| The Water Witch |
By Jessica Thorne
Arc Review

If adventure, treasure hunts, paranormal legends, and lore, set on the coast of Northern France peak your interest, then The Water Witch is a book for you. It’s a riveting and fantastical “who done it” with intriguing characters and an adorable romantic subplot.

The story follows Dr. Ariadne Walker as she copes with the trauma of losing her fiancé, Simon, while trying to unravel his secrets and the secrets of the lost city, Ys. Little does she know, she’s about to unveil much more than she bargained for.

The story is based on true lore of the Brittany region in France, which I found absolutely fascinating, and pulls in a decadent treasure hunt, along with some spooky paranormal legends. It’s a tangled web, but I loved every second of trying to unravel it. The love story/romance is more of a subplot in my opinion, as solving the mystery is front and center. But I loved the cast of characters, each of them endearing but battling with their own demons, and some real life demons. The love story reads a bit like insta-love which isn’t my favorite, but I think it works with the lore and outlandish circumstances. Oh and did I mention that the MMC is a hot French billionaire? He was a fun character and it was nice to see how he helped Ari work through her trust issues.

Overall, the romance left me wanting a little more and I found one “twist” to be extremely obvious, but the book as a whole was fantastic. Highly recommend for a quick exciting read!

Thank you Jessica, Bookoture, and NetGalley for the advanced copy!

3.5 Stars Rounded Up to 4

A beautiful paranormal French inspired mystery is how I would describe this book. I really enjoyed it. It did take a good couple of chapters to get into this book but once it took off I loved it.
The book is full of romance and mystery. The main character Ari goes through so many different feelings in this story and at some points it does seem a little over complicated. I also felt like I ended up trying to keep up with the main story. I did feel like as a character she managed to finally find her strength by the end of the book which is something I love to see.
The secondary characters also helped with the story and I enjoyed that they each had a different type of story to tell alongside the main story.
Overall I enjoyed this book, after a couple of chapters I found it hard to put down as I was drawn into the mystery of the lost cities of Ys and the second chance romance in the book.

Thank you to the author, Netgalley and publishers for this eARC I received.

Another great read by Jessica Thorne! Filled with mystery, romance and a treasure hunt for a lost city, this story had me entranced from start to finish. Great book!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

As a French major and speaker, I've always been fascinated by French folklore, and Brittany in particular is a region that has always interested me due to the mishmash of cultures and history. I also read The Daughters of Ys by M. T. Anderson a couple years ago and absolutely fell down a mythical rabbit hole. So when I saw that this was based on the myth of Ys, I jumped—and I was not disappointed.

The story is basically one giant paranormal treasure hunt, which in itself is a fantastic premise, but the relationships between the protagonists and secondary characters have so many deep and painful layers the reader must sift through, so many clues, all amidst a setting so cruel and also beautiful... The depths both literally and figuratively are what kept me engaged till the very end.

I've come away very satisfied with the story, but there are still some things to note that I don't necessarily love... The relationship between Ari and Rafael was sweet, but painfully unrealistic and insta-lovey (lmao, it's a paranormal romance though, don't take this too seriously). And while I didn't see the "who done it" twist at the end coming, the foreshadowing for the OTHER person was almost painfully obvious. Like, the second we met them I immediately knew who they were?? I'm not too upset by it, but I wish it had been a tiny bit more subtle? Anyone who reads mysteries/thrillers will pick up on it immediately; I hope it doesn't ruin anything for you. And lastly, the convenience of money cannot be understated here. Rafael and Ari certainly joke about it by the end, but at what point does him being a millionaire become *too* convenient? It just felt kind of like a cop out after a while...

All that said, I had a lot of fun reading this! It was my first foray into the treasure hunting genre (which I've been seeing a lot of lately? I'm on board) and I am definitely planning to pick up more from this author. Solid 4 out of 5 stars, ★★★★☆

Ariadne Walker has never believed that the lost city, Ys exists. However there are things that that may prove that the myth's true, such as Rafael and his curse, finding a mask and etc. But can they find Ys and break the curse without losing their loved ones?

The Water Witch is a great book full of romance and mystery. I fell in love with all the legends and characters. Ari sometimes annoyed me, though in the end she found her strength and I adored it. I didn't expect that the story would get so much interesting. But I couldn't put it down. If you love a second-chance romance, the lost cities from myths and mystery, you will take great pleasure in reading this book.

Thank you to NetGalley for the arc!

A totally addictive novel and I stayed up late finishing it, I found it so absorbing. This is highly recommended and I would give it more stars if I was able, but I am, sadly, limited to five. Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for giving me a copy of the book.