Witch Finder by Ruth Warburton

                I told you I had some reviews ready to be typed up.   The first we have is, of course, from NetGalley, oh how I adore them, and Hodder Children's Books.  Witch Finder by Ruth Warburton is going to be the first book in a series and came out January 2nd. 

                First I have to start with the cover.  It was bright, vibrant, and eye catching to me.  It had a blue background, which I admit always catches my eye being my favorite color, a petite girl with long red hair  and different things on the edges of the cover and a very clear title that seems to tell you the story is about witches.  Simple and to the point, I wanted to know more about it. 

London. 1880. In the slums of Spitalfields apprentice blacksmith Luke is facing initiation into the Malleus Maleficorum, the fearsome brotherhood dedicated to hunting and killing witches.

Luke’s final test is to pick a name at random from the Book of Witches, a name he must track down and kill within a month, or face death himself. Luke knows that tonight will change his life forever. But when he picks out sixteen-year-old Rosa Greenwood, Luke has no idea that his task will be harder than he could ever imagine.

                You see both points of view in this book, Luke and Rosa.  Luke, after watching a witch kill his parents clearly has issues with them and wants revenge.  He is ready for his task, but a beautiful girl his own age was clearly not the one who harmed him.  Still she is a witch and all witches are evil, right?  On the flip side you see Rosa and how in that time, she has her power and her beauty but nothing else as she is not but a means to keep her family in their life like a prized head of cattle. 

                Luke must get close to make this kill, to complete his task.  He takes a position at the house hoping to find an opportunity to get in and take care of business but what he finds is a girl who is not the picture of evil he envisioned.  Both have their struggles to overcome while trying to deal with the connection they seem to share even when both know it's wrong, mixing with someone outside of class and abilities. 

2nd book cover is already out.

                One of my favorite parts of the book was seeing both prospectives.  It was a bit infuriating at times, because I knew how they both felt and as such was annoyed they didn't know as much as me and didn't always do what I wanted.  However, seeing them both on their own struggle through issues that were about them as a character and not so much about great love, though it was clear despite society and logic there was something there, each had their own things to deal with.  For me it was less about magic and witchcraft than it was about the characters themselves and the story of their lives.  Could you overcome such long ingrained prejudices and risk your own life? 

                The book is full of preconceived notions and   reality coming head to head along side of aristocratic snobbery and magic.  It was pretty well paced and I read through it rather quickly and am eager for the next book to come out.   Which per goodreads will be titled Witch Hunt and be released in June of this year so not that far of a wait.   

I give this book 4 shinning stars.