I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

In Gadore, the Witch is feared above all else. Reborn into each generation, she is the only person with magic running innately through her veins, able to wield that magic with a single thought.

So when guards across the city begin to drop dead, gruesomely murdered by violent and vicious magic, everyone knows the Witch has returned—and no one will be safe until she’s killed.

Toran is the Prince’s Crown, the most highly skilled fighter in the King’s Guard. Tasked with the responsibility of leading the hunt for the Witch, Toran tries to focus on his assignment to forget the ghosts of his past. And after he learns of Nes, a thief with an uncanny ability to sniff out magic, he forcibly recruits her into joining his hunt.

As the two face deadly magic and otherworldly threats, their mutual dislike soon turns to something more electric, and they find themselves drawn to each other in ways they’d never imagined. But the Witch is always a step ahead of them, and with bodies piling up, secrets threaten to come to light—secrets that could destroy everything from the fragile trust between them to the very city of Gadore itself.

Short and Sweet Review

To Drown a Witch had a really intriguing premise that immediately caught my attention. The idea of there being only one true Witch in each generation, hunted by an entire kingdom while everyone else relies on stolen magic, felt fresh and full of potential. The mystery surrounding the Witch’s identity, combined with the enemies-to-lovers dynamic between Toran and Nes, kept me turning the pages, and the final twists definitely made the ending memorable.

That said, I never felt fully connected to the story. While I liked both Nes and Toran individually, I wanted more depth from their characters and relationship. Their banter was entertaining at times, but the romance developed a little too quickly emotionally for me, and I didn’t completely buy their chemistry. The world-building was also a bit underdeveloped. There were interesting ideas surrounding the magic system, the different parts of the city, and the history of the Witch, but I was left wanting more detail to make the setting feel fully realized. The pacing was another mixed aspect for me. The first half moved steadily, but much of the larger plot and world-building was saved for the final portion of the book. While I enjoyed the action and reveals near the end, it also felt like a lot of information was introduced all at once. Some of the twists were surprising, while others were fairly easy to predict, and because I never became deeply invested in the characters, a few of the emotional moments didn’t land as strongly as they could have.

Overall, To Drown a Witch is a solid fantasy with an interesting magic system, an engaging mystery, and enough twists to keep things entertaining. While it didn’t feel particularly groundbreaking and left me wanting stronger character development and richer world-building, it was still an enjoyable read. I’ll likely pick up the sequel to see where the story goes next, especially after that ending.