Book Review: House of the Witch

For February's book club it was The House of the Witch, Clare Marchant. Which is a historical fiction that dives into the witchy world along with a dual timeline.  When Adrianna downsizes to a cottage by the sea in Norfolk this cottage becomes a new lease of life for her away from the city but this is no typical home. It holds secrets after she finds hidden notes along with a carved stone. She is left feeling all of these mysteries have been left for her to find after centuries. Rewind to 1646, Ursula works as a village midwife from her cottage. But she has no desire to need a man which in that time led to nothing but accusations of being a witch. As time goes on a local doctor spies Ursula wanting her as his mistress. Which leaves her at risk of becoming his prisoner.

The witchy world is a different side to fantasy I haven’t delved into before. As a first timer I did enjoy the medieval, 1600’s angle. The cottage vibes were cosy and enjoyable to read. You felt like it was home from home. When it moved into the past you imagined the village and it was detailed which made it all the more investing. 

The two female main characters I liked. I preferred Adrianna over Ursula, the supposed witch. The two are very different characters but they have one similarity that pulls them together at the end. I thought this was clever as you had the past and modern day link together despite the two experiences so different. Ursula is the more empowering womanly figure. Despite the time frame, where women were reliant on men, Ursula lived on her own and was a successful businesswoman in her village, but obviously this came with its own downsides. Adiranna with the help of Ursula builds this up too with her help from the past. Even though Adrianna isn't as strong in character as Ursula, that was the whole point of the storyline, as she is in a vulnerable position within her life and relationship. But this felt relatable and just like any girl navigating womanhood nowadays. 

This book is a story of justice and not particularly focused on the fantasy element which I preferred and was glad it didn't focus on the witchy side, because it created a new point to the story. Reflecting on that era and how women were framed as witches. 

The dual timeline didn't particularly work for me at times. When the stories were so far apart it could be hard to jump back in and when I was enjoying one timeline over the other I would get bored and want to skip to the timeline I was enjoying towards the end. It definitely was a builder storyline. A character who I detested was Adrianna's boyfriend Ricky, this wasn't a downside to the book as he was supposed to be disliked. He was a typical narcissistic man trying to reclaim power that he didn't have anyway. 

Overall, I did enjoy this as our book club. It was a good way to experiment into different styles of writing and genres. I would rate it a four out of five.