Release Date: September 24th 2013
Published By: Harlequin Teen Australia
Pages: 320
Goodreads: Add it to your reading list

Rating: 4 out of 5

Synopsis: If she sink, she be no witch and shall be drowned. If she float, she be a witch and must be hanged.

Meg Lytton has always known she is different;that she bears a dark and powerful gift. But in 1554 England, in service at Woodstock Palace to the banished Tudor princess Elizabeth, it has never been more dangerous to practice witchcraft. Meg knows she must guard her secret carefully from the many suspicious eyes watching over the princess and her companions. One wrong move could mean her life, and the life of Elizabeth, rightful heir to the English throne. With witchfinder Marcus Dent determined to have Meg’s hand in marriage, and Meg’s own family conspiring against the English queen, there isn’t a single person Meg can trust. Certainly not the enigmatic young Spanish priest Alejandro de Castillo, despite her undeniable feelings. But when all the world turns against her, Meg must open her heart to a dangerous choice. The Secret Circle meets The Other Boleyn Girl in Witchstruck ,the first book of the magical Tudor Witch trilogy.

Review: I do love me a good witch tale! Witchstruck was a really enjoyable read. Engaging and easily digestible, it’s fun, action packed and fast paced and not too deep if you’re looking for a light read.

First and foremost I love historical fiction, and this book was set in London in 1554. We’re taken to the court of Mary Tudor. Meg Lytton is servant to the queens sister, Elizabeth Tudor who is imprisoned by the queen for treason. We’re taken back to a time where God fearing people are pointing the finger at anyone who could be remotely suspected of performing witchcraft and those found guilty are either hung, drawn and quartered, drowned or burnt alive at the stake.

We’re also in the same times as the Spanish Inquisition and with this brings a young Spaniard priest in training - Alejandro de Castillo. Alejandro is bought to court to look over Elizabeth, however he finds himself drawn to Meg even though no good could come of it. Meg in turn has eyes for Alejandro but knows that as a witch, she could never have a future with a future priest.

When Meg is exposed for being a witch, there literally is a witch hunt when Meg goes on the run to escape her accusers.

Whilst at times the story itself was predictable to me, I still found myself entertained throughout. It was a nice easy story for me to read, and it really the cycle of heavy long reads that I have been reading of late.

Witchstruck gave me three things that I personally love in a good tale: A villain that I can hate on (Marcus Dent was textbook evil and I loved it), a light romance that we want to see progress (which I am hoping happens in the next book) and a cliffhanger ending that leaves me wanting more. Get those three things right, and I am a fan!

The only reason why I rated this book 4 stars instead of 5 is that I felt the author could have delved so much deeper to give us a better understanding of our characters. I felt like we really just had a good look at them on the surface level, but I still found the characters to be likable. That being said, it turned out to be a lighter read than it would have otherwise been had it delved deeper - but that is sometimes not a bad thing either.

I received this book from Netgalley not realising that it’s actually not a brand new release as I first thought (although it has only been released in Australia for the first time on September 24th this year). Witchstruck was released in other countries last year, which means the great news for me is that the sequel - Witchfall is available online now! And because I enjoyed this read so much, I have bought both Witchstruck and Witchfall from The Book Depository to add to my shelf. Keep your eyes peeled as I will be reading Witchfall soon.