Review: Heartwrenching and Touching...
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 01 15, 2014
"With complete power comes pride. Pride breeds corruption. Corruption begets vulnerability, which pride refuses to see. And so begins the vicious cycle of destruction." -JolinWitch Fall by Amber Argyle is the prequel to Witch Song and the story of how the witches sealed their fate long ago by abusing the powers givento them by the creators. I've read this entire series of books over the past two weeks and I have to say this is absolutely by far the best book yet.Lilette is my favorite character in this book, for she is brave, strong of heart and character, wise beyond her years, quick-witted, and yet still manages to keep an air of innocence within that does not break despite everything she has gone through. Argyle did an amazing job with this book. All the questions I had after Witch Song and Witch Born were answer in Witch Rising and Witch Fall. The story she wove came full circle and I guess that's fitting since she wrote about witches.I loved how every chapter held a quote from Jolin, like the one above my review. Seeing Lilette's life through Jolin's eyes made the story even better and it added an extra layer of emotion to the story because under the cockiness, anger, and even a bit of resentment, we can feel Jolin's pain through her words. We can see how highly she thought of Lilette and how she bared the weight of the decisions she'd made.One thing I didn't love was how poor Lilette kept getting married off to different men. That was sort of annoying, but it is my only complaint and it's a small one. The only person she was every truly married to with heart, mind, body, and soul was Han.Let's talk about Han for a minute and how my love of him only served to increase each time his presence graced the page. Han was a true warrior for his people and for Lilette. His pain was my pain, his hurt my hurt, his love my love. I felt him and Lilette so deeply in this book, their anguish and then their happiness.I cried for them. I cried for Lilette and the loss of her family, friends, home. I cried for the sacrifices they made and the people they tried to help. I freaking cried a lot in this damn book and I'm not sorry. Argyle wrote the two of them so well entwining their fates and having their personalities complement each other, one dark and one light. They were two sides of the same coin and they will forever be my favorite both together and apart.The battles fought were written well and the words brought the chaos to life on the page. This really was the best book, while the other books in the series were good, this was great. Lilette is a stronger character than Brusenna and I could relate to her more, plus she took what came to her without being childish about it. Lilette stood up for herself and for others. While Brusenna had some of the same qualities as Lilette she was also very different.But one thing I liked is how they showed Lilette hearing Brusenna's call how she had been the one to decide the other girls worth. It was a fitting end to the beginning of the story. There were so many characters I want to mention and plot points I want to go through, but this book is a gem and should be read without the spoilers that those things would give away. But I will say this:-Jolin is brilliant and learns too late that sometimes that isn't always a gift.-Chen can be a monster, but at the heart of it all I do believe he really did think he was doing what was right for his people.-Bian was a self-important bully, but he too was attempting to protect Lilette is his own power hungry way.-Doranna, wastrel or not, is amazing and should be respected.-Ko is kind, but warry and not one to cause change.-Han is love personified. He's loyalty and honor. He's the man you search for always and forever.-Always be careful the food and drink you take from strangers, you never know what it is them especially in a magical community.That being said one of my favorite lines in the book comes from Han and of course he's speaking to Lilette, which only makes the words better. "Remember Little Dragon, fight the battles you can win and retreat from those you cannot." She remembered these words, knew them, lived them. Lilette's last act was to save every witch and Harshen she could and she did it with sadness and love. God this book hurt my heart. It was amazing and I swear I felt it in my soul. I highly recommend this series if only to get to this book alone."Regrets are like a parasite living inside of you. You have to find a way to stop feeding them or they eat you alive." -Jolin