Search - The Book of Shadows

The back cover had me so intrigued that I could hardly wait to read this book. I was excited at the prospect of a new series.

The writing was very 'wordy' and I found myself becoming frustrated with all the minute descriptions. I only kept on to see what was going to happen next. After about 200 pages, I just couldn't read anymore and literally skimmed the remaining pages until the end of the book.

He seems to be a talented writer, however, it didn't appeal to me.

This book was not what I had expected. It sounded like it would be good but it dragged on in parts. It also took me awhile to realize that the main character is transgendered from lack of descriptions. Needless to say, it was a bit confusing in parts.

This book was a slow read, but I thought it was well worth it. I think it started out different than what I expected because the main character was raised in a convent and I was expecting a character who would immediately be part of the pagan society due to the title of the book. But since the writing was so well-done, I didn't want to put the book down and just kept reading because Herculine's character was quite interesting. The story does pick up up you begin to realize that Herculine isn't a normal girl, but instead a hermaphrodite, who has never known until an occurrence that brings her uniqueness to the attention of others. The awful things that this person has to endure at the hands of Christians is quite sad, but not as awful as some of the things she finds out about when she reads of things done to people by the church to "prove" they were witches or from first hand accounts of two spirits who need her help.

The historical parts of this book that were researched by the author to show this past bigotry and persecution gives us a very grim and horrifying look at the methods of torture used on people during the "Burning Times". It really makes me glad that I didn't live during a time where the church had such free reign over society because the hatred and cruelty is mortifying. The lies and threats used to prove people were witches, demons, or just "in league with Lucifer" in general does, ironically, tend to remind one of modern day activists or extremists.

The paranormal events in the book also make it quite interesting, as Herculine is able to communicate with spirits. There is also, definitely, some scenes in which old-school witchery is used, along with the less gruesome, more contemporary, "pagan-lite" rites that are more often found in popular modern-day fiction.

Overall, it's an interesting read, and though it didn't make me want to sit down and devour it in one session, I'm definitely going to be reading more of the series and books by this author.

There was a bit of a twist to this book that was pretty obvious early on in the story. There was quite a bit of playing on wording that did get tiresome after awhile. Eventually the writer came out with the the point of it and the story moved along fairly well after words. All and all, a worthwhile read.

This author has definitely done a lot of research about the customs and vocabulary of the period just around the French Revolution---a lot of research into witchcraft beliefs and folklore too. I confess that I couldn't finish the book, though, as the reporting of certain forms of torture such as sanctified by the Inquisition made me a bit sick to my stomach.

From back cover: Alone among the young girls taught by nuns at a convent school in nineteenth-century France, orphaned Herculine has neither wealth nor social connections. When she's accused of being a witch, the shy student is locked up with no hope of escape ... until her rescue by a real witch, the beautiful, mysterious Sebastiana. Swept away to the witch's manor, Herculine will enter a fantastic, erotic world to discover her true nature -- and her destiny -- in this breathtaking, darkly sensual first novel.

This is definitely not my genre, though it was very interesting and well written, highly real and detailed, and actually kept my attention quite well. I'd strongly recommend it to someone who enjoys the gothic genre.