The Year of the Witching

Bethel belongs to the Father and His light; the Darkwood belongs to the Mother and Her Darkness. These are the truths that everyone in the community knows, and to protect them from the evil of the Mother and the four witches in the wood, everyone follows the Prophet’s every command.

Everyone, that is, except Immanuelle Moore.

Born from an illegal union between her mother and a man from the Outskirts, Immanuelle has always been an outsider within Bethel, even though she has lived there all her life. It isn’t only the people around her who notice: she feels a pull to the Darkwood despite knowing the danger lurking under the trees. When the witches’ magic begins to threaten the community, Immanuelle realizes she may be the only one to save it, though the real danger may well come from within.

I had no idea I was in the mood for this book, but The Year of the Witching blew me away. It’s a masterpiece of Puritan-esque dark fantasy, filled with an air of delirium. Alexis Henderson has created a full, believable world populated with living, breathing people, and nestled within it is the vital lesson to be wary of who we hand power over to.