The Vine Witch

The Vine Witch is a 2019 historical fantasy by Luanne G. Smith. It was published by 47North. The stroy takes place in turn-of-the-century France. I discovered the novel while browsing Kindle Unlimited one day.

The novel tells the story of a woman named Elena who is a vine witch, witches whose spells have created world-renowned wines for centuries. After breaking a spell that she'd been under for years, Elena returns to the vineyards at Château Renard, the only home she's ever known, only to find that it has fallen upon hard time in her absence. While Elena struggles to regain her former life, she plans her revenge on the witch who cursed her and the lover who wronged her.

One of the most enjoyable aspects of this novel is the magic system. I initially decided to read this book because I was curious about how the author would entwine magic and wine-making in the narrative. Smith not only explained how magic can be used to improve wine-making, but also how it can be used for sabotaged. One of the reasons Elena's beloved vineyard has fallen upon hard times while she was cursed is because another witch has placed a hex on the vineyard, resulting in a series of bad vintages by the winemakers. Vine witches aren't the only type of witches in this story, either. There are witches who specialize in poisons, witches who are experts in healing arts, and plenty of other magical disciplines. I enjoyed the variety of magical abilities on display in the story.

Smith's writing is very vivid, which works in this story's favor. As I was reading, I could practically see the rural landscape. I could taste the wine being described by the narrative. I also enjoyed the pacing of this novel. It is a little slow in the beginning, but the plot escalates in a way that makes sense but also doesn't feel rushed. The story builds up tension appropriately, and while the conclusion felt a little cliche, I didn't have any major complaints about how the story was resolved. One thing that I was surprised by was the revelation of who cursed Elena and turned her into a toad, the curse she breaks at the beginning of the novel. That revelation was one of the few plot elements that genuinely surprised me.

While I liked Smith's overall writing style, and the magic system she created, there were a few things I didn't enjoy about The Vine Witch. The biggest complaint I have is the lack of characterization. Most of the characters fell flat with me, including some of the main characters. They didn't really have much depth to them. The reader wasn't given enough of a reason to hate Bastien, Elena's former fiance who she believes cursed her, other than the fact that she does. He's a shrewd businessman who wants to grow his business, and that fact, combined with her suspicions of him, is supposed to be enough for the reader to want him to fail and suffer. This book also has quite a bit of filler, which I normally wouldn't have a problem with, but this isn't a long book and having as much filler as it does works against its favor. Lastly, there is the romance, which I wasn't a fan of. There isn't enough shown of the developing relationship between Elena and Jean-Paul, so it felt a bit rushed. I also didn't think they had much chemistry. Overall, the romance felt like it existed to tick off a box on a list and not because it was necessary to the story. 

The Vine Witch is a book that I would call average. I don't think it's a groundbreaking, amazing novel, but it isn't terrible either. It lags in places, and is a little boring, but the story overall is sound and well-crafted. It fits into a category that I call "beach reads", which are books that are quick, easy reads that keeps the reader engaged without being overly deep or memorable. The book is enjoyable, but it wasn't a favorite of mine.

Rating: 3.7 Stars

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Blogtober Day 18: Witches

I feel like witches are one of the few characters that can be thrown into almost any story and it works. I don't mean that in a bad way, but I'm noticing they seem to pop-up in a lot of different stories and time periods, and serving different purposes, and it still works, depending on how talented the writer is.

You're writing a historical thriller? Perhaps a murder victim was really killed by a witch. You're writing a contemporary story? Maybe the protagonist's family was once accused of witchcraft. Maybe she learns she's a witch. For a story being told in the far-off future, humanity could believe they found answers to everything and witches are fictional, only to learn that the aliens they've been fighting have abilities that can only be explained by yelling "Witchcraft!" as dramatically as possible. Not to mention how witches are seemingly everywhere in fantasy.

My point is, witches are prevalent in fiction. The characters being described as witches don't necessarily have to be witches, they just are accused of it. They could simply be suspected, or the narrative could imply that the only way an event could happen is through witchcraft. Yet, for such a seemingly ubiquitous stock character, witches aren't defined to one role in fiction.

Witches sometimes are evil. The first example that comes to mind is the witch in Hansel and Gretel. She murders and eats children. Another example is the Sanderson Sisters from Hocus Pocus. The Wicked Witch of the West. The Grand High Witch from The Witches. I could go on. Ursula in The Little Mermaid. There are plenty of witch characters that are completely evil and serve as the villain of the story. Maybe they want to take over or end the world. Or maybe, they just want revenge on a specific person or people.

Witches are also protagonists or at the very least "good guys" in stories. For an example, see Hermione Granger. Diana Bishop from A Discovery of Witches is another good example, as is Sabrina Spellman. The list goes on. Sometimes, the story is about a girl, or woman, finding out she's a witch and learning to control her powers. Other times, the witch is called upon to defeat some greater threat. In few, but some cases, magic is being repressed and the witch character is meant to end the magic-hating regime and free the other witches and repressed magical creatures. Sometimes, the witch isn't a main character, but fulfills the role of a mentor or motherly figure to another.

The third category of witches seems to be "witches as plot-devices". This is more of an urban-fantasy thing than anything else, but it does pop-up elsewhere. The "good guy" characters are in trouble. Maybe they were captured by the villain, maybe they come across some unpassable obstacle. Perhaps one's been cursed. It's awfully convenient then, that a member of their party, or another prisoner, or some random person walking by, happens to be a witch and knows a spell that will help. I won't lie, this one annoys me a lot. Because these characters either show up as a deus ex machina, or if they are part of the core character, they fade into the background until they're needed again.

One fairly popular show that did this often was The Vampire Diaries. Bonnie Bennett, the only main witch character for most of the series, somehow found a spell that stopped the Big Bad every time. In fact, it seemed like the only reason her character existed and remained on the show was to find a magical solution at the last minute to save the day.  She saved everyone from the bad guy, and then had a crappy storyline that only existed so that she'd be around the next time they needed magic to solve their problems. I don't like this trope because it cheapens the character and shows that her only purpose is to do one specific thing and then go away.

Witches show up a lot in fiction. They serve many different roles depending on the story. I love witch characters. The good, the bad and the plot-devices. I know some people claim they're sick of witches, but I actually think we need more witches. Ones with different stories, different rules, and different backgrounds.

What's your view on witches, and magic in general, in fiction?