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

the synopsis for this book drew me in and i thought i was going to love this book but i found it didnt quite flow together very well... plus i nearly vomited at one point when the witch gives some of her stuff to the kings knight....not quite what i was expecting.. and was dreading the next time it happened

at times i felt this book was for teenagers and that the storyline fitted them well...

not quite what i thought and sorry to say it wasnt quite for me

Ronan and Lithia are great characters. The world-building is good. The writing is excellent. Be warned: this is a bit gory and by a bit I mean a lot !

It was a good, intense, sometimes funny, read. Too gory for me, but that's my own taste and not a reflection on the book's quality.

i really enjoyed reading this book, the characters were great and I really enjoyed the story in this book. I look forward to more in the Black Eyed Witch

This is one book I just couldn’t get into. I didn’t like the authors style and this got in the way. It’s very rare for me but I gave up half way through. Awful.

Thank you to the publisher and to Netgalley for the advance copy of this book!

Sorry to say I tried 3 times to read this and would only get about 25% and couldn't finish. Something was just not there with me on this book. This book isn't a standalone and I was getting lost in the story and just felt confused. I would lay it back down but try it again and each time I just couldn't follow this book. I think it could have a great concept if it was properly written.

I received this book as a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I couldn't finish this book. This isn't a complete book, and this book would very much benefit from a review by a copy editor or a proof reader outside of Staeffler's circle.


WHAT I WANTED TO KEEP READING FOR
- Staeffler's put effort into the worldbuilding and the history - and that's great! But the way the world is introduced in the second book is very awkward. There's facts, but there's few reasons to care about why the world is the way it is and what that means for our heroes. (e.g., Staeffler refers to how the new king has managed the economy - OK, cool, but what does that mean? Meanwhile, there's references to the heroes' tragic backstory that's glossed over - I'd prefer to hear more about that, and how that affects their decision making now, than the budget decisions of a kingdom they're pretty happy with)

- My favourite moment: I thought Lithia's sword and glove set was completely ridiculous, so I very much appreciated her first training session with her new kit: where she catches it and nearly clocks herself with the sword.


WHAT MADE ME PUT THIS DOWN
- This is not a standalone book. I had no idea what was going on, and it became too hard to follow why the world was the way it was and why people did things. I felt like I needed to have a lot of pre-existing knowledge about the world and characters that I didn't have to understand the book.

- I found this frustrating to read. There are so many changes to tense, sometimes within the same sentence, that I felt like a time traveller with vertigo.
Example from the text: "Witches and knights wandered around, orders given, strategies planned and contracts being issued to any available witch. Some witches are being escorts for noble people or transportation of valuable stock."

- There were too many incomplete sentences in the book itself: language is a big deal for me, and I found the way the book was written to be really jarring. I'm not sure if Staeffler is from a Non-English Speaking Background, but I would suggest he ask someone to proof read his next book before he publishes it, or pay for the services of an independent copy editor.

I received a free ARC from Netgalley. I am leaving my honest review.

I tried. I really tried. I just couldn't finish this book. Neither the characters nor the plot sustained my interest. Just not my cup of tea.