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Sea Witch had a lot of potential, and I think with some fine-tuning it could have been really good. Unfortunately, I was all hyped up for a dark Ursula origin story, but this book turned out to be more of a romance that really dragged in the beginning.
I feel like Sea Witch really suffered from pacing issues, which is a shame because I think I would have enjoyed the plot if it had been better laid out. I really liked it when things picked up at the end, but that was the strongest point. It felt like there were a lot of scenes in the beginning that weren’t fleshed out enough, and therefore they were rushed, and there were also plot points that were dragged out for no reason. A more even pacing would have benefited this book massively.
That said, the ending got good. Like, really good. I’m almost considering reading the sequel, Sea Witch Rising, which came out on 6th August. I’m very intrigued by Evie’s character and where she could go next. Having said that, I’m not entirely sure where she could possibly be going next, considering the way this book ended. I think that’s the thing that is intriguing me the most, because I have no idea!
I really liked Evie’s character. Someone called her a Hufflepuff queen, and I have to agree. She’s sweet and loyal and all she wants is for her friends to be okay and to get along. Obviously, this is an Ursula origin story, so as you can imagine, not everything works out for her, but Evie doesn’t deserve any of that nonsense. I was rooting for her throughout this entire book.
The romance… I’m not really going to touch upon it but it was sweet, I guess? It’s very, very rare that I enjoy YA romance plots, so you’ll just have to forgive me for sliding over that one. It was cute, it had an emotional bit at the end, and I didn’t hate it.
While I feel Sea Witch is an average book, I think Henning has a lot of potential. So much so that I might read the sequel even though I’m only giving this book three stars. I think her writing will develop into something great, if the ending of this book is anything to go by!
It’s a shame you didn’t enjoy this book as much as you expected, but I’m glad you liked some aspects of it. I’ve had this book out of the library for a while, but haven’t read it yet, so I might give it a go soon, and see what I think. Great review! 🙂
I hope you like it, Laura! It’s definitely an easy read 🙂
Sorry to hear this didn’t quite meet your expectations but at least it had the potential to be better. It does sound like an interesting read and I would like to read an Ursula origins story so I still might check it out but at least you’ve managed my expectations with it.
Happy to help! I’ll let you know if I eventually decide to read the sequel.