The Janus Witch

By: Michael Scott Clifton

Narrated by: Kendra Murray

Length: 11 hrs and 30 mins

Publisher's Summary

A beautiful witch with a violent past has an unlikely love affair with a compassionate young doctor...until she fears she may end up killing him.

Tressalayne is a member of a murderous witches’ coven. An attack by witch hunters forces the coven to escape through a hastily constructed portal of magic. Ripped from her medieval world, the portal hurls Tressalayne and the coven’s leader, Morganna, into present-day East Texas. Critically injured in the passage, Tressalayne awakes in a hospital with no memory of her previous life. 

Lucas Beckett finds himself in charge of the mysterious patient’s recuperation, and soon develops more than just a medical interest in her recovery. However, their blossoming relationship is marred by Tressalayne’s nightmarish flashbacks and uncontrolled manifestations of magic.

Can their life together survive this collision of past and present? As Tressalayne’s struggles continue, other threats emerge to loom over the young couple, and the stage is set for a final confrontation. 

Murderous intent, or love and devotion? Only one can survive, and the Janus Witch must decide. 

"Michael Scott Clifton weaves and casts a magical spell in his fantasy romance The Janus Witch. A must-read for any fantasy romance, urban romance, or paranormal romance enthusiast!" (Ranay James, author of the McKinnon Legends, a time-travel series)

©2018, 2019, 2020 Michael Scott Clifton (P)2020 Michael Scott Clifton

Hauntingly beautiful

The Janus Witch by Michael Scott Clifton transported me across time and place with its hauntingly beautiful imagery, language, and characters. I have always had a soft spot for Arthurian legend, so the name Morganna made my ears perk up from the very beginning. Admittedly, it took me a few chapters to get into this audiobook - at no fault of the narrator, Kendra Murray, or the author - I just prefer reading to listening. So if there was any confirmation that the Morganna in this book is Morgan le Fay, I missed it.


Nonetheless, I was taken with the strength and single minded focus that Morganna embodied as coven leader to Tressalayne (love that name!) and Argatha (I’m not sure how to spell her name). So much so that I really struggled throughout this book to dislike her. I don’t know if it is because one of my favorite versions of Morgan le Fay paints her as a misunderstood enchantress, but I knew from the beginning that Morganna was the villain in this book and adored her still. My allegiance to her was to the point that I sometimes wondered more about her welfare than that of the obvious protagonist, Tressalayne.


More jarring than the literal crash landing of two witches and the witch hunter hot on their trail, it was entertaining to hear how three medieval characters encountered modern day East Texas. Clifton does an excellent job of portraying credible reactions and thoughts to this overwhelming world of technology and conveniences. And Murray’s sophisticated tone and delivery was perfect for conveying the wide-eyed observations and innocence of an amnesiac.


I don’t know if it’s a coincidence, but my favorite characters are the ones that Murray does the best voices for: Morganna, Tressalayne, and Lockstone. The narrator truly embodies the essence of those three when she acts out their dialogue with that sultry voice of hers. Morganna’s voice oozes of cruel sensuality. Tressalayne is sweet and a bit timid when her life begins anew. Lockstone is the very definition of strength and masculinity. And maybe because her rendition of Lockstone is just so manly, it didn’t really leave enough testosterone for the good doctor and the bad guy.

In true Clifton fashion, this fantasy pulls you into an exciting place filled with magic, danger, and romance. All of the pieces fall together in just the right way at a pace that appropriately speeds up and slows down according to what is happening in the story. Murray’s tone and diction were perfect for portraying the medieval transplants. While I wasn’t a fan of her Texan accents, I commend her consistency and dedicated performances. She is definitely one of the best audiobook narrators I have heard in a while.


I recommend this book to anyone who loves a good fantasy. If you listen to the audiobook and feel like it moves a little slow, I find that playing it at 1.3x is a pretty good rate that does not make Murray sound like a chipmunk.

The Janus Witch

I received this audiobook as part of my participation in a tour with Lone Star Book Blog Tours.
The Janus Witch is a gritty tale of witchcraft, love, and revenge-seeking through time.

The story begins way in the past, with a medieval coven of ruthless, evil witches trying to escape the witch hunters. The leader Morganna and her apprentice Tressalayne end up with a jump through a portal through time, with a witch hunter following behind. They arrive in present-day Texas, but not together.

What follows is these characters waking up to a new world, confusing technology, and unfamiliar customs. I will say it took a bit to get into the story while the characters tried to figure out how to navigate our current time, but it was a bit funny to see our world through the eyes of someone who has never seen what we take for granted.

Our main character, Tressalayne, goes on quite a character journey. She was an evil, murdering witch in the past. In the present, she awakes in the hospital injured with no memory. She is plagued by nightmares of her past, while she's falling in love with her doctor in her waking hours. As the story progresses, she learns more about who she is, what she's capable of, and her internal battle between good and evil commences.

Their love was quick, not quite instalove but almost that. But it was deep and pure. And the love between Tressalayne and doctor Lucas Beckett is what drives the witch to come to terms with where she sits on the pendulum.

The other characters are similarly complex and some more evil than the next. The plot and storytelling by Michael Scott Clifton are tangled and captivating, making you wonder what will happen next.

I generally enjoyed the audiobook narration by Kendra Murray. I would say since I didn't listen in one sitting (real life, obviously) and kept coming back for an hour or two listen here and there, I had a bit of a time remembering who everyone was and who was talking at the moment. The voices were not that different. But the narration tone and cadence were great, and the voice pleasant to listen to, even if the content was dark and gritty.

I was happy that the epilogue explained what a Janus witch means! I also enjoyed that the story takes place in present-day East Texas, with familiar places. I do enjoy feeling like I understand the setting.

The epilogue ends with setting up what can be the next book in the story, though book 1 is nicely wrapped up. Overall an enjoyable listen and a great story.

Fanastic!

I've become enamored with books about witches. This is the reason why was grateful for the opportunity to listen and review The Janus Witch. Tressalayne is one of three witches who eventually gets separated from the "main" witch, Morgana while traveling through a magical portal. Unbeknownst to them, a witch hunter has followed the witches through said portal. Tressalayne ends up in a hospital with memory loss where she's being treated by Dr. Lucas Beckett. Soon the line between caring for a patient, and caring about Tressalayne herself is crossed - with many problems ensuing from Tressalayne's flashbacks of her past with Morgana.

Clifton does a wonderful job in creating his characters. Each had their distinctive "feel" and it causes the reader to truly submerge into this magical world lined with our very human one. I can say that I've never read a book like this before; I felt pulled in all different directions with this story, but it never felt like I was losing sight of the story itself. Tressalayne was my favorite character because of how endearing she came to be throughout the story. It truly read like her redemption song - and I was all for it.

It took me awhile to get into the narration of this story, audiobook-wise. I actually had to do something I never do - up the speed! I just felt that the tone and speed at which she was narrating was a bit too slow for my taste. It's still a great performance, but if you find yourself not entirely liking how it's being read - trying upping the speed.

Overall, I highly recommend!

Great narration and story.

I rarely listen to audible books but when a road trip was on my schedule, I quickly leaped at the chance to listen to this book. Hubby and I were cruising down the highway with the narrator's voice coming out the car speakers. After adjusting the speed to 1.5 (book not car!) we hit that comfortable level where we could listen. Anything less than that felt like it was taking too long to get into the story. The narrator did a very good job of using tone and inflection to help you feel the story. She was also great with the banter that happened between characters and changing accents slightly with different characters.

With her past mistakes looming in her mind, the main character, Tresselayne has a lot to deal with. I am always leary of audiobooks being able to keep my interest, especially when the story line is evolved but I had nothing but enjoyment with almost all of this story. It may be an age-old tale of good versus evil but the author gave it a new brush, and it was a great way to travel the highways of Texas! I just might reconsider reading some witch stories as this one was amusing and absorbing.

Good Entertainment

When reading or listening to this story one can't help but think about other fictional witches. For me, that was the two in The Wizard of Oz, mainly because the contrast between Morgana and Tressalayne in this story was as distinct as that between the Wicked Witch of the West and the Good Witch in the Oz story.

I don't have a lot of experience with reading about witches, whether fiction or nonfiction. Although I do have a few friends who are Wiccan, and we've talked about the differences in how our belief systems dictate the way we live our lives. I don't think any of my Wiccan friends would appreciate the way the witches are portrayed in fiction. In fact one of them told me just that.

Still, we do have to separate fiction from reality and an effective tale of the battle between good and evil has to have these kinds of extremes. Of course I really liked Tressalayne the best. I think we're supposed to. She is guileless in her way of living. And that attracts the doctor, Lucas, as much as her physical beauty.

The only thing that didn't work so well for me were the graphic sex scenes. I'm kind of a curmudgeon, and I don't think a reader needs to have every detail. Additionally, because Tressalayne was such a sweet character who came across with an air of innocence. it would have been nice, in my estimation, for her to stay that way. However, other readers will not have a problem with the sex scenes, and that's just fine. Different people, different tastes.

I thought the narration was very well done, and as with a lot of other books that I have listened to, a good narrator can really sell the story. This narrator did. If you're looking for some good entertainment, I encourage you to give The Janus Witch a try.

great fun

and old idea with a new twist, the Janus witch is a fun ride.

enjoyable

I am glad I met Michael at the con in Shreveport. got his book and enjoyed it very much.

A great read!

The Janus Witch by Michael Scott Clifton was a great scenario and storyline. The author did a superb job of creating the story. I listened to the book on Audible, the narrator did a superb job as well. I am looking forward to more books by Mr. Clifton!

Amazing ride till the end...

◦ I've received a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review ◦

Tressalayne is a member of the murderous witch coven ruled by the ruthless, Morganna. Morganna is one of the most powerful and dangerous witch from their coven. She together with her coven have left a lot of devastation behind, so much devastation that have peaked the curiosity of a witch hunter, Robert Lockstone that has become obsessed on ending the Morganna’s coven.

When the fight with Robert goes wrong, Morganna and her strongest apprentice, Tressalayne, escape through a portal that lands them in the modern-day East Texas. Each one of them is being teleported in different parts of Texas, and while Morganna remembers everything about her past, Tressalayne finds herself with no memory of past life and under the care of Dr. Lucas Beckett, who from the first moment he saw her, something inside him changed.

The narrator has done such an amazing job when comes to this audiobook, I loved the way she was telling this story, the intonation, the engagement into the story, it was just perfect. The story is a very complicated story, so to say. The evil is portrayed in the audiobook as something that has nothing to do with the era that we live in. If Morganna is evil on her era, on our modern-day Mason Crick is the one who has the most despicable actions in the entire novel. If by day he is the CFO of Good Shepard General Hospital, by night he is the incarnated evil.

The Janus Witch is a paranormal fantasy genre, full of twists and plots that takes you on an amazing ride till the end. The author is blending perfectly the medieval times with the modern times and shows us that humans at the core are all the same, and only the actions will differentiate us from good to evil.

Fantastically entertaining

With its imaginative world-building of two timelines, clearly delineated characters depicting good and evil, vivid imagery, sweet romance, and thoroughly engaging voice actor in Ms. Murray, The Janus Witch is a fantastically entertaining read/listen.

I seldom read time travel stories. If the author doesn't explain the mechanics well, I get exhausted by the effort to suspend my disbelief. Because of the magical component, Mr. Clifton managed to do it admirably in this book. The way the three characters from the past coped with their new world came across as authentic, particularly the witch hunter Robert Lockstone. His usage of medieval terms to acquaint himself with present-day East Texas was humorous and quite endearing. He's actually my favorite character. Among well-defined and strong personalities, he stood out for me as someone honorable to the core and I rooted for him to accomplish his mission.

The evil described in this book is not for the faint of heart. Between Morganna and her youth-draining spells and Mason Crick and his sleazy blackmail schemes, the choice for the most hateful villain is not easy. Thankfully, there's a balance with the presence of "good" characters like the generous Dr. Lucas Beckett and the aforementioned Lockstone. That balance is especially manifested by the title character herself Tressalayne. Initially a loyal apprentice to Morganna, she underwent a transformation affected by the loss of her memory. The question of which way she'd turn in the use of her power wasn't clear until the very end.

Ms. Murray's performance is one of the highlights of the book for me. She really made the characters' personalities come to life with her voice acting, using different accents, pitches, and intonations to differentiate them. Her narration of the climactic scenes was truly dramatic and greatly enhanced the experience of listening to the story unfold.

Two things prevented me from rating this book the magical five stars-- Tressalayne's limited point-of-view and the claim of being a paranormal romance. The love story, while important to the eventual outcome, was not the central plot of the book. Market it as a magical fantasy with romantic elements but do not place it under paranormal romance.