The Year of the Witching | Book Review

The Year of the Witching by Alexis Henderson

Ace – July 21, 2020

*An advanced reader ebook copy was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

Like a lot of readers this summer, I decided to take stock of what books I’m reading and reviewing. I’ve always prided myself on reading diversely, especially after joining #bookstagram and starting my blog. In my normal working life diversity, equity, and education are core values that have influenced my life trajectory. So when #blacklivesmatter protests surged in June and the #bookstagram community called for more inclusion and and increased focus on BIPOC authors, particularly black authors, you can imagine my shame and surprise to realize I’d hardly read any novels by a black author in 2020.

Moving forward I plan to be more conscientious about the books I’m promoting, reading, and reviewing. While realigning my reading habits with my values as an individual, I perused NetGalley and stumbled accross Alexis Henderson’s debut novel, The Year of the Witching, featuring a biracial protagonist and set in an unnerving patriarchal Puritanical town called Bethel.

About the Book

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.

My Thoughts

I devoured this novel in a matter of days!

I was particularly drawn to Henderson’s world-building. She excelled at creating a sort of alternate history Puritan town à la colonial New England and I’d image she was inspired by the Salem witch trials and perhaps the Bell Witch among other folk stories. The overbearing religious patriarchy is creepy and the twists on Christianity kept the story fresh. Moreover, the dark woods have actual witches, women spurned by Bethel. We learn that the society is ruled by laws, religious strictures, and gender expectations.

In this society, women are the ones that suffer when things go wrong in the city. Women have to face marriage at young ages and bigamy is acceptable. Many times throughout the story I was outraged at what women endured but what made it even more anger-inducing was the fact that all of this was drawn from history and the world that surrounds us.

Immanuelle’s birth and mixed race background set her a part as an outsider and it gives her a unique perspective on the society. One of my only qualms about this novel is that we, the reader, get thrown into her life and we’re told her life has been hard and that she’s an outsider but it was mostly told to us rather than shown to us. This is often a hang up I have with books. I want to be show situations so that I can feel for the character. When I’m told things it adds a layer to the story and I feel more removed from it.

Despite this hang up, I was enthralled with the dark and creepy world built by Henderson and I was invested in finding out more about the darkness that overshadowed the town. I think is a solid debut and I will definitely be on the look out for other novels by the author!

About the Author

Alexis Henderson is a speculative fiction writer with a penchant for dark fantasy, witchcraft, and cosmic horror. She grew up in one of America’s most haunted cities, Savannah, Georgia, which instilled in her a life-long love of ghost stories. Currently, Alexis resides in the sun-soaked marshland of Charleston, South Carolina.