What do you think?
The Witch Chronicles #1
The Reluctant Witch
This life was not what she wanted. Freda wanted to be normal but there was nothing normal about her. Danger was everywhere. Nothing was as it seemed.
A war is brewing, and one girl’s strange powers may be the key to victory in Anna B. Wolverton’s intriguing young adult debut, The Witch Chronicles.
After her parents die in a tragic yet suspicious car accident, Freda and her younger brother are sent to live with an uncle whose very existence was unknown to them.
Under his guidance, Freda slowly learns the truth behind her mysterious powers—powers that allow her to communicate with animals and leave her body at will while meditating or sleeping.
But these shocking revelations are abruptly interrupted by the appearance of Henri, a mysterious stranger with secrets of his own. His mission is to protect Freda from the evil Radan but, despite his vigilance, she is soon kidnapped by a pack of Weredogs and taken to Radan’s lair on Ocracoke Island.
In a final fight to the death, Freda will have to find the strength she never knew she had…and powers she never knew existed.
A war is brewing, and one girl’s strange powers may be the key to victory in Anna B. Wolverton’s intriguing young adult debut, The Witch Chronicles.
After her parents die in a tragic yet suspicious car accident, Freda and her younger brother are sent to live with an uncle whose very existence was unknown to them.
Under his guidance, Freda slowly learns the truth behind her mysterious powers—powers that allow her to communicate with animals and leave her body at will while meditating or sleeping.
But these shocking revelations are abruptly interrupted by the appearance of Henri, a mysterious stranger with secrets of his own. His mission is to protect Freda from the evil Radan but, despite his vigilance, she is soon kidnapped by a pack of Weredogs and taken to Radan’s lair on Ocracoke Island.
In a final fight to the death, Freda will have to find the strength she never knew she had…and powers she never knew existed.
173 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2014
About the author
A.B. Wolverton
3 books9 followersA.B. Wolverton is a hospice nurse by day and an author of fiction by night. In her leisure, she loves hiking, running, reading, travel, and adventure.
She finds inspiration in her writing from her own past experiences. Fantasy was her way of coping with the stressors of youth and is able to bring the angst of growing up to the pages of her novels with a twist.
She finds inspiration in her writing from her own past experiences. Fantasy was her way of coping with the stressors of youth and is able to bring the angst of growing up to the pages of her novels with a twist.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
January 10, 2014
What an awesome story! I just finished the book, and I could hardly put it down. I think everyone will easily identify with Freda and her feelings, as she explores her new-found gifts, compounded by her teenage hormones. The classic battle of good against evil takes unusual twists and turns. I will recommend this book to everyone I know. This novel leaves the reader begging for more. I cannot wait for the next book!
March 1, 2015
I received this book for free through Goodreads firstreads. This did not influence my review or rating in any way.
First of all, I want to thank the author and Goodreads firstreads for giving me the awesome opportunity to read this book. Honestly, I'm not sure if I would have found out about this series if I wouldn't have seen in on the firstreads page, and I probably wouldn't have gone out to buy it either, just because at first I didn't know what to expect from it since I'm not that familiar with self-published books. Now I can honestly say that I will be more open-minded with books that aren't as over-hyped as others.
If I'm completely honest, I did have quite a few problems with this book. The characters seemed too young and immature, but they were very fleshed out and I feel like I actually knew them. I feel like the best aspect of the writing was how much the author described the qualities of all the characters and actually helped me better imagine them. The character that I liked the least was probably the main character just because she seemed too whiny to me, and too much like a Bella Swan from Twilight. She seemed to need help with everything, but at the same time seemed like she accepted that she was a witch way to fast. I also didn't like how fast all her friends accepted she was a witch and how they found out about it at basically the same time as her.
Another problem I had was that it seemed too unrealistic (I know that this is fantasy but still)that the animals could talk to her and tell her basically everything, never really wondering how she could understand them, or find it weird or different in any way. I feel that if it was the other way around and an animal talked to me, I would be pretty freaked out and might call a psychiatric hospital... That just seemed a little too fake and corny to me.
This is the last problem I had. How was she a witch and her brother wasn't? This didn't make sense to me... I'm hoping this will be explained more in the next book, and maybe it will explain how it took her so long to get her gifts instead of just being born with them. I will definitely be reading the next book and I ordered it from B+N. Unfortunately, it was ordered with a pre-order and it won't be shipped until March 24th... That's too long!!
Now for stuff I liked. I really liked the love interest. Henri was very likeable and probably the best character in the whole book. His feelings for Freda were realistic and I really felt that they were real and healthy. This brings me to another thing I didn't like though! I really did not like Freda's name. I don't know, it's just one of those names that sort of annoys me... Maybe it's because that's one of the characters in the movie Dumb and Dumber 2, but I'm not sure.
Overall, this was a pretty good book but it had too many spelling and grammatical errors for me to give it more than three stars. I understand it was self-published and really respect the author for being able to do that, I just feel like some of the mistakes were very easily caught and fixed if they had just had some people read it before it was published and alert the author to problems.
I will be reading the next book as soon as I can get it and I can't wait to see what happens with these characters! Next is Rebellion!
~Bri
First of all, I want to thank the author and Goodreads firstreads for giving me the awesome opportunity to read this book. Honestly, I'm not sure if I would have found out about this series if I wouldn't have seen in on the firstreads page, and I probably wouldn't have gone out to buy it either, just because at first I didn't know what to expect from it since I'm not that familiar with self-published books. Now I can honestly say that I will be more open-minded with books that aren't as over-hyped as others.
If I'm completely honest, I did have quite a few problems with this book. The characters seemed too young and immature, but they were very fleshed out and I feel like I actually knew them. I feel like the best aspect of the writing was how much the author described the qualities of all the characters and actually helped me better imagine them. The character that I liked the least was probably the main character just because she seemed too whiny to me, and too much like a Bella Swan from Twilight. She seemed to need help with everything, but at the same time seemed like she accepted that she was a witch way to fast. I also didn't like how fast all her friends accepted she was a witch and how they found out about it at basically the same time as her.
Another problem I had was that it seemed too unrealistic (I know that this is fantasy but still)that the animals could talk to her and tell her basically everything, never really wondering how she could understand them, or find it weird or different in any way. I feel that if it was the other way around and an animal talked to me, I would be pretty freaked out and might call a psychiatric hospital... That just seemed a little too fake and corny to me.
This is the last problem I had. How was she a witch and her brother wasn't? This didn't make sense to me... I'm hoping this will be explained more in the next book, and maybe it will explain how it took her so long to get her gifts instead of just being born with them. I will definitely be reading the next book and I ordered it from B+N. Unfortunately, it was ordered with a pre-order and it won't be shipped until March 24th... That's too long!!
Now for stuff I liked. I really liked the love interest. Henri was very likeable and probably the best character in the whole book. His feelings for Freda were realistic and I really felt that they were real and healthy. This brings me to another thing I didn't like though! I really did not like Freda's name. I don't know, it's just one of those names that sort of annoys me... Maybe it's because that's one of the characters in the movie Dumb and Dumber 2, but I'm not sure.
Overall, this was a pretty good book but it had too many spelling and grammatical errors for me to give it more than three stars. I understand it was self-published and really respect the author for being able to do that, I just feel like some of the mistakes were very easily caught and fixed if they had just had some people read it before it was published and alert the author to problems.
I will be reading the next book as soon as I can get it and I can't wait to see what happens with these characters! Next is Rebellion!
~Bri
February 28, 2015
got this book through the first reads giveaways. It is a good book with a good story.
end of the story leave you wondering about Freda and Henri story and what will happen next. Can Freda defeat Audric and Radan?
Will pick up the second book when I can.
end of the story leave you wondering about Freda and Henri story and what will happen next. Can Freda defeat Audric and Radan?
Will pick up the second book when I can.
March 1, 2015
I received this book as a free one from Goodreads. The book is written for young adults, including short chapters, with plenty of adventure. I look forward to reading and reviewing Book 2.
March 2, 2015
The book does a good job balancing a girl growing up and becoming a witch. There are two intertwined stories. The characters are well developed and interesting. I look forward to the next book.
July 2, 2015
I won this book through goodreads.
Easy - quick read, finished it in a day. It grabbed me right away and the characters were likable. I like the twist with being able to talk to animals too.
I thought when she finds out she is a witch and her friends find out at the same time - it was all a little easy. No one freaked out - no one got scared. Everyone just took it in stride like it was a normal thing that people find out they are witches.
Pet peeve for me is how so much online articles have spelling or grammar mistakes. It's like no one proof reads anymore. And to find 5-6 in a book this short - was disappointing - if I found them so easily just reading the book (not looking for errors) then an editor or friend proof reading should have found them too.
Last downfall - not of the book but how the title is - on most series, if you click on the name of the series, it shows you the other books. But the way the name is on this one - it doesn't link to the second book. If I had not clicked on the author to see what else she has written, I wouldn't have known there was a second book already written.
Easy - quick read, finished it in a day. It grabbed me right away and the characters were likable. I like the twist with being able to talk to animals too.
I thought when she finds out she is a witch and her friends find out at the same time - it was all a little easy. No one freaked out - no one got scared. Everyone just took it in stride like it was a normal thing that people find out they are witches.
Pet peeve for me is how so much online articles have spelling or grammar mistakes. It's like no one proof reads anymore. And to find 5-6 in a book this short - was disappointing - if I found them so easily just reading the book (not looking for errors) then an editor or friend proof reading should have found them too.
Last downfall - not of the book but how the title is - on most series, if you click on the name of the series, it shows you the other books. But the way the name is on this one - it doesn't link to the second book. If I had not clicked on the author to see what else she has written, I wouldn't have known there was a second book already written.
March 15, 2015
This is a fun, YA book. The character is supposed to be about 16 years old, but she seems younger. I would say this book is good for pre-teens. It is about Freda who discovers she is a witch. She also learns she has certain unique skills and gifts. But there are people who are hunting her, and an ancient society sends a member of their order to defend her, Henri. Henri and Freda fall for each other, but there is complications to their liking each other, and Henri tries to hold Freda off. Meanwhile, the people hunting her get closer and closer eventually kidnapping her. For a small book, a lot of action happens. The characters are well developed though there are a lot of questions that arise, but I am assuming things will become more clear in further books. It is an entertaining read.
On a side note, there are a lot of typos and grammatical errors which don't prevent you from understanding what is going, but they do take away a little bit. A bit distracting. I won this copy from one of the Goodread giveaways.
On a side note, there are a lot of typos and grammatical errors which don't prevent you from understanding what is going, but they do take away a little bit. A bit distracting. I won this copy from one of the Goodread giveaways.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 9, 2015
Imagine my surprise when I decided to read a book I thought for sure would be mediocre at best only to find out it is actually very well written! Yes, I am guilty of waking up on the wrong side of the bed now and then and judging a book by its cover before I put my glasses on or have my first cup of coffee. I did just that as I slumped down in my reading chair only to minutes later decide I needed the coffee to wake up the rest of my brain so I could fully enjoy this book. The writing is elegant, tasteful, intelligent and thought through. I like the characters and the interactions between them. I like the environment and the way Wolverton describes everything. I like the flow and the plot of the book and can't wait to begin book 2! I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review. This in no way influenced my opinion.
July 13, 2015
The Reluctant Witch (The Witch Chronicles, #1) by author A.B. Wolverton, was an enjoyable read. A young girl discovers she has been gifted with extraordinary powers. Not only is she on a journey of discovery, but one of survival. It should not come as a surprise that there are those who wish to benefit from and even possess these powers as well as those, who out of hatred and fear, wish to destroy it. Filled with excitement and adventure, I look forward to the next installment to see how the characters (not all human) evolve, as well as to see how the theme of good versus evil plays out.February 22, 2015
I received this book as a Goodreads giveaway for an honest review. This book is a little different than most YA's I've read in the past. I would probably categorize it as teen fiction. The characters' dialogue was more immature, however, some of the content leans more towards YA. The story is about a young girl who discovers she is a witch. She's always thought she was different, but now she actually has proof. This book was just kicking into gear near the ending. Overall, the story had a good plot and I'm curious to find out what happens with Freda in book 2.
July 17, 2015
I thought this novel had great potential as I'm all for any supernatural stories. I liked Henri's character I thought he was dashing and brave. However, my main issue was the main protagonist and her narrative voice, it felt immature and childish and at times forced. I think perhaps if I had liked Freda more as a character I might have enjoyed the story a lot better.
Disclaimer: I received this for free through Goodreads First Reads
Disclaimer: I received this for free through Goodreads First Reads
January 31, 2015
I received this book through first reads. This is one of those books where you get to the end and are upset that it's over. There are so many likable characters that keep the story moving. It's a story filled with mythical creatures, magic, and plenty of humor. I'm going to pick up the next book, because I can't wait to see what happens next!!!
March 5, 2015
The Reluctant Witch was a very entertaining read. I found myself engrossed in the story and cheering for Henri and Freda. This is the first in a series and I'm ready for the next installment.
I recommend this book for anyone from ten years and up who is interested in fantasy.
I received this book free from Goodreads First Reads.
I recommend this book for anyone from ten years and up who is interested in fantasy.
I received this book free from Goodreads First Reads.
March 18, 2015
The story was great! I picked up this copy because I won the second copy in a goodreads giveaway and I was not disappointed! The only thing that put me off was that there were mistakes still in the book. Corrected mistakes and notes by the editor ( I assume) Like (Remove Space) over and over. Other than that I cannot wait to dive right into the second book!
February 17, 2015
A fantastical story line keeps you wanting more. What happens to Henri? Does the group prevail? The background story is well written and thought out.
I received this book free from Goodreads First Reads.
I received this book free from Goodreads First Reads.
April 3, 2015
I received a free copy of this book as a part of the Goodreads giveaways.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was a fast-paced fun read. The characters are easily likable and the flow of the story was very good.
I have already ordered a copy of the next book in the series!
Well done Anna!
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was a fast-paced fun read. The characters are easily likable and the flow of the story was very good.
I have already ordered a copy of the next book in the series!
Well done Anna!
January 28, 2015
Love the book. Didn't expect it to be well written but it totally changed my mind. I love the story as well because it is really uplifting!
February 22, 2015
Pure entertainment with interesting characters and plot make this a great read.
March 2, 2015
Thank you for this book!! I won it at Goodreads and fell in love with it. Yes this book is for young adults but it is soo cute ;) Looking forward to read the next one)
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March 31, 2015I cant red it yet why
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews