---
product_id: 42380432
title: "The Black Witch (The Black Witch Chronicles, 1) Hardcover – May 2, 2017"
brand: "laurie forest"
price: "€ 49.86"
currency: EUR
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 11
url: https://www.desertcart.nl/products/42380432-the-black-witch-the-black-witch-chronicles-1-hardcover-may
store_origin: NL
region: Netherlands
---

# The Black Witch (The Black Witch Chronicles, 1) Hardcover – May 2, 2017

**Brand:** laurie forest
**Price:** € 49.86
**Availability:** ✅ In Stock

## Quick Answers

- **What is this?** The Black Witch (The Black Witch Chronicles, 1) Hardcover – May 2, 2017 by laurie forest
- **How much does it cost?** € 49.86 with free shipping
- **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship
- **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.nl](https://www.desertcart.nl/products/42380432-the-black-witch-the-black-witch-chronicles-1-hardcover-may)

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- laurie forest enthusiasts

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## Description

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## Images

![The Black Witch (The Black Witch Chronicles, 1) Hardcover – May 2, 2017 - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/810tRSmZq1L.jpg)
![The Black Witch (The Black Witch Chronicles, 1) Hardcover – May 2, 2017 - Image 2](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51loMHoqxwL.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5.0 out of 5 stars







  
  
    fantastic read
  

*by A***R on Reviewed in the United States on August 9, 2024*

I absolutely loved this book and look forward to reading the rest of the series. Different races merge together for the greater good, gives great insight on how people judge from outside looking in. Full of magic, great characters, plots; this book is very well thought out. I couldn’t put it down. 5 star read easily.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.0 out of 5 stars







  
  
    A Good Read with Some Production Flaws
  

*by H***S on Reviewed in the United States on May 14, 2017*

I enjoyed stepping into Laurie Forest's fantasy world and experiencing the magic, setting, and demographics along with naive Elloren.The high points of the novel for me were(1) diverse cast of characters, each with her own agenda, some obvious, others not so obvious.(2) a world and University where different races interact, each with its own beliefs and customs.(3) an imaginative magic system and set of abilities (telling the origin tree from touching an object or material) that made Elloren a unique protagonist.(4) combating the old guard, which mirrors in many ways young adults having to fight our parents' generation's outdated ways of thoughts.The weak points were few, mostly production-related:(1) the writing isn't always of as high a quality as you'd hope.  The description goes on too long at times.  First-person present tense limits the amount of sophistication in the writing, and restricts suspense.  First person present POV occasionally makes the telling seem infantile and too immediate.  Third-person past would have been more appropriate, given that this is an older audience (characters are all in their late teens, nearly college-age and above).(2) excessive politics.  I hate politics in real life and don't want to read government intrigue in fiction either.  As a first book in the series, Laurie Forest would have done better minimizing all the talk of government roles, who's who in the adult mage rankings, and other rather boring diversions.  I thought Mage Marcus Vogel's rise happened too fast to be believable, and Elloren simply hears about it one day, like a convenient plot device sprung too suddenly.  Stick to the school, the fantasy, and the immediate plot surrounding Elloren, and the book would have easily been five stars.(3) lusty description.  Elloren's repeated sensual descriptions of her physical and mental obsession with Yvan really took away from the novel.  I didn't buy Black Witch for chick lit-level romance, and it did feel blatantly directed at a female audience much too often.  Elloren's attraction to Yvan was clear from the start, and relentlessly pounding that into my head almost made me want to put down the novel at several points later in the book.  His strong jaw, intense gaze, muscular body, warm touch, ... these were all way too overdone for a fantasy YA novel.  Way too sappy, way too sensual, way too distracting from the novel's main plot.  Even Lukas, who strangely disappears halfway through the novel, is presented too sensually, making me question whether the author wanted to write a fantasy novel or a steamy romance.(4) protagonist inactivity.  I kept waiting for Elloren to gain magical powers, but we see almost no sign of it until her magical accident in the last few chapters.  Even then, it is clear she has little control of her powers, and almost all of the plot events happen because of other characters intervening.  Lukas saving her from the kitchen assistants.  Assassins saving her from Fallon Bane.  Yvan attacking Damion Bane before Elloren can swing her skillet.  Yvan saving her from the dragons.  Professor Kristian saving Tierney.  In MG/YA, the protagonist needs to be a prime catalyst for overcoming antagonistic forces, and even though I have full confidence Elloren will one day face down Fallon Bane, her lack of action did nothing to help the novel.  Even if she didn't yet have control of magic -- despite her learning at University -- I wanted her to at least grow, learn, and show something: magic, attacking with the skillet, any kind of physical intervention instead of always fleeing and letting her friends do the dirty work.  She's the protagonist!(5) the book is available only in hardcover (even the UK doesn't have paperbacks yet), and the pages are all of differing lengths with fringed edges, like the printing machine just torn them apart.  This makes the book seem of a much lower quality than it really is, and it makes it harder to turn the pages, even as the story keeps me reading fast.  The cover is also plain and easily torn.(6) the map also seems needlessly plain to the left and right of the spine, devoid of important geography or towns.  Ironically, all of the important towns, cities, and landmarks all cluster around the central spine of the book's binding, making it hard to see the most important places.  Since so much of the story takes place in University, a closer-up map of the University grounds, much like J.K. Rowling includes with Harry Potter's Hogwarts, would have been more appropriate.Overall, relating young girl school life to a world of high fantasy and magic makes for fantastic reading.  It is much more exciting than Tolkien and other high fantasy where little to no action happens, and where teens can't relate to characters because the background is too foreign.  I can relate to Elloren, and her friends and foils all have believable personalities.  Well done!

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5.0 out of 5 stars







  
  
    perfect book for fantasy and magic lovers who enjoy a deeply rich world.
  

*by B***E on Reviewed in the United States on January 17, 2019*

FeedbackWow, just wow. What an amazing story this was! This book was a little over 600 pages which made me nervous. I don’t like a lot of unnecessary background information or events that aren’t important in the plot just to fill up pages. Since this is the first book in the series, I was really worried about these issues being present. However, I was worried for nothing. If anything, I wish there was a little more background information! I love all of the different races in the book and wanted more knowledge about each one. Every interaction was important to the story and not once did I feel bored. The story totally consumed me and I just needed to take all of it in. The progression of the story was perfect with no event seeming out of place. There was a lot of world building but it was done magnificently. I could imagine this world that Forest built and the tension between the races. Each detail helped portray the scenes that flowed through the book creating easy transitions.There were so many characters in this book. Sometimes this can lead to a downfall as there are too many characters to remember. However, each character in this book was unique in their own way that I could easily distinguish them apart. I am only going to focus on Elloren though, as she is our main character. I adored her. Even though she is considered weak due to only being a Mage 1 and not having access to magic, she was strong in so many other ways. Growing up with her uncle had caused her and her brothers to have a different outlook on life as a Gardnerian. While some of the prejudices of the other races does seem to taint Elloren’s outlook, she quickly grows out of them. Her personal growth in this book was outstanding. All of it was so believable while creating a likeable character in the process. Throughout the whole book, I rooted for Elloren to overcome her hardships to grow into the unstoppable woman she became.Final ThoughtsOverall, The Black Witch by Laurie Forest was an absolutely stunning book. I was overwhelmed with how good the story and world building was for the first book of this series. Everything had a purpose and no detail was unimportant. Each character played an important role in creating Elloren Gardener into the woman she became at the end of the book. While it took some time for Elloren view the world differently, she was always an easy character to follow. I highly recommend this book for fantasy and magic lovers who enjoy a deeply rich world.Audio? OMG yes -Julia Whelan does an amazing job.

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*Product available on Desertcart Netherlands*
*Store origin: NL*
*Last updated: 2026-01-23*