A Witch Alone by Ruth Warburton

It was dark, but I could tell someone was there as soon as I opened the barn door.

‘Hello?’ My voice echoed in the rafters.’Hello?’

I waited for a moment, listening. Nothing. But I wasn’t alone.

Published by Hodder Children’s Books in February 2013

Pages - 432

Goodreads Summary

Where do you go when your heart has been ripped out?
For Anna there is only one answer; into her past, where the truth about her mother, her power, and her real identity lie hidden.
But as Anna delves deeper into her history, she begins to fear that the truth about what set her mother running may be darker than she ever suspected. With the witches of the world on the brink of war, Seth gone, and her friend Abe wanting more from her than she can possibly give, Anna is in crisis.
As the clouds around her gather, Anna is torn between friends, family and rival tribes of witches and – at the last – between love and magic

******

What a satisfying conclusion to an exciting series. This book is really the icing on the cake for the trilogy.  I felt that the writing was stronger,  the pace unstoppable and the characters had matured which meant serious business as they tackled the horrors that lay before them.

IF YOU HAVEN’T READ THE FIRST TWO BOOKS IN THE SERIES YOU MAY WANT TO STOP HERE AS THIS REVIEW WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS.

This book takes place a few weeks after the last one and we encounter Anna in the middle of rather fiery training session. From the first page, you are even more aware of Abe’s growing feelings for Anna. He just can’t hide them at all. Anna is still pining for Seth even though she tries so hard not too. She allows Abe to comfort her once too many times, making it extremely difficult for him to keep away from her.

New characters are introduced in this book and we encounter Anna’s cousin Marcus. Well he is an interesting chap! Just remember if a smile doesn’t reach someone’s eyes they might not be the most trust worthy. During this book we also get to meet the Russian Witch Mafia; I know they aren’t really called that but they came across that way. They are seriously scary and have some rather inhumane rituals.

We learn a lot about Anna’s mother within this book and finally Anna can face the truth. Her own destiny appears to be bigger and more powerful than she would ever have imagined and at times you find yourself gasping with shock at what happens.

The relationship between Seth and Anna is real. It isn’t all lovey dovey and cute. They argue and fight like every other couple and they have to deal with some intense situations as the story progresses.

I loved that through half the book we got to spend time in Russia. I think is has to be one of the least used countries within YA fiction and I really enjoyed learning more about the country. Especially about the days of continual daylight; I honestly didn’t know that Russia was one of the countries to experience that.

This book is thrilling from page one, the action never stops, it just builds and builds until we reach an incredibly shocking and surprising ending. I honestly couldn’t believe what happened but it was fitting, even if I didn’t like how it finished.

This really is a powerful and dramatic ending to a brilliant home grown YA paranormal series.