Nature of Witches (ARC Book Review)

Avatar meets environmentalist witchcraft in this debut novel by Rachel Griffin.

With heatwaves burning through winters and storms running rampant, The Nature of Witches takes a look at an Earth on the edge of demise. For years, witches had control of the weather, their magic tied to seasons that brought them strength, but a winter witch isn’t made for battling the sun and a summer witch can’t handle hail. Only an Everwitch who has control over all four seasons has any hope of making headway against the perils they face. But Clara, the only Ever in generations, has seen what her magic can do. And it’s more dangerous than any storm could be.

This book was a beautiful idea with extremely subpar execution and ended up feeling like a series stunted down into a stand-alone. What could have bloomed over the course of four installments was cramped and overly condescended. Seriously lacking in description and with too little time for character growth, the story was simply summary that held no emotional appeal. Any tidbits of interesting magic concepts, character backstories, and world-building were lost amidst a rushed and predictable plot. From the beginning, it was clear that most of the interesting parts of Clara’s story had happened before the book even started. All that was left was an angst-filled romance story that had no room to build or to grow attached to it. 

I rated The Nature of Witches a seriously disappointed 2 out of 5 stars.

Thank you to Netgalley and Sourcebooks Fire for the early copy in exchange for an honest review!

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