The Binding Witch and the Fortune Taker

The Kate Roark Magic Series, Book 1

By: Laura Rich

Narrated by: Sara Pauley

Length: 1 hr and 42 mins

Publisher's summary

The Binding Witch and the Fortune Taker

Growing up homeschooled on the Renaissance Festival circuit is weird enough, but when you’re the daughter of a powerful binding witch who makes a living as a fortune teller, and your best friend is a middle-aged sari vendor, weird is relative.

Fifteen-year-old Kate Roark desperately wants to be a witch but isn't - yet. It’s not likely at her age until she meets the Fortune Taker and gets a taste of unimaginable power - but at what cost?

Forced to choose between keeping stolen power or making her magic dreams come true, her ultimate decision throws her entire world into question.

Described as "book candy" and "compulsively readable," The Binding with and the Fortune Taker is the first in the Kate Roark Magic series from emerging YA fantasy writer Laura Rich.

©2017 Laura Rich (P)2019 Laura Rich

Great story

I received this book for free at my request but the opinion is of my own. Kate is the daughter of a very powerful witch that binds powers of others. One day she runs into another fortune teller and suddenly feels something she’s never felt before. Is she really just a hedge witch or something more? Very quick enjoyable read.

I had to grab this...

I had to grab this short after listening to the very cliffhangery (is that a word?) snippet, I just had to know what happens next, and of course what happened before, as well! 😊
Surprisingly, after enjoying that snippet, I felt Sara Pauley's narration to be the weakest component of an otherwise good, audio book. She has a pleasant enough voice, but her pacing was off... it felt rather rushed to me, and that tended to pull me out of the story a little bit. Maybe slowing the audio playback would help...
So go ahead. Pick up the book and get a view of Kate Roark's magical world. It's worth it!

Great short story

A quick listen. A magical short story story. Will listen to Book 2.
Narration was good.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Cute YA new series!

This was a great introduction to a new YA series about different kinds of witches and what they can do with their powers.
I wish it was a little longer. It seemed to end abruptly.
I look forward to reading more of the series.

I liked the narration. I thought Sara did a great job!

This was a review copy and this is my honest review.

amazing

I received this book for free for a honest review. I loved the story. it was easy flowing, well put together and kept me interested. The narrator did an excellent job of bringing the characters to life.

Wonderful

I do not much care much for high fantasy novels, and I don’t often run across fantasy novels that I like because of it. I do like fantasy novels when they slowly build the fantasy world and add to it rather than suddenly immersing you in something completely foreign. That is just what The Binding Witch and the Fortune Taker does.

The story is set in our world with the assumption that there really are witches and they have been persecuted since the witch trials. Ms. Rich does a wonderful job of immersing you into that world and explaining the necessary elements without too much detail at a time. It is a perfect combination of the world we know and the world we don’t so that readers like me are not overwhelmed by the fantasy side of the novel. The story is a great tale with unique characters taking place at a renaissance festival. The narrator does a wonderful job giving each character their own voice and nuances. I would recommend this book and the series for both young and old alike. My only regret is that the novel was short, but it is likely a mixture of being such a great read and easy to listen to and being a young adult novel.

I was provided with a free copy of this audiobook for my honest review. The views expressed here are entirely my own.

A Great New Series

This is a great start to a new YA series. The author did a really good job setting up a new world for readers and listeners to enjoy. This is an enjoyable story about a witch finding her way and figuring out who and what she really is. The narration was done well. I would have liked a bit more difference in voices and thought the main character, who's suppose to be fifteen, sounded a bit older than she should have but overall the performance was well done and did help the story come to life.

I was given this free review copy audio book at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

fun short story

I enjoyed this short story and will look into this author for additional stories. This story could have been made into a complete novel if the author wanted.

Hooked!

As the first book in the series, we get to know the characters a little bit and then we are thrown into the story and wonder what is going to happen next. It really just feels like a teaser of what is to come and the series progresses, since it is so short. I'm very impressed with this shorter listen, the author is able to keep us engaged and give use a good story in a tiny package. I wish there was more and the series has a lot of potential moving forward. The characters are likeable and the plot is pretty good. I can't wait for more!

I thought the narrator did a great job representing Kate throughout this book, but she doesn't narrate the next. I'm not a fan of narrator switches in series like these where you would want the main character's voice to be consistent. However, the other narrator does just as good, if not better.

I received a review copy at my request and have voluntarily left this unbiased review.

4/5 Nice start to a YA series

Summary: Kate Roark is a hedge witch, which means she doesn’t have powers herself. That is until a twist of fate or fortune or misfortune changes things for her.



Additional Comments:

- It’s a cute novella with good narration.

- Plot 4/5: simple but that’s understandable in that it’s meant to be a very short work. I’m surprised the two Binden (sorry, spelling could be off) girls ended up where they did given the culture they were/are being raised in.

- Narration 4/5: Enjoyable. Only one or two of the chosen voices are distractible.

- Characters 3.5/5: Kate and her Indian friend are probably the deepest characters in here. Her mother’s intriguing, but we don’t really learn much about her mother. I guess it’s one of those things that can be expanded upon later. Kate has both spunk and sass which can be fun reads, but I feel like so many YA heroines fall in that category.

- Worldbuilding 4/5: The notion of binding witches is interesting. People fear or are intrigued by magic.

- Closure 2/5: It’s clearly meant to run you into book 2. While this is an understandable tactic from a sell-books standpoint, I have never enjoyed it. Some people love cliffhangers and feeling like they need more. I usually just move on to a series that gives me more closure in each work.



Conclusion:

It’s a solid start to what could be a fun series.