The Burning Witch (The Burning Witch #1) by Delemhach

  

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Content: Strong language, One family name that sounds like the F word but is quite humorous

 

 Katarina Ashowan was not made for courtly life. Sure, her father is the famous house witch of Daxaria so she was raised among majestic castles, proper manners, and royal expectations. But Kat is also a mutated witch whose power aligns predominantly with fire. She’s more comfortable riding horses or learning to fight than she is making polite conversation and wearing fancy dresses. Which is why her upcoming assignment—serving her best friend, Alina, the soon-to-be crowned Troivackian queen—is anything but ideal.

Even worse, Kat is forced to make the long journey from Daxaria to Troivack with Alina’s extremely irksome brother, Eric, the crown prince of Daxaria. Kat and the formerly missing prince are constantly at each other’s throats—until, that is, they begin to form an unexpected kinship . . . with perhaps something more flickering beneath the surface. Now Kat must contend with the strictures of Troivackian court, mysterious assassination attempts, and her unsettling new feelings for Eric, all as her fiery powers are becoming harder and harder to control.

 

I was looking forward to reading this sequel series to The House Witch and it ended up being almost just as good. I say almost because I still love the charm, humor, and characters of The House Witch a little more. This series is about the house witch's daughter Kat. It picks up right after the novella The Princess of Potential starts, so I recommend reading that before starting this. Kat is a very spirited young woman who, at times, has a hard time controlling her magic and her actions. She's impulsive, and her magic lends to her impulsive nature. I'm thrilled at who the romantic interest is in this book and am looking forward to finding out how they will not only navigate the challenges they face in their relationship, but their own personal demons. 

There's a surprise twist in this story towards the end that I think will prove interesting but entirely different from what I was used to reading in The House Witch series. The House Witch already felt closer to cozy fantasy than this book and this development has catapulted this book even further from that. I don't think this is a bad thing, but an interesting development. I'm looking forward to seeing where this goes next.