We Call Them Witches - India-Rose Bower
- Kindig
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
WE CALL THEM WITCHES
INDIA-ROSE BOWER
****
Britain, two years after they came . . .
Most people have been devoured by the eldritch creatures.
Sara and her family have been fighting for survival.
And the only thing that works against these monsters – these Witches - is their knowledge of folklore and pagan rituals.
But when a girl named Parsley suddenly appears in the garden of their current camp, she cannot remember where she came from or why she’s there.
As Sara and Parsley begin to develop feelings for each other disaster strikes, and Sara’s brother Noah is taken by the Witches.
They must find him and set out across moors full of merciless terror, to hunt the very creatures they’ve been hiding from.
But there’s one thing Sara hasn’t considered – can Parsley be trusted in a world where humanity is as scarce as humans themselves?
MY REVIEW
****
Although I do always love exclusively reading horror in October for Spooky Season, I do enjoy a spooky read all year round and so I was excited to start We Call Them Witches.
Sara and her family live in fear of the witches, who have changed the world around them and civilisation as they know it. They have put up wards and they move constantly to stay safe, so when a girl appears just outside of their boundaries, they are reluctant to welcome her into the circle. Is she another survivor, or is it a trap?
I initially struggled to get into We Call Them Witches – to the point where I actually stopped at about 15% and went back to the start to try again. I don’t have a particularly graphic imagination, but I was really struggling to picture the witches and what they were like which wasn’t helping with my engagement of the story. There was also a lot of characters to get to know and the descriptions of them didn’t feel very clear. It seemed like second time was the charm though as I finished it in just a few sittings after starting again. I really enjoyed the focus on folklore – how the herbs and charms worked against this unknown enemy. I would have liked to have known a little more about the characters though – I feel like Ma in particular, was glossed over even though her knowledge was what was saving them all.
The book is very heavily focused on a coming of age story and sapphic relationship between our main character Sara and the girl who appears in the woods – Parsley. The second half of the book, where they are travelling together and scavenging through homes and discovering death and destruction was scary and I enjoyed the imagery portrayed in this section. The last part in the manor house suddenly felt very rushed though – it was disjointed and confusing and I again struggled to picture what was going on.
The book would have gotten 3 stars from me, but the ending is where it really turned it around. This type of conclusion may divide readers, but I really enjoyed the choice that was made and thought it was a nice twist (no spoilers!).
Overall, We Call Them Witches has a bit of a rocky start, but if you stick with it, I think you’ll be pleased by the payoff in the conclusion. Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House – Michael Joseph for the chance to read the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
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