This is the 3rd book by Jessica Thorne that I have read. I really enjoy her novels as they delve into the supernatural and folklore in a fascinating way.

The Water Witch opens with the Princess of Y’s being betrayed and her city destroyed, She curses the line of the man that betrayed her as she is turned into the Water Witch of the title. In the present we meet Ariadne (Ari) Walker an up and coming historian, or she was until her fiance Simon drowned off the coast of Brittany. Ari has been going through the motions of life since Simon’s death. Ari’s brother Jason summons her to the area in Brittany where Simon drowned, he and Simon were treasure hunters and were trying to find the lost city of Y’s. Funded by the matriarch of the wealth Du Lac family, Ari meets the matriarch Meme and her great-nephew Rafael, and finds out that the men in the family are all cursed to die by age 35, supposedly as a result of the curse of the Water Witch. Meme has hired Jason and his friend Nico to find the famed lost city of Y’s in the hopes of ending the family curse and saving Rafael from the fate of all the men in his family. Ari is not a great believer in curses or the lost city of Y’s but as events unfold, she is forced to change her mind

I really enjoyed the folklore of this book and the location. I do not know a lot about Brittany and it was like having a travel tour of what sounds like a beautiful area.

I recommend this book to anyone who likes folklore, romance and a good yarn.

Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher Bookouture and the author for the chance to read and reivew this book.

This was such a fun read! I was entranced by the legend of Ys and Dahut, the princess turned water witch who lured sailors to their death. This book was filled with legends, magic, adventure, intrigue, and unexpected romance. I was not expecting the ending of this book and shouted out loud at certain points. Definitely worth the read for those who like fantasy romance and adventure. 🧜‍♀️🌊

This book wasn't as expected. The synopsis read as being fast-paced and engaging and it wasn't either of those for me.

I did not think I would like this book as much as I did. I ended up loving it and the mystery of a city under water and a curse of a mask.
Brittany, France. Ariadne Walker’s fiancé Simon drowned in the stormy Atlantic Ocean doing what he loved: searching for the lost underwater city of Ys.
Local legend says it was destroyed centuries ago when the princess of Ys became a water witch, cursing the name of the man who betrayed her
Ari never believed these tall tales. And the letter Simon sent before he died finishing their relationship is a devastating secret she’ll take to the grave.
Rafael swears the legends are true: and his ancestor was cursed by the water witch. Now, his own life is in terrible danger
Ari's brother, Jason and friend Nico call Ari to please come back to Brittany as he found something.
Rafael's aunt wants their help and Rafael's family is very rich and can make things happen so Ari and Jason are hired to find the mask and the Ys
Then another death happens which makes them have more questions. As Ari and Rafael get closer and things start happening. This which cant be real but are. Who is Gwen and Laure and what do they have to do with all of this? We know Laure is Rafael's sister but I didn't trust her. I trusted Gwen even less.
Thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for the book to review.

The cover of this book includes the tagline "A Totally Gripping Fantasy Romance Novel Filled with Mystery". I remember when I first loaded it to my Kindle I thought "hmmm that seems like a tall order... it couldn't possibly pull all that off." Boy was I wrong!!

Water Witch opens with the legend of the lost city of Ys. From page one I was completely enthralled with this book. I hadn't even finished the prologue before I spoke the word "Oh I love this already!" out loud!

What I Loved:
- This book really did cover it all! It has: Atlantis vibes, adventure, romance, mystery, murder, family curses, legends, and lore.
- The world building was spectacular. As a reader, nothing is better than feeling like you are fully submerged with the characters. Jessica paints a gorgeous backdrop for this book, both in the real world and in Ys. The way the two intermingle was *chef's kiss*
- I loved following the FMC's thought process as uncovered clues and pieced together the mystery.


What I Didn't Love:
- I was able to guess part of the twist at the ending. Despite this, I would have loved more of a backstory on how this character came to be.
- The last couple of chapters became a bit messy. I had a hard time believing in the character's reactions after the climax of the story. There was a little explanation of why they acted this way, but it just didn't feel right.
- I wanted more in the end! Building off my last note, I think the story could have used a touch more explanation of why things happened the way they did and a bit more of how they moved through that.

Overall, this book was super entertaining and I would recommend it to anyone who is looking for a book of legend, adventure, and treasure hunts, with a dash of romance!

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I was thrilled to receive an eARC of this book from the publisher, Bookouture, in exchange for my honest review. These opinions are my own and not influenced by the publisher or author!

Many thanks to Netgalley, Bookouture and the author for the ALC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Folklore, myths, witches, magic, curses, ghosts, spirits, treasure hunt, lost city and set in the north western coast of France? I don't know why I was surprised that this book completely hooked me and I couldn't stop reading it.

The water witch starts off with the folktale on which this story is based, in which the princess of Ys becomes the water witch while cursing the bloodline of the man who betrayed. The story follows the story of Ariadne 'Ari' Walker, who is back in Brittany for the first time after she lost her fiancé Simon to the Atlantic 2 years ago. Grief stricken and still barely healing Ari is back to join her brother Jason who along with his best friend Nick is still continuing Simon's life work of discovering the lost city of Ys. Being an experienced diver and established archeologist, Jason wants Ari to join their expedition to prove to the world that what he and Simon set out to do is not madness, while Ari wants nothing but to get as far away from there as possible. Upon reaching there, Ari meets Rafael who believes all the legends and curses are true and that he is bound to die that year just like all men in his family. When Ari finds a golden mask while diving and followed by a cryptic map of Ys among Simon's things, she has no choice but to stay and help Rafael find Ys to break the curse. What follows is a story of love, of sacrifices, of discovery, healing, magic and betrayal.

The writing was atmospheric and follows 2 POVs (Ari and Rafael's) and I got sucked right in. The story was well paced, and the sense of horror, mystery and mythology was well mixed and balanced. The beauty of the story is how the ending impacted every relationship in a good way while shook foundations of some.

TW: Death, Ghosts and spirits, violence, drowning.

The Water Witch. From the title, one can surmise that the book is indeed about a water witch—which confused me when I read the first few chapters (after the prologue about the myth of Ys). If not for the synopsis, I wouldn’t have understood Chapter 1 and beyond. This made me think that upon reading this book, one must have an idea what it is about before diving in, and the fact that one should means that the opening is ambiguous.

Taking place in Brittany, France, Dr. Ariadne Walker (Ari) returns to the place where Simon—her fiancé—drowned. She meets Raphael du Lac, who was said to be cursed by the water witch. They both set on an adventure to find the lost city of Ys, which, for such a genre, is slow-paced. However, the romance is gripping even though the characters are either underdeveloped or overwhelmingly flat. Plotwise, I think the mysteries upon mysteries were suspenseful; with this, I still believe the premise has a potential, were it nurtured well. Even so, what I like about this novel is the vivid description of sceneries and the fusion of folkloric/supernatural elements with a contemporary setting.

Thank you, Netgalley and Bookouture, for the copy!

The Water Witch is a mysterious and adventurous take on the myth of the Daughters of Ys where Ariadne must return to the place where her fiance just died to help her brother search for the missing riches of a fabled underwater city.

I struggled with this book. I'm a huge fan of folklore and the myth of Ys from French culture, but I just couldn't connect to this story. I think Jessica Thorne had an interesting premise, but I found myself getting annoyed with the characters from the beginning and the flimsy reason that Ariadne was even returning to where her fiance died. I also noticed some mild typos and formatting issues in the copy I was reading from, which also deterred me from finishing this.

I might try revisiting this at a later date, but I couldn't finish this currently and have no plans to revisit in the near future.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for providing me with a copy for an honest review.

Honestly more of a 4.5! I absolutely adored this book. It is the first book by Jessica Thorne I've read and I will definitely be checking out her other books. This was filled with fantasy, folklore, curses, witches, treasures, strong female leads absolutely incredible descriptions, A SETTING ON THE NORTHEN COAST OF FRANCE, Atlantis vibes. Just absolutely incredible, I finished it within 24 hours, I couldn't put it down, when I wasn't reading it all I could think about was when I would get to read more! I thought the different POVs were very well done and actually made a lot of sense in this book (the only reason it's not 5 stars is that I wish the POVs had headings with whose POV it was but it wasn't confusing to work out or anything, just personal preference). I thought the pacing was fantastic, where it was slow paced at the start so you had time to absorb all the information and familiarise yourself with the setting, characters and legend/curse/backstory, but once it picked up it kept GOING ALL THE WAY. I think the characters are very well written and enjoyable to read about and read their interactions.

The book is also apparently based on local folklore in Brittany France (where it's set) which I absolutely love!

If you love fantasy, folklore with a sprinkle of romance and mystery I would be picking this book up ASAP!

Thank you to Netgallery and Bookouture for the eARC in exchange for a voluntary, honest review. #netgallery

The Water Witch

Romance, Fantasy, Adventure and Mystery. Myths and Legends from Nothern France.

This waa an anticipated read for me and while it was an ok read i wasnt that invested in the characters or the story took me a while to get into it.

I listened to the Audiobook it was very well read and I enjoyed the narration found it very easy to listen too.

Thank you to Netgalley, Bookouture and Jessica Thorne for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest Review

I at first was really loving the concept of this book and the world the author was building. But as I kept reading, the story was dragging and I felt myself uninterested. Some of the items were a bit predictable and I just felt that the story was so slow. The Water Witch was cool, and the ending did pick up a bit. But overall, the execution wasn't there with this story.

1/5 spice
NA Fantasy

- atmospheric vibes
- awesome writing
- fantasy, folklore and myth
- retelling: lost/sunken city of Atlantis
- magical realism, fantasy
- romance is a subplot (wouldn't call this a 'romantasy')

Overall, a gripping, mysterious and atmospheric read with a nice mix of history, mythology, archeaology and fantasy. I'd never read a retelling of Atlantis so this was fun.

The perfect binge-able fantasy romance! Treasure hunters, family curses, and a sexy French billionaire all set on the French coast. It's a suspenseful emotional roller coaster. What's not to love?

Ari is keeping a devastating secret. Before her fiancé Simon drowned off the French coast treasure hunting, he sent her a letter saying it was over. She is still grieving her loss when her brother convinces her to return to where it all started. Now she is caught up in a hunt for a lost city with a sexy French billionaire, but she must face family curses, treacherous waters, and her past.

I liked the emotional depth that we see with Ari and Rafael. I did not feel like it was insta-love.

I loved the twist. I was expecting part but not all of it. I wish there were fewer hints dropped and more spice. I would give this a 2/5 on the spice scale, definitely more subtle.

Overall, I would highly recommend this. It was suspenseful and set a creepy atmosphere that is perfect for reading on a stormy day or when you are looking for a slightly spooky read.

The author did a great job of sucking me into the story with vivid descriptions of the setting, the wild Breton coastline, the long lost city and the haunting tales of a mythical long lost kingdom. There was a very creepy element which was well done. The curse that haunts the male of the Du Lac family was well laid out and Rafael's reaction compelling and believable.

This book was a good mix of mystery, fantasy and folklore. It was well written and you can tell the author did her research! Unfortunately, it just didn’t hit the mark for me. I found myself skimming to get to the exciting parts and didn’t love some of the twists/outcomes! However that is just me personally! I would recommend this book to someone who wants a book that’s off the beaten path! I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

First things first, I got this arc from NetGalley.

Now that I have that out of the way, I have mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, I loved the fantasy world interweaving into the real. It was really well done. Plus, the fact that Jessica Thorne includes archeology in this book is amazing. I love the fact that the archaeologist is a woman. The only major complaint that I have is that it did take me a while to read. Parts of this book were very slow. Like really slow. It’s funny, though, I’m not sure I would have picked this book up if not for NetGalley. Despite the fact that it is slow book, I am glad I read it. It’s an interesting book, that has some well thought ideas. #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #bookstagrammireland #bookworm #booklover #booknerd #bookaddict #bookreview #book #recommendations #netgalleyreview #netgalleyreviewer #netgalleyreads #bitslow #notabadbook #waterwitch #jessicathorne

This was nothing like what I was expecting…after seeing the cover and reading the blurb! I really liked Ari, I felt her character built up well and I do love a strong female setting the tone! I felt the scene setting was well done and the storyline kept going at a strong and interesting pace which kept me hooked! Not sure I’d call it a romance, unless a couple of kisses count? Overall a good book to finish July on! Thank you NetGalley for this arc!

Would give this closer to a 3.75/5.

It was enjoyable and I thought the prose were more mature and well written then some other fantasy/romance I've requested on NetGalley. I thought the lore was interesting and the jobs that the characters had were equally as interesting to read about and experience. The setting of Brittany was such a lovely choice. Thorne's descriptions of the landscape and wild weather were very well done. My only qualm with the book is that I felt like the romance was a bit under developed. I almost had more of an investment in the romance with deceased Simon and Ariadne than Rafael and Aridane.

Overall, a nice read.

Thank you Net Galley and Bookouture for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I thought this book was brilliantly written, it certainly was a thrilling fantasy novel. A lot of people said that the excitement drops after about halfway in the book, but I didn’t find that to be the case. The characters were easily lovable and any book about Atlantis is definitely a book I will enjoy.

This novel follows the grief of Ariadne after the death of her fiancé Simon when she has to return to the place where he died and carry on with what he failed to do. Here she unexpectedly finds Rafael who helps her move on and find what she came out to do.

Parts are heartbreaking, exciting and sad, whilst others are you wanting to scream at the characters who seem to go towards danger even though that is clearly not a good idea. This book was so easy to read and Jessica Thorne’s writing style makes me want to read more by this author.

I would recommend this to anyone who loves underwater fantasy, magical realism, thrillers and mysteries - it is such a great book.

The Water Witch by Jessica Thorne

Overall 4
Spice 1
• Similar to Susanna Kearsley
• Magical Realism
• Archeology
• Fate, Destiny, & Ancestral Curses
• Atlantis Retelling
• Mystery/Romance
• Dual POV
• Slight Insta Love Vibes
• 3rd Act Twist
• Rafael POV (Swoon)

Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for an ARC of The Water Witch by Jessica Thorne

This book is very similar in style to Susanna Kearsley, it’s a blend of magical realism/supernatural mystery founded on historical content. I loved the Atlantis retelling aspect and although some points could be considered predictable I found it enchanting and enthralling. I was happily under the Water Witches’ spell.