Review: Witch’s Pyre by Josephine Angelini || A semi-satisfying conclusion |

Title: Witch’s Pyre
Author: Josephine Angelini
Series: Worldwalker trilogy, book 3
Genre: Fantasy, Romance, [Young-Adult]
Heat Rating: Cool
Page Count and Format: 384 pages, Paperback
Published: August 25th, 2016 by Macmillan Children’s Books
Source: Purchased
My Rating:

Blurb (from Goodreads):

Lily Proctor has come a long way from the weak, sickly girl she used to be. She has gained power as a witch and a leader, found her way home, chosen to face battle again, and (after losing her first love and being betrayed by her new love) she has learned more about loss and grief than she ever wanted to know.

Thrust once again into a society different from anything they have ever seen, Lily and her coven are determined to find answers―to find a new path to victory, a way to defeat the monstrous Woven without resorting to nuclear weapons or becoming a tyrannical mass murderer like her alternate self, Lillian. But sometimes winning requires sacrifices . . . and when the only clear path to victory lies at Lillian’s side, what price will Lily be willing to pay?

This book took me on a wholly different ride and boy I loved it! There were ups and downs and I wish there some parts were explored more but in the end, I absolutely loved this trilogy.

*Beware of Spoilers*

Lily along with her friends are now in the other part of the city they have never dared to enter until now. Surprisingly, Bower City welcomed them. All seemed rainbows and sunshine until they begin to find the crack. Now, they can’t leave and when the shocking truth comes it, everything falls into places. Can Lily and her mechanics win the ultimate fight or will they never see the light of the day again?

The plot and the twists kept me on the edge throughout the whole book. I was still hoping that the ending of book 2 was just a dream and we would get that particular character back but I was shattered once again. *sad face* Anyway, Bower City was completely different than I thought it would be, there is no theft, no crimes in that city, everybody lives in harmony and peace. It was perfect. Too perfect. Until we began to see the creepy side of it which was really disgusting and just very very creepy. It irked me to no end.

Grace was really graceful (I didn’t mean to write it like that… it just happened!!), polite and perfect just like her city but as we got to unravel the actual truth, my goodness, that woman not only committed mass genocide of the humans but also the woven as well for centuries! The sub-plot about the wovens was quite interesting, I have been waiting to know more about that since book one and now finally the truth is revealed, I knew there was something more to them and I liked how much variety there were between them.

I felt sorry for the hives and the warrior sisters after learning of Grace’s manipulation and control over them, in the end, they were no less than victims either. We also finally get to see the actual reason behind Rowan’s action in the previous book but the lack of communication failed to please me, along with the romance which was barely there. I wanted more of Rowan and Lily!

The build-up was quite amazing. I have read a quite a lot of books where the build-up is perfect and then when the main execution comes, everything goes up in poof but thank goodness it was not the case here. The ultimate battle was everything I wanted it to be, it was bloody damn amazing how the humans and the wovens fought together for their ultimate freedom. In the end, Lilian’s end was inevitable. She could have been saved, I won’t say what she did, in the end, was noble, it was something that needed to be done and no one could have done it except her.

But I needed more answers. I really hated agent Simms but surprisingly, I liked how everything was wrapped up in the end but it left me a little dissatisfied. Like how was the new regime, how was Lily handling the new responsibilities and how were the wovens and the humans co-existing after remaining enemies for as much longer they remembered? This book would have gotten a 5 star from me if these areas were answered.

Overall, Witch’s Pyre was an interesting read. I enjoyed the plot and the characters didn’t fail to surprise me. Though I wanted more answers from this book but I did enjoy the ride. The writing was addictive and it was fast paced throughout the book.

Recommend it?

Yes.