I’m talking about a new release for once! Well, new-ish. Witches of Ash and Ruin came out about a month ago and it was a fantastic read! Which, well, I really liked The Strange and Deadly Portraits of Bryony Grey, so I came in with high hopes which were met.
The story mostly follows Dayna, a witchling in a small town in Ireland, as she and her coven get swept up in trying to get to the bottom of a returning serial killer that is targeting witches in their small town. Three witches from another coven join them, including an old woman that had been previously exiled, and her two witchlings that have their own baggage to contend with. (I’m not actually sure if the three of them are the entire coven, of if they are just a representation of it, now that I think about it. It didn’t ultimately matter in the narrative.)
I really enjoyed Dayna and her way of experiencing the world. She has a lot going on and also struggles with OCD and a fear of what medication for it might do to her, which is displayed on the page in really interesting ways. She also has a romantic subplot1 that I thought did a good job of not getting in the way of the narrative, but also showcasing how she approaches things like boundaries. I feel like all of her interactions with the people around her, and the different relationships she had throughout the book, really helped to illustrate her as a character.
Not that she’s the only perspective character in the book. Meiner’s chapters in particular also did a really nice job of showcasing how the interactions with other people really help to show what a character is really like through their actions and reactions.
The story also unfolded in a really interesting way, especially with the changing perspectives allowing the audience to get a fuller understanding of everything that was happening and why. It still leaves enough room to keep you guessing, though, and more than enough mystery to last a whole other book. Which I’m really hoping will happen! There’s a lot to like, from references to old gods that you don’t see as often in literature and representation in a way that is part of the character rather than a defining feature, which I’m always a fan of. I highly recommend it!
- A love triangle, I guess? Except it’s really not… [↩]