This was amazing! I was absolutely hooked!

I listened to the audio and the narrator was fabulous so can totally recommend!

Ari goes back to where her fiance, Simon drowned in France to help her brother come closer to finding the mysterious lost city called Ys and discovers more about a water witch curse, herself and she also meets the enigmatic Rafael.

It was full of local legend, drama, betrayal and a twist I didn't really see coming! I especially loved the romance between Ari and Rafael even though that wasn't the centre of this tale.

I look forward to reading more of this author!

The Water Witch by Jessica Thorne

Thank you Netgallery UK for the audiobook version for an unbiased review.

This was an interesting premise to me. The whole story revolves around myths and legends, with a romantic element.
We start with Ari, who is asked by her brother Jason, to return to a Northern France coastal town where he and others are trying to prove that something existed. Ari is reluctant, as she lost her fiancé to a swimming accident there. But her specialities mean she is the best person for the job. So despite having doubts, Ari returns.

We then meet Rafael, who Ari mistakenly believes is a body, rather than him floating in the sea.
Gradually, we begin to hear more about the supposed curse of the men of the town, and Rafael firmly believes his family is cursed, and he will be next.
Despite still loving Simon, Ari and Rafael begin to have an undeniable attraction develop between them.
Ari, who doesn't believe in these myths, decides to leave once again.
However before long, Ari is drawn back and we see the story unfold.

This is a story that took a while to really find its feet for me. But once it did, the story really did pick up pace and more importantly, maintain it. As it developed, despite the slow start, I realised a lot of what allowed it to then get going was because it had a firm foundation laid out for us.

There is a great blending of the fantasy v reality aspect that go on. Myths v Facts. I'm not always sold on contemporary fantasy, but this one really worked for me.
There were some witty moments in the book, some lovely descriptive elements. Part mystery, part romance, part fantasy, part myths. Sometimes these things don't work but here I felt they blended seamlessly, and that has a lot to do with how the author brings us these wonderful evocative descriptions and moments.

There were a couple of twist and turns, some I absolutely saw coming, others I thought I saw but wasn't entirely sure. If I had one complaint, I would have preferred just a little more depth of detail on one character (I can't really say who without potential spoilers). Just to say at the end, I felt we learnt some of what and who they were, but I wished there had been a little more depth there. It was overall a minor niggle though. Others might not find it a problem at all.

Because of the slower start, I couldn't justify the full 5/5, but it is a solid 4/5 stars for me.

If you enjoy these kind of books, I would happily recommend this is given a try.

The audiobook was narrated well and I had no qualms on choice of narrator.

The synopsis of this book sounded very interesting to me. A lost city and a witch?! Secrets and curses. Folklore. Ari’s fiancé has gone missing, presumed dead. She meets Raphael who tells her all of the legends are true. That his family and he are cursed. She goes looking for a way to break this curse. I really enjoyed the story building in this book. There were several twists and turns I didn’t see coming. The romance in the book was a bit more than I expected but I really enjoyed it as well.

*thank you to NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

Folklore, legends, witches, treasures and a ancient family curse.

This story took place in northern France on the clifftop by the sea. The biggest thing that stood out for me was the imagery the author created, it was vividly stunning and I felt as if I could see the colours of her words. I also loved the deep passion and desire the heroine had for her deceased love and her new found love.

Overall this was a enjoyable read. 🌊🤍

I am so back and forth about this book. I guess I’ll land in the middle. On the one hand, there is a lost city and a curse and a hunt. That is exciting. On the other hand, there is the loss of the magical feel, attempts at charming that came off as repetitive and plodding at times, and thrown in bits of misogyny that are laughed off. It is cute but unsatisfying.

What a amazing story of searching for the lost city of Atlantis-or Is as it is called in this book.

Brother-sister team Ariadne and Jason are searching for evidence of the lost city….and also what happened to Ariadne’s fiancé, Simon.

Their benefactor’s family has been cursed from the time legend says that the city fell-a curse that cuts short the life of every male in the family. Desperate to save his son (and hopefully himself in the process), he is heavily involved with Ari and Jason’s explorations.

But then….they see Simon. But is it him or part of the ancient curse? Will they find the city? And who exactly is this Water Witch? Great story for lovers of myths and legends.

The Water Witch was a cute story about love, mysteries, and the supernatural. The folklore element together with the setting in France brings a unique and comforting vibe. I liked the narrator and the story was pretty easy to follow. If you feel like going on an action-filled treasure hunt in Europe, with a splash of romance and ancient curses, this book is for you!

When Ari finds a strange engraved mask on the sea bed, and a cryptic map amongst Simon’s things, she has no choice but to believe Rafael’s plea. Can they follow the trail and save Rafael’s life? Poring over the map by candlelight, the flickering flames only add to the heat between them… but will Ari’s fragile heart soon be shattered all over again? And will they ever find Ys and break the curse – or will the water witch demand another sacrifice?

I found this a delight if a little over the top at moments. But this is the 3rd? 4th? Book I’ve read in the past couple of months that has brought up The Lost City of Ys and I will always love those kinds of books on principle.
It makes me want to read more.

I felt like this one had great pacing (sometimes it rambled a bit and I felt some elements were more younger audience in mind style. Also I feel like two characters were easy to figure early on)
Thanks to Netgalley and The Publishers for this audio edition early.

Thank you Netgalley for the advance audiobook copy of The Water Witch by Jessica Thorne in exchange for an honest review. I really enjoyed this book. I felt like it was a fusion of a few different genres. It had archeology, fantasy and a murder mystery. This is a book I would love to see adapted as a movie as it would be so beautiful, taking place in France on the sea.

Many thanks to Netgalley, Bookouture audio and the author for the ALC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Folklore, myths, witches, magic, curses, ghosts, spirits, treasure hunt, lost city and set in the north western coast of France? I don't know why I was surprised that this book completely hooked me and I couldn't stop listening to it.

The water witch starts off with the folktale on which this story is based, in which the princess of Ys becomes the water witch while cursing the bloodline of the man who betrayed. The story follows the story of Ariadne 'Ari' Walker, who is back in Brittany for the first time after she lost her fiancé Simon to the Atlantic 2 years ago. Grief stricken and still barely healing Ari is back to join her brother Jason who along with his best friend Nick is still continuing Simon's life work of discovering the lost city of Ys. Being an experienced diver and established archeologist, Jason wants Ari to join their expedition to prove to the world that what he and Simon set out to do is not madness, while Ari wants nothing but to get as far away from there as possible. Upon reaching there, Ari meets Rafael who believes all the legends and curses are true and that he is bound to die that year just like all men in his family. When Ari finds a golden mask while diving and followed by a cryptic map of Ys among Simon's things, she has no choice but to stay and help Rafael find Ys to break the curse. What follows is a story of love, of sacrifices, of discovery, healing, magic and betrayal.

The writing was atmospheric and follows 2 POVs (Ari and Rafael's) and I got sucked right in. The story was well paced, and the sense of horror, mystery and mythology was well mixed and balanced. The beauty of the story is how the ending impacted every relationship in a good way while shook foundations of some. The narrator in my opinion was brilliant. Straight from the beginning I was aware that Ari was Irish, which is new for me as I am bad with accents!! The only issue I had was the difficulty of pointing out when the POV changed as it happened in between the chapters without any clear distinction and would leave me wondering if it was Ari or Rafael's POV, I am listening to....

TW: Death, Ghosts and spirits, violence, drowning.

I love books based on fairy tales and myths. This one is based on legends from Brittany, France and it's full of scorned women, mermaids, and magic.

I thoroughly enjoyed this one. The characters were compelling, if a little superficial. The reveal at the end was a bit of a stretch based on the rest of the book. I would have liked a few more easter eggs throughout the book and more detail on some of the characters involved in the reveal.

Still, this was a quick and enjoyable book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC!

Honestly more of a 4.5! I absolutely adored this book. It is the first book by Jessica Thorne I've read and I will definitely be checking out her other books. This was filled with fantasy, folklore, curses, witches, treasures, strong female leads absolutely incredible descriptions, A SETTING ON THE NORTHEN COAST OF FRANCE, Atlantis vibes. Just absolutely incredible, I finished it within 24 hours, I couldn't put it down, when I wasn't reading it all I could think about was when I would get to read more! I thought the different POVs were very well done and actually made a lot of sense in this book (the only reason it's not 5 stars is that I wish the POVs had headings with whose POV it was but it wasn't confusing to work out or anything, just personal preference). I thought the pacing was fantastic, where it was slow paced at the start so you had time to absorb all the information and familiarise yourself with the setting, characters and legend/curse/backstory, but once it picked up it kept GOING ALL THE WAY. I think the characters are very well written and enjoyable to read about and read their interactions.

The narrator did a fantastic job of matching the setting.

The book is also apparently based on local folklore in Brittany France (where it's set) which I absolutely love!

If you love fantasy, folklore with a sprinkle of romance and mystery I would be picking this book up ASAP!

Thank you to Netgallery and Bookouture for the eARC in exchange for a voluntary, honest review. #netgallery

I enjoyed this fantasy story and the love story within it; however, it did fall a little flat for me. I found it hard to follow all the details with the audio and it took me a little while to warm to the narrator. The story itself was enjoyable and the characters were likable. The ending had a nice twist that I wasn’t expecting, and I loved the happy ending. I think this might be one book that I would have liked better reading instead of listening, as I would have been able to follow it a little easier and been able to soak up all the details. 3.5 out of 5 stars, rounding up to 4 on goodreads!

Many thanks to NetGalley, Bookouture Audio, and Jessica Thorne for the gifted audio copy in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

This story is an epic treasure hunting story with romance and mystery. The use of myth and lore in this book was wonderful and made for a compelling story.

2.5/5 ⭐️
So honestly I didn’t enjoy this is much as I thought I would. The synopsis sounded super cool, but I found myself kinda feuding along, and not caring about what was happening.

Advanced Reader’s Copy provided by NetGalley and Bookouture Audio in exchange for an honest review.

I was totally on board for a book based around people searching for the lost city of Ys, hidden under the ocean somewhere seeped in Bretton lore. There are a lot of aspects of that thread of the story that Thorne executed very well. The characters are somewhat interesting, but no one feels larger than life and I'll admit that I didn't end up caring what happened to most of them because there was never a connection. What turned this into a 3 star review for me was how the mystery was resolved/wrapped up. It felt like such a cliché way to end things with who certain characters were revealed to be in the end. That was a pretty big letdown.

I did enjoy THE WATER WITCH, I was just hoping for more, but I'm sure others will love it.

Overall, Helen Keeley does a decent job with the audiobook narration, however Ari's accent was all over the place (sometimes she's British, sometimes she's Irish yet the character is supposed to be Irish). It's really distracting. I also had trouble hearing some parts when Keeley was using a French accent, but I think that it more an issue with the quality of the audiobook recording than of Keeley's performance.

The Water Witch

Romance, Fantasy, Adventure and Mystery. Myths and Legends from Nothern France.

This waa an anticipated read for me and while it was an ok read i wasnt that invested in the characters or the story took me a while to get into it.

I listened to the Audiobook it was very well read and I enjoyed the narration found it very easy to listen too.

Thank you to Netgalley, Bookouture and Jessica Thorne for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest Review

This book looked right up my alley and I was pumped to dive into it. However, it turns out this wasn’t for me.

There was far to much emphasis placed on the love interests for me to really enjoy this. I do see that’s it’s labeled as a fantasy romance which would imply the romance is front and center but I just didn’t care for the way this one was done.

I absolutely believe that I will be a minority here. I can see the merits in it. It’s just not my cup of tea.

Thanks to NetGalley for the audio copy!

The Water Witch by Jessica Thorne - 3/5 Stars

Thank you to NetGalley for free access to an advanced copy of this audio book. I am leaving this review independently.

I come away from this book with some mixed feelings. I would say I liked it, overall. However, the book feels a bit confused. The tone different portions are written in seem to be at odds with one another. Is it treasure hunting? Is it romance? Is the heroine a fiercely independent professor or does her life depend on a partner? I know things can be more complicated than yes or no, black and white answers. But the tone of the book seems to contradict itself, as of the book isn't ready to acknowledge the grey areas.

Despite this muddled storytelling, the story itself is still quite enjoyable. A story of lost love, healing, and new love. A story of adventure and cursed lineages and betrayal. A story where Gay Love Pierces the Veil of Death and Saves the Day™.

4.5 4.5
Folklore, Fantasy, treasures, curses oh my!
My favorite Disney movie of all time is Little Mermaid and this book had all the elements of the movie.
" Brittany, France. Ariadne Walker’s fiancé Simon drowned in the stormy Atlantic Ocean doing what he loved: searching for the lost underwater city of Ys. Local legend says it was destroyed centuries ago when the princess of Ys became a water witch, cursing the name of the man who betrayed her.
This book had many layers of betrayal, coming out and new love.
I devoured this book in one day. I really enjoyed the different POV and the water witch was very of reminiscent Ursula. (RIP)2022.
Pick this book up. You wont be disappointed!