Mini Reviews | The Rain Watcher by Tatiana de Rosnay and A Secret History of Witches by Louisa Morgan

The Rain Watcher by Tatiana de Rosnay

Published: October 30, 2018

Publisher: St Martin's Press

Pages: 229

Received: via NetGalley for honest review

Find Online: Goodreads

The Rain Watcher is a powerful family drama set in Paris as the Malegarde family gathers to celebrate the father's 70th birthday. Their hidden fears and secrets are slowly unraveled as the City of Light undergoes a stunning natural disaster. Seen through the eyes of charismatic photographer Linden Malegarde, the youngest son, all members of the family will have to fight to keep their unity against tragic circumstances.

In this profound and intense novel of love and redemption, De Rosnay demonstrates all of her writer's skills both as an incredible storyteller but also as a soul seeker.

Just my quick thoughts on this one. It's a catch up read for my NetGalley reviews. 

I ended up listening to this via audiobook and I'm glad I did. I thoroughly enjoyed the narrator. Family drama, nature's fury and a dash of magical realism. The never ending rain that is hitting Paris during the unfolding of the story adds a perfect backdrop to all of the secrets being revealed. It's almost like as the water rises, everyone feels the need to come clean. Almost like if this is going to destroy them then they might as well get everything out in the open. Old wounds are reopened and new ones are made unintentionally. Against all odds the family fights to overcome the demons both real and imagined, both told and unsaid. Love has a way to heal everything and this book does a great job of showing just that in the end.

A Secret History of Witches by Louisa Morgan

Published: September 5, 2017

Publisher: Orbit

Pages: 484

Received: via NetGalley for honest review

Find Online: Goodreads

An ancient and dangerous power is being handed down from mother to daughter through some of the most consequential historic events of the last two centuries.

After Grandmére Ursule gives her life to save her tribe, her magic seems to die with her. Even so, her family keeps the Old Faith, practicing the spells and rites that have been handed from mother to daughter for generations. Until one day, Ursule’s young granddaughter steps into the circle, and magic flows anew.

From early 19th century Brittany to London during the Second World War, five generations of witches fight the battles of their time, deciding how far they are willing to go to protect their family, their heritage, and ultimately, all of our futures.

Let's be honest here. This review is very overdue. I jumped at the chance to read this when it first appeared on NetGalley, then my daughter was born and the sheer number of pages on this one had me putting it on the back burner.This year while doing a NetGalley clean up, I was able to find the audiobook via Overdrive and my library and listened during my daily to commute.

This book was amazing. I loved the history of the entire family. Seeing how they lived their lives and fought their individual battles (since time changed what type of battle they needed to deal with). How the heritage was passed down through generations. There were some story lines that maybe could have been less drawn out, but I understood the need to give backstory so that the entirety of the book would make sense. 

I loved the generational aspect and how the story shows each witch coming into her power, how she chooses to deal with her magic and how the tradition was passed down (or not). The POVs change when a new generation is born and the elders are then background characters. Each character has different values and you see how the power affects them - good or bad. 

My favourite story lines were of the witches in the 1800s when the witch hunters were the biggest threat and they had to truly be careful of showing their power.

I'm looking forward to reading more from this author.

Have you read either of these books? What did you think?