Pre-Release Review of Witch Born, by Amber Argyle

 Posted by  Blog Tours, Book Reviews, Sheila's Reviews
Aug 242012
 

Product Details:

Title: Witch Born (Book #2 in The Witch Born Series)
Author: Amber Argyle
Paperback: 330 pages
Publisher: Starling Books (September 5, 2012)
Genre: YA Fantasy
ISBN-10: 0985739401
ISBN-13: 978-0985739409

FTC FYI: I was given a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

Book Description:
Publication Date: September 5, 2012
Brusenna thought it was finished. She defeated the Dark Witch, saving the Haven Witches from imprisonment and death. She found love and a place to belong. She was wrong. Haven is not the sanctuary it appears to be. Even love is in danger of slipping away like water through cupped hands. Some things can’t be saved. A new threat merges with the old as the Witches’ dark history begins to catch up with them. Only Brusenna knows the extent of the danger and how to stop it, though doing so might cost her everything. Including her life. Will Brusenna be required to make the ultimate sacrifice?

 

Product Details:

Title: Witch Song(Book#1 in the Witch Song Series)
Author: Amber Argyle
Reading level: Ages 11 and up
Paperback: 325 pages
Publisher: Rhemalda Publishing (September 1, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1936850168
ISBN-13: 978-1936850167

Book Description:
Publication Date: September 1, 2011 | Age Level: 11 and up | Grade Level: 6 and up

The world is changing. Once, Witch Song controlled everything from the winds to the shifting of the seasons-but not anymore. All the Witches are gone, taken captive by a traitor. All but Brusenna. As the echo of their songs fade, the traitor grows stronger. Now she is coming for Brusenna. Her guardian has sworn to protect her, but even he can’t stop the Dark Witch. Somehow, Brusenna has to succeed where every other Witch has failed. Find the traitor. Fight her. Defeat her. Because if Brusenna doesn’t, there won’t be anything left to save.
I was so lucky to be able to read both books, one right after the other. If I hadn’t been able to, I would have gone a little crazy! I had to start book two immediately to see what would happen. I let the author know how I felt about her books when I sent her a message on Facebook, here is what I said…

“There is something missing in your books…a warning at the beginning that your stories are so addicting that you won’t be able to put the book down.”

When I wrote this to Amber I truly meant it. I took my Kindle to work and it was so hard not to sneak a peek when I shouldn’t during the day. I did read it during Silent Reading Time and during my lunch time. That is my warning to you also, once you start reading this series, you won’t want to stop reading.

Things I Liked:
–Beautiful Writing Style: Amber has such a beautiful way with her words. The Witches in this series cast spells by singing. I loved the words sung by the witches as they cast protection spells. I hate to admit, even when they cast spells to hurt their enemies. Here is an example of main character Brusenna’s, or Senna as she is called mainly in the story, her spell casting…

“Let not the curse of Witches
Destroy a land of natural riches.
Plants, preserve life in thy roots,
Seeds sleep in earth, send forth
no shoots
Until the Witches shall disperse
This terrible and unjust curse.”
I am a singer, so I loved that singing was the method of yielding the Witches power. To cripple a witch and put a stopper to her powers, they gag her. But, you will be amazed at everything the witches can do with their powers.
-Great Main Character Senna: Here is why I loved this character;though she is a truly powerful witch, she is still very “human” in many of her actions. She is not perfect. She has doubts about herself and what she can accomplish. She has feelings and often puts them on the line. In other words, she is very relatable. I like this in a character. It is very easy to put yourself in her place with what she is thinking and feeling.

–Interesting Magic System and History: I loved figuring our how the witches gain power, and what the power is. I also was intrigued with how the witches could control the natural elements.  The history also unfolds in the second book, Witch Born. By no means does this make the book boring. It only enhances the story as events unfold.

Gorgeous Covers: 
Do I need to say more???

–Great Love Story: 
Senna and her Guardian, Joshen, have a very sweet, but normal relationship. They share a great love, but they also have their share of arguments. Through most of both books there is no love triangle; and that is all I am going to say. ;)

–Refreshing and Original Storyline:
I have been reading a lot of fantasy and paranormal stories the past two years. The Witch Song Series is very different from other stories that have witches in them. If you’re tired of vampires, this is a great choice! The author states at the beginning, “The Author wished to use America’s resonance with the Salem Witch Trials. Therefore, the technology and setting for Nefalie are loosely based off of seventeenth century New England” and this time period has always fascinated me. There is also a lot of action that leaves you sitting on the edge of your seat, from chapter to chapter. I couldn’t read fast enough!

Overall, I really loved this series full of interesting characters with such a refreshing and unique storyline. I recommend Witch Song and Witch Born to ages 11 and up. With a main character that grows and matures, you grow to love and admire her. This is a fantastic read which I will read again!

We are excited to announce that we will be participating in the “First Five Chapters Free”” event that author Amber Argyle will be hosting on September 5th. That is the day that Witch Born is officially released. You will be able to go to several blogs to read the first part of Witch Born. Make sure that you come back to get a first look at this exciting second book.

If you are feeling lucky, you can go here to enter to win an e-copy of Witch Born. The contest is going on through September 5th.

 

About this author

Amber Argyle grew up with three brothers on a cattle ranch in the Rocky Mountains. She spent hours riding horses, roaming the mountains, and playing in her family’s creepy barn. This environment fueled her imagination for writing high fantasy.

She has worked as a short order cook, janitor, and staff member in a mental institution. All of which has given her great insight into the human condition and has made for some unique characters.

She received her bachelor’s degree in English and Physical Education from Utah State University.

She currently resides in Utah with her husband and three small children.

Purchase your own copies of Witch Song and Witch Born at Amazon.com.

Witch Song by Amber Argyle

 Posted by  Book Reviews, Mindy's Reviews
Jul 182012
 

Witch Song

Author: Amber Argyle

Publisher: Rhemalda Publishing

Published: September 2011

Paperback: 305 pages

ISBN13: 9781936850167

FTC FYI: Purchased from Amazon

Reviewed by Mindy

Goodreads Summary:  The world is changing. Once, Witch Song controlled everything from the winds to the shifting of the seasons-but not anymore. All the Witches are gone, taken captive by a traitor. All but Brusenna. As the echo of their songs fades, the traitor grows stronger. Now she is coming for Brusenna. Her guardian has sworn to protect her, but even he can’t stop the Dark Witch. Somehow, Brusenna has to succeed where every other Witch has failed. Find the traitor. Fight her. Defeat her. Because if Brusenna doesn’t, there won’t be anything left to save.

My Review

Shanda reviewed Witch Song last year when it came out. Check it out, here. Since the sequel, Witch Born, is coming out in September, I thought it would be fun to review it again, and remind readers about it.

Witch Song is a very enjoyable read.  Full of magic, romance, suspense, and heart.  The songs sung by the witches were my favorite. Beautifully written.  Each character is well written too.  I loved Joshen, Captain Parknel, even Senna’s faithful dog Bruke.  The villain Espen was intriguing, and I found myself wanting more from her.  The author did a great job of making me turn pages late into the night with all the cool spells, seed belts, and battles.

4 out 5 stars.  Look for the sequel to Witch Song, Witch Born coming out in September 2012. Follow Amber on FACEBOOK / TWITTER / BLOG.

AMAZON / BARNES AND NOBLE

 

Witch Song by Amber Argyle

 Posted by  Book Reviews, Shanda's Reviews
Aug 152011
 

Witch Song

Author: Amber Argyle

Published Date: September 2011

Publisher: Rhemalda Publishing

Softcover and Kindle; 325 pages

ISBN# 978-1-936850-16-7

Genre: YA Fantasy

FTC FYI: I received an ARC in PDF form that did not affect my review.

Goodreads Summary:

The world is changing. Once, Witch Song controlled everything from the winds to the shifting of the seasons-but not anymore. All the Witches are gone, taken captive by a traitor. All but Brusenna. As the echo of their songs fade, the traitor grows stronger. Now she is coming for Brusenna. Her guardian has sworn to protect her, but even he can’t stop the Dark Witch. Somehow, Brusenna has to succeed where every other Witch has failed. Find the traitor. Fight her. Defeat her. Because if Brusenna doesn’t, there won’t be anything left to save.

Overall Review

I have been looking forward to reading and reviewing Witch Song since I read a sneak peak of the first chapter months ago.

I liked Brusenna (aka Senna) and enjoyed getting to know her better. She is young (14 years old at the start), and knows next to nothing about the witchcraft the villagers accuse her of practicing. She and her mother, Sacra, live hidden in the nearby forest, maintaining a simple and secret life away from those who would harm them.

Hoping to protect her daughter, Sacra keeps Brusenna ignorant of the larger world of witches, telling her only the very basics of what she needs to know. When another witch, Coyel, arrives to beg for her mother’s help in defeating the Dark Witch, Espen, everything Brusenna has ever known begins to change and she finds herself on her own for the first time in her life.

With the help of friends like Bruke, her large canine companion, and Joshen, the young man who wants to be assigned as her official Guardian, Brusenna sets out to learn what she needs to do to defeat the Dark Witch and release her mother.

There is so much more to this story that there isn’t space in this review to cover even part of it. Those who like stories of fantasy, a bit  of clean romance and unexpected heroes overcoming evil will really enjoy Witch Song.

The Specifics

Witch Song has some great villians, including Wardof, an attractive witch hunter who has the power of the Dark Witch behind him. Every time he is caught, Espen helps him escape. He is obsessed with capturing Brusenna. There are several serious moments involving Wardof, and a few humorous ones as well.

One thing I found myself wishing for was a better portrayal of Brusenna’s time on the island, Haven, where she studied by herself for a year to become the witch she would need to be. I would have liked to have felt the passage of time a little more consistently. Also, I really wanted to see more of Brusenna’s successes and failures in her efforts to learn the spells and potions she needed to know. I wanted to have some confidence in Brusenna’s ability to hold her own against Espen even if Brusenna didn’t feel it herself, and I never really felt that.

I really liked Joshen and that Amber kept the romance clean. There are a few heart-wrenching scenes involving Joshen and Brusenna that held a lot of emotion.

Heads Up

There is violence (not gory) and death. Obviously there is use of spells and potions. No bad language that I can recall. There is mention of Brusenna’s shyness at being naked after a bath in front of another woman (modesty is promoted). After Joshen and Brusenna’s relationship has moved to kissing, a chapter begins by saying that Brusenna wanted more but Joshen stopped them (there are no details).

My Rating

I give Witch Song 3.75 stars out of 5. Witch Song is Amber’s debut novel and I’m looking forward to reading more from her. I would recommend Witch Song to readers 14+.

Below is the book trailer for Witch Song: