Brackston is a story-teller. After reading some of the bad reviews on Goodreads, I could have been put off reading this book. Luckily, I only saw those reviews after I was about half-way through. The Odyssey this is not. Shakespeare this is not. I'm sure all the literary purists out there will pull it to shreds and disregard this easily. However, for me Brackston sweeps you up on an adventure tale and holds onto you throughout the journey. She transports you to the different times that Bess/Elise/Elizabeth talks about and I was transfixed throughout wanting to know what was going to happen. This was the perfect book at the right time for me. Easy to read, Brackston is the sort of story-teller who I could imagine people would have sat round camp fires listening to aeons ago and she would have had them eating out of her hand, hanging on her words and impatient for the next instalment. I can't wait to read the next one by her to compare but The Witch's Daughter is a little gem in its own right for those just wanting a good story. This book follows the story of Elizabeth Hawksmith, who was made into an immortal witch at the age of 15 under extraordinary circumstances, and who spends the next 350 years running from the creature of darkness who made her. The story is told in very lengthy flashbacks from the present, for the benefit of another teenager drawn to the mystery and magic of Elizabeth's nature. I almost wish this book had stuck to historical fiction. We get glimpses of three very dark periods of human history in Elizabeth's life, and they are interesting and detailed views of each time. But they are viewed with an unsubtle lens, and in most cases with a kind of naivete one would not really expect from an immortal supernatural being. Teenage Bess is dramatic and stupid in a way I could forgive for a modern teenager. Eliza of the 19th century seems much less annoying, but still willfully blind (as she must be in order for the plot to move forward). During WWI, I suppose it is possible the horrors of that war could blind anyone to what is plainly before her, but by then I find it increasingly hard to believe that not only can she not spell, but that she has not taken better care to hide herself. Like actually changing her name, for example. She goes on about how afraid she is to get close to anyone, how she's always on the run from the bad guy, yet anytime something suspicious happens or she has a bad feeling about someone, she doesn't seem to be able to connect the dots until (of course) it's almost too late. In short, I found the historical elements to be interesting if a bit long-winded, but the supernatural elements of this story just don't add up for me.
What do You think about The Witch's Daughter (2011)?
the back story was more entertaining than the present but still a good read
—Mariaa
Not bad, but not as good as it could have been.
—Nareth
