REVIEW | The Patriot Witch (Traitor to the Crown) by C.C. Finlay (Del Rey)

The Patriot Witch is the first in a trilogy of historical fantasies in the Traitor to the Crown series by C.C. Finlay also known as Charles Coleman Finlay author of The Prodigal Troll. Del Rey is releasing the series one a month with the first this past April and the 2nd and 3rd books following a month apart similar to how Brent Weeks' Night Angel Trilogy and Naomi Novik's Temeraire / His Majesty's Dragon were done. I love it when a publisher does something like this, especially given the lag time most of us wait for our favorite series to have a new release. Although publisher a has to have a lot of confidence in the books as their expectations would have to be high. I can say without any reservations that The Patriot Witch hits all the right marks with gritty action, believable characters, and good magic while nailing the setting. The story is centered during revolutionary times in Massachusetts, mostly in the Lexington to Boston area. From a historical aspect The Patriot Witch is completely accurate to the point you could consider it a secret history instead of an alternative one. The story just mixes in magic here and there to help explain how events unfold as they did in ingenious and completely logical ways. I'll refrain from mentioning specific events as it would ruin the fun of finding out what the characters were involved with. The lead and some secondary characters have a lot of depth given the length of the book at 330 pages, which nowadays I'd consider a light read in the fantasy genre. The Patriot Witch gives you the common people's view of the revolution through the eyes of Proctor Brown, a christian farmer and minuteman who also happens to be descended from a line of witches with magic in his blood. I watched the John Adams HBO mini-series last year, which was enthralling but it differed in that it was from the perspective of the leaders of the time so I found Brown's everyman POV refreshing. Proctor is very conflicted between his faith, his newly found powers, and also turning against the British. Even nowadays it is strange to think that people considered themselves British just as much as American during revolutionary times. There is a second war being fought at the same time. One with arms and the other magical as the British side has witches of its own helping. Although it is unclear how much the Brits know about their involvement, but more of the intrigue will probably unfold in succeeding volumes. At it heart The Patriot Witch is a story or responsibility, courage, and selflessness with the main characters sense of doing the right thing driving them even when alternatives from danger are given to them time and again. The one slow point was Proctor's time spent on a farm while trying to learn about his abilities, but even that sequence ends on a high note of surprises and action. The battle scenes are well drawn from historical sources with very realistic combat. The ending plays out well and leaves you wanting for so much more from the characters. The Patriot Witch turned into one of those reads you stay up late for just to get a few more pages in. Before you know it you look up and see you should have been to sleep an hour ago and than turn back for another page. I give The Patriot Witch 8.5 out of 10 Hats. If it wasn't for The Prodigal Troll I'd put this up as a possible Fantasy Debut of the year. Judging by the synopsis of A Spell for the Revolution the action will only be getting bigger so I'll definitely keep following the series. ***Until the end of May The Patriot Witch is available as a complete free e-book here. Grab it while you can. Book Link: US Canada UK