The Year of the Witching by Alexis Henderson

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This book is incredible! Just an absolutely amazing and horrifying novel. Set in the lands of Bethel during an unknown time, the Prophet rules over all. Living in a compound named Haven with his many wives and children, he determines who lives, who dies, and what is considered moral. Living under this tight rule is already difficult, but even more so when your very life is considered a crime. Born to an outsider father, Immanuelle's mother was married to the Prophet when she defied his controlling rule and fell in love with another man. Left to be raised by her grandparents when her father is burned at the stake and her mother disappears, Immanuelle is constantly reminded of her mother's sin and disgraceful expulsion from the community.

Immanuelle is tasked with caring for her family's flock of sheep and spends her days in the fields or selling the animals or wool in the town's market. When she is sent to sell off one of the rams, the beast escapes her and runs into the Darkwood, a dark and mysterious forest that the town is convinced will destroy the soul of anyone who enters. Immanuelle, balancing the risk of the Darkwood and her grandparent's disappointment, decides she has no choice but to enter the woods. When she discovers two women laying together on the forest floor, she is convinced they are witches and flees for her life. With the cries of the tortured ram following her, Immanuelle escapes to the safety of her family's farm, but discovers she has been given a journal by the witches. A journal that belonged to her mother.

Reading her mother's diary uncovers secrets long held by the family, and a connection to the witches living in the Darkwood. When an inexplicable plague reigns down on the people of Bethel, Immanuelle is convinced that the nightmares brought on by her mother's journal may be a reality. Convinced she is the cause of everyone's suffering, she sets out on dangerous mission to reverse the curse.

As Immanuelle tries to discover her mother's ties to the witches and the betrayal to the Prophet, she attracts the attention of Ezra, son to the Prophet. Torn between wanting to pursue the friendship of Ezra but knowing she must use his access to the secret libraries of Haven and the gate guards to discover the spell she needs to reverse the plagues.

All the while, her best friend has been married to the Prophet and is in danger, the plagues have become more deadly, her family is ill and in danger, and Immanuelle is closer and closer to losing herself to the Prophet or worse, the witches of the Darkwood.

Whew! There is a lot that is going on in this book and it moves at an exciting clip. Alexis Henderson drops us into a controlling and strictly religious community with a heavy dose of toxic patriarchy. You can feel the oppression the women live with everyday and their only hope for escape is becoming a wife to the Prophet, who has many, or hopefully find a decent man to marry you. Don't go looking for a decent woman-they'd probably burn you at the stake. Outside the walls of Bethel is an unknown. At one point Immanuelle is able to leave to for a short time to meet with someone, but it's unknown whether she will be allowed back in. Threats of banishment and exile are to be taken seriously, but it's unclear what is really going on in the outside world. Also, I was never really clear about when this all took place. It had such an oppressive and otherworldly feel that it could have been any time period-men do like telling women what they can and cannot wear. So. 2020 or 1820, doesn't matter when you have a crazy cult involved.

I loved how Henderson describes the connection between Immanuelle and the magic of the witches. The lore behind the women and their powers was fascinating and I love a "coming into our powers" story. Will they use it for good or evil? I love that struggle. Immanuelle is also a character who is incredibly well written. She's complex and is thrown into one harrowing situation after another and all the while, has so many different people she has to try and protect and also, needs to protect herself. It would be so easy to give in to the demands of the community, the magic, her family's pressures, or just run away. She deals with a lot of pressure and feels so real about her choices.

This is an excellent novel for readers who love their magic on the darker side-there's a lot of horror and disturbing images in this one. It's so good people.  So good. 

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