Bitter Night: A Horngate Witches Book

Full disclosure: Before I start, I should mention that my opinion isn't wholly unbiased, since the author's a friend of mine. Hopefully that will still be the case after she reads this review. . .

Just kidding. I actually really liked Bitter Night.

The protagonist Max is a Shadowblade, a supernatural-and supernaturally competent-warrior bound to protect her witch Giselle. As a Shadowblade, Max doesn't age. She is better, faster, stronger than any ordinary human being. And she hates it. Giselle betrayed her trust to make Max what she is, and though she is magically compelled to protect Giselle and follow orders, Max works against her witch in every way she can. But when a new threat comes along-a threat to the family that she can never see again, to the friends that she has made despite herself, and to the world at large-Max must decide whether to accept her slavery and help Giselle, or remain defiant as the world is destroyed around her.

Bitter Night is an urban fantasy, and Francis fills the world with all kinds of magical creatures. Most of these are cool-sounding creatures mentioned only once or twice; they contribute to the world-building and not a whole lot else. Francis chooses just a couple of magical creatures to develop, which works just fine. Where the world-building really shines, though, is in characters like Max herself. The Shadowblades, and especially their daytime counterparts the Sunspears, are a unique bit of world-building, and their abilities and limitations are developed through the novel instead of being given to us in a lump.

The characterization is spot on. The third-person point of view alternates between Max and Alexander, the Shadowblade of a rival witch, and both characters are real and relateable. Max is definitely the protagonist of this book despite the shared screen time, however. Her relationships are many and nuanced, and Francis does an admirable job of developing them within a fast-paced story. Alex is a little less nuanced but no less believable, and the tension that develops between him and Max is plenty of fun.

The novel starts fast and ends faster, and the pacing is both a strength and (occasionally) a weakness. The speed at which things happen is part of the fun, and it doesn't move too fast-that is, not until the end, where it picks up even more. This makes for an exciting climax, but the speed leaves a couple of holes in an ending which I otherwise quite liked. The basis of the novel's resolution is established early on but gets forgotten-it isn't built up at the end of the novel, which makes the resolution startling. The other problem with the highway-speed ending is that the aftermath is a little bit neglected. Francis has placed a lot of focus on character relationships, and the relative speed with which these relationships are dealt at the end is disappointing.

Overall, though, Bitter Night is a fast, fun read that plays with some very interesting characters and concepts. It's also the first novel in the Horngate Witches series, and while it works as a stand-alone, it also paves the way for what looks like some very interesting conflict in book two, Crimson Wind (out March 2011).

Bitter Night is the first in Francis' Horngate Witches series. It was an okay start to this new series but I have to admit that it took me a long time to warm up to the story and even then I would say I am lukewarm at best. I think the main problem was the lack of world building. Francis just drops you in and provides very little detail about the 'world' you are visiting. Classified as urban fantasy, there is very little interaction with the modern (outside) world and she leaves so many unanswered questions (like why are the witches so territorial? Do the regular humans even know that witches exist?) that I found it distracting and less than satisfying.

Max is a Shadowblade. Shadowblades and Sunspears are human servants magically enhanced with superhuman abilities and senses in order to serve as the footsoldiers and body guards of witches. As their names imply, the Shadowblades are creatures of the night. Direct sunlight can burn them instantly, even the sun's rays reflecting off the moon, is deadly to them. On the plus side, they can heal from most wounds, never grow old and have superhuman strength. Sunspears are similar, but are daytime creatures. They need the light to survive and darkness weakens them and can eventually kill them.

Max is the Prime Shadowblade for the witch Giselle - a job she did not come to willingly. Tricked into what she pretty much considers slavery by someone she thought was her friend, compelled to lay down her very life if necessary in order to keep Giselle safe, Max is not the grateful servant she's expected to be. Rather she is consumed with one thought: Revenge. It is the one hope that keeps her from walking out in to the sunlight that would kill her. When forces greater than even the witches threaten everything that Max has come to care about, she must learn to ally with her enemy and accept the role she must play as saviour.

There is lots of action in this book, but there is a focus on torture and pain which doesn't always make for comfortable reading. The witches come across as particularly sadistic, well, witches (but with a 'b'). Francis also throws in a budding romance or maybe even the workings for a possible love triangle, that isn't particularly developed, with far more attention being paid to relationships between the witch and her servants. The conclusion doesn't really tie up various plot lines and so Bitter Night reads very much as the first installment of a series and doesn't feel particularly complete. At this point I am undecided if I will read the next book in the series whenever it comes out.

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This book is definately different from the usual urban fantasy. Tha main character is a women named Max, who is the Prime (leader) of the shadowblades, who gaurd a witch and her coven. She is almost indestructable because of what the witch has done to her. The catch is, Max hates her, but because of the witches magic ,Max is compelled to gaurd her above her own life. There are powerful forces about to be unleashed on the world and Max must decide if her hate for the witch Giselle is more important than the friends and home she has made at Horngate. This book has lots of action and Max is a great character, when the book ends, you want more!

I am so pleased I gave this book a try. It is simply fantastic. It is hard to believe that this is the first book in the series, it is that good. This novel is written well and not in the first person. I have to say I was getting tired of that style, especially when it was not done well. The story is told from two points of view and it is never jerky or clunky. The action is non stop and it sucks you in. The main character of Max is engrossing. She is so real and well developed. She is no damsel, in fact she is the stronger one in most cases, yet again the author managed to do this without making her into an unbelievable super human chick. She is resilient but vulnerable when it is warranted. The supporting cast of characters is superbly done. This book is on par with Kate Daniels series and a must read for UF fans. I loved it and can’t wait for the next one to come out.

Polished off Bitter Night in one day and what an action packed ride. The main character Max is one heck of a strong kick butt kind of heroine who finds herself in constant trouble. I sure hope there's a second. A thoroughly enjoyable read.