Reviews

The Witches of Scotland Book 1 by Steven Aitchison

cenipko's review

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adventurous challenging medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

broenyn's review against another edition

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lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

1.0

I had a really hard time with this book. The writing wasn't great; there was a lot of telling instead of showing as well as a lot of really unnecessary details.

As for the story itself, the MC was pretty unlikeable and would flirt with every girl he saw assuming they would be into him (and, of course, in this book most of them actually were 🙄). There was even this one scene where one of the women visited him in a dream and started making out with him FOR NO REASON. All of the characters seemed really flat with no clear personalities, and they would always be laughing even in moments that were supposed to be tense or serious (completely ruining the tone).

Then, beyond that, I really didn't like the magic system. It's only really vaguely explained as "energies" and it felt very spiritual which I wasn't a fan of. The group of witches as a whole also felt kind of cult-like and they all seemed to think they were holier-than-thou (they're literally explained as being the next stage of evolution and they have the obligation to help other "lesser" humans).

Oh, and how could I forget the tasteless use of child abuse in the villain's chapter just to try to give her a semblance of a backstory.

Yeah...not for me, unfortunately.

tnaomai's review

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adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

tdawson's review

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adventurous fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

Too short. It should be combined with next book.

emmalorne's review

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mysterious fast-paced

3.25

ksalyers's review

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mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

mistajay's review

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adventurous funny fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

lourand's review

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I couldn't get passed the 'telling, not showing' aspect of the book. 
On an edit, the length of the book could be almost halved by use of abundant words or explanations. 
The storyline sounds interesting, and the prologue uses a good "ticking clock' technique, albeit with an unrealistic timescale of everything that was done in a few seconds. But I wanted to be shown, not told and it kept pulling me from the story in the passive sense.
A case of a good story line written passively. 

jamesbouzanis's review

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adventurous lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

jennette_danyelle's review

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adventurous challenging mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0