The Year of the Witching

By: Alexis Henderson

Narrated by: Brianna Colette

Length: 11 hrs and 37 mins

Publisher's summary

A young woman living in a rigid, puritanical society discovers dark powers within herself in this stunning, feminist fantasy debut.

In the lands of Bethel, where the Prophet's word is law, Immanuelle Moore's very existence is blasphemy. Her mother's union with an outsider of a different race cast her once-proud family into disgrace, so Immanuelle does her best to worship the Father, follow Holy Protocol, and lead a life of submission, devotion, and absolute conformity, like all the other women in the settlement.

But a mishap lures her into the forbidden Darkwood surrounding Bethel, where the first prophet once chased and killed four powerful witches. Their spirits are still lurking there, and they bestow a gift on Immanuelle: the journal of her dead mother, who Immanuelle is shocked to learn once sought sanctuary in the wood.

Fascinated by the secrets in the diary, Immanuelle finds herself struggling to understand how her mother could have consorted with the witches. But when she begins to learn grim truths about the Church and its history, she realizes the true threat to Bethel is its own darkness. And she starts to understand that if Bethel is to change, it must begin with her.

©2020 Alexis Henderson (P)2020 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"A thrillingly brisk and bracing tale of magic and power, I loved this book. It takes the best tropes of horror and witchcraft and gives them a refreshingly feminist twist." (S.A. Chakraborty, national best-selling author of The Daevabad Trilogy)

"The Year of the Witching is a dark, dramatic tale of oppression and rebellion, ideology and morality, with a complicated, appealing protagonist caught in a Handmaid's Tale nightmare. It's a fine addition to the body of feminist fantasy works, a great read." (Louisa Morgan, Author of The Age of Witches)

"The Year of the Witching is a dark wood ready to swallow you whole with its tense stakes and beguiling prose. Henderson takes witchcraft to its very depths, unraveling the horrific nightmares of bone-deep ideology and devastating oppression, and giving readers a complex heroine ready to face fire." (Dhonielle Clayton, New York Times best-selling author of The Belles series)

Needs a better narrator

The book itself is entertaining. I don’t know if I’d call it a “feminist” novel like it’s marketed as but it’s a fun read. The only thing that took me out of it was the narrator, who read every line, dialogue and all, with the same flat monotone like she was reading off a daily bulletin.

Turn it into a movie

Slow start setting the scene. Although a great read from Chapter 6 to the end !!! Would make a fantastic movie.

I need more!

I am so in love with this story and it’s characters. I need a second and a third and more more more! Such a pulling story and you can’t help but be fully invested in it and the characters.

I would recommend this book

The Year of The Witching was not what I expected, but I really enjoyed it!

Excellent Book

Excellent Book. I highly recommend this one. The story was well developed and narration was really good.

So enthralling!

I very much enjoyed this book. The descriptions are detailed enough without unnecessarily slowing down the pace of the story. After chapter 2, it was so difficult to take any time away from the story. The ending wasn't what I expected and I wonder if this will be the 1st in a series...? I look forward to reading more like this.

fantastic cant wait for book two

if you're looking for something where the witches aren't good or bad and no one is solely evil or good, and queer rep. in historical fiction, this is a good choice.

Loved it!

Enjoyed the narration,
My only complaint is the fact this isn’t a series!!! Not ready to say goodbye to some of these characters ;(

Great book kept me listening for days

I liked the story and it kept me coming back for more. However, there were some times when I felt it was read a little too slow or just missing some “fun/life/color” but still a great reading and easy listen.

Good read, kept my attention

I did enjoy listening to this book. Didn’t realize there would be a love story in there but once there was I was hoping they would have gone down that way a little more but with that being said since this was about witches glad they didn’t. I enjoyed listening to the strength the main character had and bravery.