The Witch Collector by Charissa Weaks

Every harvest moon, the Witch Collector rides into our valley and leads one of us to the home of the immortal Frost King, to remain forever. Today is that day-Collecting Day. But he will not come for me. I, Raina Bloodgood, have lived in this village for twenty-four years, and for all that time he has passed me by. His mistake. Raina Bloodgood has one desire: kill the Frost King and the Witch Collector who stole her sister. On Collecting Day, she means to exact murderous revenge, but a more sinister threat sets fire to her world. Rising from the ashes is the Collector, Alexus Thibault, the man she vowed to slay and the only person who can help save her sister. Thrust into an age-old story of ice, fire, and ancient gods, Raina must abandon vengeance and aid the Witch Collector or let their empire-and her sister-fall into enemy hands. But the lines between good and evil blur, and Raina has more to lose than she imagined. What is she to do when the Witch Collector is no longer the villain who stole her sister, but the hero who's stealing her heart? The Witch Collector is book one in a thrilling romantic fantasy trilogy, perfect for fans of Naomi Novik, Sarah J. Maas, and Jennifer L. Armentrout.

The Witch Collector by Charissa Weaks (ARC)
Book 1 in the Witch Walker series

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5

Spoiler-free Review

I stumbled upon Charissa Weaks' Instagram page about 2 weeks ago and on a whim joined her Facebook group and was given an eARC for The Witch Collector. Y'all, I am so glad I did! The story was so unique which was refreshing. The book was well-paced and I found myself unable to put it down! I had to know what happened next. It is full of action and adventure and some romance. All the things! The main characters, Raina and Alexus are so well written and both such strong individuals. I thought the world building and explanation of the magic system was well done and easy for the reader to follow. There are some strong side characters that I hope we get more of in future books. This book is dual POV and I knocked a half-star just because I wish we'd gotten just a little more from Alexus' POV. His chapters were some of my favorites! I think we will get that (hopefully) in the next book. This book was slow-burn (in my opinion) enemies to lovers, and at times the sexual tension was thick! There are a few spicy moments as well as some language so I'd classify this book as adult fantasy. I cannot wait for this book to come out in November to buy a hard copy and I can't wait to see where the rest of the series goes! Preorder now! Release date is 11/2/21.

No Nonsense Review:
- I really liked it.
- If you like the first one then you'll most likely read through all of them with no problem.
- I have never pre-ordered a book before, but I rushed to pre-order the 4th book (since been delayed for good reasons).

- I found the story to be unique.
- The magic system was a little unclear to me, but... that really doesn't bother me.

- The main female character does not speak and it's written extremely well; I didn't even notice the ‘difference' in the dialogue between characters.
- The main male character is good, and I enjoyed the way he respects and treats the MFC.

NOPE. Nope nope nope. DNF @ 46%. I don't do stories about possession. NOPING right out of here.

This book is Definitely Not For Allie:
mention of infant death
there was a map in the beginning
made-up fantasy language
war that makes no sense
they've spent most of the story lost in the woods (may or may not be a construct)
aforementioned possession of an irrelevant character made the MMC like, wildly horny?? HELL NOPE.