Review: Witch Song by Amber Argyle

Hi!

Witch Song (Witch Song #1) 

by Amber Argyle

Published: September 1st 2011
by Rhemalda Publishing
Format: e-Book, Paperback, 305 pages

Goodreads:

The world is changing. Once, Witch Song controlled everything from the winds to the shifting of the seasons-but not anymore. All the Witches are gone, taken captive by a traitor. All but Brusenna. As the echo of their songs fade, the traitor grows stronger. Now she is coming for Brusenna. Her guardian has sworn to protect her, but even he can't stop the Dark Witch. Somehow, Brusenna has to succeed where every other Witch has failed. Find the traitor. Fight her. Defeat her. Because if Brusenna doesn't, there won't be anything left to save.

My thoughts:

Wow! What a beautiful, fascinating story! This book was so unbelievably amazing, I can't even put it into words... *takes a few moments to collect thoughts*

I won’t say much about the plot - not that I could, even if I wanted to. In my opinion, this isn’t a book you just summarize or talk about in a few sentences (not if you want to make it any justice, anyway). It’s the kind of book you loose yourself into; it’s enchanting, engrossing, touching and very original. It’s the kind of book that captivates you from the very first page and transports you into a different, wonderful world that you don’t want to leave. 

At the beginning of the book, Brusenna is just a young, innocent and inexperienced Witch who lives with her mother. There aren't many Witches left and people hate them or are afraid of them, so they live near the woods, away from everyone.  But when her mother (along with all the other witches) is captured by the Dark Witch, the most powerful and evil of them all, Brusenna knows she’s the only one who can free them, so she leaves the safety of their home and the woods to try to save them. She sets out on a journey full of magic, adventures and all sorts of dangerous situations that will change her forever.

Because her mother kept her away from everyone to protect her and she didn't tell her much about the Witches' world either, Brusenna doesn't really know what to do or where to go. She has very few friends and she doesn't have the knowledge and the experience of the outside world, so she has to learn to protect herself, to be brave and to make important decisions on her own. The fact that she's the Last Witch and the last hope of rescuing the world from the Evil Witch's clutches puts a lot of pressure on her and makes things even more difficult. 

She goes through a lot: she makes friends, but also enemies who want to hurt her and who keep pursuing her. She faced loss, pain, fear, doubts, near-death experiences, but she also becomes stronger, more courageous, powerful and confident. She learns a lot about herself and her ability to control the elements and everything the nature has to offer. She learns to trust, to love, to deal with difficult situations and to make decisions when she's hurt, tired and under pressure. 

This isn't just a Fantasy story about Witches. It's also a Coming of Age story about a girl who, despite being inexperienced and afraid, never backs down in front of danger and doesn't give up, no matter how scary and life-threatening her current situation is; she's determined, selfless and she'll do anything to save the people she cares about and, eventually, everyone, from the Evil Witch. She changes a lot throughout the story and develops as a character: from an innocent, unpracticed girl, she becomes one of the most powerful Witches and everyone looks up to her and puts their hope for a better, safer world into her. 

The Tarten General was still contemplating her, as if he couldn’t quite understand something. “You’re a leader,” he finally concluded. (...)
She looked away quickly, shame burning her ears. “No. I’m not any good at it and I hate it. I’ve always hated it when people look at me.” She’d never told anyone that, not even Joshen. Reden only chucked. “Perhaps it was crushed out of you when you were young. But it was always there, waiting for you to find.”

Despite her doubts and insecurities, Joshen, her Guardian, cares about her, has a lot of faith in her and supports her whenever he can. He makes her feel safe and protected even when everything around them seems to fall apart. 

Desni smiled weakly. “[Joshen] loves you. As much or more than any man has ever loved a woman. Seeing it brings me hope.”
Senna felt the blood drain from her face.
Desni chuckled at the look on her face. “Too insecure to believe it? The way he looks at you, as if daring anyone to harm you. Yet he is as gentle and loving as you’ll allow him to be.”

Yes, there is romance in the book, it's sweet and tender, but it's not the main focus of the story. 

Bending down, she pressed her lips to Joshen’s. His eyes flew open. Senna pulled back, her heart hammering wildly inside her. A slow smile spread across his face. “Now that’s something to wake a man up!” He pulled her mouth to his. Joshen lips were like every other part of him. Strong and gentle, caring and protective.

Anyway, like I said the other day, I loved, loved, LOVED the world Amber Argyle created in this book. I always loved stories about witches who can control the elements, and here, the witches control the nature with their songs, which brings a magical, lyrical touch to the story.

As she’d seen her mother do so long ago, Senna spread her arms and sang.
Wind, lift me high,
That my words reach to’rds the sky.
The violent wind slowed, like a herd of raging colts pricking their ears to listen to her song. She sang again. Slowly, it bent and circled her. As she continued the song, it became a lazy whirlwind that twisted her hair up and made the trees at the edge of the circle sway as if entranced. The air thickened, testing her weight. She sang one last time. And this time, the wind lifted her.

Amber Argyle’s ability to weave a story is incredible. She makes everything feel magical and mesmerizing, but real at the same time. While I read Witch Song, I felt like I was right there, in that world, feeling everything, hearing everything and seeing everything in vivid colors. I was completely oblivious to the outside world and I never wanted it to end. So I really recommend this story to everyone!

Don't forget to read Amber Argyle's interesting guest post bellow about the world she created in this series and to comment to win a swag pack signed by her!;) (it doesn't matter if you comment on this post or on the Guest post; they're both part of the book tour and count as entry.)

xoxo