reader since I could pick up a book, my goal in grade school was to read every book in the library. I didn't quite make it through every book, but I came darn close, and thus my love of literature was born. I started writing in high school and have continued through today. I didn't follow my muse to college, at least not at first. Instead, I floundered around and managed to complete a degree with concentrations in Psychology, Communications and Women's Studies at Eastern Washington University. But, the pull of the written word wasn't done with me yet, and I went back to school to complete a Masters in Humanities through California State University. With a thesis on Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu's vampire tale "Carmilla", it was a gothic writer's dream come true.
Today, I'm still writing and reading a ton of books. With the advent of electronic publishing I can carry any number of books in my Kindle. I'm never without a touch of fiction. I'm a member of Romance Writers of America, the Transylvanian Society of Dracula, Team Blaze (a local triathlon group), and a local K9 search & rescue team.

Reviews

[Betty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Witch Finder by Sheri Lewis Wohl is a paranormal urban fantasy romance with suspense, interesting characters and lots of magic, both good and evil. I’ve been enjoying Ms. Wohl’s paranormal stories for years, and this is another novel I can add to that list.

The main setting of this book is a farm in Washington State, though several of the characters do travel through some of the other western states. This is an area the author knows well since she lives there. I must confess, after reading any of Ms. Wohl’s novels, I end up wishing I lived in the places she describes, and this novel is no different. I want to live on Tamsin Chaney’s farm. It just sounds so beautiful and serene.

Tamsin is a witch of the White Faction and a Keeper. For the past hundred and fifty plus years her family has been given this title because they were tasked with keeping the sacred grimoire, also called The Book of Darkness away from The Dark Faction of witches who would use the evil in the book to gain power in the world. The Dark Faction is always looking for the Keeper and the book, and when they get close, the White Faction sends a Witch Finder to spirit the Keeper away to a safer location. When Morrigan James arrives at the farm to take Tamsin and the book to a new location, Tamsin says no. She believes that it is time to take a stand and end this once and for all.

I really enjoyed this novel. It helped that I loved the setting and the story premise. I also connected with the two main characters and their friends immediately. I did have a bit of trouble with Morrigan’s persistent pessimism (Try to say that five times fast). Also, each chapter gives the reader a glimpse into the minds of Tamsin, Morrigan, and the evil Witch Finder Frederica (Freddi) who is hunting Tamsin. I occasionally had to backtrack a page or so to ascertain whose mind I was in at the moment. Neither of these were major stumbling blocks to my enjoyment of the novel, though, just something I thought I should mention.

If you love paranormal, urban fantasy filled with magic, witches, good, evil, and romance, then give Witch Finder by Sheri Lewis Wohl a try.
I received an ARC from NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for an honest review.

[AnnMaree Of Oz]

DNF 40% IN. 2 stars for what I did read - but not rating since I didn't get over halfway.

It was tedious as heck and going nowhere fast. The entirety of what I read so far was one character saying "Yes, this new thing is what's gonna work!" over and over - and the other is saying "No, it won't!" and repeat adnauseam. All the while a cringe-worthy villain POV gets thrown in between; who sounded like a teenager. I felt no real 'threat' there. It was laughable.

There's no real characterization here for either MC's, the summary of them both is "they're hot" and have an insta connection, and were 'born to do this' and dedicated blindly to their cause.

Where's the magic? the story? the plot? Some personality??? I wasn't seeing any sign of it, so I couldn't force myself to keep going.

[Aleana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an ARC copy of this book from the Publisher via Netgalley and voluntarily leaving my review.

This was a ok read. Although I enjoy witchy stories and even though the battle was kinda a let down I did like the build up if you will but I’ve enjoy this author psychics stories better

Tasmin didn’t want to be the keeper but you can’t mess with what already been a century traditions. Tasmin is doing everything in her powers to keep the dark forces from getting the Book of Darkness she knows if it’s falls in their hands the world won’t be safe. Morrigan will do anything to keep the keeper and the boo safe from evil because she knows if they get their hands on it they going have a fight on their hands. Tasmin and Morrigan grow closer but as they fight the Dark Faction who getting more dangerous by the minute as they fear they won’t keep the world safe.

[Domi · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a fun read with interesting characters, I always like a little bit of magic sprinkled in. Another positive in my book is the fact that Wohl also give attention to the "villain" and her journey. Which leads me to the part that didn't sit right with me: the whole book is aiming towards a big show down, showing us the preparations of both sides of the conflict. Yet the actual showdown was a bit of a anticlimax...not much tension, quickly resolved and some characters who "just had to be there" according to the prophecy didn't bring that much extra to the table. Or my expectations were bigger at least. And maybe it's just me so don't skip on this book if you like witches, the fight between good and evil and a little bit of destined romance. The writing is solid, the characters I really liked and I had a great time reading it.

***Thank you Netgalley and Bold Stroke Books for giving me the chance to read and review this book***

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you, Bold Strokes Books Inc., Sheri Lewis Wohl, and NetGalley for the ARC.

I DNF'd the book around 40% in. It wasn't easy to follow the plot because the points of view shifted so fast. I would just be getting into one point of view, and then it would switch. I didn't have time to sit and read this book in one go, so I went back a lot to re-read parts because I forgot what had happened before.

I liked the idea of the plot. It seemed interesting to me. I did like Tamisin and Morrigan, but it was hard to know them because it was jumping around so much. If I get time to sit and read this book in one sitting, I will try it again and maybe rate it differently, but right now, this is where I will rate it.

[Celina · Rating 3 out of 5]

𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗠𝗘𝗦: 𝙿𝙰𝚁𝙰𝙽𝙾𝚁𝙼𝙰𝙻. 𝚄𝚁𝙱𝙰𝙽 𝙵𝙰𝙽𝚃𝙰𝚂𝚈. 𝚁𝙾𝙼𝙰𝙽𝙲𝙴. 𝙼𝙰𝙶𝙸𝙲.

"𝙃𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙙𝙞𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙮 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙘𝙝 𝙏𝙖𝙢𝙨𝙞𝙣 𝘾𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙚𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙈𝙤𝙧𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙖𝙣 𝙅𝙖𝙢𝙚𝙨, 𝙖 𝙒𝙞𝙩𝙘𝙝 𝙁𝙞𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙒𝙝𝙞𝙩𝙚 𝙁𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣."

I love magic books, especially if they are new adult. There is just something different about the magic in this book that felt different. I have read 8 books by Sheri so I am quite familiar with her work especially in the paranormal world. This magic bit, it was good, but it was such a slow-burner to the real action of the magic and so quite a number of "hand-holding" scenes that I started to feel a little irritated.

The chemistry between Morrigan and Tamsin was ok... I love to believe in destiny and people having to be, meant to be, but the spark between these two, needed more magic or fire.


Now the magic world; that was really something. Though the dark magic world was actually more intriguing than the good side. The good folks were all stubborn, but dark baby girl knew what she wanted and she was burning people left and right to get it. STUNNING.


𝙄 𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙚𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙣 𝘼𝙍𝘾 𝙘𝙤𝙥𝙮 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙋𝙪𝙗𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙫𝙞𝙖 𝙉𝙚𝙩𝙜𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙫𝙤𝙡𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙡𝙮 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙢𝙮 𝙝𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙚𝙬.⁠

[Sam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Critical rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Entertainment rating: ⭐⭐
Overall: ⭐⭐⭐

Witchy stories are one of my favorites regarding fantasy/supernatural so thank you to NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books Inc. for allowing me to read this for an honest review. Overall, this was a 3-⭐ read for me. It’s been a while since I’ve read a story written in entirely third person so that may be a bit hard to follow for some who are used to multiple or single POV books. The writing was fine, the author gave us a lot of details so I didn’t feel lost at any point, however, I thought it was just an okay storyline. I didn’t really have a problem with any of the characters but I did feel there were a lot of extras with very minor roles. There was a lot of build-up to get to what happens in the end but ultimately I felt it was a bit of a letdown. Perhaps it wasn't easy to get it all in one book, but the ending felt rushed. I would’ve liked for more backstory about how good and evil came to battle, or even how the object of desire came to be.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was fun to read. The first several chapters introduce readers to the characters and the world, which is basically modern-day USA with magic and witches of various sorts. The POV goes back and forth from several perspectives that revealed more about several of the characters’ disposition and history. The two main characters initially don’t agree on much, but there is a connection. As they learn about each other, some secrets are spilled. At the same time we learn more about Tamsin and Morrigan (the two main protagonists), Wohl weaved in the antagonists as well as some allies for the heroes. The villain is this book is definitely villainous. The first part of the novel builds up slowly to a much faster paced confrontation and conclusion.

[AJ Sneed · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh M G. I absolutely loved this book. I'm a huge fan of a greatly written Witch Fantasy story. This is a great example of an original idea for a common theme. The story drops right in after giving the reader a prologue background into how the main characters Tamsin and Morrigan fall into the situation. Ms. Wohl does a great job of bringing you in and making you feel apart of the story. The perspective change from the main characters to the villain in the story gave it a way to bring the reader along and show the major differences between the "good" guys and the "bad" guys. Overall this was a very well written and intriguing story that is definitely on my must read list.

[Patty Bryant · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting story. I liked the magical witches theme. The relationship between Tamisin and Morrigan was pretty interesting. There's not a lot of romance in this story, but what was in it was just ok. There's good witches and bad witches, and quite a bit of drama and angst in between. I actively wouldn't categorize this as New Adult, I actually felt like this was more young adult. This was still a good book, and if you like witch tales then this is the book for you. I look forward to what's coming next from this author.

[Sue Plant · Rating 5 out of 5]

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this book

witches good and bad
a keeper
a grimoire

tamsin is the keeper
morrigan is a witch finder of the white order

together they have to work together to keep safe and protect the grimoire from the dark faction and they are on the way to kill the tamsin the keeper

have to say this storyline kept me interested...with magic abound and good versus evil there is plenty for everyone to enjoy this storyline

[Jen King · Rating 3 out of 5]

Witch Finder is right up my street - a witchy fantasy, I'm sold. The characters and plot were a little floundering - some more direct purpose and less description would have helped the overall story.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bold Stroke Books for providing me with a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Faye Drawdy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you netgalley and bold strokes books for the ARC copy of this book in wcchange for my honest opinion.

So I'll be honest, I thought I'd like this book but it just didn't do it for me.

Rating is a 2 start only because the writing wasn't completely horrible. It was a little annoying that the book jumped between POVs in the middle of chapters.

[Alice M. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve read some of this author’s books and generally find them quite readable. I found this one a bit slow to start with but got more interesting as you progressed. Morrigan was a bit of a Doubting Thomas for a while and Tamsin a bit too sure of herself but what the heck. Made for a good story.

[Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought Sheri had a great storyline. It wasn't executed the way I thought it would, but I still enjoyed it. I recommend 3.5 stars.

Thank You NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books.

[Madison Haarsager · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think that this is a fun read! I think it’s very readable, especially for adult fantasy. It has a lot of representation, which is always nice to read. I wish we’d gotten to see a little bit more from Franci, but I loved her arc anyways. The villain was fun to hate, and Morrigan and Tamsin deserve their happy ending 🫶