The Year of the Witching

By: Alexis Henderson

Narrated by: Brianna Colette

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.

fantastic cant wait for book two

if you're looking for something where the witches aren't good or bad and no one is solely evil or good, and queer rep. in historical fiction, this is a good choice.

Message of hope

This book had more religious overtones that I was expecting and so I will probably stop
With this book, but the message was hopeful.

Great book kept me listening for days

I liked the story and it kept me coming back for more. However, there were some times when I felt it was read a little too slow or just missing some “fun/life/color” but still a great reading and easy listen.

Good read, kept my attention

I did enjoy listening to this book. Didn’t realize there would be a love story in there but once there was I was hoping they would have gone down that way a little more but with that being said since this was about witches glad they didn’t. I enjoyed listening to the strength the main character had and bravery.

great story but boring performance.

If they would just rerecord this it would be 5 stars all the way down. The story was great and engaging but unfortunately my attention kept wandering because of the bland performance.