The white witch book refers to a category of literature that focuses on the practices and beliefs of white witches. White witches are individuals who use their mystical abilities and knowledge of nature for positive purposes, such as healing, divination, and protecting others. This book serves as a guide for those interested in understanding white witchcraft and learning how to harness their own spiritual powers for the greater good. The content of a white witch book can vary, but it often includes information on different spells, rituals, and magical techniques. It may provide step-by-step instructions on how to perform these practices, as well as tips for connecting with the natural world and understanding one's own spiritual energy. Some white witch books also delve into the history and philosophy behind white witchcraft, explaining its roots in ancient traditions and its modern-day interpretations.
Much more interesting is this idea of one’s own creation being the very thing that causes you this kind of pain. She is Frankenstein to her monster, Allemas. She brilliantly merges a Greek tragedy with that of original sin. Here we have Maere overstepping her mandate to create worlds by wanting to be God through mimicking God’s ability to create a soul. This takes on the biblical idea of being image bearers of God where we’re called to glorify him through our reflected capabilities but twists that by desiring to be God himself. It is so well done here when she tried to push beyond that boundary as she creates this warped creature. I love the grace that’s given to her, there are consequences to the action but that ultimately, she is allowed to, at least temporarily, take on a mortal mantle and procreate in a more mundane manner with a hint of then moving back into the celestial row.
This is a whole new series unrelated to The Paper Magician series whose protagonist is a full woman it turns out that shes centuries old , not a teen. Maire then becomes obsessed with trying to figure out who she is, but soon after this encounter, we have another plot twist marauders attack Maire s village and she is sold into slavery.
Some white witch books also delve into the history and philosophy behind white witchcraft, explaining its roots in ancient traditions and its modern-day interpretations. White witch books can be found in various forms, from ancient grimoires to contemporary guides written by modern practitioners. Throughout history, these books have played a crucial role in preserving and spreading knowledge about white witchcraft.
Book Review – Magic Bitter, Magic Sweet
FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.
Goodreads Synopsis:
Maire is a baker with an extraordinary gift: she can infuse her treats with emotions and abilities, which are then passed on to those who eat them. She doesn’t know why she can do this and remembers nothing of who she is or where she came from.
When marauders raid her town, Maire is captured and sold to the eccentric Allemas, who enslaves her and demands that she produce sinister confections, including a witch’s gingerbread cottage, a living cookie boy, and size-altering cakes.
During her captivity, Maire is visited by Fyel, a ghostly being who is reluctant to reveal his connection to her. The more often they meet, the more her memories return, and she begins to piece together who and what she really is—as well as past mistakes that yield cosmic consequences.
From the author of The Paper Magician series comes a haunting and otherworldly tale of folly and consequence, forgiveness and redemption.
My Review:
Charlie N. Holmberg’s Magic Bitter, Magic Sweet was a much darker story than I was expecting. I think maybe that pretty cover fooled me into thinking I was heading into a light, fluffy, and whimsical read. While I did find the read to be whimsical, instead of the light and fluffy, however, I found myself immersed in a tale full of weighty themes and relevant life lessons, the dominant one being that you have to take responsibility for choices that you make because actions have consequences.
Maire is a young woman who learns this lesson the hard way. When the story opens, Holmberg grabs the reader’s attention immediately as she begins to describe Maire. Maire is working as a baker and, curiously enough, has the ability to infuse her baked goods with qualities such as hope, strength, generosity, love – basically whatever qualities she chooses. Those qualities are then passed on to those who eat the baked goods. What makes Maire even more interesting is that she has lost her memory – she has no idea who she is, where she came from, and no memories at all prior to the moment that a woman named Arrice found her in the forest a few years earlier and brought her to her own home to live. Although Maire is somewhat curious about who she is and where she came from, overall she is content with the life she is living and so doesn’t dwell on her true identity too much. Right away I found Maire to be an endearing protagonist, both because of her magic, which she seems to use only to help people, and because the memory loss gives her a human and vulnerable quality. I found myself immediately in her corner, cheering her on, as the real action of the story began.
Holmberg then begins to deftly weave in a few plot twists, the first of which being Fyel. Maire is outside one day when she encounters Fyel, a translucent man all dressed in white, who also has wings of some sort. He tells Maire that he is not from this world, but that he knows who she is and that she must try to remember as well. Many of his remarks are cryptic and he refuses to tell her much more because he says she won’t believe his far-fetched tale and that if she denies the truth, she will be lost to his world forever. He says she must piece the story together herself so that she will believe it.
Maire then becomes obsessed with trying to figure out who she is, but soon after this encounter, we have another plot twist – marauders attack Maire’s village and she is sold into slavery. Strangely enough, her new master Allemas seems to already know who she is and even acts as though he has been searching for her, even though Maire is pretty sure they’ve never met.
The story takes a dark turn at this point because Allemas is a cruel and unpredictable master and Maire does not fare well working for him, especially once he realizes that Fyel has also found Maire. By this point, Maire is desperately trying to figure out who she is, what her connection to Allemas is, and especially what her connection to Fyel is. The second half of the book primarily follows Maire on her journey as she discovers her true identity, how she ended up where she is, and most importantly, as she realized that what happened to her was a direct consequence of choices she made in her other life. Maire’s journey is particularly fascinating in the sense that with each new memory she has about her past, her body undergoes a change as she slowly starts to transform back into what she was before she lost her memory and ended up here.
I did notice a few plot holes here and there as I was reading — things that happen that seem a little too coincidental or even the fact that Maire doesn’t seem to think it’s at all strange that she has this unusual magical baking ability, but I still thought overall this was a great read. While, like the magical baking itself, I’m not sure they really added much to the plot of Magic Bitter, Magic Sweet, I thought Holmberg’s whimsical touches, such as weaving various fairy tales such as Alice in Wonderland, Hansel and Gretel, and The Gingerbread Man into her story, made the story an immensely fun read. What I really liked though were the darker threads that ran through it. Offsetting those whimsical fairy tales as Maire discovers her true identity, is a dark tale that is reminiscent of both Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and the Book of Genesis in the Bible. I loved the added weight those elements gave to the overall story.
For me, the main weakness of the story was the ending. I felt like there was this huge build up to the reveal of Maire’s identity and then a rush to wrap things up, with years tacked on in an epilogue. I would have liked a little more explanation as to what specifically happened from Maire’s return home to what we see in the epilogue. That part just felt too abrupt for me. Other than that though, I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Magic Bitter, Magic Sweet is a book I would recommend to anyone who enjoys fantasy. I probably wouldn’t recommend it to children, because even though it has those fun shout outs to familiar fairy tales, I think the darker parts of the story, particularly some things that happen to Maire along the way, would make it too violent and frightening for younger readers.
Thanks so much to Netgalley, 47North, and to Charlie N. Holmberg for allowing me the opportunity to preview this book.
Rating: 3.5 stars
About Charlie N. Holmberg
Charlie Nicholes Holmberg was born in Salt Lake City, Utah to two parents who sacrificed a great deal to give their very lazy daughter a good education. As a result, Charlie learned to hate uniforms, memorized all English prepositions in alphabetical order, and mastered the art of Reed-Kellogg diagramming a sentence at age seven. She entered several writing contests in her elementary years and never placed.
Being a nerd, Charlie started writing fan-fiction as a teenager in between episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation. She became a full-fledged band geek with mediocre talent in high school, where she met her husband. While she strove to win his attention by baking him cookies and throwing ramen noodles at his house, he didn’t actually ask her out until six years later.
Charlie began taking writing seriously during her undergrad at Brigham Young University, where she majored in English and minored in editing. She finally won a few writing contests. She graduated with her BA in 2010 and got hitched three months later. Shortly afterwards, her darling husband dragged her to Moscow, Idaho, where he subsequently impregnated her.
In summer 2013, after collecting many rejection letters and making a quilt out of them, Charlie sold her ninth novel, The Paper Magician, and its sequel to 47North with the help of her wonderful agent, Marlene Stringer. She currently lives with her family in Utah. Someday she will own a dog.
(Did she mention her third book, The Master Magician, totally made the WSJ bestseller list? Because it totally made the WSJ bestseller list.)
Imagine taking a Greek tragedy (and the related pantheon of gods), merge into it the story of the Fall and Original Sin and twirl in a mixture of fairy tales; never mind being able to “bake in inspiration”. That’s Magic Bitter, Magic Sweet. It’s one thing to have a brilliant premise, it’s another to execute that well. Ms. Holmberg delivers in spades. She takes us along Maire’s painful journey of discovery of her own story. It’s a challenging world into which she has fallen, much like medieval Europe, full of might-makes-right and enslavement, as well as love, hope, and friendship. Maire’s “owner” is clearly not quite right. Not only is he devoid of a moral compass, he’s even devoid of common sense. So, he looks to the world around him to give him some clue of how to be in it. Given that sends him mixed messages, he’s not quite sure what that to do. As abusive and disgusting as he can be, he’s also an intriguing character of conflicting and foreign makeup. He is not only not normal, but he is “other”. He is not of this world. So even while you despise him, there is some empathy towards his plight. It’s a little like despising a snake that bites you. He cannot be other than he is. He cannot reflect and grow into something more even as he does learn to “fake it” better. He is limited by his very nature in an even more profound way than humans are.
They serve as a source of inspiration and education for individuals seeking to tap into their own magical potential and develop a deeper connection with nature. One important aspect of the white witch book is its emphasis on ethical practices. White witches believe in the principle of "harm none," meaning that they strive to use their magical abilities for positive purposes and avoid causing harm to others. This ethical code is often woven throughout the teachings found in white witch books, reminding readers of the responsibility that comes with their power. In addition to instructional content, white witch books may also include personal anecdotes and experiences shared by the authors. These stories can serve as examples and inspiration for readers, demonstrating the real-world applications of white witchcraft and providing guidance on how to navigate challenges and overcome obstacles on a spiritual path. Overall, the white witch book is a valuable resource for those interested in white witchcraft and its practical applications. It provides a roadmap for individuals to explore their own spirituality, develop their magical abilities, and cultivate a deeper connection with the natural world. Whether one is a beginner or an experienced practitioner, the information contained within these books can serve as a source of inspiration, knowledge, and guidance on the path of the white witch..
Reviews for "Awakening the White Witch Within: Embracing Your True Magical Self"
1. John - 2 stars - I was really disappointed with "White Witch Book". The story was slow, and the characters felt one-dimensional. I couldn't connect with any of them or become invested in their journey. The dialogues were stilted and unnatural, making it difficult to believe in the world the author was trying to create. Overall, it lacked the depth and engaging storytelling I was hoping for.
2. Sarah - 1 star - "White Witch Book" was a complete waste of time for me. The plot was predictable and unoriginal, filled with cliched tropes that have been done a thousand times before. The writing style was amateurish and lacked any sort of finesse. I found myself constantly rolling my eyes at the cringe-worthy dialogue and unrealistic character interactions. It felt like a poorly written fanfiction rather than a professionally crafted novel. I would not recommend this book to anyone looking for a satisfying read.
3. Emily - 2 stars - I struggled to get through "White Witch Book". The pacing was all over the place, with slow and uneventful moments followed by rushed and confusing scenes. The world-building was also quite weak, leaving many unanswered questions and inconsistencies. The protagonist lacked depth and seemed to make nonsensical decisions throughout the story. Overall, it felt like a missed opportunity to explore a fascinating premise, and I was left feeling disappointed and unsatisfied.
4. Mark - 2.5 stars - While "White Witch Book" had some interesting ideas, the execution fell flat for me. The writing was mediocre at best, with awkward phrasing and repetitive descriptions. The plot lacked coherence and seemed to meander without clear direction. The characters were forgettable and lacked any sort of development. Additionally, the book had several typos and grammatical errors that further detracted from the reading experience. Overall, it had potential, but it was not realized in a captivating or engaging way.