ARC Review of The Witch Hunter by Virginia Boecker

Release Date: June 2, 2015

Publisher: Little Brown

Page Count: 368

Format: ARC

Genre: YA/Fantasy

The magic and suspense of Graceling meet the political intrigue and unrest of Game of Thrones in this riveting fantasy debut.
Your greatest enemy isn't what you fight, but what you fear.
Elizabeth Grey is one of the king's best witch hunters, devoted to rooting out witchcraft and doling out justice. But when she's accused of being a witch herself, Elizabeth is arrested and sentenced to burn at the stake.
Salvation comes from a man she thought was her enemy. Nicholas Perevil, the most powerful and dangerous wizard in the kingdom, offers her a deal: he will save her from execution if she can break the deadly curse that's been laid upon him.
But Nicholas and his followers know nothing of Elizabeth's witch hunting past--if they find out, the stake will be the least of her worries. And as she's thrust into the magical world of witches, ghosts, pirates, and one all-too-handsome healer, Elizabeth is forced to redefine her ideas of right and wrong, of friends and enemies, and of love and hate.
Virginia Boecker weaves a riveting tale of magic, betrayal, and sacrifice in this unforgettable fantasy debut.

When it comes to books there are three main things that REALLY make me interested in it and want to read it: an interesting description, good cover, and if it's fantasy/magic-related. The Witch Hunter puts a huge check mark next to each of those elements. I originally found out about it during BEA (which is also where I got my ARC) and after seeing it's amazing cover and awesome description I knew I HAD to read it. A couple of days after BEA I picked it up and finished it in basically one sitting, that's how good it was. It met all my expectations and soared past them to become tied with Ensnared by A.G. Howard and Passenger by Alexandra Bracken for my current favorite book of 2015.

As I've mentioned multiple times in my previous reviews world-building and settings are of huge importance to me. And with fantasy books that only increases since good world-building is the norm for that genre (at least in my opinion it is). The Witch Hunter is set in a world where all magic-related things are banned and punishable by death, from simple herbs to powerful witchs and wizards. Weekly burnings at the stakes are the norm and with hunters go out roaming for witchs and wizards to capture. If you don't think that sounds really good then I don't know what to say to you. Other things included multiple displays of magic and their hiding places along with exceptional descriptions for normal fantasy settings (villages/towns, forests, castles, etc). Every page I read only made me more focused on The Witch Hunter and I just couldn't let go. I even had to bring it to school despite the risk of creased/ripped pages because I had to know how it would end. Virginia Boecker introduces her debut novel with a blast of excellent descriptions and superb world-building.

The excellence in the world-building area of The Witch Hunter is continued with the characters and plot. The main character, Elizabeth, is a witch hunter who captures witches/wizards and arrests anyone doing anything involving magic. Until one day when she is set up and sent to prison and then saved by the very people she was hunting. Having lost her parents at a very young age and then spending years in brutal training she's been through a lot but the very same things have made her stronger for it. She starts off on the wrong side but then switches to the right one and becomes the better for it. Nicholas Perevil and all the other witches/wizards she meets were by themselves very well-written characters as well. Even the other witch hunters whom I didn't like very much and all the other secondary characters were interesting. To an extent where I would love some short stories on their backgrounds or even on the background of the book. Amazing characters and a plot of the same caliber come together to top off The Witch Hunter.

The Witch Hunter is a MUST read for anyone who enjoys YA, every element of it was fantastic and definitely worth reading. Hopefully there will be a sequel and it will come soon because I'm dying to find out how the story will continue. This book is a good perfect for people who enjoy YA, fantasy, magic-related things, Graceling, Game of Thrones, or just good books in general.

5/5 - AMAZING book