The Forgotten Witch

De: Jessica Dodge

Narrado por: Francesca Harrall

Helen Kent never dares to step outside her comfort zone. She lives a lonely, mundane life in the city, grinding through her uninspiring marketing job. That is, until a spontaneous online purchase brings her to the little bay town of Oban, Scotland, where a 500-year-old cottage full of secrets and stories awaits her.

After Helen unearths the local legend of a 16th-century witch, she discovers a set of mysterious journals in the cottage’s library. Thrust into a world of magic she doesn’t understand, she soon realizes there are both light and dark forces at work beyond her control.

With the help of a dashing Scottish neighbor and his wise grandfather, Helen discovers the link that connects her to the mysterious events unfolding at the cottage. But when the past collides with the present, she must face her fears and fight for what she believes in—that is if she hopes to unravel the mystery of Fernbeg cottage before darkness descends, again.

©2022 Jessica Dodge (P)2022 Jessica Dodge

Good story, narrator needs work

Enjoyed the story, but ended up reading most of the book as the narrator read as if she was reading to children, no inflection or excitement when called for.

Cozy and comforting

I loved this story! It was beautifully written. Easy to connect with characters, fairy tale witchy vibes, immersive world building with a cottagecore ambiance. It had The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue and Discovery of Witches feels and I adored the narrator.

Magical realism at it's best.

Interesting from start to end. Told the story without straying or making things too complicated. Believable. I loved the characters. I like how everything came together neatly. The end was great. It was enough without going overboard which a lot of stories like this do. The final battle is sometimes over done. In this book I feel the author did it perfectly. I recommend this book if you like magical, historical, magical realism, or just good stories.

An entertaining read

I greatly enjoyed this creative tale of good vs. evil, which is set in Scotland and spans centuries. The romantic sub-plot made it even better! Highly recommend for fans of paranormal fiction, romance, and/or fantasy books.

Not sure if I have a different novel than all these other reviews

It’s not BAD but definitely needed an editor. I cannot understand why there are so many 5 star reviews—the writing is reminiscent of a Creative Writing 101 course—good bones but missing A LOT. The big reveal at the end is very sudden and doesn’t have any great lead-up.

The narrator is…very deadpan. It makes the poor writing more painful. If audible still did the no-questions return, I’d be returning it.

Beautiful Story, boring narrator

It was a struggle to get through it because of the narrator. I really liked the story and because of that I didn’t give up! But I really wished for a better story teller. The narrator is monotone and shows very little emotion in her reading. What a shame honestly because the story was well written and enjoyable. I felt like I was having AI reading the book.

Mystery and magic.

The story blended mystery and magic and held my attention to the end. It was an easy listen and I look forward to her other books.

needed to finish ....

the story was a little all over the place. some areas over detailed and then other stuff was rushed. like the ending. I really enjoyed the parts where she went back to Freya but the modern day stuff was a bit forced. overall happy to know the characters wish there was more interactions leas details

Good story, but predictable

Predictable, but good story and premise nonetheless. I’m glad I stuck it out. The narrator REALLY got on my nerves with her annoying inflection at the end of every sentence. It didn’t get any better, but I got used to it.

Great debut novel!

Sooo good! Just love the author’s writing style… beautifully descriptive. I felt like I was in Scotland and so enjoyed Helen’s magical journey and discoveries. The story unfolded through present time and historical tales finishing in a fabulous interweaving of it all.