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A review by cedence
The Witch of Borygen Marsh by Lysander Arden
funny
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Not for people with Arachnophobia.
This review contain spoilers.
Atticus seeks out the love witch in the marsh for a spell to help his sister, only to find the witch gone, and Corliss, a necromancer, at the hut. Insisting they can make the potion, Atticus agrees and must stay with Corliss for three nights while the potion brews. On the third, they have to give each other "pleasure at soul reaching depths" (aka sex) to successfully finalise the potion.
Characters
I liked the characters. They were very charming and made the setting come alive. Infused the universe with a sense of mystery and grittier horrors that could have been further expanded on had the book been longer. It's odd in that same way. Because I do not read horror but most of the elements that could have horrified me was turned into... Charming and quirky and cute. Cozy. Would have stayed longer if I had the chance.
Character list (characters that show up on-page):
This review contain spoilers.
Atticus seeks out the love witch in the marsh for a spell to help his sister, only to find the witch gone, and Corliss, a necromancer, at the hut. Insisting they can make the potion, Atticus agrees and must stay with Corliss for three nights while the potion brews. On the third, they have to give each other "pleasure at soul reaching depths" (aka sex) to successfully finalise the potion.
Characters
I liked the characters. They were very charming and made the setting come alive. Infused the universe with a sense of mystery and grittier horrors that could have been further expanded on had the book been longer. It's odd in that same way. Because I do not read horror but most of the elements that could have horrified me was turned into... Charming and quirky and cute. Cozy. Would have stayed longer if I had the chance.
Character list (characters that show up on-page):
- Atticus (24): A cis-gendered man (first person, I, he/him), with some sexual confusion
- Corliss (26): Non-binary (they), autistic, and on the ace-spectrum. Also, a necromancer.
- Marsha: A female wolf spider with burrow in Corliss hair
- Eleanor: A ragdoll cat
- Presley: Corliss' dead ex-lover, resurrected by "mistake"
Ace representation, thoughts:
I picked up this book due to the ace representation I hear was going to be in it, and I've been struggling about what to say about it so other people who may want to read it for that may find it helpful. You alresdy know the ace character is not the main character.
* There's not one set experience entailing the entire ace spectrum, so saying something is wrong would make no sense. I'll just tell you what your in for if you pick up this book instead.
* You will not find a sex-averse asexual character. However, they show little interest in it initially - rather taking refuge in their books, tea, and cat to avoid the issue. They do however warm up to each other over the days Atticus stays with Corliss.
* The asexual character had a previous relationship.
* Explicit content-wise, the intimacy scene is not very detailed. Instead, it left me rather confused about what was going on. I think some was because you don't get to know anything about Corliss assigned gender at birth so there are no specifics. They embrace and kiss and make love but a lot is left to the imagination.
Other thoughts
- I didn't really like the "we must have sex for x" trope
- Atticus seems to be crushing on Corliss after, and I don't get why? Why did he suddenly feel so intensely about them (a part of me is thinking they messed up the potion somehow, but also not), wanted so much for someone he didn't know three days earlier? It wasn't really built up enough throughout the three nights for me to be believable, but these may be some allosexual thing I just don't understand. Or something about the characters that I missed.
- I've been rereading this book for this review and I still got no idea about if Lydia is the sister (as stated on page 7) or a the crush/best friend of an old friend (as suggested on page 11.) or both, but how? These background character mostly confuses me since I can't keep up with who's who.
- Lenght-wise this book is 43 kindle pages (for me) and a quick read, which I really need right now.
- The line "a guy in advertising" gets me chuckling every time. A highlight.
Giving it 3 stars for the cozy and charming parts. Don't really know how to feel about some other things.
* There's not one set experience entailing the entire ace spectrum, so saying something is wrong would make no sense. I'll just tell you what your in for if you pick up this book instead.
* You will not find a sex-averse asexual character. However, they show little interest in it initially - rather taking refuge in their books, tea, and cat to avoid the issue. They do however warm up to each other over the days Atticus stays with Corliss.
* The asexual character had a previous relationship.
* Explicit content-wise, the intimacy scene is not very detailed. Instead, it left me rather confused about what was going on. I think some was because you don't get to know anything about Corliss assigned gender at birth so there are no specifics. They embrace and kiss and make love but a lot is left to the imagination.
Other thoughts
- I didn't really like the "we must have sex for x" trope
- I've been rereading this book for this review and I still got no idea about if Lydia is the sister (as stated on page 7) or a the crush/best friend of an old friend (as suggested on page 11.) or both, but how? These background character mostly confuses me since I can't keep up with who's who.
- Lenght-wise this book is 43 kindle pages (for me) and a quick read, which I really need right now.
- The line "a guy in advertising" gets me chuckling every time. A highlight.
Giving it 3 stars for the cozy and charming parts. Don't really know how to feel about some other things.
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Domestic abuse and Murder