ARC Review: Witchstruck by Victoria Lamb

Title: Witchstruck (The Tudor Witch #1)
Author: Victoria Lamb
Publication: July 5th 2012 by Corgi Childrens
Genre: YA Romance, Historical Fiction
Source: Provided by the kind publisher...
Goodreads

Meg Lytton has always known of her dark and powerful gift. Raised a student of the old magick by her Aunt Jane, casting the circle to see visions of the future and concocting spells from herbs and bones has always been as natural to Meg as breathing. But there has never been a more dangerous time to practise the craft, for it is 1554, and the sentence for any woman branded a witch is hanging, or burning at the stake.

Sent to the ruined, isolated palace of Woodstock to serve the disgraced Elizabeth, daughter of Henry VIII and half-sister of Queen Mary, Meg discovers her skills are of interest to the outcast princess, who is desperate to know if she will ever claim the throne. But Meg's existence becomes more dangerous every day, with the constant threat of exposure by the ruthless witchfinder Marcus Dent, and the arrival of a young Spanish priest, Alejandro de Castillo, to whom Meg is irresistibly drawn - despite their very different attitudes to her secret.

Thrilling and fast-paced, this is the first unputdownable story in a bewitching new series.

-- My Rating --

3/5 Oscars: liked it

-- My Thoughts --

     I'm always up for books with magic in them, and this was no exception. Although, most of the books I've read in this genre, I have liked a lot, this was not the case with this book. I liked it, but I was a bit disappointed, too.
     Meg is a maid for the disgraced Lady Elizabeth, sister of Queen Mary of England. She's had a gift for magic, and she is used to practicing it with her Aunt Jane. But things get a bit awry when a Spanish priest and his young priest-in-training get sent to the castle where Lady Elizabeth is staying, to help her improve her Catholic faith. even though Elizabeth doesn't believe in Catholicism at all. And it's a bit confusing for Meg to have feelings for Alejandro, he's going to be a priest after all , and she's a witch! Chances of that working out are slim to none.
     The time setting for this novel is perfect for the suspense. It's a time when witchcraft is forbidden and the punishment is severe. Meg lives in a palace where all the attention is on the princess, Elizabeth. Everyone is watching to see where they go wrong. So, it takes a lot of courage for Meg to do what she does and for Elizabeth to keep it a secret. The first thing I LOVED about this book is its strong heroines. Elizabeth, Meg, her aunt Jane are all very, very brave women. They are counted as role models. Lady Elizabeth is a great portrait of a woman who has been injured by time and loneliness but she still stands her ground.
     I have to admit that Meg and her stupid decisions annoyed me to no end, sometimes. But she kind of grew on me, and I cared for her towards the end. The witchcraft aspect of this novel was present, but not in a large amount. I was disappointed about that. I wanted more acknowledgement of the craft and more details, but i only got limited preview. The romance is sweet, but unbelievable, too. I didn't know what Alijandro's intentions were, since it was very unlikely for him to fall for a witch, know that she's a witch, and not tell anyone.
     This book dragged a lot, specially in the middle. Since, nothing seemed to happen only in parts of the book, where we FINALLY got to see some action. I hope that the author has more suspense and action in store for us in the second book in the series. And probably, then, we finally get to see some development on the poor romance.