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The Year of the Witching

Written by: Alexis Henderson
Narrated by: Brianna Colette
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Publisher's Summary

A young woman living in a rigid, puritanical society discovers dark powers within herself in this stunning, feminist fantasy debut.

In the lands of Bethel, where the Prophet's word is law, Immanuelle Moore's very existence is blasphemy. Her mother's union with an outsider of a different race cast her once-proud family into disgrace, so Immanuelle does her best to worship the Father, follow Holy Protocol, and lead a life of submission, devotion, and absolute conformity, like all the other women in the settlement.

But a mishap lures her into the forbidden Darkwood surrounding Bethel, where the first prophet once chased and killed four powerful witches. Their spirits are still lurking there, and they bestow a gift on Immanuelle: the journal of her dead mother, who Immanuelle is shocked to learn once sought sanctuary in the wood.

Fascinated by the secrets in the diary, Immanuelle finds herself struggling to understand how her mother could have consorted with the witches. But when she begins to learn grim truths about the Church and its history, she realizes the true threat to Bethel is its own darkness. And she starts to understand that if Bethel is to change, it must begin with her.

©2020 Alexis Henderson (P)2020 Penguin Audio
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What the critics say

"A thrillingly brisk and bracing tale of magic and power, I loved this book. It takes the best tropes of horror and witchcraft and gives them a refreshingly feminist twist." (S.A. Chakraborty, national best-selling author of The Daevabad Trilogy)

"The Year of the Witching is a dark, dramatic tale of oppression and rebellion, ideology and morality, with a complicated, appealing protagonist caught in a Handmaid's Tale nightmare. It's a fine addition to the body of feminist fantasy works, a great read." (Louisa Morgan, Author of The Age of Witches)

"The Year of the Witching is a dark wood ready to swallow you whole with its tense stakes and beguiling prose. Henderson takes witchcraft to its very depths, unraveling the horrific nightmares of bone-deep ideology and devastating oppression, and giving readers a complex heroine ready to face fire." (Dhonielle Clayton, New York Times best-selling author of The Belles series)

What listeners say about The Year of the Witching

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Loved this.

Hopefully there will be a sequel. Loved the story and feel like it could continue on!!

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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loved the story

I really enjoyed the story, but the narrator made most of the characters sound the same, so it was a bit confusing at times.

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  • Overall
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Love the story

ok, so first let me say that the story line , the flow of it, the characters...fantastic! Now for the bad. I'm really sorry as I don't like giving negative reviews, but the narrator. Wow. It took me an insane amount of time to be able to get into the story because of the monotone voice. There was no movement in her voice, no peak, no drop, no nothing. Just one...level...boring tone.
I'm sorry but it truly took away from this amazing storyline.

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    4 out of 5 stars
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Great story!

This story is fantastic, and a great read for spooky season.
The reader is not my favourite. I found her to be a bit monotone, and made strange character choices. However as the book picks up and more characters joined, she was just fine.
It’s easy to get sucked into the story.

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  • Overall
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Compelling Story

The story was creepy, well paced, and kept me on my toes. The narrator was hard to listen to… very monotone and her way of voicing the dialogue was stilted and awkward. If the story wasn’t so catching, I would have stopped early on.

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The Darkwood calls to me too

I picked this title because “The VVitch” is one of my favourite horror movies. There were some similar elements in "The Year of the Witching' which I really enjoyed including the feminist messages.

I was completely enthralled with this tale ! The author uses such beautiful imagery to bring this dark fantasy to life. I was clinging to every word. If you are like me and are gripped by the woods and the creatures that might be in them you'll love this story.

I was a little hesitant because there was an animal death or sacrifice trigger warning. Personally, I can't really stomach that too well but I found those scenes to be minimal and not too overwhelming (all livestock). Be warned in the first chapter The Prophet sacrificing a lamb which and that is probably the worst of it.

All in all this is a one of my favorite books. And top audible pick

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a little boring

the performance and story were a bit flat. I got this as a daily deal so it was quite inexpensive. It wasn't terrible but I wouldn't have used a full credit for it and I won't be revisiting it.

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    4 out of 5 stars

Couldn’t get into it.

Honestly, the story was intriguing, but the narrator must be new or maybe needs some more practice. I tried to keep listening, but she’s very monotone, pauses where there shouldn’t be pauses, misses questions in her tone, and just all around makes all the characters of each sex sound the same.
I want to know how the story plays out, but I’ll have to read it myself because the narrator just doesn’t have it yet. I could imagine so many other narrators doing it so much better. I hope she gets more practice, but for now, I’ll be avoiding titles that she’s narrating.
The story, like I said, is intriguing though! The author is great at describing the look, feel, and smell of people and places.

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