Night of the Witch

 Night of the Witch
Sarah Raasch, Beth Revis
416 pages
Sourcebooks Fire

From Goodreads: Fritzi is a witch. A survivor of a brutal attack on her coven, she's determined to find her only surviving family member and bring the hexenjägers—zealot witch hunters—to justice for the lives they ended. To do this, she will need to take down their leader—Kommandant Dieter Kirch.

Otto is a hexenjäger and a captain, the second in command to Dieter Kirch—but that's just his cover. Years ago, the hexenjagers burned his innocent mother alive and since then, he has been planning a move against the witch hunters that tore his family apart. And now the time has come for them to pay for what they've done.

When Fritzi and Otto are unexpectedly thrown together, neither is sure they can trust the other, despite their common enemy. But all they have is one another, and they both crave revenge. As truths come to light and trust shifts, Fritzi and Otto uncover a far more horrifying plot at the center of the hexenjäger attacks . . . but their own growing feelings for each other may be the most powerful magic of all.

Allow me to digress for a moment. While I was reading this book I celebrated my 37th birthday. When I got into modern YA sphere I was in my early twenties and I eagerly fed on every new YA I could get my hands on. I religiously followed my library's RSS feed for new titles and was frequently first on the waitlist and the first year I read over 250 books. I literally gobbled, eye gobbled, books/series such as Beautiful Creatures, Hush Hush, Anna and the French Kiss, Hourglass, Dearly Departed, Wither, Die for Me... I could go on for ages but the point is each seemed better than last and I couldn't get enough. Things are different now. I'm 15 years older and I've seen YA publishing trends come and go, and while I still believe YA knows to no age limit, I can't help but wonder if I've reached a point where I should take a break, but I can see through my 2022/23 reading lists that I've organically moved towards more non-fiction, adult fiction, and thrillers. The last YA I read before this was Fourth Wing, which I adored, but the few others I've read this year have been underwhelming. I could wax on this for a long time, so I'll get on with it now. I guess what I mean to say is take my YA reviews with a grain of salt for the moment.

The title and stunning book cover drew me to this book on NetGalley. The bright neon green on top of a geode-looking swirl with runes is just beautiful. The description promised a forbidden romance with danger and adventure. Sign me up! And indeed there was action and adventure from the start of the book, barely ceasing. This is a great tradition in YA literature and certainly kept me turning Kindle pages until I literally fell asleep. Fritzi is on the run the entire novel and Otto is her unlikely companion. 

Speaking of Otto, his backstory is revealed slowly throughout the book and he's not what he seems. His relationship with Fritzi is cute, but suffers from a bit of "insta-love." I struggled with believing their bond was serious because it felt so unrealistic. But still, they had their moments and it's not like I didn't want them to get together.  At over 400 pages I would have expected better character development, but that would have slowed down the aforementioned fast pace I just praised. You can't have it all! 

One aspect of the book I enjoyed was the Germanic influence because it's not something I've come across before. Many fantasy books seem to have a generic far-east influence or something vaguely British. In the authors' afterward, I discovered that the book is based on actual witch trials that later inspired the Salem Witch Trials. This surprised me and is something I now have to find some nonfiction about. The Black Forest particularly appealed to me, so I'll be looking into that as well since my current knowledge is limited to ham and cuckoo clocks. My German ancestors are rolling their eyes at me right now.

I gave the book three stars because, while fast and fun, I felt like something of substance was missing. Again, take that with a grain of salt since YA and I apparently have a complicated relationship right now. If you love fantasy witchcraft books I think you'll enjoy this. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the early copy. Opinions are my own.

Every Duke Has His Day

Every Duke Has His Day
Suzanne Enoch
320 pages
Griffin

From Goodreads: Michael Blumley, Duke of Loriton (age 28), is viewed as an eccentric by his peers in the ton. He does his duty, of course, but his interest—and talent—lies in the science of electricity. He has no interest in what the frivolities of Society. When his favorite aunt, Mary, Lady Harris, leaves her precious, well-behaved black poodle, Lancelot in his care while she travels his life takes an interesting turn.

Elizabeth “Bitsy” Dockering (age 19), third daughter of a viscount, is enjoying her second Season in London. She is a Diamond of the Season and is adored by all—and especially by her precious black poodle, Galahad. To everyone else, however, Galahad is a demon dog. So much so that Peter Cordray, one of Bitsy’s most insistent beaux and a particular victim of Galahad’s bad manners and sharp teeth, has hired a petty thief (Jimmy Bly) to steal the dog, clearing the way for his suit.

When the two dogs and their “people” meet in the park, chaos ensues and unknowingly results in a dog swap. Which means Lancelot is kidnapped instead of Galahad! But when both dogs go missing in an ever thickening dognapping plot, Michael and Elizabeth end up coming together to scour London, recover Lancelot and Galahad all while falling in love.

What a charming novel! I do love a good Regency romance occasionally, though sometimes they tend to blend together after a while. Every Duke Gets His Day is a traditional, no-spice regency romance but it was so different than others I've read recently! While it follows a grumpy-sunshine trope, one I don't personally read often, the characters were so distinctively different in other ways. Aside from their age difference (practically ten years), they couldn't be more different in personality. Bitsy is sunshine-y all the time and brings joy to any event she attends, but Michael does come off grumpy and gruff since he considers any and all social graces a waste of time and would rather hide away in his lab than go to a ball. It was great to see them learn from each other as the book went on.

What really sets this novel apart, however, is the presence of dogs. Were they very popular pets in Regency England? I have no idea but I wouldn't have thought so based on their lack of existence in every other Regency romance I've come across. One time a heroine had a little kitten, but that's the extent to which I've seen pets in this genre. Meanwhile, the people of the ton in this book have so many dogs that it's a lucrative career for people to steal them and offer them back at ransom. Bitsy herself had been subjected to the crime before the book began, and then again after the book started. Several of her friends have been victims of dog-nappings as well! I'd better do a little research on the subject.

The longer the couple spends time with each other in the book, the more charming it becomes. Normally a little spice helps carry the plot, but I think there were only two kisses in the whole book and the plot did not suffer. Instead, I found myself reading far past my bedtime and regretting it the next day. Dang it, adult responsibilities. This book was four stars for me and I highly recommend it to romance lovers, particularly those who also love dogs. 

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy. As always, opinions are my own.