Review: A Witch in Winter by Ruth Warburton

Anna Winterson doesn't know she's a witch and would probably mock you for believing in magic, but after moving to the small town of Winter with her father, she learns more than she ever wanted to about power. When Anna meets Seth, she is smitten, but when she enchants him to love her, she unwittingly amplifies a deadly conflict between two witch clans and splits her own heart in two. She wants to love Seth, to let him love her – but if it is her magic that's controlling his passion, then she is as monstrous as the witch clan who are trying to use her amazing powers for their own gain.

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A Witch in Winter has to be one of the books that everybody should be looking forward to in 2012, it has action, romance and a bit (or a lot) of magic.


When I started A Witch in Winter I had no idea what to expect. I hadn't really heard of it, though a few UK bloggers I know were raving on about it so I figured it must be pretty good. It was actually pretty awesome. The start was a little slow and for a while it seemed as though it was going to be like every other YA paranormal as the set up was pretty typical - new girl at a new school in a new town with spooky goings on or a bad past. As soon as Anna learned she was a witch things got interesting.


What I loved the most was the romance aspect, Yes, it was a bit of insta-love but there was also well written chemistry between the two. I also loved that Anna couldn't work out whether he really did care about her himself or whether it was the love spell that she cast on him, it created obstacles and conflict that were different to the usual love triangle conflict that usually appears in YA lit.


I also loved the action - the magic actually had some uses and was well developed and the climax at the very end was fantastically written, I was literally sat on the end of my seat, transfixed by the battle that was unfolding in front of me. The battle scene was so well written! I also loved the pacing, the events unfolded in a way that wasn't too fast paced that I couldn't keep up but not too slow that I got completely and utterly bored.


The only issue I can point out was that at some points the language felt pretty old fashioned. I know it's British grammar and all, but the book is wrote from the point of view of a British teen and contrary to popular belief, we aren't all posh. Sometime the language made it difficult to believe that Anna really was a teenager at all.


Overall, A Witch in Winter is totally one to look out for. Ruth Warburton is going to take the YA market by storm. With well researched facts, romance and some fantastic action scenes, A Witch in Winter is a thoroughly enchanting read!


Overall Rating: A-

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To be released on January 5th 2012 by Hodder Children's Books.
This book was received as an ARC by the publisher.